UK Fans of the Day Want Kentucky Basketball Practice Scuttlebutt

Kentucky Basketball’s summer workouts continue. To celebrate his return to the airwaves, Matt Jones shared a little of what he’s hearing about them on this morning’s radio show.

Jones spoke to a few people close to the program including one person who has attended every practice and a former Cat on La Familia, Kentucky’s TBT team that practiced against the current squad several times last month. The top takeaway? BYU star Jaxson Robinson is a game-changer.

“Jaxson Robinson is a stud,” Jones relayed. “I think it was so huge we got him. We talked a lot about him coming at the end and how important it was. I’m told he is our best player and it’s not close.”

The source said that if Robinson is Kentucky’s leading scorer, Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr would be second, even if he’s not the second-best player on the team. Rounding out the core four: Lamont Butler and Koby Brea, who has sat out some workouts so far to ensure he’s full strength by the season’s start. From there, it’s situational.

“I heard some really good reviews on Kerr Kriisa, that he’s done that he’s really well, and he’s almost like the emotional leader of the team. They follow his energy. He’s kind of a talker. I heard some good stuff about [Brandon] Garrison coming on, some great stuff about Travis Perry. They basically said if Travis Perry can guard, he will play. He’s one of the best shooters some of these people have ever seen but the issue is, can he guard?”

Jones said there was only one player who’s been a little disappointing thus far but did not share his name. It’s not Collin Chandler, who Jones added later he didn’t hear anything about. Chandler’s in the midst of ramping up to full strength following his two-year Mormon mission.

“I only heard disappointment about one guy. I won’t throw the kid on the bus. Let’s just wait and see. But I basically heard people say only one guy has come in maybe slightly down from what they had hoped.”

“He said, it would not shock me if they made 30 threes in the game”

After practicing against them for about a week, the former player on La Familia said Pope’s first Kentucky team could be elite offensively. Defensively? It’s a work in progress.

“They said when this team is hot, there will be nobody in the country that can outshoot them. When this team is hot, they do not miss. Now, the counter to that was, we’re going to give up a lot of points. That was the counter. We’re going to score a lot; we’re going to give up a lot. And the question is, can we make shots and can we protect? The hope is that Garrison and a couple of guys protect the rim enough that you’ll be able to win.”

“But I was told this by both people, the TBT guy and the other one: fans will have more fun with this team than they’ve had in a long time.”

On a team full of great shooters, freshman Travis Perry stands out the most thus far, to the point that the former player told Jones that if Perry is open, just get the ball to him.

“I think Travis Perry is the best shooter. Now, again, whether or not he ends up playing a lot is going to depend on how he guards. The TBT guy, was like, if Perry’s open, just run down the court. It’s over. Like, just run down the court. It’s over. I think this was an exaggeration, but he said it would not shock me if they made 30 threes in the game. That’s not going to happen but that gives you a sense of how well they think these guys can shoot.”

Who’s the go-to guy after Jaxson Robinson?

Robinson has asserted himself as Kentucky’s go-to scorer thus far. After that, it’s still a bit of a mystery, both sources told Jones.

“I did ask, what’s your biggest worry about the team? And both people told me the exact same thing, which is, outside of Jaxson Robinson, there’s not necessarily another guy who you can just give the ball to and he can go get a bucket. So, there’s some worry about, you know, 30 seconds left in the game, do you have a guy who can get to the rim or can get in to score? I don’t know. Jaxson Robinson is probably the only guy like that.”

Thankfully, we’ve still got plenty of time to figure it out. For now, excitement is high for Mark Pope’s first squad, which was assembled in a matter of months.

“The non-TBT player told me this team is better than I thought it was going to be. Maybe not a national title contender, better than I thought they’d be.”