Kentucky basketball: Game preview, 3 keys vs Auburn
By Drew Koch
3. Everyone else move aside, this is Shai’s team
Kevin Knox, move aside. Jarred Vanderbilt, get out of the way. PJ Washington, it’s not your time. This Kentucky basketball team belongs to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Surprised? I am. Shai came in as the lowest-rated freshman of this UK recruiting class. But he has stepped up and asserted himself as the unquestioned leader and it’s time for all the other players to realize that.
This year’s UK team has been suffering from an identity crisis. At various times throughout the season it appeared that one player or another was going to take up the mantle of lead dog for the Cats. We saw Knox show flashes early in the season and in the game against West Virginia. Diallo looked the part when the team played up in Madison Square Garden. Even PJ gave it go during the early part of the SEC schedule.
The debate is over and the best player on this team is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA is the only player on this team who can create his own shot and create for others. Gilgeous-Alexander has deceptive speed and is a smooth operator with the basketball. In SEC play, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 16 points, 5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
In crunch-time, when the game is on the line, the ball needs to be in the hands of Gilgeous-Alexander. I trust Shai to make the right decision at the right time. He is one of the few players on this Kentucky basketball who plays without a personal agenda.