John Calipari, players praise Jacob Toppin's energy. "He’s making us different"

After sitting out Kentucky’s first exhibition game with a shoulder injury, Jacob Toppin shined in limited minutes vs. Miles College. The junior forward had 12 points (5-7), 4 rebounds, and an assist in 15 minutes Friday night. While in, he looked like the Toppin we saw in glimpses last season: a barrel of energy on a pogo stick. In his press conference previewing the Duke game, John Calipari said Toppin is making a case to crack Kentucky’s seven-to-eight man rotation despite the late start.

“Jacob is jumping into the rotation because of his energy, not how he played. The energy, the toughness, the attacking – he’s playing. Now, he only practiced seven days, so it’s all merit-based.”

Keion Brooks played alongside Toppin last season and knows the difference he can make on the court. When asked about his teammate this morning, Brooks jumped at the chance to praise him.

“Jacob just brings a lot of high energy. As you all know, he’s extremely athletic but he matches that with his energy. He just brings a whole other level of intensity to the game. He can guard multiple positions. Jacob is just like a do-it-all, Swiss Army Knife-type of guy and when you have somebody like that on your team, it makes it easier on the rest of us.”

Friday was TyTy Washington‘s first time playing with Toppin in an actual game, but even in limited minutes, the freshman witnessed the impact Toppin has on the team.

“Jacob, whenever he’s in the game, he picks up everybody’s energy. You could tell the whole energy, vibe we have just goes up with him. On Friday — he’s very athletic — he told me, just throw it up anywhere near the rim and he’ll catch it. Having a guy like that on my team with high energy on both ends of the ball is a plus.”

In case you missed it, here is the moment TyTy’s talking about:

John Calipari has a way of shaping the narrative. If he has a certain topic in mind, he will redirect any question to it without fail. Today, Toppin was that topic.

“Again, I go back to Jacob. I didn’t think Jacob would jump in and do this, but his energy level and the spirit he brought to the court changed how we were playing. Now just think if I can get five guys playing like him. ‘Oh, that’s really hard. I’d rather shoot balls and make a couple of plays. Throw an assist. Do a look-away pass.’ No.

“We need five dogs that play like him. Now if we get five guys playing like that all of a sudden we’re really good, because he is 6-9. You know, he is 6-9 and that active and athletic. He’s making us different.”

Kentucky’s going to need a difference-maker to offset Paolo Banchero. Is Jacob Toppin the answer?