Kentucky basketball: 5 Rushed reactions vs Alabama

The Kentucky basketball team got back on track against Alabama on Saturday, defeating the Crimson Tide 81-71.

Here are my 5 Rushed Reactions from Kentucky basketball’s much needed 81-71 victory against Alabama. As always, no box scores, replays, or post-game interviews have been consulted before writing these reactions.

1. Jarred Vanderbilt, keep it simple!

Let me preface this first reaction by clarifying that Jarred Vanderbilt had a very good game. This is not a criticism of Vanderbilt, just a noteworthy observation. UK does NOT need their offense to end with Vanderbilt shooting floaters in the paint or soft short-range jumpers. His athleticism, rebounding, and energy are incredibly valuable to this team. His soft floater in the paint, well not so much.

Vanderbilt needs to keep crashing the offensive glass, grabbing rebounds and putting them back. He needs to continue sprinting in transition and running the floor for easy baskets. Vanderbilt excels when he moves without the ball and cuts to the basket, getting easy dunks and finishes at the rim. It’s frustrating to watch him try to force floaters and soft jumpers instead of continuing to attack. Try to dunk everything. Try to finish everything at the rim level, not short of it.

On a side note, I feel MUCH MORE CONFIDENT in UK’s chances of grabbing a defensive rebound with Vanderbilt on the floor. BBN can tell that Vanderbilt wants to grab every single rebound. Vanderbilt is what Dick Vitale loves to call a “stat sheet stuffer” – he covers space in each and every statistical category, especially rebounds.