Kentucky's bigs will bring ability to defend all five positions

A staple of Mark Pope‘s offensive philosophy revolves around using playmaking big men as the hub. By bringing in Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison, Pope checked that box. Both of Kentucky’s new centers are capable of operating from the top of the key, especially the veteran Williams.

But make no mistake, these two will make their money in Lexington on the defensive end of the floor. Williams was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner in the CAA at Drexel. Garrison averaged 1.5 blocks and 0.8 steals as a freshman at Oklahoma State in just 22.7 minutes per outing. Williams is the brute at 7-foot, 265 pounds while Garrison is the pogo stick at 6-foot-10, 250 pounds. Blocking shots is Garrison’s “bread and butter”, as he described it.

However, Williams and Garrison won’t simply sit underneath the basket all game in an effort to defend the rim and deter shots. While they’ll certainly do that at times, these two are versatile enough that they are comfortable switching out onto guards. In fact, associate head coach Alvin Brooks has added that wrinkle into the defensive game plan.

“Some of our play calls from Coach AB, he allows us to show that (defending 1 through 5),” Garrison said at Media Day. “That’s a big thing for bigs if you want to get to the next level… You gotta be able to show coach you can step outside the arc and guard 1 through 5. Just move your feet, be wide, have good feet overall.”

We saw an example of this firsthand during Monday’s Pro Day. During a defensive drill, Garrison was pitted against four of his teammates, who would start from the perimeter with five seconds to score on Garrison. Otega Oweh‘s shot was pinned against the backboard, Kerr Kriisa‘s layup attempt was too strong off the glass, Williams’ turnaround jumper came up short, and Ansley Almonor‘s corner three-pointer was tipped at the apex.

Four excellent defensive stops in under 25 seconds. Garrison makes defense fun to watch.

Brandon Garrison showing the clamps on defense…

You love to see it 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/C4848xXMdC

— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) October 7, 2024

“He’s always been a defensive menace,” Williams said of Garrison at Media Day. “It’s been like since the summer. The battles are great. You really don’t know who is going to win on what day. It’s been like all summer, all Banner Camp. It’s been fun playing against him.”

With reputations as great defenders, Williams and Garrison facing each other in every practice (under the guise of assistant coach Mikhail McLean) is helping make them better on both ends of the floor.

“It’s been helping me a lot,” Garrison said of his daily matchups with Williams. “His physical presence, him being DPOY three times, I feel like he’s just helping me on my offensive game and overall as a player. If I see a dude like him. I’m already ready.”