Watch the Tape: Vanderbilt Commodores

Kentucky picked up their first road win of the season last night defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores 78-66. A 12-point road victory over a borderline Quad 1 opponent is impressive enough. However, when you consider that the Wildcats led by 28 with 6:14 remaining, you get a better feel for just how dominant the performance was.

Amazingly, the Wildcats had scoring droughts of over five minutes in both halves at Memorial Gymnasium. They went five minutes and 17 seconds without a point in the first half and were held scoreless for the final six minutes and 14 seconds of the game. That is 11 minutes and 31 seconds combined of an absolute zero offensively. Still, Kentucky put up 78 points and ran away with a road conference victory. The ‘Cats are now 13-3 overall, 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference.

The scoring droughts, which mostly coincided with playing two-guard lineups, are certainly concerning. However, Coach Calipari’s hands are tied right now without Sahvir Wheeler. There is no depth in the backcourt currently. As we watch the tape today, we will address some ways that Kentucky can find scoring even with less than ideal lineup configurations.

Along with trying to fix the scoring droughts, we will take a look at Oscar Tshiebwe’s continued post development and once again shine a light on TyTy Washington’s greatness. Let’s step on in to the film room and look back at Kentucky’s 78-66 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Oscar Tshiebwe’s Post Development

When Oscar Tshiebwe arrived in Lexington I’m not sure anyone would have predicted that he would lead Kentucky in scoring. The big man is now averaging 17 points per game and is generating, much deserved, National Player of the Year buzz. He continues to develop right before our eyes on a game-to-game basis. Gone are the days of just scoring on offensive rebound putbacks. Tshiebwe now can score with his back to the basket and has a legitimate 15-foot face-up game. Let’s take a look at his game and how he can still keep improving.

For the second straight game, the Wildcats made an effort to establish Tshiebwe in the post early. It probably isn’t a coincidence then that he has posted back-to-back career-high scoring numbers. His physicality inside and ability to get deep post catches has led to his vast improvement as a scorer. Tshiebwe routinely catches the ball with two feet in the paint where he can just turn and score. On this possession, Tshiebwe ducks his man in at the SEC logo but ends up catching it just off of the block. As he gets more skilled he can hopefully take a second crab dribble to get all the way to the midline, but this is at least a start. That initial dribble to his left sets up the right hand hook shot off of the glass.

The Vanderbilt Commodores didn’t have an answer for Tshiebwe inside. He was able to score in a variety of ways against their overmatched big men. This is a beautiful high-low pass from Keion Brooks that Big O finishes with a two-handed slam. Great awareness to continue posting and looking for the high-low as the ball is reversed. With this lineup the high-low game could be very effective.

For much of this season Oscar Tshiebwe has shown off impressive touch out to the 15-foot range. His ability to knock down one or two jump shots a game has really lifted the ceiling to his offensive game. Now, defenses are starting to worry about his shooting ability which opens up the right hand drive. Tshiebwe is athletic enough and has good enough footwork that the little one or two dribble right hand drives can be very effective in closeout situations. This is a new wrinkle to his game that we should continue to see going forward.

TyTy Washington’s Brilliance

Since filling in at point guard for Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington has elevated his game to a whole new level. Already a smooth scorer and creative secondary play-maker, Washington has been forced to take on the primary ball handling duties. The offense hasn’t missed a beat as the freshman has dominated with pace, patience, and excellent passing ability. Here are some of the plays from last night’s win over the Vanderbilt Commodores that show why TyTy Washington is one of the best guards in the SEC.

A lot of freshmen, especially the five-star freshmen and future NBA lottery picks, are used to finishing off of one foot at the rim. They can get away with that in high school because they are simply more athletic than everyone else. However, in college, you go against guys who are just as athletic and often times stronger. That is where finishing off of two feet comes into play. In this clip, TyTy Washington uses a big jump stop at the end of his drive to get his shoulders past Scotty Pippen Jr. and get to the other side of the rim to finish. That is a big time play by a freshman against a very good, veteran on-ball defender.

Sometimes you just need a guy to get a bucket. TyTy Washington is becoming that type of player for the Wildcats. We will always post the in-depth scouting reports and hold people accountable on film defensively, but it admittedly starts to matter just a little bit less when you can score like this. One of the most encouraging parts of this clip is Washington yelling for the ball when Oscar Tshiebwe gets the rebound. Then, he is still asking for it as Kellan Grady brings it up. He wants to be the boss and that is a good thing. Once Washington finally gets the ball he takes two hard dribbles, one bounce behind-the-back to set himself, and drains a mid-range jumper. It is hard to describe how big time of a play this is. Washington finished with 15 points on 11 shots against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

For as good as Washington is at scoring the basketball, these last two games have really been about him showing off elite passing ability. NBA scouts are starting to notice how advanced he is in the pick-and-roll as well. Washington is being guarded very well by Scotty Pippen Jr. on this play but eventually gets a little space off the ballscreen. He then hits Oscar Tshiebwe with a beautiful pocket pass on the roll. The timing and precision it takes to make this play is through the roof.

Fixing the Scoring Droughts

Let’s start by saying this. Kentucky scored 78 points on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores. If the Wildcats can consistently score 78 or more points they are going to win almost all of their games for the rest of the season. This is a top 10 offense in the country so there aren’t that many issues. However, when you have scoring droughts of over five minutes in both halves it does need to be addressed. Getting Sahvir Wheeler back will fix a lot of the lineup problems so that alone is really a non-issue. In the meantime, here are some things that Coach Calipari and the ‘Cats should look at when forced to play less than ideal lineups.

One thing we learned last night is that when Kentucky has to play just two guards, they HAVE to have Oscar Tshiebwe in the game. Throwing the ball in the post can alleviate a lot of offensive issues. This clip shows the Wildcats with a two-guard lineup and Tshiebwe at the five. Things really got ugly when it was Daimion Collins at the five with this lineup because there just isn’t much scoring out there at that point. This is an excellent entry pass by Jacob Toppin and a great post up by Tshiebwe. Kentucky has to force-feed the big man when playing just two guards.

After Kentucky’s first scoring drought, Coach Calipari drew up a really good action coming out of a timeout. This is an example of the type of play the ‘Cats can go to when the scoring options are limited. When you need to get Kellan Grady loose this is a great action that you can run counters to as well. While he doesn’t get open on the initial hammer screen, the ball comes back to Grady and he knocks in a three to get UK on the board.

The Wildcats have started to run this diagonal screen for Oscar Tshiebwe from OB Under quite a bit. There is no reason why they can’t start to run an action like this in the half court some as well, especially when resting a guard. Kentucky has their three-guard lineup in here, but a diagonal screen like this for Tshiebwe would work perfectly with the Brooks, Toppin, Tshiebwe lineup. Something to potentially add in for the back half of the season.

Here is another look at a bucket that Kentucky got with a two-guard lineup and Oscar Tshiebwe at the five. You obviously can’t rely on a bunch of alley-oops to Jacob Toppin as a basis for your offense, but you might be able to steal one a game. Getting him in dribble handoff actions with Davion Mintz or Kellan Grady will put the defense into a tough position and potentially open him up on the roll for a dunk like it did here.

Again, a lot of this will solve itself when Sahvir Wheeler comes back. However, these last four clips are just examples of some offense that Kentucky can look to go to when the going gets tough.