Kentucky Basketball Leftovers: Start of SEC Play
By Luke Bennett
Leftover #3: Can EJ Improve?
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? If you disagree, just look above. This picture tells the story of every Kentucky Wildcats fan on December 28th.
After a long, grueling struggle, EJ Montgomery finally broke through in a big way. The story is in many ways a microcosm of Richards’ plight, but this one just felt different.
It is no secret EJ was the highest touted incoming recruit in his class. He is – and was then – regarded as an X-factor for this Kentucky basketball team. When EJ is rocking, so is the BBN. We need him in more ways than one – mid-range jumpers, stretch-four, hustle, and the Calipari buzzword: fight. When he does this, Kentucky succeeds.
This is why EJ’s success during the win over Louisville, largely in ball screens and pick and roll situations, boosted Kentucky over the #3 Cardinals. If EJ wasn’t passing the ball off the baseline or swiping rebounds, he was often screaming in passion for his teammates.
But as we head into the grind that is SEC play, it is fair to ask: will we see that same EJ Montgomery?
Evidence A: Career highs against UAB (16 points) and Fairleigh Dickinson (25 points) and a gutsy performance in a win over Louisville.
Evidence B: Inconsistent from the field, inability to outplay weaker opponents, and lack of confidence on the offensive end.
Well, in the pregame press conference, Coach Barbee addressed many of these issues and more regarding the Sophmore forward.
On Montgomery’s toughness: “We’re working on it right now, because this team needs it,” Kentucky assistant coach Tony Barbee said on Friday afternoon. “We’ve been working on it, talking to him about it. I think with EJ, he’s got to have a self-belief, because we believe in him. He’s got to look in that mirror and see what we think he should be. Sometimes I think he questions that.”
On Montgomery’s confidence: “If he gets more confident, and I think the proof is in the pudding when you see what he did in those last five minutes of the game [against Louisville],” Barbee said. “When you really needed it, he went and did it. He was physical, he reacted, he went and blocked shots out of nowhere, he defended a guy on the perimeter that was blowing by him to start the game. At the end of the game, he couldn’t get by him. He’s capable of it, so when you look at it, you can say it’s a confidence deal with EJ. He’s got to believe he can do it for the majority of the time he’s out there.”
On Montgomery’s drive: “I think that doing those things is sometimes uncomfortable,” Barbee said. “You’ve heard it around here a bunch, you’ve got to be comfortable being uncomfortable. He likes to play in a comfort zone, and if you stay in a comfort zone, you’re never going to grow. For him to grow, he’s got to step out of that zone and do it full time.”