Watch the Tape: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

That loss to Notre Dame is already starting to feel like it happened a long time ago. After beating North Carolina by 29 on Saturday, Kentucky turned around and beat the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers by 35 Wednesday night. After Louisville dropped out due to positive Coronavirus tests, the Wildcats had just 48 hours to prepare for the Hilltoppers and their 2-3 Zone defense. However, that clearly wasn’t an issue as they went out and hung 95 points on a team that had just beaten Louisville by 10.

Coach Calipari and the ‘Cats seem to have things rolling after these last two games. The players are having fun, the defense is really turning up the pressure, and the offense’s ability to score 90+ points allows them to blow people out. Kentucky’s two-way ability has led to these lopsided scores against North Carolina and Western Kentucky. Now, it will have to translate to Southeastern Conference play as the Wildcats open with Missouri next Wednesday.

In today’s edition of watch the tape, we are going to start off with some of the early adjustments the ‘Cats made to attack Western Kentucky’s 2-3 Zone. Then, we will look at the defensive end and how Kentucky’s aggressiveness is paying dividends. Finally, we will breakdown why transition offense is the key to success heading into the conference schedule.

Adjusting Versus the Hilltoppers 2-3 Zone

The first few possessions of the game weren’t the prettiest for Kentucky. Keion Brooks got blocked at the free throw line on the very first possession of the game. A couple more Jamarion Sharp blocks and UK turnovers against the zone plagued the beginning of the game. Then, enter Jacob Toppin. Kentucky went on a 13-2 run over the first six minutes of play for Toppin as he dissected the zone defense from the inside out. Let’s take a look at how he found success.

In the middle of a 2-3 Zone like Western Kentucky’s you just have to turn and face the basket. You can’t dribble it because of the guards cracking down behind you and you can’t shoot it because of the 7’5″ Sharp. What you need is to look at the basket and get Sharp and the guards to play you just enough to get a teammate open. On this play, Toppin doesn’t put the ball on the floor and lets Kellan Grady flatten out towards the corner for an open three.

We talked about it in the scouting report, but the play from the high post against the Hilltoppers zone was either to kick out to the wings for a shot or dump down to a cutter along the baseline. In the span of just a couple of minutes Jacob Toppin executed both passes. This time he got Sharp to come up and play him enough to allow Oscar Tshiebwe to circle underneath the basket for a layup. Perfect pass by Toppin.

Wednesday night was far from Keion Brooks’ best performance. He had a tough start to the game, but after watching Jacob Toppin succeed in the middle of the zone he came in and showed improvement. Like Toppin, Brooks simply turns to face the basket on this play. You can see the amount of attention that he draws as all five defenders are turned and staring at the ball. Once again, Kellan Grady is open on the wing as the defense collapses on Brooks for a three.

Defensive Pressure Becomes an Identity

The aggressiveness from the tip carried over from Saturday’s North Carolina game back to Rupp Arena. Kentucky is starting to really crank up the pressure defensively on their opponents and it is paying dividends. The Wildcats are forcing teams to initiate offense outside of the scoring area and creating turnovers with aggressive plays on the ball. Creating turnovers can cover up deficiencies in other areas. This will need to continue to be a focus as SEC play begins.

In these watch the tape sessions we have talked about some of Kellan Grady’s issues guarding the basketball. However, he has been excellent all season long off of the ball. He really pushes his man out beyond the scoring area with his pressure in the passing lanes. On this Western Kentucky Hilltoppers set play, Grady blows up the Iverson cut by deflecting the entry pass out of bounds. When you consistently keep your opponent from initiating their offense it is hard for them to get into a rhythm.

Sometimes, as we talked about against North Carolina, being aggressive is more important than being right. That was true once again against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Oscar Tshiebwe has #3 Hamilton stopped in the post on this play. There is really no need to help once he has picked the ball up. However, Davion Mintz sees an opportunity to come take it off of him. That was something discussed in the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers scouting report as well. This is an excellent play from Mintz to create a turnover.

Once again, being aggressive is more important than being right. I’ll gladly throw the scouting report out of the window if Kentucky forces 12 or more turnovers a game like they have in the last two wins. Typically, the scouting report would say to tighten up to #55 Justice as the ball is driven towards you. However, TyTy Washington stays in the gap and takes it off of #20 McKnight as he drives it. Absolutely love this play from the freshman guard.

This defensive possession was pure beauty from the Wildcats. Jacob Toppin gets under the initial handoff before fighting over the ballscreen. Then, Sahvir Wheeler fights over top of the ballscreen as he is so good at doing. Next, Kellan Grady helps on the drive to make #20 McKnight pick it up and has a perfect closeout on #4 Anderson. Grady’s active hands and feet are textbook in this situation. Lastly, Jacob Toppin stays in front of #3 Hamilton and forces the contested fadeaway jumper. Kentucky finishes with a rebounder. Perfect defensive possession.

Transition Offense is the Key to Success

Outside of offensive rebounding, scoring in transition is this Kentucky team’s best skill. Sahvir Wheeler is one of the best transition players in America. However, it is the continued development of TyTy Washington that makes the ‘Cats most dangerous on the break. The Wildcats ability to continue being elite defensively is required for transition success. You can’t play fast without getting stops. Here are a few clips of Kentucky’s transition success.

Sahvir Wheeler will always be the best at bringing the ball up the floor in transition. However, TyTy Washington does open things up for Kentucky because of his ability to shoot the basketball. Having multiple guards who can push the pace is critical to being a truly impactful transition offense. In this clip, Washington gets the rebound and brings it himself down the floor for a pretty little pull-up jumper. This is a great shot for him.

I talk a lot about how Kentucky’s guards throw the ball ahead in transition too often. This is a perfect example of why just handling the ball as the point guard can create more plays than throwing it ahead. Sahvir Wheeler needs to keep getting better at slicing the floor, but he does a good job here of playing through the middle. The small shift from the right sideline to the top of the key is what gets TyTy Washington open as he trails the play running to the wing. These are the shots Kentucky needs to really hunt in transition.

As important as the other aspects are, it all comes back to Sahvir Wheeler when talking about the ‘Cats in transition. Against Western Kentucky, it was hard for Wheeler to get to the rim due to the zone and the 7’5″ Sharp looming inside. However, when he could beat the defense down the floor he still found success. It will never get old seeing how quickly he gets from one end to another for a layup.