The NCAA summer basketball season is underway. The Kentucky Wildcats got things underway last week as they went 4-0 in the 2023 Global Jam in Toronto, Canada, from June 16-20. Kentucky defeated Team Canada 89-72 this past Sunday to win the Glabal Jam gold medal. It was UK’s second victory over Canada in the event. The Wildcats also defeated Team Germany and Team Africa.
NCAA Basketball Notes: Kentucky’s Issue At Center, Georgia, and YSU Summer Trips
Fifth-year senior Antonio Reeves was excellent in the tournament. Reeves led the Wildcats with 23 points on 57.8% shooting from the field and 56.2% (18-32) from the 3-point line. Graduate transfer Tre Mitchell was also fantastic, showing off his all-around game. The WVU transfer averaged 14.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Mitchell compiled a shooting line of .575/.444/1.000.
Top-rated incoming freshmen Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner showed flashes of brilliance. Fellow freshman Reed Sheppard shot the ball well and led the Cats with 5.75 assists while committing 1.75 turnovers a game. However, Shephard did struggle from deep, connecting on 4 of 13 attempts (30.7%).
Ugonna Onyeso and Aaron Bradshaw
While the Global Jam was a success overall for Kentucky, a couple of Wildcats were unable to participate due to injuries. Sophomore Ugonna Onyeso was held out of action as he sustained a foot injury during practices leading up to the tournament. After holding out hope that the injury was not severe, Wildcats head coach John Calipari tweeted out a more outcome.
Ugonna Onyenso underwent a successful minor procedure that will keep him out for a couple of months. Nobody hated missing last week’s games more than him, and I know he’s going to work his way back to once again have a positive impact on this team.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 18, 2023
Onyenso, a four-star recruit in 2022, played sparingly last year after reclassifying from the class of 2023 to 2022. The 6-foot-11 big man averaged 2.6 points, on 52.9% shooting, along with 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in less than seven minutes in 16 appearances. He recorded 10 rebounds twice and at least three blocks on three occasions.
Meanwhile, Aaron Bradshaw’s status for the 2023-24 season is up in the air. Bradshaw, a top 5 recruit in 2023, is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured foot in June.
As a result of the injuries, Kentucky doesn’t have much depth up front. Mitchell played some center in Canada. Kyle Boone of CBS Sports said that the Wildcats could prowl the transfer portal for a center, or perhaps 6-foot-10 Somto Cyril, a four-star 2024 prospect, could reclassify to 2023.
Youngstown State Summer Trip
The Youngstown State Penguins are amid their three-game, nine-day trip to Spain. The Penguins arrived in Spain on July 19 and will play several Spanish pro teams.
YSU is coming off its best season this venturing, posting a 24-10 record while claiming its first MAC regular season title at 15-5. The Penguins were relegated to the NIT in 2023 after getting upset in the semifinals of the MAC tournament. The Penguins have reached the postseason in two straight years, partaking in The Basketball Classic in 2022.
Seventh-year coach Jarrod Calhoun has brought 12 newcomers as the YSU returned two letter-winners. Third-team all-Horizon League selection Brandon Rush and 6-foot-7 sophomore guard John Lovelace Jr, a rotational player in 2022-23.
Eight of the recent additions are transfers, with five playing their fourth or fifth campaign. Brett Thompson, Bryson Langdon, Ziggy Reid, DJ Burns, and Jaylen Bates are the experienced newcomers. EJ Farmer, David Wilkerson (JUCO), and Imanuel Zorgvol are the other transfers.
“These kids know what winning looks like,” Calhoun told the Tribune Chronicle. “They know what a college basketball season is like and how long it is.”
“We got our full roster here, everybody’s healthy. It’s been good early on,” Calhoun added. “There are so many guys, and everybody brings something different to the table. I just love our length, our versatility. It’ll be our deepest team we’ve had here, and certainly one of our biggest.”
Georgia is Playing In Italy
The Georgia Bulldogs will land in Rome, Italy, on Friday after departing on Athens, Georgia, on Thursday. Georgia will play games in Rome on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday before returning home on July 29.
“I’m fired up,” head coach Mike White said. “I could eat pizza every night. I’m going to do that in Italy. I’m excited about seeing the coast. I’m excited about seeing Rome and the Vatican and taking the tours. I’m excited about our guys to experience and learn about all that stuff as well.”
Georgia went 16-16 last year in White’s first season in Athens, marking the Bulldogs’ first nonlosing campaign in three years. Senior guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim leads the Bulldogs, who are implementing 10 newcomers. Five of the “newbies” are transfers, led by Russel Tchewa and RJ Melendez.
While White doesn’t care if the Bulldogs win any of their three games, he does have some goals.
“Honestly, I don’t care if we win or lose. I want to play well, and I want to play better. I want to play different combinations. We have three opportunities over there. We’ll play each guy. We are considering playing each guy in just a couple of games so we can really evaluate everybody. Again, it’s not about winning and losing over there. Hopefully, we’ll play really good teams that we can learn from so we can have some success but also have some struggle so that we can learn both ways.”
“Connection, optimism about what we could become, pride about what we’ve learned and familiarity with the install – offensively, defensively, and with our identity. When we get back and get back to work – and that’s liquid because I don’t know how much time they’ll need away from it – but just that level of familiarity and where we’re at and how we get to where we want to be.”
