Olivier Sarr didn't have a lot of room to operate against Florida's zone defense that caught UK by surprise. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky assistant coach Jai Lucas said Monday that Florida “did something that they really hadn’t done all year” with the zone defense that completely took UK’s offense out of sync in Saturday’s loss after the Cats bolted out to a 10-point lead.
“They played a completely different zone than what they had put on film. “He (Florida coach Mike White) did a really good job of making it a really untraditional 3-2 (zone). It was more of a matchup, man-to-man 3-2 (zone). So, he did a good job with that, and it just kind of, it made us stagnant.”
Lucas said having a week between games disrupted UK’s game rhythm and Florida’s different look complicated that even more for Kentucky’s offense.
“I think that was the big thing is that it was a little bit different,” Lucas said.
Kentucky coach John Calipari said after Saturday’s loss he knew Ole Miss, a traditional zone team, would definitely be in a zone tonight when it hosts UK. But Lucas said it is a different type zone — or has been all season.
“Their 1-3-1 (zone) is kind of more aggressive and they’re out pressuring you a little bit more, and it kind of transitions back to a 2-3 or a man. So, it’s kind of a completely different type of concept,” Lucas said. “I think with us having played against Florida and the zone, that’s something that will help us the rest of the year, especially when you get in that tournament situation and it’s one game.
“You’ve got to be able to change things at the drop of the hat, so we’re kind of thankful Florida did throw that curveball at us so it can get us ready.”
Not sure thankful is the right word for Kentucky taking another loss but maybe in an 8-14 year coaches have to look for any silver lining as the defeats pull up.
Ole Miss (13-10, 8-8 SEC) is led by 6-2 senior guard Devontae Shuler. He is one of only two players in the SEC to rank in the conference’s top 10 in scoring (9th), assists (9th), and steals (9th); Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. is the other player. Shuler is averaging 16 points, 3.3 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 40.7 percent from the field and 78.1 percent at the foul line. He has 179 career steals.
“He’s a big key to their team. When he plays well, they play well, and when he doesn’t, they kind of struggle,” Lucas said. “You have to from the beginning do your jobs especially in pick-and-roll coverage against him. How are you going to guard him when your guy is off the ball? You have to try to kind of crowd the paint so he can’t get downhill.
“You kind of just want him to take contested shots. You want to make him really inefficient. I think he had 20 points on 20 shots last game (a 75-70. You kind of want him to do something like that.”
