Now past the learning curve, Gabriel building his confidence and giving Cats boost in post

During the past three games, Gabriel has averaged 10 points and 9.7 rebounds per outing and tallied 11 points in an 85-69 win over South Carolina last Saturday at Rupp Arena.

The 6-foot-9 freshman forward hopes to continue his recent trend of impressive performances when the fourth-ranked Wildcats (17-2, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) take on Tennessee Tuesday in Knoxville.

Although it took a while to get used to the college atmosphere, Gabriel is getting more comfortable on the court, an adjustment he admits took longer than he anticipated when he arrived on campus.

“I had those type of expectations at first,” Gabriel said. “Obviously things changed at first, going through learning curves, but I’m coming back, building my confidence again as usual and kind of finding my role on the team. I’m just excited right now.”

Gabriel admitted making the adjustment from prep to college was a “big change” and added that getting used to the speed of the game and physical play in the post proved to be the biggest adjustment.

“The jump from high school to college, is real different,” he said. “The physicality, the speed. You gotta learn the game real quick. You gotta learn how to play really fast now. Learning to share and play together is something we’re getting used to now as freshmen and I think we’re becoming better as a team. A lot carries over. I feel like we just gotta adjust how we play to the college game. My skill obviously carries over. Just being able to use that during the game and use my energy. You learn how to play harder at this level.”

In addition to his post presence, Gabriel’s versatility has also shown during the past two weeks. In the first 14 games of his collegiate career, Gabriel knocked down three shots from long range, but has connected on eight 3-pointers during the past three games. Two of his three treys helped set the tone for the Wildcats in the win over the Gamecocks last weekend.

Although shy early in the season, Gabriel has developed a knack for shooting and isn’t hesitant when it comes to launching shots from long range.

“I feel like every single one is going to go in, so that’s why I’m shooting,” he said. “(I’m) trying to make every shot that I’m taking.”

The emergence of Gabriel and the experience of senior Derek Willis also has been a boost for the Wildcats at the No. 4 slot. Gabriel and Willis combined for 24.5 points and 17.4 rebounds in wins over Mississippi State and South Carolina last week. Although teammates on the court, Willis and Gabriel rarely face off against each other in practice.

“We’ll be against different teams, but sometimes he’ll be playing the three on the other team and he’ll be playing the four or I’m three on the other team,” Gabriel said. “So we’ll switch off like that. That might just be a coincidence that we both started playing good at the same time.”

It might also be because of a challenge issued by Kentucky coach John Calipari.

“They’re both stepping up,” the Kentucky coach said. “I also held them accountable and said, look, ‘if you guys can’t get this done, I’ll play a small lineup or I’ll play a big lineup. It’s on you.’ And they’re getting better. I mean, the biggest thing we do here is we make these kids be responsible for themselves and then we bring them together.”

Along with Calipari’s instructions, Gabriel credited Sacha Killeya-Jones, Isaac Humphries nd Tai Wynyard for his development in the post and it has shown on the court. Gabriel grabbed 16 rebounds, including 11 win the defensive end, in Kentucky’s win over Auburn on Jan. 14.

“I think that’s probably what helped my rebounding lately,” he said. “I learned how to use my strength against those big guys down low.”

Gametracker: Kentucky at Tennessee, Tuesday, 9 p.m. TV/Radio: ESPN, 98.1 FM 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