QUICK TAKES: GLOBL Jam Game 3 - UK vs. Africa
Antonio Reeves ran to the defensive end of the floor after hitting one of his eight 3-pointers in Saturday's 104-92 win by the Wildcats. (Chet White/UK Athletics)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
Managing Editor Edit
@JDrumUK
In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from Kentucky's 104-92 win over the Africa BAL Select squad on Saturday afternoon at the GLOBL Jam in Toronto, Canada...
TRAVIS GRAF:
Kentucky won against a physical team while playing its C+ game, and the backcourt trio of DJ Wagner, Antonio Reeves, and Reed Sheppard is already displaying impressive chemistry. Wagner and Sheppard combined for 13 assists to just one turnover, and Reeves was nuclear from the outside with eight 3-pointers. Tre Mitchell’s passing ability from the perimeter and high post opens up a lot offensively. Kentucky once again struggled with rim protection and would’ve out-rebounded BAL Select by more than two if the Cats had Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso available, but that will fix itself in time. Justin Edwards and Adou Thiero seemed to both have “OK” games, but still had good impacts on the box score.
DAVID SISK:
You learn more about your team in adversity than you do when it’s easy. Kentucky was pushed late into the fourth quarter and Reed Sheppard, DJ Wagner, and Antonio Reeves put the Cats on their backs. Sheppard is the total package, but I would start him at point guard if the season started today. Wagner is just a walking bucket. His floater game takes a backseat to nobody in the Cal era, and that’s a mouthful. Reeves has been phenomenal with the ball in his hands all three games. On the downside, the youth showed today. The focus was there in spurts. Defense is a weakness against teams that can handle the ball. The lack of big men was also glaring today. There were also some individual issues I will address after tomorrow’s game. But going into the championship, we have an idea how this group can excel, but we also understand how they can struggle.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
This performance was a little more disjointed for the Cats than the first two games at GLOBL Jam, and at times it felt a bit like a pick-up game with very little defense being played, but Kentucky still did a lot of positive things. Antonio Reeves looks extremely comfortable in his role on this team. He has shot the lights out in Canada (27 of 45 FG, 14 of 24 3PFG, 24.6 ppg). The thing I liked the most today was, after the BAL Select squad trimmed a 20-point lead down to six midway through the fourth quarter, UK responded by attacking the basket three times in a row for points by Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard, and DJ Wagner (that driving floater is some kind of weapon) before Reeves put the game away with a dagger 3-pointer to cap a decisive 9-0 run. I know Cal had to love seeing his new team respond when the game got tight.
