KSR LIVE THREAD, presented by Crossroads IGA: Kentucky vs. Morehead State

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TYLER (Tip-off): Clearly, we’re having some major technical issues tonight with the live blog. Unfortunately, none of your comments are showing up, so we’re going to try a LIVE THREAD instead. We’ll be popping in and out to provide our takes on the game, so please share yours in the comments.

Nick (1H 19:14): Just when I got used to knowing that B.J. Boston is the guy with the big, bouncy hair, he goes and puts it in braids. Going to need a new pneumonic device to remember where he is on the floor.

Also, ISAIAH JACKSON CAN SHOOT?!??!?!?!!? Nobody’s slowing down that hype train.

Jack (1H 17:59): Kentucky’s defense looks the part thus far, length bothering Morehead State in the paint. Devin Askew and Isaiah Jackson score UK’s first two baskets with long jumpers, then Jackson follows it up with another inside basket in transition.

He does things a big shouldn’t be able to.

TYLER (1H 17:02): Isaiah Jackson with the most obvious charge of all time. I like Isaiah Jackson so I’m not going to complain too much.

Nick (1H 16:42): Rupp seems loud, maybe even louder, without the blue hairs. It could just be the echo but from home I can’t tell too much of a difference except for the enormous sidelines.

Jack (1H 15:00): Not sure we’ve seen a Calipari team that has given so much freedom to the bigs. We’ve now seen Isaiah Jackson and Olivier Sarr push the ball up the floor, with Jackson taking it all the way to the rim twice. Big, big fan of this.

Jackson scores again on a putback inside. He’s up to six points and two rebounds.

Nick (1H 14:56): Sarr gets doubled, makes a great pass outside to an open three. Even though it was air-balled, Jackson was there to clean up the offensive rebound. I like this team.

TYLER (1H 14:42): CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT ISAIAH JACKSON BLOCK PLEASE

Monster Isaiah Jackson rim rotation pic.twitter.com/OiFIoDMfaf

— Max Carlin (@maxacarlin) November 25, 2020

Drew (1H, 14:36): I can’t stop staring at the benches. This is all so weird. How do the coaches talk to the guys on the bench during the game? They need coaching too. Look how lonely they are. And who has to vacuum that blue carpet? Whoever it is, they did a great job. Looks pristine. Also as I’m typing this someone on UK’s bench checked his cell phone.

Jack (1H 11:26): Terrence Clarke just had a beautiful baseline finish on the Devin Askew assist. Defense giving up nothing on the other end. Nothing to complain about with this team yet. Interested to see when Dontaie Allen, Cam’Ron Fletcher and Jacob Toppin enter the game for the first time. Rotation limited to seven right now.

A lot more Lance Ware than I anticipated, as well.

Drew (1H, 10:24): Strongly disagree with the goaltending call on Olivier Sarr. Outside of that, this defense is crazy good and we’re seeing what Mintz meant (mint?) when he said it’s impossible to get layups in practice.

Nick (1H 10:04): This is not related to this basketball game, but nevertheless, it will bring a smile to your face.

HOW ‘BOUT THEM WILDCATS!!! So proud of you, @CoachLZ on getting your first of what I know will be many wins as a head coach! The team looked great today! Thirty points in the first quarter is impressive offensively! Good luck, Sunday! #BBN #WeAreUK #GoCats pic.twitter.com/8jpxtSGC2W

— Matthew Mitchell (@UKCoachMitchell) November 25, 2020

TYLER (1H 7:24): There’s so much going on right now I just realized that John Calipari isn’t wearing a suit, he’s wearing a windbreaker. With his little mullet curls, he really is turning into Bob Huggins.

You do you, Cal. Corona-casual.

Jack (1H 6:00): Can’t say I saw Olivier Sarr getting zero shot attempts over halfway through the first half in his Kentucky debut. Really not running much through the post, seeing a ton of dribble drive. Devin Askew and Isaiah Jackson lead the way with 7 points apiece, followed by Terrence Clarke with 6 on 2-3 shooting, BJ Boston with 5 and Davion Mintz with 3.

Very balanced effort. Cats lead 28-13.

Nick (1H 5:21): Morehead is making a little run with the Cats’ bigs in foul trouble. Luckily, Cam’Ron Fletcher was ready to respond with a corner three. That looks like his preferred spot on the floor to shoot from long range.

TYLER (1H 4:53): Dontaie Allen just checked in, making his Kentucky Basketball debut! Fellow KY boy Darius Miller is excited for him.

