The Blue-White Game on Friday night gave Kentucky fans a sense of why John Calipari has said — figuratively speaking it can be assumed — that he whistles a happy tune as he goes to each day’s practice.
Oscar Tshiebwe, the transfer “big” from West Virginia who set the audacious goal of averaging 20 rebounds, had 21. He grabbed his 20th rebound with 4:41 left. He also scored 25 points.
Sahvir Wheeler, the transfer from Georgia seen as a point guard leader, had 11 assists.
Another veteran, Keion Brooks, played for both teams at various stages of the game. He finished with 20 points.
Freshman TyTy Washington did the same, scoring 12 points for each team.
Another freshman Daimion Collins totaled 22 points.
Although Rupp Arena was only about half-filled, Calipari grabbed a microphone near midcourt and thanked the fans who did come.
“It’s great to have you all back,” he said. ”Unbelievable. And to have 10,000 of you show up for a scrimmage against ourselves, are you nuts?”
Veterans and freshmen made an impression in the first half.
Tshiebwe came within a rebound of a double-double. He finished the half with 15 points and nine rebounds. His stated goal of averaging 20 rebounds this coming season was within reach.
Wheeler, the player counted upon to give Kentucky the consistent point guard play missing last season, looked the part. He had nine points and seven assists in the first half. He completed the half in memorable fashion. His whipped cross-court pass netted Tshiebwe a layup.
Then after Lance Ware dunked with three seconds left, Wheeler two-handed a “shot” from beyond half-court that banked in. The crowd oohed, but the launch came after the buzzer and did not change the halftime score of 55-44 in the Blue team’s favor.
As for the freshmen in the first half, Washington had 14 points. Twelve of the points came after he switched from the Blue team to the White team.
Collins scored 11 points.
As for three-point shooting, the teams combined to make eight of 21 shots from beyond the arc in the first half. Seven players made a three in the opening half. Kellan Grady led the way making two of three.
Overall, the players made 18 of 46 three-point shots (39.1 percent).
In terms of the Blue-White Game being a gauge for regular-season performance, the record is mixed.
In 2015, Tyler Ulis had 15 assists in the Blue-White Game. He was the SEC’s Player of the Year for the 2015-16 season.
Immanuel Quickley did much the same. He scored 25 points in the 2019 Blue-White Game, then became the coaches’ pick for SEC Player of Year.
At the other end of the spectrum, Nick Richards had seven blocks in 2019 and eye-catching double-doubles in 2018 (16 points and 16 rebounds) and 2019 (20 points and 11 rebounds). Yet, as much as fans wanted it, he never reached stardom.
Skal Labissiere, who struggled to establish himself, had 18 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in the 2019 Blue-White Game.
On a teleconference earlier in the day, Arkansas Coach Eric Musselman stressed the importance of playing opponents in assessing a team.
“If someone could grant a wish to a college staff, my wish would be we have more exhibition games, more secret scrimmages,” Musselman said. “Two (exhibition games) is not enough. . . . We need more game-like situations to develop our players. So, this is much, much, much needed.”
Musselman noted that NBA teams play more than two preseason games. “In order to develop your players, you need to be in game-like situations with real refs, and not behind closed doors playing against yourself every day,” he said. “So much, much needed.”
Important upcoming UK dates
Oct. 29: Exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan (7 p.m., SEC Network)
Nov. 5: Exhibition vs. Miles College (7 p.m., SEC Network)
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