Kentucky basketball: Game preview, 3 keys vs Arkansas

1. Win as a team

Saturday’s win against the Crimson Tide proved one thing; there is no one guy on this Kentucky basketball team who is going to lead this team. It’s going to be a collective effort. All season long, Big Blue Nation has been looking for “the go-to guy”. This team looks to not have that, but rather a collection of equally talented individuals, all capable of having a big game.

Let’s face it, Coach Cal recruits the best of the best. Most of the Kentucky basketball players are 4-star or 5-star kids coming out of high school. That means they’re all pretty good. BBN has been searching all year long for one guy to emerge and lead this team. I think Saturday’s win proved that this group of players is going to win or lose as a team.

Kentucky’s bench had an amazing performance against Alabama. Quade Green was 4-of-5 in the first half, PJ Washington led the team in scoring and Jarred Vanderbilt had 9 rebounds. All these guys can play. Calipari has said consistently that he’s going to ride the hot hand, regardless of who is starting.

I would look for Coach Cal to start the same group of guys against thee Razorbacks that he did against Alabama and if he sees a player loafing or feels someone off the bench will give him better production, that guy is going to play. Balancing the egos on this team, while still winning basketball games is the challenge for Calipari. He made it work on Saturday, let’s see if it carries over to Tuesday night.