Freshman guard Devin Askew, left, will be tested by the Richmond offense on Sunday. (UK Athletics Photo)
It might not look that way on the schedule but ESPN/SEC Network analyst Jimmy Dykes says Kentucky faces a “monster game” Sunday against Richmond in Rupp Arena.
“That will be the test of all tests for Kentucky this early,” said Dykes.
Kentucky Radio Network analyst Mike Pratt might not go quite that far but he does believe Richmond will be a major test for John Calipari’s team because of the team’s experience.
“I want to see how Kentucky will react to a really good defensive team. Richmond might ambush them,” Pratt said. “They were in line to make the NCAA Tournament last year until COVID hit. They had their first seven players back. The leading scorer is out with an injury but the other guys are all back.
“They shoot the ball well beyond the arc and they are a really, really good defensive team. They played Dayton tough last year and Dayton was a potential Final Four team.”
Pratt believes Richmond is the kind of team Kentucky would find in its bracket in the NCAA Tournament.
“If there is one thing to be concerned with on a young team it is how will it handle adversity and the other team getting after your butt and getting you out of sync,” Pratt said. “Do they struggle and get pushed out of rhythm? What they are going to see from Richmond is not what they see in practice. We will find out if guys can ab lib out of the offense and still do things to win.”
Pratt does think UK’s players are used to big games but says they will find out Sunday if they are good enough to be an older, experienced team.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari said he had not talked to his team about Richmond because UK had to play Morehead on Wednesday. Today the talk fully shifts to Richmond.
“Their experience, their ability to control the game, to make you play through every possession. If you play 15 seconds, you’re getting beat. You’ve got to play the whole possession,” Calipari said. “On offense, because of how they play, you cannot take high-risk plays. You’ve gotta be efficient offensively. Attack and run and get in the lane.
“But not make a 50-50 play. It’s gotta be a 70-30 or 80-20 or don’t make it. If you’re going to take a bad shot against them, you take it late in the clock.”
But Calipari noted Kentucky’s freshmen have never played against a team that will run an offense quite like Richmond.
