3 things Kentucky MBB can improve between now and the season-opener

For the majority of the Big Blue Nation, Kentucky men’s basketball’s 4-0 run to a gold medal at the 2023 GLOBL JAM Tournament was an unexpected surprise. Not in the way that fans didn’t think the Wildcats could run the table in this event, but rather just how dominant the team looked against decent — albeit still inferior — competition.

We’ve seen some of the eye-popping stats by now. 91.8 points per game on over 47 percent shooting from the floor and a 37 percent mark from long range. A 15-point per game winning average. 103 dimes on 142 total made baskets. Twice as many assists compared to turnovers. The emergence of the freshmen, sophomore Adou Thiero, and West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell. The elevated scoring abilities of Antonio Reeves. And on, and on, and on…

There really wasn’t anything bad to take away from this event. Sure, the opponents could have been more talented, but even when those teams mounted mini-comebacks, Kentucky found ways to dig in and extend the lead back out a comfortable distance. Any negative takeaways would likely be considered nitpicking — but that’s exactly what we’re about to do.

Kentucky showed its ceiling in Toronto last week. There is talent up and down the roster and the youngsters appear to be further along in their development at this early stage (head coach John Calipari has only been able to host about 10 practices) in the process. But when the 2023-24 regular season officially tips off this fall, the competition is only going to get better. Kansas and Miami (FL) — both on the schedule in November — will be light years ahead of anything Kentucky saw up in Canada. The Southeastern Conference is going to be littered with preseason Top 25 programs.

Last week certainly presented plenty of reasons for optimism looking ahead, but if we take off the blue-and-white-colored glasses, there were some areas that will need to be addressed in the coming months. After re-watching all four games from GLOBL JAM over the last couple of days, here is what I noticed.

The freshmen need to bulk up

We’ll start with the four healthy rookies that are likely to play the most minutes this coming season: DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Rob Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard. All of them showcased moments of brilliance at different points throughout the four games. Wagner is a college-ready scorer, Edwards has legitimate potential as an NBA Draft lottery pick, Dillingham is just as shifty as advertised, and Sheppard played well above his four-star high school ranking.

But all four could benefit from dedicating the time between now and the start of the regular season to being in the weight room. Edwards and Dillingham are the most notable of the group.

Edwards was used to being able to go straight through defenders when attacking the rim back in high school, but that approach didn’t greet him with nearly as much success in Canada. Edwards was still able to scrounge up points through putbacks (a nod to his motor) but struggled with finishing when having to go directly through the man in front of him. He wasn’t as sturdy when defending on the ball as he was in high school.

Edwards is listed at just 190 pounds despite standing at 6-foot-8. He’s a physical player but some added muscle (Calipari even said he needs him to add another 10 pounds) would go a long way in his ability to finish through contact. For a player with his frame though, that shouldn’t be much of an issue.

As for Dillingham, he might need to add more than 10 pounds. The 6-foot-2, 160-pound guard is already slightly undersized. Of the four freshmen mentioned, he saw the fewest spurts of tantalizing play. Dillingham shot just 31 percent from the field at GLOBL JAM, missing several shots at the rim that he fired up while sprinting in the lane. He often tried to bank these 5-8 foot floaters but missed them more often than not. There was little chance he would be able to finish through significant contact effectively.

To be fair, Dillingham’s game is built on quickness and beating his defender off the dribble. But at the college level, executing in those areas is going to be a bigger ask. He was easily knocked off his spot when met with the initial bump and got caught over-dribbling on a handful of occasions when he couldn’t beat his man on the first dribble move. More muscle on that small frame would go a long way in helping him carve out enough space to get around those bigger defenders.

As for Wagner and Sheppard, they could still benefit from extra time with the weights, although I wouldn’t say it’s as necessary as the other two. Wagner uses finesse and angles to wiggle his way to the rim. There were absolutely times when he got pushed around, but he knows how to get to the rim without having to collide body-to-body. The floater is one of his best weapons.

Wagner still shot over 46 percent from two-point range at GLOBL JAM. He notably converted a tough and-one finish against a center from Team Africa. He has about one inch and 15 pounds on Dillingham already. It’s also no small note that he’s been playing a physical brand of basketball for most of his life. Wagner knows when to take the bumps and when to glide around them. That’s an important distinction that can be tough to teach — he’s already learned it.

DJ Wagner is fitting in nicely.

18 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST pic.twitter.com/OmLbyuDwAe

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 15, 2023

Meanwhile, Sheppard is more of a playmaker than a driver. His game is built on vision and timing rather than pure strength. Could he still benefit from bulking up a bit more? Of course. But it might not be as necessary as the other three. It’s on defense where Sheppard in particular — along with Wagner, Edwards, and Reeves — will need that extra strength.

