Mark Pope had high praise for Jasper Johnson on his radio show this week. The freshman guard is coming into his own at a time when Kentucky needs it the most. Without Jaland Lowe for the rest of the season, Kentucky needs point guard minutes. The numbers back up what Pope is saying.
Against Tennessee, Johnson was efficient and lethal: 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, 4 assists, and only 1 turnover. It was the kind of performance fans have been waiting for, and according to Pope, it came down to one thing.
"When he can just be really decisive, it helps him be more forceful." When he knows what he is doing, he can help the team. Far too many times early in the year, you would see him get the ball and just try and create some mixtape type one-on-one moves and turn it over or take a bad shot.
That is not happened the last two games, and it is at the perfect time.
Kentucky's front court rotation is very much a work in progress
While Johnson’s role seems to be solidifying, the frontcourt remains a different story. Fans wondering who the "main guys" are down low might not get a solid answer anytime soon. When asked if the frontcourt minutes will be game-by-game dependent, Pope was honest.
"Yeah, it's very much matchup dependent, scheme dependent, situation in the game, and how guys are playing, actually. That's a little bit of a position by committee right now. It'll probably continue to be."
That means Trent Noah, Andrija Jelavic, Malachi Moreno, Brandon Garrison, and Mo Dioubate are all stuck in a rotation based on the hot hand.
For my money, Noah and Jelavic need more time on the floor to space it out. And don't be surprised to see Dioubate playing a little "small ball 5" at times to try something a little different. This team is not going to out-rebound a lot of teams anyway, so maximizing Jelavic or Dioubate at the 5 could be a way to elevate the offense.