Wenyen Gabriel is the standard that John Calipari wants for his team
By Drew Koch
On John Calipari’s call-in show he lauded the recent play of sophomore forward Wenyen Gabriel. Gabriel has become the example of what Cal wants from this year’s Kentucky Wildcats basketball team.
John Calipari has singled out sophomore forward Wenyen Gabriel in recent weeks. He said a couple weeks ago that he wanted Gabriel to play more like former Wildcat Derek Willis. Willis made the most of his opportunities at Kentucky, especially during his junior and senior seasons. Willis became a key piece of the basketball team due to his outside shooting and rebounding. In the last two games Gabriel has shined. He shot a combined 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line. Gabriel also scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in that two game stretch.
“We need more of what Wenyen gets from other guys,” Calipari said via The Paul Miller Ford John Calipari Show on UKAthletics.com. “He gets his hands on balls. He makes those extra effort plays.” Gabriel is by far the most active rebounder and defender this Kentucky team has. In Kentucky’s opening game against Utah Valley, Gabriel grabbed 13 rebounds and had 3 blocked shots. Two weeks later against Fort Wayne he had 10 rebounds and in the contest against Harvard the UK sophomore had 3 steals.
Gabriel is Kentucky’s sixth-man and brings energy off the bench. Calipari is wanting to see the same effort from his freshmen that he’s getting from Gabriel. “I’m proud of him because it’s not easy,” Calipari said during his call-in show. Gabriel may not be as physically gifted or as talented as some of his teammates, but his effort takes Gabriel’s game to another level. If the other players on Kentucky’s roster follow Wenyen’s example this team has unlimited potential.