Terrence Clarke (SEC Photo)
Kentucky coach John Calipari had suggested he might give freshman wing Terrence Clarke a chance to play point guard if his team’s point guard play did not improve. Sporting News columnist Mike DeCourcy thought the UK coach would only do that as a “last resort” for several reasons.
“Terrence at the point is not impossible but it would be hard to do given the circumstances they are in,” DeCourcy said. “I think (senior Davion) Mintz is a capable point guard. He can shoot, handle the ball and start the offense.”
Yet in Kentucky’s loss to Notre Dame last week, Calipari did put Clarke at point guard for most of the game. He finished with 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting with three assists, two rebounds and one steal in 38 minutes. But he also had a team-high four turnovers.
“Terrence has size and he’s really aggressive in the lane. I think it opens up a lot of things, a lot of options. He can pass the ball, he has great vision. So, I think going forward, he’s really good at that position,” UK center Olivier Sarr said.
Despite the turnovers, Calipari said he liked Clarke at point guard so he likely will be playing that position a lot more today against North Carolina.
“I like having his hands on the ball. I like him at point,” Calipari said. “Weren’t you (media members) more comfortable with him having the ball in his hands? Didn’t you know that he could make plays at the rim and score and do things where they got to play him?”
Calipari said Thursday he liked playing Clarke at the point with both other point guards — Devin Askew and Davion Mintz — playing the wings.
‘I’ve done it before where you’re playing three point guards at one time. I like having the ball in Terrence’s hands,” Calipari said.
What about freshman Devin Askew, the team’s other point guard?
“The biggest problem with Askew is that he does not go past anybody,” DeCourcy said. “But the second problem is when the ball does recycle to him and he is open, he does not shoot it. His numbers are not awful (from 3-point range) but the number of attempts taken is ridiculous.”
Askew has only taken 10 3-pointers in five games but he’s made four of them. He’s got the best 3-point percentage on this year’s UK team and DeCourcy says he has to shoot more.
“At some point Devin has to play at this level and if he’s not ready, then let him wait until next year and move on to someone else,” DeCourcy said.
