By Nick Gray

ngray@kykernel.com

In UK’s first exhibition game, a 116-68 win against Pikeville, the Cats’ first real experiment with the platoon system earned far better than a passing grade.

The Cats, from first platoon point guard Andrew Harrison to second platoon center Dakari Johnson, looked energized and refreshed in each platoons’ chances on the floor, most of which were done in four-minute intervals.

It was simple enough — four minutes in, four minutes out.

“I felt rested,” said junior forward Willie Cauley-Stein. “We could run with it all the time.”

The game began with sophomore guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison, junior forwards Alex Poythress and Cauley-Stein and freshman forward Karl-Anthony Towns on the floor as the starting first platoon.

Four minutes of game time later, the second platoon came to the scorer’s table, comprised of freshmen guards Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker, freshman forward Trey Lyles, sophomore forward Marcus Lee and sophomore center Johnson.

The results on the scoreboard did not show a huge difference early on — the first platoon had a 19-14 advantage in its first four minutes while the second platoon pushed a 13-9 advantage in their first appearance. Where the platoons did show its effectiveness was later in the first half, when the second platoon sped its way past a less-deep and much more exhausted Pikeville squad for a 13-0 run and the first platoon pushed the Cats’ advantage past 30 points.

“Pikeville came out of the game and they were flying,” said UK head coach John Calipari. “Each time (we subbed), by the third sub and the fourth sub, you see them missing eight straight shots.”

Pikeville used an eight-man rotation for much of the first half with the old-fangled single substitution system while getting worn down by the Cats’ full-court pressure and outlet passes.

UK used its rested players to push the tempo on offense, running out in some cases before the rebound was secured on defense and sharing the ball throughout the game to the tune of 29 assists and 36 fast-break points.

“It’s the only way this will work, if we share the ball like that,” Calipari said.

The most beneficial of the platooners may have been Andrew Harrison. He keyed many of the first platoon’s fast-break points, adding “four hockey assists” to his nine total assists and looking for passes down the floor in a way he never did at any time last season.

“He was outstanding today,” Calipari said. “(Some plays), he threw it ahead quick enough so that (another player) could throw it for a pass.”

And that tempo led to UK scoring 86 points in the paint, though Towns believed the pace was not frenetic enough for his coach or his team.

“For us, we have to still push the tempo a little more,” Towns said. “I think (Calipari) would like it a lot faster, but I think it’s a good start.”