Malachi Moreno deserves a lot of praise for being able to catch a ball, turn around on the road in under 2 seconds, and nail a game-winning jumper. But we can't forget someone who made a real impact in his first start of the year: Andrija Jelavic.
Andrija Jelavic brings the goods
When Kentucky announced Jayden Quaintance would be out until his knee swelling went down, we wrote a list of guys who needed more minutes. Andrija Jelavic was at the top of that list. He brings another element to the Kentucky offense that only Trent Noah brings, and it's not the shooting. It's the little things: talking, switching, blocking out, and making the right pass.
A prime example happened late in the game last night. Kentucky threw it to Moreno on the block. Last week, Nate Oats crushed Kentucky's bigs, saying once they got it in the post, they were not looking to pass. LSU must have heard that because they swarmed Moreno; instead of taking the time to find a wide-open Collin Chandler in the corner, he rushed a shot up and got it blocked.
He atoned for it with the game-winner, but those are the plays that are often the difference between winning and losing. Jelavic makes the right play more often than not. He hit 2 of 3 from deep; he is not going to be that guy every night, but he is going to be someone who does the other things. Kentucky is better with him on the floor. He was second on the team with a +8, adding 5 rebounds, a block, and a steal.
Pope adjusted to start Jelavic, and he had 6 of Kentucky's first 9 points, as well as their only 2 made field goals, in the first 12 minutes of the game.
After the game, Mark Pope told Tom Leach in the post-game interview: "I thought he has been good defensively, keeping the ball in front of him. He is growing on the glass… He gave us good minutes tonight."
Good minutes indeed. The Cats head up to Knoxville from Baton Rouge for a game Saturday against Top 25 Tennessee.