Scouting Report: Kentucky State Thorobreds

After an admittedly less-than-stellar performance on Sunday, the Kentucky Wildcats are back in action on Thursday night. The Kentucky State Thorobreds come to town for the Wildcats’ second and final exhibition before the games start to count. Kentucky managed just 56 points in their first exhibition game against Missouri Western State and now will face another DII opponent. However, the Thorobreds will push the pace much more than Kentucky’s first opponent which will likely lead to a higher scoring output regardless of the offensive execution. This will be a game where the film will tell a lot more than the scoreboard.

Kentucky State does bring back the vast majority of their rotation from a year ago. The top four scorers are all back, namely leading point-getter Montrell Jacobs, who will be a Conference Player of the Year candidate in the Thorobreds’ league. This is a veteran group that has talent and will try and play their style of basketball regardless of what the Wildcats do to combat their plan. In terms of style of play and feel, this will be a very different game from what we saw on Sunday against the Griffons of Missouri Western State.

As we do prior to each game, exhibition or otherwise, we have a full scouting report prepared for Kentucky’s opponent. While not quite as in-depth as we will go for regular season opponents, here is a full personnel breakdown as well as a look into their offensive and defensive schemes. Let’s step inside the locker room and get to know the Kentucky State Thorobreds.

Kentucky State Thorobreds Personnel

Starters

#14 Jay Murrell: 6’4″ 180 lbs, Senior Guard

3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.1 apg

Bigger, physical point guard. Not super aggressive offensively. Half of his shots were 3’s last season, but he shot a bad percentage. Start the game by going under the ballscreens and handoffs. If he makes one or two we will adjust. Our plan is to stay between him and the basket. Closeout short. Back up. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs and you can go up through downscreens and flares. Do not over-help when he drives. Tighten up to your man and make him finish. No right-hand drives! He really wants to drive it right. Make him score over you. No layups!

#1 Montrell Jacobs: 6’3″ 180 lbs, Senior Guard

16.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.2 apg

Best player. Dynamic guard. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! Over half of his shots were 3’s a year ago and made 36.2%. Be tight to him at all times. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off of downscreens and flares. Be ready to switch anytime there is too much space. You have to switch to take away the 3-point attempts. Absolutely no help off of him. Get up into his body on the perimeter and break his rhythm. He will shoot deep 3’s off of the dribble. Have to take those away. The goal when guarding him is to limit his attempts and make him drive the basketball. Bring aggressive help and make him give it up when he drives it. Not really thinking about passing. Come and take it off of him. Will kick his legs out when shooting from the perimeter. Looking to draw fouls. Do not foul him when shooting a 3-pointer. Absolutely no uncontested looks from deep. More shots than points for him.

#11 Kong Kong: 6’6″ 190 lbs, Senior Guard

10.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.1 apg

Long, athletic wing. SHOOTER! No catch-and-shoot 3’s. Half of his shots were 3’s last season. Very aggressive looking to squeeze them off in transition and anytime the ball is kicked to him. You have to close out aggressively to take him away from 3. Tighten up as the ball comes toward you. No help off of him. Need to be tight to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Good ball handler. Will drive it right. No right-hand drives. Likes to use the left-to-right cross. Need to really pressure him when he has the ball. Make him handle it. Try to take it off of him when he dribbles. If he isn’t dribbling you aren’t close enough. Next most dangerous in transition. Get out and take him away. No catch-and-shoot 3’s!

#5 Jalon Andrews: 6’8″ 210 lbs, Senior Forward

10.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 0.9 apg

Skilled 4-man. Lefty. Capable 3-point shooter. Need to get out and take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Switch the ballscreens and handoffs to take away the catch-and-shoot 3. This will also cut down on him turning the corner and driving it left. No left-hand drives!!! He is always looking to come back left to finish around the basket. Likes to play out of the mid-post. Need to bring help and make him give it up after one or two dribbles. Dig hard and don’t let him be comfortable. Loves the turnaround jumper in the post. Give it a hard contest. Left hand, right shoulder in the post. Will duck in to get it inside. Push him off the block. Contest everything. More shots than points for him. Box out!

