< Previous18 @KentuckyMBB From Press Row Wildcats Nearing the End of its Seven-Game Home Stand Kentucky will continue its seven-game home stand tonight against Central Michi- gan. The game will mark the return of former UK assistant Tony Barbee, who served on staff at Kentucky from the 2014-15 season through the 2020-21 year. He was named CMU's head coach following the 2020-21 season. Central Michigan is 1-4 this season. The Chippewas are led by Jermaine Jackson Jr. who averages 13.6 points per game and Harrison Henderson (10.8 ppg.). Ralph Bis- sainthe is CMU's leading rebounder at 9.0 rebounds per game. Kentucky leads the se- ries 2-0. Kentucky won the last meeting 84- 52 in 2008. The Central Michigan game marks the sixth consecutive game at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center after Kentucky opened the season in New York vs. Duke. The seven-game home stand is not all that uncommon in the John Calipari era and not even the longest home stretch. The 2014-15 and 2019-20 teams both played eight-game home stands. They were building blocks that led to Southeastern Conference regular-sea- son championships. Daimion Collins Responds Well in First Career Start It's almost always difficult to predict how a player, especially a young player, will re- spond when getting their first start. Kentucky head coach John Calipari got to experiment with that exact situation on Friday night. With Keion Brooks Jr. not playing against North Florida due to illness, Calipari inserted freshman Daimion Collins into the lineup. And the freshman from Atlanta, Texas, re- sponded. Collins played well in the first half, mak- ing four of his six shots to score eight points, while grabbing four rebounds and blocking a shot. In the second half, Collins made two of four from the floor and pulled down two more rebounds. That gave him 12 points and six rebounds in the game. After the game, Collins was pleased, over- all, with his game on Friday. "I feel like I played good but I could've done better," Collins said. "But overall, I played good and helped the team bring out the win." North Florida head coach Matthew Driscoll liked what Collins gave to the Cats in Friday's contest. "Collins came in and gave them great minutes tonight," said Driscoll. UK head coach John Calipari thought that Collins started well, but soon veered from his path. "I loved how Daimion started the game, but then he starts shoot- ing step-back threes," Calipari said. "What are you doing? Block shots, rebound, go dunk some, and every once in a while, make a jumper or two. But you're not playing for that." Calipari also can see how much of an effect Collins can have on the game. "He hadn't played that much. But what's the impact he has on the game?," Calipari said. "You see the impact." Collins came up just short of his career high of 14 points, which he set against Robert Morris earlier this month. The six rebounds tied his ca- reer high which also came against Robert Morris. However, since the RMU game, Collins had scored two (Mount St. Mary's), two (Ohio) and six (Albany) points in the previous three games. His ability to play both inside and outside makes him tough to guard, something that Collins tries to use to his advantage. "I'm pretty comfortable with both because in high school I played out- side and inside so you know being able to play with that versatility feels real good." Collins' athletic ability was on dis- play on one particular play in Friday's game. He ran the floor and caught a lob pass from Dontaie Allen, dunked the ball and jumped over UK big man Oscar Tshiebwe in the process. Tshiebwe was not re- ally sure what happened on the play. "I did not even see him coming to be hon- est," Tshiebwe said. "Like come on man, you can't do that to me!" On Friday, Collins showed flashes of what he can bring to this Kentucky team. For the freshman, starting might have motivated him even a little bit more. Reconnecting with Big Blue Nation and Giving Back One of John Calipari's main missions this summer was to reconnect his team with the Big Blue Nation. The COVID-19 pandemic limited the Wildcats' interactions with fans during the 2020-21 season. Between reduced atten- dance at Rupp Arena (3,075 fans), no Big Blue Madness and considerable restrictions with various fan activities throughout the sea- son, the 2020-21 group was deprived of one of the staples of the Kentucky program. With many of the health and safety proto- cols scaled back this summer, Calipari made sure to take his team on the road and get in front of the Kentucky fan base. While touring the state for its annual sat- ellite camp tour, the Wildcats visited local community centers, regional health facilities and spent a morning at Fort Knox. Players and staff continued the touch points into the fall with visits throughout the state for ticket giveaways. The motivation