Out of nowhere, Skal Labissiere offers hope of a breakthrough
It's now abundantly clear what John Calipari's mysterious pregame "tweak" was after Kentucky's impressive 88-79 victory at Florida.
Calipari hid Skal Labissiere somewhere back in Lexington and replaced the underachieving freshman with a entirely different person.
There's really no other explanation for Labissiere's abrupt improvement Tuesday night in his first start since mid-December. The skilled 6-foot-11 big man finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot in a mere 15 minutes, efficient production that only becomes more significant when taking into account the confidence and assertiveness with which he played.
He aggressively looked for his own shot after receiving the ball on the low block.
He attacked the glass at both ends like he seldom has at any point this season.
He let catch-and-shoot jumpers fly without hesitation even if not all of them went in.
Foul trouble prevented Labissiere from playing more minutes, but the McDonald's All-American's production when he was on the floor was an encouraging sign. This is a kid who was hyped as Ben Simmons' strongest competition to be drafted No. 1 overall before the season, but has not come close to meeting expectations.
Unable to adjust to the complexity or physicality of college basketball, Labissiere lost his starting job after averaging 3.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in Kentucky's five non-conference games against major-conference foes. The demotion made little difference as Labissiere put up similar numbers off the bench throughout SEC play.
The lone glimmer of hope came in late January when Labissiere scored 11 against Arkansas and 12 against Missouri in a span of six days. That optimism vanished quickly, however, as Labissiere produced more fouls in the month of February (25) than he did points (23) or rebounds (23).
Was Labissiere's newfound assertiveness Tuesday night an aberration or a turning point? It's too soon to say, but it was certainly an encouraging sign for a Kentucky team in need of more consistent frontcourt play and a timely reminder of why NBA scouts have not given up on Labissiere despite his struggles.
Yes, Labissiere needs to add muscle and get tougher and less timid. Yes, Labissiere is still raw after playing little high school basketball the past two seasons.
But every once in a while he'll offer glimpses of tantalizing potential, and Tuesday night was the first time in a while he strung a handful of those flashes together in the same game.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
