Antonio Reeves is giving Kentucky essential perimeter shotmaking

After the 2021-2022 season, John Calipari and his Kentucky basketball staff had a ton of perimeter production to replace. Most notably, the Cats needed more shooting in the backcourt. CJ Fredrick was expected to fill this role, but more help was needed.

Kentucky’s coaching staff went to the transfer portal to find a shooter and quickly zoned in on Antonio Reeves. The Illinois State guard averaged 20.1 points per game as a junior last season while earning second-team All-Missouri Valley honors. But the perimeter shotmaking wasn’t shown until his junior year.

Reeves was just a 30.6 percent three-point shooter on 4.3 attempts per game as a sophomore before jumping up to 39 percent on 5.9 attempts per game as a junior. Would his shooting translate to the high major level?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Reeves is averaging 13.4 points on 10.9 shots per game in 26.7 minutes per outing. The two-point shoot efficiency has dropped from 51.5 percent to 42.9 percent in this transition to the SEC, but the senior has made up for it from behind the three-point line.

The off-ball guard is shooting 42.2 percent from three this season on 5.6 attempts per game. In SEC play, the veteran has hit another gear shooting 43.5 percent from long range in conference contests. That ranks third in the league.

Since Kentucky lost both CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler to injury, we’ve seen Reeves elevate his game some more. Over the last five games, the Illinois State transfer is averaging 15.8 points per game while hitting a scorching 15 of 31 (48.4%) from three-point land. The Wildcats are getting excellent play from the Missouri Valley transfer.

Fredrick made his return on Saturday, and should see his playing time increase as the end of the regular season is approaching quickly. But that should have little effect on Reeves. In February, Kentucky ranks No. 11 in offensive efficiency according to Bart Torvik. The Cats are one of the best offensive teams in college basketball and the transfer guard is a big reason why as UK plays their best basketball of the season entering March.

If Kentucky goes on a run this postseason, Antonio Reeves and his perimeter shotmaking will play a significant role.