John Calipari joked his team could start the season 0-6.
How about 1-2?
That's no joke. Not after the graybeards known as the Richmond Spiders rolled into Rupp Arena on Sunday afternoon and proved that old is still gold with a convincing 76-64 victory over Calipari's latest youth movement.
And not when the young Cats have but 48 hours to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and head up to Indianapolis to face the Kansas Jayhawks late, late Tuesday night in the Champions Classic.
Oliver Sarr's advice to his new teammates?
"Don't overthink it," the UK senior said.
When the Wildcats handled Morehead State 81-45 in Wednesday night's opener at Rupp, you had to think Calipari had again reached into his hyperbole handbook when he claimed last Sunday's scrimmage was the "worst since I've been here."
Sunday, however, you had to think that the coach was dead serious. Up 32-28 at the break, the Cats fell apart in the second half, shooting just 30.6% from the floor and turning it over 11 times while failing to record an assist. "We only had five for the game," pointed out assistant Joel Justus, who subbed for Calipari in the postgame Zoom conference.
The Cats also went 0-for-6 from three-point range the final 20 minutes and 0-for-10 the entire 40. (Hit the restart button on the three-point streak. Again.) They were also a shaky 20 of 33 from the foul line, including 10 of 16 in the second half.
"Sometimes guys are trying too hard," Justus said when asked about a possible lack of focus at the stripe. "It was our first opportunity for our guys to be in a close game, a big game where every possession matters."
It was far from Richmond's first rodeo. Coach Chris Mooney started four seniors from a team that went 24-7 last year and was picked to win the Atlantic 10 this year. How did the Spiders' experience show? "The score speaks for itself," Sarr said.
Led by 5-foot-9 senior Jacob Gilyard's five steals, Richmond had 10 for the game. Five of those came at Sarr's expense. On one, Gilyard poked the ball away, then while falling out of bounds made a nifty behind-the-back pass to teammate Blake Francis for a layup. Later, Gilyard picked Sarr's pocket for a solo steal-and-score and a 55-46 Richmond lead.
"We've got to communicate with each other better," Sarr said. "We've got to let each other know, help each other out."
Richmond's old souls probably know what each teammate is going to do before he does it, while Kentucky's nine newcomers only recently learned each other's names. Where the Spiders played with poise down the stretch, Kentucky played with more of a sense of panic. Too much one-on-one basketball. Too many isolation plays where an isolation play wasn't called.
Tuesday night promises another classroom setting. This might not be a vintage Kansas team, but the Jayhawks are still the Jayhawks. And don't be fooled by Kansas' 102-90 loss to No. 1 Gonzaga on Thanksgiving day. The Zags are very good with a chance to be great. Gonzaga freshman guard Jalen Suggs might be the best player in college basketball, much less the best freshman.
Friday, Kansas bounced back from that defeat to bounce St. Joseph's 94-72. After shooting 53.2% against Gonzaga, KU shot an even 50 against St. Joe's. And Kentucky won't be the only team on the Banker's Life Fieldhouse floor with length. Kansas boasts 6-10 David McCormack, 6-8 Jalen Wilson, 6-8 Tristan Enaruna, 6-7 Tyon Grant-Foster, 6-5 Ochai Agbaji, 6-5 Marcus Garrett and 6-4 Bryce Thompson. Garrett is a senior. Agbaji and McCormack are juniors.
"We'd rather have this happen now than later," UK freshman Brandon Boston said of Sunday's setback.
The Cats haven't started a season 1-2 since 2008-09, Billy Gillispie's last year as UK coach. Don't fret. This team has the ingredients to be a March menace, but we're in for a bumpy start. Remember Sarr's advice. Don't overthink it.