@dontaieallen11 👀👀👀

— Darius Miller (@DmillerKY) November 25, 2020

Also, check out Dr. Mike’s setup at Rupp tonight:

Really enjoying my expansive office space tonight but damn I’m thirsty. @KySportsRadio @DrewFranklinKSR @RoushKSR @MrsTylerKSR @JackPilgrimKSR #BBN pic.twitter.com/ScXBSF5Uve

— Michael Huang (@DrMikeUK) November 25, 2020

I’m looking forward to seeing his pictures later.

TYLER (1H 4:40): Just like that, Allen hits a three! His first basket as a Cat. Awesome.

Nick (1H 2:01): VEGAS! I’m not sure exactly what that call means. According to Jimmy Dykes, it’s a type of cut. This time the cut went backdoor and Boston had a strong finish at the rim. He’s got 7 early points on 3-of-7 from the field.

TYLER (HALF): Kentucky leads 45-26 and man, we’ve got a talented group of youngins. Maybe one of them can pressure wash the upper level of Rupp next week?

Here are your halftime stats:

Jack (HALF)

Early impressions:

• Terrence Clarke has been getting a lot of run at point guard, something that will help his draft stock immensely. NBA teams are drooling about this performance, looks every bit of a top-ten draft pick.
• Not a whole lot of post work, and it hasn’t been needed. So talented in the backcourt that Olivier Sarr has gotten very few looks on offense, zero shot attempts.
• Devin Askew has looked the part thus far, pleased with him as the starter. Davion Mintz is a great spark plug off the bench.
• Very, very happy to see Dontaie Allen score his first basket as a Wildcat. Been a long journey for him back to this point.
• Cam’Ron Fletcher proved his worth as a high-energy guy off the bench, think Calipari is going to rave about his play.
• Isaiah Jackson will be a one-and-done, so fans should enjoy him while they can.

Nick (2H 16:42): Isaiah Jackson does not just block shots, he erases the opponent’s soul. Each one seems more powerful than the last. I am in awe.

Drew (2H, 16:20): A lot was made of Davion Mintz’s performance in the three-point shooting contest at Big Blue Madness, but Devin Askew is showing off a nice stroke of his own in this game with a second made three-pointer early in the second half. As a team, Kentucky is 5-of-12 right now, which isn’t good for Morehead State’s strategy of letting UK shoot.

Jack (2H, 15:00): Olivier Sarr scores his first basket as a Kentucky Wildcat after 25 minutes of play. Wasn’t expecting that.

Good news: Kentucky hasn’t needed him to score, which is very, very scary. Arguably Kentucky’s third best player has two points and two rebounds and the team hasn’t missed a beat.

Drew (2H, 13:00): Sarr’s midrange jumper looks good as he adds to his second half point total. He’s headed to the bench now with six points as his response to his scoreless first half. If that jumper is consistent, they’ll really be able to space opponents out.

Drew (2H, 11:17): We’re hearing Cam’Ron Fletcher’s name a lot tonight, more than we did out of the preseason practices, actually. He’s up to seven points, three rebounds and two assists in only seven minutes and Jimmy Dykes is bragging on him as we go to break. This team is so deep.

TYLER (2H 10:44): Dr. Mike just sent us some pics and this one of New Rupp is both impressive and jarring:

We’ll have a complete gallery on the site later tonight. Back to basketball!

Nick (2H 10:17): Going to be honest, I did not think Cam’Ron Fletcher was going to play much for this team. Brooks may take up some of Fletcher’s minutes once he returns, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the freshman from St. Louis. He’s got a nice jumper that he shoots with confidence and he’s got a nice physical presence on defense. He’s making a good first impression. If he keeps it up, when Cal shrinks the rotation, Fletcher will be a part of it.

TYLER (2H 3:52): This game is officially under control (75-42). It sounds broad, but so far, I’ve been impressed by all the freshmen. Like Nick said, I didn’t expect to hear Cam’Ron Fletcher’s name so often this early, but I’ll take it. Tonight was sloppy early on (so many airballs), but I’m looking forward to seeing what this group does with some real competition Sunday vs. Richmond.

DREW (End): Kentucky avoided an Evansville situation and handled its business against Preston Spradlin’s Morehead State Eagles. For those of you way down here reading this, thanks for following this running thread we try to throw together on the fly when the live blog host wasn’t cooperating. We hope the live blog will return for Saturday’s football game at Florida. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving and Go Cats.

Plenty of postgame coverage from this one to come on the site…