Dick Weiss on College Basketball
PHILADELPHIA– As soon as Kentucky coach John Calipari signed 6-3 guard DJ Wagner and 7-1 center Aaron Bradshaw from Camden High and 6-8 forward Jonathan Edwards from Imhotep Prep in Philadelphia, it seemed only natural he will schedule a game in their old neighborhood.
He could pretty much count on Cat fans, who has a national following, would make the pilgrimage to the Wells Fargo Center here to watch their beloved team play Penn in a 12 p.m. game that would be televised on ESPN 2.
The crowd of 9,003 was overwhelmingly wearing blue with a splattering of Camden purple and gold, which gave the talented young 16th ranked Cats a decided home court advantage that was magnified by the long-awaited return of Bradshaw, who made his collegiate debut last Saturday against UNC-Wilmington, posting three points and two rebounds in 12 minutes after just one day of practice.
Bradshaw has been battling a foot injury that kept him out of Kentucky’s title run at the GLOBL JAM tournament in Toronto, two preseason games and the first seven games of the season.
But he looked much more active and effective in his second game back, scoring 17 points, grabbing 11 rebounds blocking 3 shots and picking up a steal in 29 minutes as the Cats (7-2) defeated the Quakers 81-65 as loud chants of “Go Big Blue” resonated throughout the building. “Somebody told me to sub him,” Calipari said. “I’m like, are you out of your mind. Are you watching you see what’s happening this?”
Bradshaw played before four dozen friends and family.
“I loved everything about today,” he said. “It was a surreal feeling, playing so close to home. I was just having fun out there.”
Bradshaw’s presence has changed the dynamics of this team, giving them a pure shot blocker and rim protector to go with three other players– Edwards, Wagner and guard Reed Sheppard– who have been projected as first round NBA draft picks. He has given Calipari a bigger look defensively, which has allowed 6-7 senior Tre Mitchell, who had been playing the middle out of necessity, the ability to slide to the four, where he can be a better rebounder and a more complete player.
Wagner, who missed last weekend’s unexpected loss to UNC-Wilmington at Rupp, returned for this homecoming and contributed 9 points and a team high seven assists, setting the tone of his team’s second half defense.
Freshman guard Rob Dillingham also had 17 points and Antonio Reeves had 16 for the Cats, who were pushed by a Big 5 school for the second time this season. The Cats needed overtime to defeat St. Joseph’s at Rupp Arena. They let Penn hang around for close to 30 minutes, leading just 61-57 before they went on a 10-0 run, taking a 71-57 lead on a jumper by Reeves with 7:34 to play.
Penn (6-5) was led by senior guard Clark Slajcert, who finished with 17 points, but they put four players in double figures and showed could be a factor in the Ivies with an improved 6-9 Spinoso and two precocious freshmen guards– Trey Perkins and Sam Brown. Brown, who is the son of former Sixers’ coach Brett Brown and played at Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant’s alma mater. He finished with 12 points, six rebounds and 5 assists in 36 minutes, playing on the same court he used to shoot around on before games when his father was here.
For Penn, this was the type of challenging the Quakers needed heading into a tough, balanced Ivy League.
“It was a crazy event by me,” Penn coach Steve Donahue said. ” I was talking to the people from Wells Fargo. They want these kinds of events. I love the building. Easy parking. I get right off I-95 and there’s plenty of places to park. So we decided to investigate whether a Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky would be interested in playing a game here. There’s an NIL component with Kentucky and Campbell’s Soup, which is located in Camden. I think John Calipari is a great ambassador for our game. and he was excited and thought, let’s bring these local kids back and maybe it’s a win win for both of us. We have Houston and Auburn coming up. We’re trying to win a championship here and these are the type of games we want to play to get ready for our league. And this is what we recruit for. The kids are excited about this day.”
