The Cats have been hot, and there was some hope for a minute in Lexington, but following an injury to star shooter and defender Kam Williams, the Wildcats have gone back to their sluggish ways on offense and had a disgusting game Tuesday night against Vanderbilt.
Kentucky will once again be challenged to head back to the drawing board and figure out what Kentucky’s identity truly is. Kentucky needs to stop shooting the 3s, especially with Williams out, because this team is not a good shooting team, and when they are not following, it gets ugly.
When Kentucky played Vanderbilt on Tuesday night, there wasn’t one single glimpse of hope from the game. Kentucky struggled to find any spacing, confidence, and really just played careless once they got down big and began to look like that same team booed into the locker room last time they were in Nashville against Gonzaga.
The biggest concern moving forward is offensive identity. I mean, we saw what happened. They won five games in a row in league play. That’s impressive, and it really did look like they improved.
Without Williams on the floor, Kentucky looks lost when it comes to creating quality looks. There were many times when they were shooting fadeaways late in the shot clock as well. It was just ugly. There is no clear go-to option, no consistent set they can rely on when shots aren’t falling.
Instead of attacking the paint and playing physically, the Wildcats settle for fadeaways and contested jump shots that aren’t going.
If Kentucky wants to turn things around again, the offense needs to be simpler and have a purpose in the way they play. Kentucky needs to be a gritty, physical team that attacks the rim and gets to the free throw line, but you have to actually make your free throws.
Kentucky needs to let the defense fuel the offense and attack the rim, especially in transition, instead of forcing shots. Until the Wildcats establish a clear identity built on effort and toughness on offense rather than in the perimeter season, games like the Vanderbilt game will continue to occur, and Kentucky will dip deeper and deeper as a program.
