10 things to look for when Kentucky plays at GLOBL Jam

Oh, Canada! You are but a few short days away from injecting some much-needed Kentucky basketball action into my veins. The typical offseason withdrawal has been amplified this time around by a barrage of pessimism surrounding roster construction. However, dare I say, the tremors have settled in the last few weeks. The only thing left to completely extinguish the agony of last season and its personnel exodus is to see these new players in actual, real-life, on-court action.

Outside of just being excited to see Kentucky back play basketball, it is sometimes hard to know what to take away from these summer exhibitions. In the Bahamas, the Wildcats’ competition wasn’t exactly there for their passion for the game. For many of those opposing players, it was a work requirement in exchange to spend a weekend in paradise with a plethora of alcohol and gambling.

This summer, however, is different. Kentucky will be representing your United States of America in an international tournament where players from around the globe will not only be trying to win, but doing so on behalf of their motherland. There will be no hungover 26-year-olds this time around.

That being said, one major similarity will be that Calipari will likely use this opportunity to experiment. Look for all 10 healthy scholarship players to receive meaningful minutes and play in a variety of lineups.

We now know how to watch GLOBL Jam, but what do we watch for? Here are the 10 things to look for when the games tip off.

1. Who’s got that dog in ’em?

It is time to dig up those old X-ray glasses you ordered for $5.99 off the back of a magazine as a child and look to see which players have that dog in them. In what is quickly becoming the most overused phrase in all of basketball, rumors of pitbull tenacity embodied within the incoming freshman have been fierce.

DJ Wagner, Rob Dillingham, and Justin Edwards are said to be chief among those sporting an inner rottweiler. It’s time to see this rabidness unleashed for public viewing.

Lofty reviews are extremely common when it comes to summer practice hearsay, and all too often we don’t necessarily see the Chuck Norris-like hyperbole play out on the court.

Josh Carrier hasn’t missed a 3-pointer in practice since he was two years old. And in practice, he only shoots blindfolded!

But for whatever reason, the hype around the freshman this year feels the most genuine it has been since Karl-Anthony Towns and a platoon of future NBA studs set foot in Lexington back in 2014. Above all else, I want to see how true these rumors of summer practice excellence might be.

Against Germany, I want to see Justin Edwards dunk on somebody’s head and then trash-talk in German. I want to see Rob Dillingham cross somebody up and drain a 3 from so deep he may as well be in Africa. And while we are at it, let’s get DJ Wagner to blow by so many Canadians on his way to easy buckets, they’ll feel like they wading in maple syrup.

Let’s see these young ‘Cats bark.

2. How does Antonio Reeves fit in?

Getting Antonio Reeves back for a super senior season was nothing short of awesome for this season’s potential. Fans wanted him back. Coaches wanted him back. And come to find out, he wanted to come back.

Reeves’ desire to be back is most important and gives Kentucky yet another weapon in the backcourt. It is just a matter of how Cal will use him.

In Canada, does Reeves play better alongside DJ Wagner or Rob Dillingham at point guard? How about a three-guard lineup where they are all on the floor at the same time? If that is the case, does that mean Edwards plays the 4 or do we see Tre Mitchell there alongside Ugonna Onyenso? How about a complete small-ball lineup that includes Reeves and no traditional big man?

Reeves’ veteran presence will be felt in the locker room, but I’m interested to see how his presence will be on the court will be felt as well.

3. It doesn’t matter who starts, who finishes?

Take whoever starts each game and throw it out the window. If history is any indication, the starting lineup during summer exhibitions is far from indicative of who will start during the regular season. But as Coach Cal famously said during one of his first press conferences in 2009, “It is not about who starts, it is about who finishes.”

To be fair, who finishes these summer exhibition games hasn’t really been very informative either, mostly because Kentucky has an insurmountable lead. However, with a potential gold medal on the line, Cal might be competitive enough to put what he considers his best lineup on the floor in crunch time of a close game.

The best lineup in July might not be the best lineup in March, but it would give a good idea of the initial pecking order.

Although Cal is unsure whether or not he will coach from the sidelines or turn that duty over to one of his assistants, it will be interesting to see who the staff considers their best five to seal a win.

4. Reed Sheppard…just Reed Sheppard

Kentucky fans are suckers for nostalgia and seeing a Final Four MVP’s son suit up for the ‘Cats sporting his dad’s number for the first time is going to send chills across Big Blue Nation. Once that feeling subsides, though, how will Reed Sheppard fit in with this group?

If practice scuttlebutt is to be believed, Reed is a guy who coaches can’t keep off the court. He always makes the right play and knocks down shots. The way KSR insider, Jack Pilgrim, puts it, he is essentially who everyone thought CJ Fredrick would be for Kentucky last season.

