Kentucky basketball held its ‘Pro Day’ for NBA scouts. Here’s what we learned.

Kentucky men’s basketball held its annual “Pro Day” showcase for NBA scouts on Wednesday night in Rupp Arena. The event was streamed on SEC Network Plus while a few reporters were on hand at Rupp.

Before drills began at 6 p.m., UK head coach John Calipari took the microphone and said that there would be no NBA Combine-type measurements, etc. That was at the request of the scouts. Instead, Calipari said they would run drills to let observers get a feel for speed, agility, talent etc.

Calipari also said that both Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso would not be participating. Bradshaw is rehabbing from foot surgery. Onyenso is recovering from an injured ankle or foot. As well, Calipari said Croatian import Zvonimir Ivisic is “just arriving.”

Bradshaw and Onyenso did go out on the floor and take some stationary shots, but did not participate in drills. Neither player was wearing a boot.

Calipari said during an interview on the SEC Network broadcast that he expects the regular season to start without Bradshaw and Onyenso.

“We’ve got all these big guys out,” the UK coach said. “We’re playing more 4-on-4 tonight. We have three 7-footers. One (Ivisic) should be here on campus tomorrow. We have the two with the foot injuries, who are out another 5-6 weeks.”

Five weeks from Wednesday night is Nov. 15. Six weeks is Nov. 22. Kentucky is scheduled to open the regular season Nov. 6 vs. New Mexico State, play Texas A&M-Commerce on Nov. 10 then head to Chicago to face Kansas in the Champions Classic on Nov. 14. After that come games Nov. 17 vs. Stonehill and Nov. 20 against Marshall.

All told, Calipari’s timeline has Bradshaw and Onyenso missing at least three games and possibly as many as five. And that’s if the coach was referring to game-readiness vs. practice-preparedness.

Sophomore Adou Thiero limped off the floor early in Wednesday night’s drills and did not return.

The format had the feel of a 90-minute UK practice. Calipari often stopped play to add instruction, as did some of his assistant coaches.

Some observations:

Surprise standouts

Jordan Burks: If you had Jordan Burks on your bingo card for “Most Impressive” you’re a winner. With so many five-star prospects on Calipari’s roster, not sure the 6-foot-9 freshman from Decatur, Alabama, is expected to figure prominently in the mix. That might change.

Without his big men participating, Calipari opted for plenty of four-on-four matchups on the night. And Burks stood out with his aggressiveness, rebounding and play around the rim.

He made a nice assist to teammate Justin Edwards for a dunk. Later, Burks followed in an Antonio Reeves shot. He also dunked off a Reed Sheppard lob pass. Though called for a foul, Burks blocked a Tre Mitchell shot in the two-on-two drills.

If Bradshaw, Onyenso and Ivisic are unable to play in the early going — UK’s first exhibition is Oct. 27 — look for Burks to see plenty of floor time. Judging from Wednesday, he’ll take advantage of the opportunity.

Joey Hart: Yes, Joey Hart. The 6-5 freshman from Linton, Indiana, didn’t see a lot of playing time during UK’s title run at GLOBL JAM 2023 in Toronto, but he showed Wednesday why Calipari offered him a scholarship. Hart can shoot.

Especially during the two-on-two drills, Hart drilled three-pointer after three-pointer. He did the same when the players were divided up for shooting drills. Hart’s all-around game may need some work, but he showed Wednesday that he could be used as a situational shooter.

After the practice/showcase was over, Calipari took the microphone and said, “What did Joey do? He made every shot.”

Scrimmage lineups

As mentioned earlier, Calipari went with four-on-four scrimmage lineups instead of five-on-five for this exercise. Here were the opening lineups:

White: Antonio Reeves, Justin Edwards, D.J. Wagner and Jordan Burks.

Blue: Adou Thiero, Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham and Tre Mitchell.

Hart also saw action for the Blue team. After Thiero left limping, Brennan Canada filled some rotations and hit a pair of corner three-pointers during the two-on-two drills.

Before the night got going, Calipari had his players run length-of-the-floor sprints. D.J. Wagner won the first sprint. Reed Sheppard won the next two. Justin Edwards won the fourth and final sprint.

Other observations

▪ As he did in Canada, freshman Reed Sheppard showed good court awareness. The son of Jeff Sheppard sees the whole floor and knows how and when to make the right pass. He also drilled a three-pointer from the right wing early in the night.

▪ Rob Dillingham showed a nice flow to his game. During one sequence, he hit a pretty stop-and-pop jumper from the top of the key. He also buried a catch-and-shoot three in a four-on-four drill. He also made a back-handed steal in a later four-on-four scrimmage. UK strength and conditioning coach Brady Welsh told ESPN that Dillingham has put on 24 pounds since arriving in Lexington.

▪ For a good bit of the night, sharpshooter Antonio Reeves couldn’t get his shot to drop. He did contribute in other areas and appeared to be working on his defense. When the super senior went through the NBA Draft process this spring, he was told to concentrate more on defending.

▪ There’s no doubting D.J. Wagner’s knack for penetration. He can get the ball to the basket in a hurry. He can also dish off the drive, something we saw in Canada. At least once Wednesday, Wagner was too unselfish, making an unnecessary extra pass that resulted in a missed shot. He finished at least one nice drive with his left hand.

▪ As we saw in Canada, Justin Edwards is a playmaker. The 6-8 freshman from Philadelphia was inconsistent with his shot Wednesday, but he knows how to get a variety of shots. Doubt that the scouts were watching if the ball went through the net as much as how Edwards got himself in position for the shot.

▪ Unfortunately, we did not get to see how West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell will operate alongside a UK center. No doubt he will be asked to play some power forward this season, where now he is operating mainly in the post. His savvy did show through Wednesday.

▪ If Kentucky is short-handed during the exhibition games against Georgetown (Oct. 27) and Kentucky State (Nov. 2), look for Brennan Canada to get court time.

Kentucky men’s basketball 2023-24 roster

Other notes

▪ Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness is Friday night at Rupp Arena.

▪ UK announced Wednesday that the annual Blue-White Game will be held Oct. 21 at Northern Kentucky’s Truist Arena. All ticket revenue will benefit the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund and the Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. Tip-off will be 6 p.m. and the broadcast will stream on SEC Network Plus.

▪ New UK assistant John Welch ran many of the on-court drills. With his NBA background, Welch has been providing a lot of individual instruction for player development.

Big Blue Madness

What: UK’s annual celebration of the start of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Where: Rupp Arena

Tickets: Sold out

TV: SEC Network

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