QUICK TAKES: Kentucky vs. Duquesne
Kentucky's Sahvir Wheeler drove to the basket for two of his 11 points in Friday's game against Duquesne. (Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated)
Jeff Drummond/Cats Illustrated
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@JDrumUK
In our regular postgame feature, the Cats Illustrated staff offers its first impressions from No. 4 Kentucky's 77-52 win over Duquesne on Friday night at Rupp Arena...
JUSTIN ROWLAND:
It's so impressive to see this team's depth. This is a perfect chance to really assess and appreciate it with so many guys out in these early games. How many times I've caught myself thinking, "If only they had Oscar in there, too," but I'm sure Daimion Collins would have his own highlight reel by this point. Antonio Reeves led Kentucky in scoring, again. There's a chance he leads the team in scoring for the season. He and Fredrick are so dangerous out there together and I'm sure a lot of Kentucky fans are hoping to see those two out there at the same time when the action heats up. Sahvir Wheeler was outstanding tonight. He was far and away the team's +/- leader and did a great job of creating and causing some problems defensively.
JEFF DRUMMOND:
Like Justin said, the depth just continues to stand out for Kentucky. The Cats were playing shorthanded once again, but got an important piece of the puzzle back in the form of veteran point guard Sahvir Wheeler, he flirted with a triple-double (11 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds) on his way to a plus-32 performance to lead UK. While freshman Cason Wallace has been really impressive in Wheeler's absence, I think a lot of people underestimated the energy Wheeler brings to the floor and its value to the Cats when they get into a "sluggo" type of game like this one was early in the first half. Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick were fantastic once again on the wings, but my biggest takeaway was probably how well freshman center Ugonna Onyenso has adjusted to the college game. I don't think anyone was expecting him to play many minutes early in his UK career, let alone be in a position to post a nine-point, 10-rebound, three-block line against a physical Duquesne squad. He may enable Calipari to take some mileage off Oscar's legs this season and get some rim protection that we weren't sure the Cats were going to have.
