Booker took a step in the right direction against Auburn

Kentucky guard Devin Booker drives through the lane during the second half of the Semifinal game of the SEC tournament against Auburn in Nashville , Tenn., on Saturday, March 14, 2015. Photo by Jonathan Krueger

By Kyle Arensdorf

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The drastic upswing in the play of freshmen Karl-Anthony Towns and Trey Lyles did many things for the Cats.

It introduced a new mid-range threat to their already deep offensive arsenal and it created a dominant player in the post for which the SEC has yet to have an answer. But it also helped mask the dimming of a fellow freshman star.

Devin Booker was at the head of the freshmen pack in terms of progression and overall impact for the majority of the season.

But as of late he’s been on a well-noted shooting slump. He’s just 14 for his last 46 from 3-point range — including 2-for-6 this tournament and 2-for-4 against Auburn Saturday. But there’s no time like a blowout win that never got close to exorcise a slump.

Unfortunately for Booker, it was an opportunity that wasn’t fully realized.

From the Cats’ fourth game of the season against Boston University and their 17th game against Missouri, Booker made 37 of his 56 3-point attempts.

Since then, something has failed to click, and in his last 11 outings he’s shooting just 30 percent from beyond the arc.

But even the best shooters go through slumps, and especially a shooter who’s playing his first collegiate basketball season. That’s not the problem.

The problem is that his shooting slump has seemed to deter his ability to affect the game as a whole.

When Booker was in the midst of his 13-game stretch of over 60 percent 3-point shooting, he was all over the place.

He cut to the basket, he led more fast breaks, he jumped into passing lanes.

He was an overall player. And he was beginning to make a case for being not only the best freshman on the team – he received four straight Conference Freshman Player of the Week honors – but the best player on the team period.

Even when he wasn’t necessarily successful from beyond the 3-point line – like in close road games against Florida and LSU – he almost single-handedly kept the Cats afloat in the first half.

Booker was able to climb out of his shooting slump Saturday, and Sunday will tell if it was a blip or a trend. But when tougher NCAA Tournament competition shows up, the Cats will need all of their cylinders firing at full bore. Especially one that has the ability to break a game open like Booker can.