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Kentucky Basketball: Key Observations

By Shelby Caudill

Jan 12, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari coaches his team during a timeout against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 80-74. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 12, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari coaches his team during a timeout against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 80-74. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports /
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If you’ve watched the Kentucky basketball team lately, you’d agree that something just isn’t working and it’s going downhill quick.

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Do I know what the issue is? No and I’m not going to pretend that I do. Let’s examine things I’ve noticed over the past few games, the good and the bad.

  • Alex Poythress is his own worst enemy. This team thrives when he is on top of the game. When he is a complete monster on the defensive and offensives end there is no denying that this team is capable of anything. His veteran leadership is vital, they can’t always rely on the sophomore, Tyler Ulis, who didn’t even start last season. When Poythress is off his game, everyone is off. They have to learn to be able to play without Poythress being involved. He has to learn to not get inside his own head. He’s a better player than he gives himself credit for.
  • Marcus Lee is going through a slump. He’s been pretty uninvolved lately. He hasn’t been doing much on the defensive or offensive end. He’ll shake it off, I really believe he will. Lots of players go through a slump, Willie Cauley-Stein went through a major hiatus and got it back together, Lee will do the same.
  • Tyler Ulis is only one person. He can only do so much. That’s hard to understand when he is constantly trying to carry the team on his back. He feels the pressure that he can’t have an off game. He’s one of the best point guards in the nation but he can’t do it all himself unfortunately, even though he is going to try.
  • Jamal Murray is going to shoot the ball no matter what. This is a blessing and a curse. When he’s on, he’s on and when he’s off, he’s off, but he won’t stop shooting.
  • Isaiah Briscoe and Derek Willis are improving. Willis still struggles on defense and Briscoe still struggles from the free-throw line, but you can see that they’re both doing what they can do be the best they can be. Every game you can see how improved Willis is from the last. Briscoe is the Wildcats best finisher, they just have to start getting him the ball more.
  • Skal Labissiere may not be a one year player. He is young and he is being molded into the player he wants to become. That’s okay. People are disappointed in him, but there is no reason to be. He’s exerting effort, even picking up two technical fouls recently. He’s slowly improving, but at least he is trying.

I could go on about how Isaac Humphries isn’t seeing the playing time that it looked like he was going to see, maybe playing him more could be the key. Maybe throwing Tai Wynyard into a game will shape up the defense, everyone is dying to see his game. Charles Matthews and Mychal Mulder seeing more playing time can’t hurt. But do I know what will help this team? No. All I know is if they can create a brotherhood within themselves, they would be unstoppable. It’s up to them to fix that.

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