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4-Point Play: Practice reports and draft leftovers

Jack PIlgrimby:Jack Pilgrim•06/28/24

It was a hectic week in the world of UK Athletics, starting with Mark Pope’s press conference on Tuesday, then the NBA Draft starting Wednesday with Rick Pitino spicing things up himself by coming on KSR early Thursday morning. Throw a few Kentucky basketball practices into the mix and you’ve found a way to stay as busy as imaginable during the dog days of summer.

How about some early evening notes on a few leftovers here and there from such a wild week? I’m game if you are, coming right up on 4-Point Play.

Plenty of threes taken (and made) in practice

How is practice going to wrap up week two? Cameron Mills attended Friday’s session inside the Joe Craft Center and provided a UK Healthcare Practice Report right from midcourt as things concluded.

As you can imagine with 12 new roster additions, Pope is still figuring out how the pieces fit together with what works and what doesn’t. They haven’t even gotten to full-court work quite yet, the focus still on laying the foundation of team chemistry and big-picture teaching.

“They’re not quite doing a lot of full-court yet,” Mills said. “According to Coach Pope, that’s coming next week. But they’re doing a lot of stuff, because the most important thing of everything, as you can imagine — we’re used to here at Kentucky having to integrate a new team every year. This is more so than we’ve ever done before with 12 new guys.

“What they’re working on right now is making sure all of their throughput is coming from the same hard drive, these guys are on the same note, on the same team. They are all doing things together.”

That’s not to say he doesn’t like what he sees thus far. It may be early, but it’s pretty clear this team has elite shooters playing in a system designed to launch a ton of ’em.

“A lot of three-point shots being shot — and a lot of them being made, I promise you,” he added. “You’re going to be excited about what this team gives you, folks.”

When can you watch the Cats in the Summer League?

You can assume second-year guys such as Oscar Tshiebwe (Pacers), Cason Wallace (Thunder), Chris Livingston (Knicks) and Jacob Toppin (Knicks) will suit up during the NBA Summer League in July. Maybe even a few guys like TyTy Washington or Shaedon Sharpe entering their junior campaigns, too — not always, but it happens. We know for certain, though, the rookies will be suiting up for their new franchises in the coming weeks, Kentucky with five first-year players set to make their unofficial debuts.

There are three events to come, starting with the California Classic and Salt Lake City Summer League getting things rolling next weekend (July 6-10), followed by the NBA 2K25 Summer League from July 12-22.

When and where can you watch the former Wildcats suit up? Check out the complete schedule.

Reed Sheppard – Houston Rockets

  • Fri. 7/12 vs. Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
  • Sun. 7/14 vs. Washington at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Mon. 7/15 vs. Detroit at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Thu. 7/18 vs. Minnesota at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN

Rob Dillingham – Minnesota Timberwolves

  • Fri. 7/12 vs. New Orleans at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Sun. 7/14 vs. Indiana at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Tue. 7/16 vs. Philadelphia at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Thu. 7/18 vs. Houston at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN

Antonio Reeves – New Orleans Pelicans

  • Fri. 7/12 vs. Minnesota at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Sun. 7/14 vs. Orlando at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Tue. 7/16 vs. San Antonio at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Thu. 7/18 vs. Memphis at 6 p.m. ET on NBATV

Justin Edwards – Philadelphia 76ers

  • Mon. 7/8 vs. Oklahoma City at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
  • Tue. 7/9 vs. Memphis at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
  • Wed. 7/10 vs. Utah at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Sat. 7/13 vs. Detroit at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Mon. 7/15 vs. Portland at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Tue. 7/16 vs. Minnesota at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Fri. 7/19 vs. San Antonio at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBATV

Tre Mitchell – Oklahoma City Thunder

  • Mon. 7/8 vs. Philadelphia at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
  • Tue. 7/9 vs. Utah at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
  • Wed. 7/10 vs. Memphis at 7 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Sat. 7/13 vs. Toronto at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Mon. 7/15 vs. Miami at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU
  • Wed. 7/17 vs. Phoenix at 8 p.m. ET on NBATV
  • Fri. 7/19 vs. Golden State at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBATV

Draymond Green says Timberwolves won the draft by taking Rob Dillingham

A team that didn’t even have a lottery pick entering round one ended up winning the entire draft, according to four-time All-Star and four-time NBA champion Draymond Green.

And it’s because they selected a former Wildcat.

Green was a huge fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves trading for the No. 8 pick to select Rob Dillingham, a move he says other teams were afraid to make and will end up regretting.

“Who won the draft to me was the Minnesota Timberwolves. And the reason the Minnesota Timberwolves won the draft is because they drafted their point guard of the future in Rob Dillingham, who I think is a very special player who some of those teams at the top of the draft were afraid of,” Green said. “He’s got swag and he’s got game, and they didn’t know if his game would fit into their systems that don’t work and get them fired.”

When you get a player like Dillingham, you don’t see how he fits in your system, you make him the system. Minnesota invested quite a bit in the former Wildcat to let him do his thing next to Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

“When you can just get a really good player who can score the basketball — Steph Curry — and figure out how the system works for him,” Green added. “All of a sudden the franchise is in a territory that it’s never been in before. At times we run into these guards with swag that they just don’t fit in the system, so teams run away from them. Teams are going to regret passing on Rob Dillingham.”

Tyrese Maxey to take Justin Edwards under his wing

One of the bigger surprises of the draft was former five-star wing Justin Edwards going unclaimed through 58 picks. Once seen as a potential No. 1 pick, he ended up being signed to a two-way deal by the Philadelphia 76ers — his hometown team.

It was an up-and-down one-and-done campaign in Lexington that led to a disappointing draft night, but there are worse situations than playing for a contender where you grew up, especially when the co-face of the franchise is a former Kentucky standout in Tyrese Maxey.

John Calipari spoke out in support of Edwards while adding that Maxey is taking his new teammate under his wing to ensure he ‘busts through’ in the league, as many expected him to out of high school.

“Justin Edwards signed with (the) 76ers. I was disappointed he wasn’t drafted because his upside is ridiculous!!!” Calipari said. “Philly is a great landing spot for him. Coach (Nick) Nurse really likes him. Tyrese and I talked. He’s going to take him under his wing. Don’t be surprised as he busts through.”

Pretty cool of Maxey to do for an awesome kid with a ton of potential. Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.

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2024-07-01