Knox Having No Trouble Shouldering Heavy Load
Kevin Knox has been counted on as Kentucky’s most consistent scorer in the early going this season. UK needs Knox scoring, particularly when the offense stalls otherwise.
That’s heady stuff for a true freshman, so John Calipari summoned the forward for a one-on-one meeting to make sure he was able to handle it all.
“Cal talked to me the other day about making sure there’s not (too much) pressure on me and stuff like that,” Knox said. “But I told him I’m fine. I’m good with where my team’s at.”
Knox proved his ability to cope once more on Sunday.
Knox reached double figures for the seventh time in as many games to start the season. He scored a career- and game-high 25 points to lead the No. 8/8 Wildcats (6-1) to a 107-73 win over UIC (2-3).
In spite of shooting better than 40 percent from deep entering the game, Knox didn’t make a single trey in four attempts this time out. He found a way to score anyway by hitting all nine of his two-point shots and getting to the free-throw line a career-best 10 times, making seven.
“I’m very versatile,” Knox said. “I can really do pretty much everything: get to the basket, post up, hit midrange shots. Like Cal said, I did a really good job of being able to find open spots and being able to get in the post, score early baskets in the paint. It was good. Just imagine if my 3-point shot was hitting. Just keep moving on this game, just keep getting more comfortable.”
Knox is a matchup nightmare for opponents, what with his 6-foot-9 frame and deft shooting touch both inside and out. Capitalizing on that fact, Calipari sent Knox into the post more than at any point this season, where he did repeated damage.
“I think with each game, you see I’m starting to figure out Kevin, putting him in spots where he can make baskets,” Calipari said.
Knox’s performance came as UK played its best overall offensive game of the season. The Wildcats reached the century mark for the first time and exceeded their season-best total for points (86) reached last time out against Fort Wayne. Hamidou Diallo (19 points), PJ Washington (17) and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander (14) joined Knox in scoring career highs. Quade Green (12) and Nick Richards (11) also reached double figures in scoring.
“I’m feeling I’m getting more comfortable with the offense, playing with my teammates,” Knox said. “I think we’re all kind of clicking. I think this is one of our best games of the season. I think we all just clicked. We were all making shots, just played together as a team. And like Cal said, he’s kind of started figuring everyone out, so that’s really good for us and hopefully Cal can get us clicking more.”
UK shot a scalding 66.7 percent from the field in the victory mere days after shooting 60 percent in the win over Fort Wayne. The Cats’ field-goal percentage on Sunday was their highest since they shot 67.7 percent against LIU Brooklyn during the 2012-13 season.
“That’s by far the best we’ve played,” Calipari said. “We were efficient, we passed the ball, we made shots, we took one bad shot, Kevin Knox took one in the first half just like a step back with him and another guy on him. Short of that I don’t think we took a bad shot. They were all good shots. They didn’t all go, but they were good shots.”
UK will carry that momentum into its longest in-season break between games to date, with the Cats not taking the floor again until next Saturday vs. Harvard.
“I’m really happy my team’s just winning,” Knox said. “Tonight was a really great win. Hopefully we can capitalize on it. I think I’m getting better and better every day and I’m just going to grow on this.”
