Kentucky basketball: Game preview, 3 keys vs Tennessee
By Drew Koch
2. PJ Washington has some unfinished business
I look for PJ Washington to get the ball early and often on the low block. Back on January 7th, Washington was asserting his dominance on the Tennessee basketball squad. All of the sudden, early in the second half, Washington came up lame. He would later go to the locker room with cramps and not return to the game.
John Calipari spoke after the lost in January about his team’s toughness via CoachCal.com. “They out-toughed us. They just threw us around. It was embarrassing. As soon as we had PJ out of the game, we had no shot at winning because every one of their players at that point was tougher than our guys.”
Washington has been the ‘tough guy’ that Cal has been clamoring for all season. However, PJ hit a bit of a snag recently. Over the past 3 games, Washington has averaged only 4 points and has gotten to the free throw line 3 times.
Washington, Wenyen Gabriel and Jarred Vanderbilt bring an energy to the Cats’ lineup that cannot be matched. But, energy is not the only thing necessary to win games. Look for Washington to be aggressive in this game. Washington averaged almost 13 points per game during a six-game stretch after the SEC opener. The Cats need PJ to get back to being that player.