5 Rushed Reactions – Kentucky at LSU

4. Defensive stoppers

The Kentucky Wildcats have Shai-Gilgeous Alexander as a defensive stopper, but that’s about it. There’s no dominant shot blocker on this team, no matter what you might try to tell me about Richards. Gilgeous- Alexander can grab steals and deflect passes, but the Cats are going to need more.

I’m thinking like the way Isaiah Briscoe and Tyler Ulis used to get stops. You remember those two, right?  They were so good at pressuring the ball and drawing an offensive foul when the ball-handler would push off for space. The Cats don’t get that from Hamidou Diallo, Quade Green or Kevin Knox. We’ll see Killeya-Jones and Gabriel attempt to take charges, but Kentucky has had success the last couple years with their guards drawing offensive fouls and we just don’t have that this year. Maybe that’s one reason why this team gives up so much dribble penetration.