KSR's Takeaways and Impressions from Kentucky's Blue-White Preseason Event

Historic Memorial Coliseum hosted a unique Blue-White Preseason Event on Friday night to showcase Kentucky’s new men’s and women’s basketball programs before their respective seasons begin. Instead of the traditional Blue-White game of the past, the new format was exclusive to ticket-holders who paid a premium ticket price to attend, with proceeds benefitting the NIL efforts for both programs.

Because of the event’s exclusivity, anyone not among the crowd in Historic Memorial Coliseum was left in the dark. No television broadcast. No live stream. Not even a pay-per-view option for additional fundraising. You had to be there to witness the teams’ first scrimmaging in front of fans, and several people from Kentucky Sports Radio were in attendance.

So, for our brothers and sisters who weren’t there, here are KSR’s Blue-White takeaways and first impressions of Mark Pope’s Wildcats, courtesy of Drew Franklin, Jack Pilgrim, and Jacob Polacheck. Phoenix Stevens shared his recap of the women’s scrimmage here.

Travis Perry called game

Travis Perry can add Blue-White game-winner to his long list of accoloades after he scored the game’s final point, giving Team Blue the win. Using the Elam ending format, the teams were tied at 66 in a race to 67. After several missed game-winning tries both ways, Perry drove the lane and drew a shooting foul on Otega Oweh, sending Perry to the line for two shots to make one. Perry, who won the team’s 3-point contest at Big Blue Madness last Friday, sank his first try. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in Historic Memorial Coliseum when he stepped to the line.

Before the final shot, Perry played point guard the entire scrimmage for Team Blue, filling in for Kerr Kriisa (more on him to come). Perry finished with three assists, six points, and a steal, and held his own enough on defensive, in my opinion, to play right away when needed.

— Drew Franklin

Andrew Carr earns Blue-White MVP honors

Mark Pope once drove to Nashville in the middle of the night to pick up Andrew Carr and his family from the airport and drive them three hours back to Lexington in an effort to land his commitment. Now we know why.

The Wake Forest transfer was the star of the show and Kentucky’s top producer, putting up a game-high 25 points on 6-11 shooting, 3-4 from three and a ridiculous 10-10 at the line to go with seven rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes. He played like a veteran, taking advantage of mismatches and finding scoring opportunities, including a four-point play to close out the first half.

Andrew Carr is a player, folks. pic.twitter.com/E5lnhtMdWE

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) October 19, 2024

We knew Carr was a top priority for Pope this past portal cycle, and he certainly proved his worth in the team’s first exhibition matchup. He was coming off screens for catch-and-shoot looks and working the post, quite the dynamic offensive threat en route to MVP honors.

Pope’s favorite part? “The thing I like most about his line right now is that there’s a big, H-E-A-L-T-H-Y. That’s the most important thing you do on a night like this. You’re like, ‘Just get through it, baby. No subs, just get him through.’ I thought he was terrific.”

Andrew Carr is a player.

— Jack Pilgrim

Collin Chandler looks ready to play now

We joked earlier in the day that Kentucky‘s annual Blue-White Game is notoriously misleading, random players exploding every year, only to disappear when the real stuff starts. And then the kid who hasn’t played competitive basketball in two years and experienced a summer setback looked like the most talented player on the floor at Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Chandler finished with a team-high 19 points on 7-10 shooting and 4-7 from three to go with three rebounds, three assists, two steals and two turnovers in 39 minutes for the White squad. His big highlights came on two nasty dunks to close out the game — including one massive poster — but I’d argue the freshman’s best work came up to that point hitting open shots and comfortably getting to his spots in ways you just wouldn’t imagine for a rookie as behind as he’s supposed to be. He was twitchy, athletic and naturally skilled, living up to the hype as the No. 35 overall recruit out of high school in 2022.

He looked like an immediate contributor with very real pro upside — at worst a rotational guy in year one.

.@collinchand13r, you are him 🫵 pic.twitter.com/mwoK8G7rNe

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 19, 2024

— Jack Pilgrim

Kerr Kriisa is dealing with a minor injury

Concerned about the Estonian guard missing the Blue-White Game? Don’t be.

Pope joked Kriisa was “holding out” and they were in “contract renegotiations” before making it clear he he’s fine, just dealing with a minor hamstring issue that popped up early in the week.

“We actually finished our practice a couple of days ago with some heavy conditioning and he tweaked his hamstring,” he said. “It’s not even a strain. It was just a precaution tonight.”

Refreshingly transparent coming from the Kentucky head coach.

— Jack Pilgrim

Amari Williams has size, strength, and vision

Amari Williams is another standout. His breakaway dunk to end the first half was a highlight, but it’s his vision and passing as a big man that separates him from most others at his position. Even though he was credited with only two assists, Williams popped with at least two precise no-look passes to cutting teammates, proving why Pope will run some of the offense through him in the high post.

Amari Williams with the big-time dunk as time expires before the half pic.twitter.com/DZQ6skIjXW

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) October 19, 2024

Defensively, you can see how he was a three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year. He has great size and strength, mixed with athleticism. When his motor is running, he is a force. A unique talent.

— Drew Franklin

Kentucky lets it fly

You’ve probably heard it before. Mark Pope teams like to shoot a lot of threes. With the team Pope has assembled at Kentucky, fans should have no problem with the Cats letting it fly.

The Blue and White temas combined to shoot 17-for-49 (34.7 percent) which isn’t anything spectacular, but there were certain players who looked like they deserve the green light at all times.

Andrew Carr went 3-for-4 from deep and looked lethal as a stretch big. Freshman Collin Chandler was the best three-point shooter of the night, going 4-for-7 from long-range, showing off what made him such an intriguing addition this offseason. Both Koby Brea and Ansley Almonor struggled from three on Friday, but have shown at prior stops that they can be threats from the outside. Expect to see Kentucky continue to let it fly.

— Jacob Polacheck

Mark Pope mic’d up

Mark Pope is an active coach on the sidelines and that was evident with his actions on Saturday. Fans got a first-hand look and listen with Pope being mic’d up for the event.

Throughout the scrimmage, Pope would call out different reminders and advice, which paid dividends with the on-court product. The team was moving with urgency and knocking down shots. It’s clear Pope is an enthusiastic guy in his press conferences and that doesn’t change with his demeanor on the floor.

— Jacob Polacheck