Unbeaten Cats have not yet fired on all cylinders
UK guard Devin Booker (1) shoots the ball during the second half of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball game vs. Eastern Kentucky University at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on Sunday, December 7, 2014. UK won 82 – 49. Photo by Tessa Lighty
December 10, 2014
By Kyle Arensdorf
With more than a quarter of UK basketball’s season in the books, a Cats team that has yet to fire on all cylinders will face a hot Columbia team on Wednesday.
One element of the Cats’ game is always missing in every game. Early in the year, when its offense got off to a quick start, its defense was a glaring deficiency in UK’s repertoire.
When their defense began to improve, the Cats’ offensive momentum fell to the wayside and they missed an alarming amount of layups and put-backs that were supposed to make up for their lack of a 3-point offense.
One player, freshman guard Devin Booker, nearly single-handedly resurrected the Cats’ 3-point shooting, sinking 12 of 17 3-pointers during a three game stretch earlier in the season.
But even he has struggled as of late, battling an undisclosed knee ailment to the point that he wore a knee brace during the second half of UK’s 82-49 win over Eastern Kentucky on Sunday.
In his last two games against No. 6 Texas and EKU, he was a combined 0-for-9 from beyond the arc and totaled only four points in the two contests.
“(Booker’s) going through what a lot of players go through, and especially a lot of freshmen,” assistant coach Barry “Slice” Rohrssen said Tuesday. “You go from playing a 32-minute game in high school to a 40-minute game. So there are maybe some extra minutes that you log, but Devin will be fine.”
Not coincidentally, the Cats have especially struggled from 3-point range in those games.
UK went into the final three minutes of both the Texas game and the Eastern Kentucky game without a 3-point field goal, only to have sophomore guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison each hit one in the final minutes.
The Cats are a lowly 6-for-32 on 3-point field goals in their last three games.
“One of the things you find out in coaching is the three best shots in basketball are a layup, a free throw and an open three,” Rohrssen said. “You don’t just want to take one to take one. You want it to come from within the framework of your offense.”
Columbia comes to Rupp Arena with a 5-2 record on the season after a 22-point drubbing of Bucknell on Saturday and have lost two contests by a combined three points.
“They like to have control of the basketball,” Rohrssen said. “They’ll test your patience defensively with their three games while not hitting a 3-pointer.
