Kentucky found success vs. WKU with Andrew Carr at the 5: 'He's like a point forward out there.'

In key moments against Western Kentucky, Mark Pope rolled out a small-ball lineup that proved to be effective against the Hilltoppers.

I use the term “small-ball” loosely though. Small-ball in Pope’s system still features Andrew Carr — a 6-foot-11, 230-pound power forward — as the team’s center. But sliding Carr down a spot in place of Amari Williams or Brandon Garrison can open up the floor even more for Kentucky’s spaced-out offense. It also gives Carr more room to operate on his own as both a scorer and a passer — without sacrificing much on the defensive end of the floor, either.

Pope didn’t break out the Carr at the five lineups all that often during the Wildcats’ 87-68 win over WKU on Tuesday night, but when he did, it helped make the difference. There were three instances of Carr filling in at center surrounded by four guards/wings. All three were net positives for UK.

• 1st H | 6:04 – 4:14 = UK +6
• 2nd H | 11:54 – 9:59 = UK +4
• 2nd H | 3:27 – 0:00 = UK +2

In a 19-point win, Carr playing the five resulted in a +12 mark across 7:12 of actual game time. The third and final segment in the second half isn’t nearly as relevant considering the game was already out of reach for WKU, but the first two came at critical points in the contest.

Late in the first half, Pope turned to Carr at the five with Kentucky ahead by six. Less than two minutes later, UK was up by 12. Then, in the middle of the second half, WKU was making a run and had cut its deficit down to just six. Pope once again placed Carr at the five, and less than two minutes later, Kentucky was back ahead by double-digits and never looked back.

“We were a little more effective going small today and it was a little bit better for us match-up-wise and it was a little bit better for us offensively a little bit. It gave us a little bit of a different look,” Pope said postgame. “But yeah, Andrew has been special. You have the luxury of him being a starting forward that you don’t have to run a ton of actions for. You can kind of pick and choose and then he’s gonna go manufacture points.”

Carr put together arguably his best overall performance of the season. He posted his first double-double as a Wildcat with season-highs in points (18) and rebounds (10). The Wake Forest transfer shot 6-8 from the field and 6-8 from the free-throw line. He dished out three assists without a single turnover. He was operating anywhere from outside the perimeter to right inside the paint.

“When Carr’s the five, he’s like a point forward out there,” WKU head coach Hank Plona said.

Just focusing on the short amount of time Carr played at the five, his stats stand out. During those seven-ish minutes, he contributed eight points, three rebounds, and one assist. Pope said that the staff challenged Carr to be more demanding of the ball against WKU. By being put in opportune positions, Carr did exactly that — and it worked out well for the ‘Cats.

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