How will that translate against outside competition? It will be exciting to watch.

5. USA uniforms?

For shoes, we already know Kentucky will be rocking the red, white, and blue versions of Nike Ja 1 Hungers, but thus far, we haven’t heard much with regard to team threads. Will they be all Kentucky? Will they be all USA? A mashup?

Last season, Kentucky busted out some new unis on their trip to the Bahamas, however, the lack of news on the subject could mean the team will either wear the same ones they did last year or, considering the tournament is a little more formal than summers past, they might wear their regular season uniforms.

When Baylor played in this tournament, their uniforms were awesome and featured “United States” in script across the chest. I’m desperately holding out hope we might see something similar with a Kentucky edge to it. I’ll have one hand on the mouse ready to click the merch store and the other on my wallet ready to give them all my money.

6. The maturation of Kentucky’s two sophomores

If the practice buzz around the freshman has been intense, the whispers around Kentucky’s two sophomores have been that of quiet confidence. “What until you see Adou,” and “Ugo has put on some pounds,” are some of the common positives floating around the Craft Center.

How will that play out on the court?

As for Adou Thiero, he reminds me of a 6’8″ Dominique Hawkins; a player whose hustle outweighs his natural skill level, but not so much that he doesn’t belong on the court. With him reportedly bulking up and continuing to grow like a backyard weed, seeing his leap from last year to this one will be something to keep an eye on. He’ll no longer be forced to be the primary ball handler, so watching him get tough buckets and defensive stops is atop my wish list.

His returning counterpart, Ugo Onyenso, is a guy I’ll be watching with one eye closed as if it were a suspenseful moment in a horror movie. As the presumptive staring center, I want nothing more than for this guy to dominate the paint and reject a few shots back across the border. But aside from packing on a bunch of muscle, the summer scoop around him has been less favorable than others.

I’ll be anxiously holding my breath when he gets the ball on the block.

7. The impact of John Welch

Kentucky’s new Xs and Os-focused assistant coach, John Welch, has spent much of his career in the NBA. He has earned Coach Cal’s trust quickly and will serve as a much-needed scouting report guru. The biggest question, however, is what type of impact will he have on the team’s offense.

Calipari will most certainly showcase more of the dribble-drive now that he has the athletes to do it. However, how much will Welch’s NBA experience change the offense? Will there be more 3s and layups with fewer mid-range jumpers?

Is July too soon to even implement those types of offensive schemes?

These questions will likely be answered more once the regular season begins, but I’m excited to see what degree of the John Welch factor we will see in Canada.

8. Can this team shoot?

Daimion Collins knocked down multiple 3s in the Bahamas last year, so it might not be the best indicator of long-term success, but I’m dying to know who on this team will thrive from beyond the arc.

We know Antonio Reeves can light it up, but how sharp will Rob Dillingham be? What about Reed Sheppard and DJ Wagner?

Kentucky struggled much of last year because when CJ Fredrick was hurt (which was often), they did not present an outside threat outside of Reeves. On paper, this team should have plenty more shooting weapons, but that is one of those things we need to see on the court.

9. The other guys

I mean “other” in the least pejorative way possible, but I’m very curious about the other guys. Most of Big Blue Nation knows about the stars of the incoming class, as well as the three returners. However, even the most hardcore fan doesn’t know what to expect when it comes to the surprise newcomers, Tre Mitchell, Jordan Burks, and Joey Hart.

Mitchell, who hasn’t been on campus long enough to know how to get to Tolly Ho, is a wildcard like we’ve not seen before. Coaches expect him to serve as a versatile, veteran leader, but being essentially a throw-in, how will he gel?

Similarly, Jordan Burks is another player who has a wide range of possibilities. Will he play more like a three-star recruit or like the leading scorer of Overtime Elite? Because he is both and my brain cannot compute that.

Finally, no one expects Joey Hart to make an immediate impact this season, but I want to see him show off his team-best 40-plus-inch vertical and throw down a monster dunk…or three.

10. Fun!

Kentucky was lacking in many aspects of what makes a successful basketball team last season, but nothing was more prominent than their lack of joy. In 2021, TyTy Washington was the uplifting personality that had everyone doing the Griddy, but without him, a grey cloud followed that team around like Eyeore.

Above all, I want to see this team have some fun. These games might be more intense than their Bahamian counterparts, but ultimately they don’t mean much. Let’s enjoy them.

Reports have been incredible around these guys’ play on the court, but we’ve heard equally encouraging news about their personalities. From father-son camp interactions to overall upbeat vibes with each other, everyone who has met these guys has nothing but great reviews on their personalities. And that serious-yet-funloving approach to the game might be the number one thing to watch for in Canada.

Well, that and winning. Let’s hope the ‘Cats bring home that gold medal too.