By Keith Taylor
Special to the NKyTribune
Kentucky debuted its new-look offense Monday night and newcomer Jamal Murray was the star of the show.
The freshman guard scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and narrowly missed a triple-double with nine assists to lead the No. 2 Wildcats to a 117-58 rout of Ottawa in the team’s exhibition opener Monday night at Rupp Arena.
A heralded scorer in high school, Murray’s point production and assists were expected, but it was his rebounding that caught Kentucky coach John Calipari by surprise.
“He hadn’t done that in any practice,” Calipari said. “Like it’s a mistake that he did it, because if he doesn’t rebound now, I’m going to be all over him.”
Now that he’s shown he can snag rebounds, especially on the defensive end, Murray intends to avoid the wrath of Calipari and build on his performance against the Braves in practice.
“That’s just what he expects from me and something I will work on going forward,” he said. “I think I’ve shown him in spurts (I can rebound), but going against someone like Alex (Poythress) or someone who’s physically stronger, Marcus (Lee), Skal (Labissiere), those guys, sometimes I get a ball if it doesn’t come off to me. But I’ll put out a lot of effort in practice.”
BOXSCORE: Kentucky 117, Ottawa 58
Murray recorded “a few” triple-doubles in his high school career, but had little knowledge he was within one assist of becoming just the second player in school history to record a triple-double in either an exhibition game or regular-season encounter. Chris Mills had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Austin Peay on Dec. 27, 1988.
Getting a triple-double would have been nice, but Murray was just glad to be playing against an outside opponent for the first time in his collegiate career.
“I just wanted to let my team play,” he said. “I had a lot of fun playing today. I’m sure the team had a lot fun playing, too. I’m looking forward to all the games that we get to play.”
Murray was part of Kentucky’s starting cast that featured a three-guard lineup. Murray was joined in the backcourt by veteran point guard Tyler Ulis and classmate Isaiah Briscoe.
Murray and Ulis combined for eight of Kentucky’s 12 shots from the 3-point line, draining four shots each from long range. The guard-heavy Wildcats dished out 32 assists and had just 12 turnovers, an early sign the Wildcats aren’t afraid to spread the wealth on offense.
“That’s what makes this a special place to play at,” Murray said. “We’re very unselfish. You can see it from the assists. We all know we can score and we’re all great passers. We look to play off each other. Our offense is always in sync when we’re on the court together.”
Like Murray, Briscoe doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight.
“Coming here, we knew we would have to check the egos at the door and just sacrifice for one another,” Briscoe said. “I think all three of us don’t have a problem with that and it shows on the court.”
Calipari has been impressed with the way Murray, Ulis and Briscoe have developed a bond in the preseason, giving the Cats three solid weapons on the perimeter.
“They’re unselfish,” he said. “They’re all skilled (and) they can attack the basket. You can play a little more random, yet be organized.”
As for Ulis, Murray said Kentucky’s floor general is “in command” of the offense. Ulis scored eight of Kentucky’s first 16 points and finished with 17 points and 10 assists Monday.
“He’s a leader on the court,” Murray said. “He puts everybody in the right spot, the right position. So, we look to him to run the offense and then we play off of that.”
In moving forward, Murray doesn’t expect to lead the team in scoring on a regular basis and doesn’t mind if his teammates help carry the load.
“I just think we have to find something that we’re good at and consistently do it,” he said. “Everyone is going to have his day, whether it’s points, assists, rebounds, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is going to have their day where they’re just locked in. There are a lot of opportunities.”
Although just an exhibition, Murray had his chance to shine and seized the opportunity.
High ranking: The Wildcats are ranked No. 2 to open the season in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released Monday. In other preseason polls, Kentucky is No. 1 in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the third straight year.
Game tracker: Kentucky vs. Kentucky State (exhibition), Friday, 6 p.m., ESPNU, 98.1 WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers Kentucky athletics for nkytribune.com.