KSR's takeaways from Kentucky's season-opening win vs. Howard

Kentucky handled business in its season-opener vs. Howard, defeating the Bison by a final score of 95-63 to move to 1-0 on the year. A dominant offensive showing where the Wildcats shot 54.8% from the field and 45.8% from three, four different players finished with over 15 points and two added 20-plus.

How did UK get it done at Rupp Arena? KSR has the takeaways.

Kentucky shorthanded again with just eight players

The Wildcats were down three scholarship players in the season-opener, with Sahvir Wheeler (knee), Oscar Tshiebwe (knee) and Daimion Collins (personal) all missing the matchup. In their absence, Cason Wallace, CJ Fredrick, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware got the start, while Antonio Reeves, Ugonna Onyenso and Adou Thiero all came off the bench.

All eight scholarship players registered at least 14 minutes, with six hitting the 20-minute mark. Wallace, Fredrick and Toppin all played at least 30 minutes.

It was also an opportunity for the walk-ons to get some run, as well, with Brennan Canada, Kareem Watkins and Walker Horn playing two minutes.

Antonio Reeves lets it fly off the bench

The Illinois State transfer doubled a school record in his first appearance as a Wildcat, knocking down six 3-pointers on 12 attempts, the most ever by a UK player in their debut. The previous record was three makes from deep, with Patrick Sparks, Doron Lamb, Tyrese Maxey and Kellan Grady all hitting that mark in their respective debuts.

Reeves finished the day with a team-high 22 points on 8-16 shooting overall to go with two assists, one rebound and a team-high three turnovers in 25 minutes. He was a human flamethrower from deep, launching with zero hesitation both in transition and in the half-court. A 20-point-per-game scorer in the Missouri Valley last year, he’s made a seamless transition to the size, length and speed of high-major basketball in the SEC.

And he’s doing it coming off the bench, serving as Kentucky’s microwave-scoring sixth man, a perfect complementary piece to this roster who just may end up leading the team in scoring.

CJ Fredrick does it all in Kentucky debut

It’s been a long road for Fredrick, making his return to game action for the first time in 595 total days. And what a debut it was, going for 20 points on 6-9 shooting, 2-5 from three and 6-7 from the line. He also added three rebounds, three assists and one steal with zero turnovers in 30 minutes.

John Calipari continues to rave about Fredrick’s all-around contributions that extend beyond his impeccable shooting stroke. He hustles, defends, makes the right reads and takes care of the ball — all while going for an efficient 20 points. You simply couldn’t have asked for a better debut.

An early prediction? Fredrick joins Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace as Kentucky’s biggest impact pieces on the floor this season. Availability has been a concern during his time in college, but he’s moving extremely well and in the best shape of his career, confidently navigating the floor and trusting his body. He’s going to help the Wildcats win a ton of games this season.

Cason Wallace flirts with a triple-double

Speaking of Wallace, holding down the fort at point guard with Wheeler out, the standout freshman came about as close as you could to pulling off the ‘ole birthday triple-double.

Leading the team with 35 minutes, Wallace finished with 15 points on a smooth 7-11 shooting and 1-2 from deep to go with nine assists, eight rebounds and two steals to go with two turnovers. He started out slow, working through his reads and finding his footing as a primary ball-handler in his first official college game, but quickly picked up confidence and dominated through the final buzzer.

Calipari has already said Wallace will be playing a lot of minutes this season — “We need Cason Wallaces on the floor” — and it took just one official game to prove why (if the large exhibition sample size wasn’t enough). He’s a game-changing talent on both ends, best when he lets his instincts do the work for him.

Like Fredrick, Wallace is a winner through and through.

Ugonna Onyenso may just be the backup center

Calipari has a dilemma on his hands. Lance Ware has been penciled in as Tshiebwe’s backup center from the start, but Ugonna Onyenso continues to make a push for that role — and there’s an argument to be made he’s done enough to earn it already.

The 6-foot-11 freshman, who arrived in Lexington in late August, finished with six points (3-4 FG), four rebounds, four blocks and one assist in 20 minutes. His defensive instincts are simply ridiculous at this stage, swatting or contesting every ball that comes his direction, and doing so without fouling. He’s still just a clean-up specialist offensively (although he did knock down a 15-footer from the left elbow), but when you defend the way he does, how do you justify not playing him?

Calipari spent the entire offseason talking about the importance of shot blocking and how his best teams at Kentucky had elite rim protectors. Onyenso is a clear example of that.

Ware continues to do nice things, adding four points, four steals, three rebounds, two assists and a block in 20 minutes. He helps the team when he’s on the floor, a stable force down low. He plays his role extremely well. I wouldn’t blame Calipari in the slightest if he went with the veteran presence to complement his other frontcourt pieces.

But Onyenso’s case is strong, and it’s building every time he steps on the floor. It’s a good problem to have if you’re Coach Cal.

Jacob Toppin get his first career double-double

15 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals for Toppin in 32 minutes, thriving on the glass and pushing the pace as a point forward for the Cats to create opportunities in transition.

He missed shots (5-12 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-7 FT), but Calipari made it clear after the game he’ll live with the misses if Toppin continues to rebound the way he did in the season-opener. The 6-foot-10 forward’s versatility is tough to handle for opponents, combining size, length, athleticism and skill to attack you in a variety of ways.

His confidence has ballooned this offseason, living in the gym and showing off a clear jump into likely draft status at the conclusion of the year. With that comes questionable decision-making at times, taking contested shots rather than using his clear physical tools to create and capitalize on easy mismatches.

It’s a process with Toppin as he figures out his role as a potential star on this team. Not a perfect performance, but certainly a solid start to begin what could be a huge year for him.

Come get your 3-point attempts!

24 3-pointers tonight for the Wildcats, 11 being makes for a smooth 45.8%. Of those attempts, 13 came in transition, the most in a single game during Calipari’s time here in Lexington.

Overall, 34% of the team’s attempts came from deep, a significant change from 27.9% last season.

Why? Because Calipari is confident in this team’s ability to knock down shots. And he’s going to encourage them to let it fly all year.

“I said this is probably a team that’s going to shoot 24, 25,” he said after the game. “If we really make ’em, we may shoot more. Because it’s not — you know people talk, just shoot threes. It’s not that. It’s make threes. Make threes. … This team though, we’ve got a lot of guys that can make shots.”

No more “archaic offense” takes from national media members, at least to start the year. This Kentucky team appears to be invested in taking (and making) shots at a significant rate.

Kentucky will take on Duquesne on Friday, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena.