Jacob Toppin balancing offseason development with playing team basketball

Jacob Toppin is in a unique position for the Kentucky Wildcats. The senior power forward is on the brink of a breakthrough and looking to shoot up NBA Draft boards in a similar way his brother, Obi Toppin, did before going in the lottery to the New York Knicks. The talk of the offseason was all about Jacob’s development. But at the same time, he’s yet to prove he’s capable of being a go-to player for the ‘Cats, if only because he hasn’t truly had a chance to do so until this season.

Toppin will certainly want to find ways to show he can be that guy this season. After all, he’s a 6-foot-9 pogo stick with a chiseled frame and a clearly expanding offensive arsenal. But how thin is the line between wanting to flex those new skills and not going too far to break away from playing team basketball?

For Toppin, the most important factor in navigating that is remembering he’s not alone. Entrenching yourself in your team and with your teammates will only help him figure out how far to take his role.

“Coach always emphasizes when you work out, don’t work out by yourself,” Toppin told reporters during Media Day earlier this month. “He always wants us to work out with somebody, to bring somebody along, because obviously this is a team sport but there’s moments where you have to work on yourself to reach your full potential. So there’s moments where I’m working on myself but there’s also moments where I actually bring somebody to work out because we want everybody to be great. If everyone is great then this team is going to be great.”

Toppin and Kentucky played their first of two exhibitions on this season’s schedule Sunday night in Rupp Arena. The ‘Cats weren’t exactly sharp from start to finish, but still came away with the 56-38 victory over Division II program Missouri Western State. Toppin was solid in his outing, finishing with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals while shooting 4-9 from the floor and 1-4 from distance.

In a team-high 31 minutes of action, Toppin showed everything he didn’t have in his bag a year ago. From multiple turnaround mid-range jumpers to a catch-and-shoot triple from the elbow, the offseason of hard work was clearly on display. Also of note: Toppin led Kentucky in plus-minus at +20. He did turn the ball over three times but acknowledged those mistakes in the postgame press conference.

“I could have driven the ball more on some of the 3s I took but that just comes with watching film,” Toppin said following Sunday night’s game. “So as I get into game shape, as I watch film on seeing things that I could do differently, it’s just gonna come. But overall I think I did pretty good in fitting in with this team.”

Just how good Toppin turns out to be this season could very well decide how high Kentucky’s ceiling can reach. It’s only one game, but his mind certainly seems to be in the right place. We’ll see if it holds.