There was far too much gambling — from all four — for steals on defense, attempting to back-tap the ball handler after getting beat off the dribble, and hand-swiping around the rim. That might be considered more “lazy” or lacking in experience than simply needing to add on some pounds, but it would certainly help them at the point of attack on defense so they don’t have to get into those situations in the first place. They often got caught backing away when a bigger player was coming at them in the paint.

The good news is Calipari says the team hasn’t even begun to practice defense yet.

We’ll also mention 6-foot-9 freshman Jordan Burks, who I don’t think should be judged all that much from what we saw from him in Toronto. He’s a wing that was forced to play center thanks to the absence of Kentucky’s two seven-footers. That being said, he went through stints of productivity. He made shots when the opportunity presented itself, rebounded to the best of his abilities, and protected the rim.

If Burks is to continue to play down a position or two — which could fully depend on the health of Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso — then he’ll absolutely need to bulk up. 190 pounds is not nearly enough to bang against SEC centers. Burks was getting moved around far too easily against opposing big men. But again, we rarely got to see him in his natural position, so it feels unfair to judge him too closely at this time.

Thiero will have to make shots to stay on the floor

This section won’t be nearly as long as the first, but it could be equally as important. There is no denying that Adou Thiero looked like a completely different player last week than he did even five months ago. He’s added muscle that the freshmen could take notes from. Thiero lived in the gym and the weight room this offseason and it clearly paid off. It only took a few possessions in the GLOBL JAM opener to notice his new and improved body.

Let’s stay positive for a bit longer. Thiero can 100 percent be a problem for college basketball this coming season. He’s a menace on the defensive end of the ball — full stop. The still-growing sophomore posted seven steals (tied for the team-high) and five blocks (tied for second), straight-up ripping balls away from opposing players and soaring above the rim for highlight rejections. That end of the court is where Thiero will earn his playing time — the potential is unlimited. He even flexed some playmaking chops. But if he wants to fit into the rotation full-time, he’s going to need to take and make shots at a higher rate.

Thiero failed to make a three-pointer in Toronto (he went 0-6, although one was a heave at the buzzer, so let’s say 0-5). While he hit over 61 percent of his two-pointers, his 18 total shots from that area were the fewest among the five Wildcats with at least 90 minutes logged at GLOBL JAM. He’s not nearly as confident with the ball in his hands, at least in the halfcourt, as he is on defense. He sometimes looked as lost as he did a season ago.

Now, if you get Thiero in transition, he’s borderline impossible to slow down, but he shot just 57 percent from the stripe in Canada when he did get fouled. When he wasn’t aggressive on offense, it felt like he would go unnoticed for lengthy periods.

Even if Thiero doesn’t up his shots and efficiency, he’ll still find his way onto the floor because of his defense. But if he wants to go from 10-15 minutes per game to 20-25, he’ll need to make an impact on offense. That will be even more true once Bradshaw and Onyenso come back. Edwards is a much better offensive player than Thiero and can provide enough on defense to stay on the floor. There will be a serious battle for minutes at the three and small-ball four spots.

Calipari witnessed first-hand how effective his floor-spacing approach was in Toronto. It could be tougher to justify playing Thiero with another non-shooter in, say, Onyenso, when Edwards or Mitchell could slide in and bring more on offense without sacrificing a significant amount on defense.

Kentucky needs its seven-footers back

This one is obvious. The temporary center rotation of Tre Mitchell and Jordan Burks worked enough up in Canada, but don’t expect the same results against SEC teams with multiple bigs over 6-foot-10. It wasn’t by much, but Kentucky was still outrebounded in GLOBL JAM (181-167). Having 7-foot-1 Bradshaw and 6-foot-11 Onyenso on the court would have certainly shifted those numbers.

7-foot-1 center Norris Agbakoko of Team Germany finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds (five offensive) against Kentucky. Team Africa’s 6-foot-10 forward Emmanuel Okorafor (who will suit up for Louisville this season) posted 16 points and five rebounds, making all six of his shots from inside the arc, against UK while his 6-foot-8 teammate Babacar Faye (headed to Western Kentucky) grabbed 11 rebounds with three coming on the offensive glass. The Wildcats watched as the opposition pulled down 18 more offensive rebounds at GLOBL JAM, too.

The size disadvantage was never enough to actually hurt Kentucky, considering they owned nearly every other statistical category. However, it will matter once the competition elevates. I’d be lying if I said the ankle/foot injuries weren’t at least moderately concerning. It could oddly help Kentucky early in the season if Bradshaw and Onyenso are still on the mend, forcing the likes of Mitchell and Burks to better learn that role. But for Calipari’s squad to be at its best, at least one of those seven-footers will need to see the floor to protect the rim and help with rebounding.

By all accounts, it was a successful trip north of the border for the program. It’ll provide us with enough excitement to get us to late October. But there is always room for improvement.