#24 Tyson Brooks: 6’8″ 210 lbs, Sophomore Forward

2.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.3 apg

Post player. Will ballscreen and roll to the basket. Good on the rim-run. Need to get all the way back and protect the basket. Don’t let him run ahead of you. Stay lower than him on the roll. Wants to score everything in the paint. Just wall up and stay between him and the basket. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. No drop steps! Will face-up and drive it right from the mid-post area. No right-hand drives! We shouldn’t need to help when the ball goes in the post. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out!

Bench

#2 Shamon Mosley: 6’6″ 170 lbs, Senior Guard

8.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.1 apg

Score-first guard. Much better as a driver than a shooter. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES!!! You need to get over and take away the right-hand drives. Closeout short to him on the perimeter. The goal is to stay between him and the basket. You can bring help when he is driving it right. Not thinking about passing. Come take it off of him. Go under the ballscreens and handoffs. You can go up through the downscreens and under the flares. Just back up and make him score with you between him and the basket. Give a contest if he shoots the pull-up jumper. Takeaway the right-hand drives. No layups for him.

#4 Elijah Lockhart: 6’5″ 200 lbs, Senior Forward

5.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.7 apg

Undersized 4-man. He is a non-shooter. Do not closeout to him on the perimeter. He is wanting to drive it right. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES!!! Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. They like to throw it ahead to him in transition. Get all the way back to protect the basket and stop the ball. Get over and cut off the right-hand drives on the throw ahead. You can bring help when he is driving it right. Not thinking about passing. Come take it off of him. Will look to slip ballscreens in the half-court. Don’t get slipped. Make him score with you between him and the basket. Will post up some. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Very strong and athletic. Box out. No layups for him.

#21 Massamba Dioum: 6’6″ 200 lbs, Junior Forward

2.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 0.4 apg

Backup pick-and-pop forward. Willing 3-point shooter. 22 of 41 shots were 3’s last season. Need to be there on the catch to give a good contest. Will look to pick-and-pop on the perimeter. Be very willing to switch the ballscreens when he sets them to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s. You can still help off of him some, at least until he makes a couple, but close out aggressively enough to give a hard contest. No catch-and-shoot 3’s.

Kentucky State Thorobreds Offense

The Kentucky State Thorobreds haven’t taken the floor yet this season so there isn’t a whole lot of information to go off of. However, they do return eight rotation pieces from last season, including their top four scorers, so going back to that film provides a glimpse of what to expect. Kentucky State will play a much faster and free-flowing style offensively than we saw on Sunday night against Missouri Western State. Most of what they run in the halfcourt will be designed around isolating #1 Jacobs or #5 Andrews in some capacity. Primarily, we will need to be sound in our transition defense. Protect the basket, stop the ball, and then matchup starting with the next most dangerous guy. Let’s step inside the film room and check out some clips.

This diagonal screen-the-screener action is one of the Thorobreds’ favorite ways to get #5 Andrews isolated in the mid-post. #1 Jacobs is coming off of the downscreen so you have to be tight and chase him off of that. Switch if there is space. Guarding the diagonal backscreen, you need to beat #5 Andrews to the spot and get him pushed off of the block. He is all left-hand whether it be the little hook shot or shooting a turnaround jumper.

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One of their most used actions is this staggered double-to-handoff set. It will typically be #1 Jacobs coming off of the double. You have to chase him off of the staggered double and then go over the handoff. We would rather him turn the corner and drive it right than give up the 3 behind it. You can switch it if there is too much space when he comes off of the double. Get into his body and break his rhythm once he has the ball.

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Here is a look at Kentucky State in transition. #11 Kong is aggressively looking for catch-and-shoot 3’s in transition. We need to get matched up to him as soon we protect the basket and stop the ball. No catch-and-shoot 3’s for #11 Kong.

Kentucky State Thorobreds Defense

Last season, the Kentucky State Thorobreds gave up an average of 77.5 points per game. Opponents averaged just shy of 11 offensive rebounds as well. This should be a “get right” opportunity for Kentucky’s offense after a less-than-stellar performance in the first exhibition. The Thorobreds won’t pack it in as much as Missouri Western State so there will be more driving lanes and opportunities to turn the corner than we found on Sunday. We have to be deliberate about driving the ball hard in a straight line and then playing off of two feet at the rim. Look for any and all opportunities to push the pace in transition as well.