KSR takeaways from UK Basketball Pro Day

UK Basketball hosted its annual Pro Day with a special social distancing edition at Memorial Coliseum. Scouts from all 30 NBA teams watched from above via Zoom as Big Blue Nation connected from home via the SEC network, and here are some of the lessons to be learned from the event by KSR:

250 days.

250 days have passed since we last saw Kentucky Basketball on TV. Two hundred and fifty days since you sat down to watch the cats. No SEC tournament, no NCAA tournament, no summer, no Big Blue Madness (not yet, at least), nothing.

It was so good to see the team again, although this is the first time to see them with new faces everywhere.

– Drew

John Calipari’s rocks a Kentucky waterfall

We knew Calipari had grown her hair during her forties, but tonight we had a wonderful view of this stream. Look at these little curls:

You look a bit like his mate Bob Huggins, don’t you?

– Tyler

Who is this guy again?

A question I found myself asking so often throughout the night, I had to go up the British basketball roster to see who’s who. Our first look at this team, the first Google, was to see who in # 11 was wearing the little shorts. Once I found out it was Dontaie Allen, I found out that there was also a No.10, Davion Mintz. I’m afraid this won’t be the only night I need to have the basketball roster handy during games, and you know what, there’s nothing wrong with that.

– Nickname

We have numbers of strength and agility

The UK will be releasing all the strength and agility numbers in the next few days, but SEC Network has given us those for Olivier Sarr, Jacob Toppin, BJ Boston and Isaiah Jackson.

This team is longer than the Rupp Arena line of ice cream *.

It’s hard to learn a lot about the squad watching a pro try, but we don’t need a real game to see the length of John Calipari’s new squad. Shooting, ball handling and passing and everything we’ve seen in drills can’t travel from an open Memorial Coliseum to a game at Rupp Arena, but that length will travel everywhere and create chaos for infractions. adversaries. If they commit, Calipari will have one of the best defenses in the country with more length on the bench if needed.

(* pre-pandemic, of course)

– Drew

Keion Brooks didn’t look too shabby

For a guy who hasn’t practiced much this preseason, Brooks has moved effortlessly on the pitch. I almost forgot he had a calf injury until he shared in an interview with the SEC Network that tonight was the most he had done in any practice while preseason. You can see his full comments here, but it looks like everything is progressing well to get him ready for the season opener.

– Nickname

It’s settled: BJ on the field, Brandon off

There has been some confusion over what to call BJ Boston, BJ or Brandon, but tonight he worked it out with Tom Hart. It’s BJ on the field (so, “BJ Boston does a three”) but Brandon on the outside (“Hey Brandon, how about those three you did?”).

Let’s go with BJ.

– Tyler

BJ Boston is the star of Kentucky

Kentucky is teeming with talent, but Boston is hands down the biggest and brightest star. With sheer shooting and scoring ability across all three levels, the 6-foot-7 rookie will play several 20-plus-point games this year en route to a top-ten selection in 2021.

Enjoy it while you can, BBN.

– Jack

Dontaie Allen will be ready to play

After seeing Allen train several times and chatting with those closest to the Falmouth native, KY this offseason, it became clear pretty quickly that he was physically and mentally ready to get back to the ground for some real competition. But what impact was he going to have from day one, especially with the talent and depth of this roster?

Allen came out tonight ready to shoot, taking and performing multiple quick-release lines during the 4v4 and 5v5 races to close the Pro Day. If he shoots so confidently during the season, he will gain real minutes in this team.

– Jack

Lob City, Lob, Lob City

The Wildcat Lobs are back in style. This long sports team looks like some of Cal’s original cats. Hindsight might be exaggerated, but it’s not crazy to say that 50% of Anthony Davis’ points came from lobs. In recent seasons, there haven’t been enough passers-by or receivers to create a beautiful and cohesive connection. Even if it was just five-on-five scrums, between Mintz and Askew in the backcourt, Toppin, Sarr and Jackson in the frontcourt, transitioning alley-oops will happen early and often. Speaking of Isaiah Jackson….

– Nickname

Isaiah Jackson EXPLODES

“Bouncy” is a term often used to describe a great jumper. The problem with that adjective is that that’s how I would describe Kirby as well. Isaiah Jackson isn’t a mellow video game character. This man is a powerful force in painting. Now I understand why there was so much hype around the Michigan rookie.

Photo via UK Athletics

– Nickname

All aboard the hype train Isaiah Jackson

Yeah sorry. I can’t contribute a takeout without claiming my place on the Isaiah Jackson Hype Train. With the elite length, bounce, rebound, and defensive instincts, I just don’t see a scenario where Jackson isn’t playing legitimate minutes as the conference play unfolds.

The kid is good. Very well.

– Jack

Seeing basketball was really fun, but after today’s events I’m probably going to have to see it again later.

Today was our first chance to see this Kentucky Basketball team on the court, and don’t get me wrong, it was so, so enjoyable; sadly, the death of John Schlarman and the surprise retirement of Matthew Mitchell cast a veil over the day. Mitchell’s news broke about an hour into the event’s start, meaning I missed most of the five-on-five scrum, including the moments that made Calipari howl in glee. When the dust settles, I can’t wait to go back and see it all again.

– Tyler