Kentucky coach John Calipari knows Edrice “Bam” Adebayo is on the brink of a breakthrough.
The freshman forward came close to breakout performance and scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Kentucky’s 93-59 rout of Duquesne Sunday night. It was the second double-figure outing of his career.
Making his fourth straight start, Adebayo was active on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-10 forward added a pair of blocks and two steals for the second-ranked Wildcats, who opened the season at 4-0 for the sixth time in Calipari’s eight seasons at Kentucky.
“I thought Bam (Adebayo) was outstanding,” Calipari said. “He’s getting closer and closer. He’s making strides. He’s getting better every day. Making his free throws, he’s rebounding in traffic, he’s coming up with balls. He’s still got a ways to go, but he’s getting better.”
Like Calipari, Kentucky guard Malik Monk, also a freshman, thinks it’s just a matter of time before Adebayo establishes his mark in the post. Monk scored a career-high 23 points against the Spartans, while Adebayo managed just six points and five rebounds.
Link: Boxscore — Kentucky 93, Duquesne 59
“I was getting ready for my breakout game and it happened against Michigan State,” Monk said. “I think Bam’s is coming up because he feels more comfortable in the post. We’re passing him the ball more. I think it’s coming close.”
Because of fouls and other issues, Adebayo struggled during the first three games but is starting to get a feel for what Calipari expects in the post and has adjusted his positioning down low.
“I’m just working with (assistant coach Kenny Payne), getting my positioning right,” he said. “How my body should be when they throw me the ball in the post.”
Adebayo added Kentucky’s guards are making the right adjustments, especially in the half-court in an effort to help the Wildcats establish a legitimate post presence.
“(We’re) just making the guards throw it in even though they have open shots,” Adebayo said. “They still have to throw it in. It’s just us getting comfortable with them and they’re getting comfortable with us.”
In addition to working with guards De’Aaron Fox, Isaiah Briscoe and Monk to improve his positioning in the post, Adebayo is developing a left-handed hook to add to his offensive skill set.
Adebayo said Calipari advised him to “create another habit” and opted to perfect a jump hook with his non-shooting hand.
“It’s not my dominant hand, so it’s good to use it once in a while,” Adebayo said. “I’m just going to practice every day and working with KP (Kenny Payne) in individuals. Just getting my body comfortable with the hooks and just having fun.”
Around the rim, Adebayo’s daily workouts include “50 dunks with a medicine ball” and other conditioning techniques to stay in shape.
“We’ve run — he makes us run suicides one day,” Adebayo said. “He’s just hard on us. He has his ways and it’s working for us. So I’m not complaining.”
As a team, Adebayo said the Wildcats are making strides in their quest for perfection.
“We feel like we’re getting there,” Adebayo said. “Cal is going to push us every day to be better, so we just gotta be better.”
Gametracker: Cleveland State at Kentucky, 1 p.m., Wednesday. TV/Radio: SEC Network, 98.1 WBUL.
Keith Taylor is a senior sports writer for KyForward, where he primarily covers University of Kentucky sports. Reach him at keith.taylor@kyforward.com or @keithtaylor21 on Twitter