Indeed, even though the Kentucky Wildcats suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes this Saturday, it is still one of the greatest seasons ever in colleges basketball. Very few teams can boast as many signature wins, by defeating the Duke Blue Devils and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
The influx of new top transfer weapons that former BYU head coach Mark Pope has brought to Lexington has enabled Kentucky to enjoy success. Among the key players that committed to Pope’s first team in Lexington were Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr and Oklahoma State transfer Brandon Garrison.
He has been able to coach those two through the early part of the year then has an exciting update of the style of play he is pushing them toward for Carr, who will be “more aggressive at the 3-point line.”
“He’s a terrific shooter. It’s a part of his game that is going to continue to grow and expand, and he’s incredibly capable,” said Pope. “So that’s a work in progress. It’s just that as he gets more comfortable with how we’re playing and what we’re doing and how we are and how we approach this game, he’ll continue to be more and more aggressive.”
Those Nick quotes to his call-in radio show earlier on Monday. He then proceeded with a word or two for Garrison, praising the continued patience of the sophomore big man.
He is just becoming more and more patient in the post,” said Pope. “He’s got tons of power in the tank. He will grow into an amazing player. He is learning a lot just now with us. The stuff he has done in terms of ball protection has shown, throughout the season, his assist-to-turnover ratio has been really good, really solid. He is getting a sense there.”
Combine that with other 10-2 Cats such as Otega Oweh and Lamont Butler, who are going to score an average of 30.2 points from the 2, and the fifth-highest scorer on the team in Andrew Carr, who is contributing 11.1 points per game, right alongside Garrison with an average of 5.5 per game.
You should expect more of both bigs as the season progresses if Kentucky is to become a true Final Four contender.
