Kentucky basketball: 5 rushed reactions vs South Carolina

1. Jarred Vanderbilt plays

The focal point for several Kentucky basketball media articles tonight will revolve around Jarred Vanderbilt. The mysterious freshman played his first minutes of the season Tuesday night. Vanderbilt had been practicing and warming up with the team the last couple weeks, but had yet to play.

His initial play was, well, very ugly. He threw up a ugly, wild shot and then followed it with a turnover. I’ll tell you this though without hesitation, his athleticism is elite. He skies high for rebounds and grabs them strongly with both hands. In the second half, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out of the game, Vanderbilt became a 6’9″ point guard.

I think it’s going to be very interesting to see whose playing time Vanderbilt garners. My initial guess is that Nick Richards, Sacha Killeya-Jones, and Hamidou Diallo are the most likely to see their time taken away (game to game, depending on productivity). If tonight was any indication, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Diallo’s minutes begin to diminish. Vanderbilt was rusty and fatigued, but from what we saw, BBN should definitely be excited for his return.