Kentucky provides plenty of highlight-reel plays in Bahamas basketball opener

It’s only August, but there was plenty for Kentucky basketball fans to like about the Wildcats’ opener in the Bahamas on Wednesday night.

The Dominican Republic National Select Team was expected to pose a bit of a challenge to the Cats, who just started practicing together in June and were playing outside competition for the first time on this trip.

Instead, it was a UK rout.

Kentucky defeated the Dominican Republic 108-56, opening up a double-digit lead midway through the first half. The Cats led by 20 just before halftime, and a quick start out of the break had UK up by 30 points before the first TV timeout of the second half.

For the most part, it was one sustained run of highlight-reel plays for the Wildcats.

No one drew more oohs and aahs than sophomore forward Daimion Collins, who threw down a couple of “SportsCenter”-worthy dunks over Dominican defenders. Collins, a McDonald’s All-American who played sparingly last season, also showed some improved skill, however. He finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, looking plenty comfortable putting the ball on the floor and knocking down mid-range jumpers.

And that was the theme of the night: big dunks and athletic plays mixed with some solid defense and team-first ball movement.

Oscar Tshiebwe led all scorers with 17 points and added six rebounds, but it was a balanced effort in a game where playing time was pretty evenly distributed.

Transfer guard Antonio Reeves got things going early by making each of his first three attempts from three-point range. He was a 39.0-percent shooter from deep at Illinois State last season and will be counted upon to be an outside threat for the Wildcats.

Freshman wing Chris Livingston made three consecutive three-pointers over a six-minute span midway through the game. He finished with 11 points, a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.

Senior forward Jacob Toppin, who has been the talk of the program during the summer practices, had a stat line reflective of his versatile ability — eight points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks — and pulled off a 360 dunk in transition in the second half, another one for the highlight reel.

CJ Fredrick made his first appearance as a Wildcat after missing all of last season with an injury following his transfer from Iowa last year. He attempted just one shot but dished out four assists in 12 minutes on the court.

Even freshman guard Adou Thiero — a last-minute addition to the Cats’ recruiting class — got in on the action, with a steal-and-transition-dunk in his first few seconds on the court and a handful of other intriguing plays from there.

In all, the Wildcats tallied 17 dunks and 30 fast-break points. They also managed 10 blocked shots and 13 steals on the other end, limiting the Dominicans to 33.3 percent shooting.

Associate coach Orlando Antigua was the Wildcats’ head coach for Wednesday’s opener in the Bahamas, with John Calipari planning to observe the four games this week and handing over the top role to his assistants. Chin Coleman, Bruiser Flint and K.T. Turner will take on head coaching duties over the next three games.

When this trip was announced two months ago, Kentucky’s opener was scheduled to be against the Dominican Republic U22 team, a squad that would have lined up closely in experience with the Wildcats.

Calipari said on the pregame radio show that he decided he wanted a bigger challenge out of this matchup and told the Dominican officials that he’d actually prefer it if they brought older, more seasoned players.

So, the Dominican Republic National Select Team that UK defeated Wednesday featured a starting five with an average age of 24.4 years old, a squad consisting largely of professional players, some of whom had experience at high-major college programs.

The core of that team defeated Arkansas State, 96-78, on Sunday.

“I’m like, ‘Bring your best team over here. If we get beat, we get beat.’ So now it’s a select team of some really good guys,” Calipari said before the game. “So now it’s like, ‘OK. It’s not jerking around. You better compete. Play hard.’ And so it should be good. …

“We’ll find out where we are right now. In one way or another, it’s good. We find out.”

Kentucky starting lineup

Don’t read too much into the starting lineup for UK’s exhibition opener.

Calipari acknowledged on the pregame radio show Wednesday that he would have a different starting combination for every game this week, and he had previously said that his first starting five would consist of a veteran group.

Sure enough, that first five against the Dominican team featured Sahvir Wheeler, Antonio Reeves, Jacob Toppin, Daimion Collins and Oscar Tshiebwe. The UK coach’s plan included starting younger guys in the second half, and star recruits Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace were among the five on the floor coming out of halftime. (Collins, Lance Ware and CJ Fredrick, who’s playing with a minutes limit as he recovers from injury, also started the second half).

The starting five Wednesday featured four seniors and one sophomore.

We’ll see how much Calipari mixes things up the rest of this week.

Where’s Onyenso?

Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso joined the Kentucky basketball team just last week, announcing his commitment to the Cats and confirming that he would reclassify to 2022 and be part of the UK program this season.

Onyenso — a 6-foot-11 post player — did not join the team quickly enough to be able to travel to the Bahamas this week. He will be on campus in Lexington later this month, and he’ll start working out with the Wildcats then. Fall classes begin Aug. 22.

Still just 17 years old, Onyenso is viewed as a long-term prospect for Kentucky, and he’s not expected to make a major impact this season. There’s a chance he doesn’t even play in any games for the Cats in 2022-23, though he will get valuable practice time with the team in preparation for the 2023-24 season, when he’s expected to carve out an immediate role.

Wildcat uniforms

UK wore its new white uniforms to tip off Bahamas week, a classic look with blue lettering and trim that featured “Kentucky” in an arc over the number on the front of the jersey.

The Cats will sport three different combinations this week, also bringing blue and black jerseys to the beach for these exhibitions.

The Bahamas uniforms were unveiled last week, and Calipari said that the UK players had a hand in designing what they would be wearing in these games. Kentucky is expected to get new uniforms for the 2022-23 season — with more oversight from Nike — and those threads will be released later this year.

Moment of silence

Shortly before tipoff Wednesday night, there was a moment of silence in the Baha Mar Grand Ballroom in honor of Mike Pratt, who passed away in June.

Pratt was a star player for Kentucky from 1967-70 and later became the lead analyst on the Wildcats’ radio broadcasts. He spent the past 21 seasons in that role, calling UK games alongside play-by-play man Tom Leach, who was talking on the pregame show Wednesday night when he realized that there was to be a moment of silence for his longtime friend.

“Whoever was responsible for that, thank you very much,” Leach said afterward.

UK held a celebration of life event for Pratt at Memorial Coliseum last week, with Leach serving as the master of ceremonies.

Kentucky basketball legend Jack “Goose” Givens is working as the radio analyst for this week’s games.

What’s next?

Kentucky will play Tec de Monterrey on Thursday night, with the game televised at 7 p.m. on SEC Network and broadcast across the UK radio networks. The college team from Mexico is expected to have a roster that includes players from the country’s under-23 national squad.

The John Clay Podcast: Kentucky basketball Bahamas preview

How good do national experts think the Kentucky basketball team will be this season?

Kentucky basketball players build early bond in an unexpected place. The swimming pool.

Ex-Cat Kellan Grady offers inside look at this year’s Kentucky basketball team