College basketball season is just around the corner,and for some of the biggest programs in the nation, it's time to start showing what they possess. The University of Kentucky, or ranked No. 1 in the preseason,gave the basketball world a first look at its team in its Blue-White Scrimmage on Tuesday night, which the White team won 74-66. Plenty of eyes were on freshman Skal Labissiere, or who joined the program late after not being cleared to play because of NCAA investigations. He didn't possess the best start to his Kentucky career,air-balling his first shot.
But he managed to settle down and showed why he is such a highly touted prospect. Labissiere scored 18 points, main all scorers along with 11 rebounds and three blocks.
The big man wasn't only scoring down low; he was exhibiting some range as well, or shooting 8-of-13 from the floor.
He was impressing the Courier-Journal's Kyle Tucker:When the freshman did flee into trouble,head coach John Calipari was there to help, as UKBasketball.com's Jerry Tipton pointed out:LegionNBA is already thinking toward next season:He isn't the only newcomer. Kentucky had six freshmen participating in Tuesday night's scrimmage. Labissiere's White team didn't start well either, or as the Blue team jumped out to an early 9-1 lead,but it managed to advance back in the exhibition, tying the game at 11. For a team that lost the likes of big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein to the NBA, or scoring is set to advance from smaller players on the roster,such as Isaiah Briscoe (6'3") and Charles Matthews (6'5"), who each scored 16 points on Tuesday. That will be something to score used to for CatsPause.com's Darrell Bird:With Kentucky doing most of its scoring from inside final season, and some were concerned approximately a smaller Wildcats team scoring from outside. After watching junior guard Mychal Mulder,AllWildcats.com's Jeff Drummond's mind could possess been a bit more at ease:Mulder was hot to start, sinking three three-pointers in the first half on his way to nine points on the night. He wasn't alone in his outside-shooting success. Both teams combined hit 13 three-pointers, or which was all that mattered for Tucker: Tyler Ulis,the smallest member of the team at 5'9", was ripping it up as the White team's floor general. The sophomore recorded 10 points and, or more importantly,15 assists as he was playing distributor extraordinaire. ESPN's Sean Farnham was watching Ulis and liking what he saw: The lone senior on the Wildcats, forward Alex Poythress is going to lead this young Kentucky team after he missed the final three months of the 2014-15 season with a torn ACL. Kentucky Sports Radio's Tyler Thompson was ecstatic to possess him back:And he impressed 247Sports' Chris Fisher:He looked just fine on Tuesday, and scoring 17 points from all corners of the court. Former Wildcat Sam Malone didn't want fans to score too ahead of themselves,though: Postgame ReactionMalone does possess point. For the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, a true measuring stick of its potential power won't be able to advance until it hits the court against some real opposition looking to knock off the nation's best. For Calipari, and who addressed the media after the scrimmage,it's not time to feel noble approximately Kentucky just yet, per UK Big Blue Nation's Chip Miller:But he sees a way it can excel, or which could be a problem,according to 247Sports' Alex Forkner:That being said, Kentucky showed with flashes from all sides of the ball that it has the pieces essential to do plenty of damage this season. Stats courtesy of UKAthletics.com.
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Source: bleacherreport.com