Kentucky Basketball: How can the Cats turn things around?

3.) Stop forcing bad shots and create higher quality possessions

Over the course of the short, front end of the season, Kentucky fans have been haunted by flashbacks of the past, especially upon closer examination of their two losses thus far.  These flashbacks, of course, include a rushed, hurried, or stagnant offense that lacks the ability to knock down dagger threes.

For those tuning into the first half of the Gonzaga game on Sunday evening, namely the first 5-7 minutes of the game, what could be found were a string of empty positions ending with a low-percentage jump shot early in the shot clock, or a timid Kentucky guard dribbling atop the key for 20 seconds before driving and forcing a layup over 2-3 taller defenders.

When the Cats looked best on Sunday, the ball was in Oscar’s hands.  However, even some of those possessions looked less than stellar, as many of the Cats’ entry passes to the big man were forced or telegraphed.  When you are a guard for the University of Kentucky, and you’re failing to produce anything of merit on offense, it’s easy to make the decision to toss the rock into the direction of the returning Player of the Year.  However, those passes need to be quality, designed, or natural — and so far they have not been.

If Kentucky is going to turn things around offensively as an overall unit, they are going to have to get some more motion involved in the offense.  Whether that motion comes to fruition in the form of on and off-ball screens or more of the classic dribble and kick to the open shooter look is up to Coach Cal.  But one thing is for certain, stalling and entering the ball to Oscar is not going to work for the duration of the long season.