Freshman point guard Brandon Knight’s struggles at the EA Sports Maui Invitational led Kentucky Coach John Calipari to re-think how he’s directing the team’s floor leader.
“He’s got to get better,” Calipari said. ” . . . I have to do a better job of coaching him, to be honest.”
After noting that Tyreke Evans struggled early in his freshman season for Calipari at Memphis, the UK coach said it can take time to determine how to bring out the best in a player.
“I have to do a better job defining how he has to play and run this team,” Calipari said of Knight. “Obviously, I haven’t done as good a job as I need to because in the first half (against Connecticut) we were out of whack.”
Surely tougher competition had something to do with it. Yet, Knight had a noticably drop in efficiency.
In three games on Maui, Knight made 17 of 47 shots (36.1 percent) and just three of 22 three-point attempts (13.6 percent). He also committed 18 turnovers while getting credit for eight assists.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
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The team has plenty of talent, some weaknesses but so do every team we will face. The challenge is for the team to play within itself. The UConn game was a good example of players trying to do to much to carry the team and the fact that they were flat after the emotional win over Washington U. Vargas and Harrelson have to get better or Enes must be restored with eligiblity if we are to compete at the top level. Interior defense disappeared after Jones hit the bench.