for Calipari is obviously to give back to the community, but it also ben- efits his players to see firsthand the role they play in the state. "I want these players to realize the impact that they have in our state," Calipari said. "You understand that this is important to our state and it’s about bringing people together, doing things to make a difference for people’s lives, not trying to separate." During Thanksgiving, the Wildcats will take advantage of another long-led Calipa- ri tradition by serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Salvation Army in between practice sessions and a Thanksgiving dinner of their own.167 W Main Street, Lexington | @LockboxLex | LockboxLex.com LEXINGTONLocated at GLOW BIG BLUE Just blocks from Rupp Arena, we’re the perfect destination for your pre-game dinner or post-game drinks. Make a night of it and enjoy free valet parking with the 21c Game Day Package.20 @KentuckyMBB Florida Lexington, Ky. 4 p.m. Saturday February 12 Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 9 p.m. Tuesday February 15 Alabama Lexington, Ky. 1 p.m. Saturday February 19 LSU Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Wednesday February 23 Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m. Saturday February 26 Ole Miss Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday March 1 Florida Gainesville, Fla. 2 p.m. Saturday March 5 SEC Tournament Tampa, Fla. TBA Wed.-Sun. March 9-13 NCAA Tournament Final Four® New Orleans | TBA March- April TBA LSU Baton Rouge, La. 7 p.m. Tuesday January 4 Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m. Tuesday January 11 Texas A&M College Station, Texas 8:30 p.m. Wednesday January 19 Auburn Auburn, Ala. 1 or 1:30 p.m. Saturday January 22 Mississippi State Lexington, Ky. 9 p.m. Tuesday January 25 Kansas Lawrence, Kan. | SEC/Big 12 Challenge | 6 p.m. Saturday January 29 Vanderbilt Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Wednesday February 2 Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 8 p.m. Saturday February 5 South Carolina Columbia, S.C. 7 p.m. Tuesday February 8 Georgia Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. Saturday January 8 Duke New York L, 71-79 Tuesday November 9 Robert Morris Lexington, Ky. W, 100-60 Friday November 12 Mount St. Mary's Lexington, Ky. W, 80-55 Tuesday November 16 Ohio Lexington, Ky. W, 77-59 Friday November 19 North Florida Lexington, Ky. W, 86-52 Friday November 26 Central Michigan Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Monday November 29 Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. 5:15 p.m. Saturday December 11 Southern Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Tuesday December 7 Ohio State Las Vegas | CBS Sports Classic | 5:15 p.m. Saturday December 18 Louisville Lexington, Ky. 6 p.m. Wednesday December 22 Missouri Lexington, Ky. 7 p.m. Wednesday December 29 High Point Lexington, Ky. Noon Friday December 31 UAlbany Lexington, Ky. W, 86-61 Monday November 22 Home Neutral Away 2021-22 Basketball Schedule Tennessee Lexington, Ky. Noon or 1 p.m. Saturday January 15We’re your Shield. We’re your Shelter. ShelterInsurance.com • 1-800-SHELTER WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT THE KENTUCKYKENTUCKY WILDCATS!WILDCATS! KENTUCKYKENTUCKY WILDCATS!WILDCATS! ® BEAVER DAM Robbie Parham BEREA Chad Tate BENTON Michelle Clark BOWLING GREEN Nancy Hickey BUTLER Jason Laytart CAMPBELLSVILLE Joseph Hamilton CARLISLE Bill Clark CYNTHIANA David Yeiser DANVILLE Troy Wheeler ELIZABETHTOWN Jamie Martin Alice Slaubaugh EMINENCE Fred Downey EVANSVILLE, IN Rick Koberstein FAIRDALE Jamie Norsworthy FLEMINGSBURG Cole Clark FLORENCE Rocky Bryan Will Gilliland FRANKLIN Brian Knapp FRANKFORT BJ Hurst Audrey Marshall GEORGETOWN Steve Black Spencer Kilpatrick HARDINSBURG Sandra Bruington HARRODSBURG Jamie Dunn HENDERSON Lesley Liley HODGENVILLE Teddy Sandford HOPKINSVILLE Scott Leuckel LAGRANGE Paula Kaeser LANCASTER Cindy Lanham LAWRENCEBURG Ashley Bailey Larry Moore LEITCHFIELD Donna Vanmeter LEXINGTON Tony Arnold Linda Fugate Dawan Hart Willie Morrison Maddie Stiles Terry Wolfe Gene Young LIBERTY Kevin Atwood LIVERMORE Katie Gunterman LONDON Jeffery Anderson LOUISVILLE Larissa Spears MADISONVILLE Kelly Madison MAYFIELD Steve Jones MOREHEAD Caleb Staggs MOUNT STER- LING Elizabeth Shelley MURRAY Doug Henry NICHOLASVILLE Marc Miller Russ Owens OWENSBORO Karen Keller Bob Smith Nick Warren PADUCAH Toby Boone RICHMOND Ashley Kovaleski Evan Worrell SHELBYVILLE Jessica Cole SLAUGHTERS Sam Westfall SOMERSET Jason Weatherford SPRINGFIELD Sue Blair STANFORD Sean Slusher VERSAILLES Janice Frasier WINCHESTER Kay Brandenburg Olin Woolum22 @KentuckyMBB 2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW SCORING REBOUNDS No. Player GP-S Min. Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Pts Avg. Off Def Total Avg. PF A TO Stl Blk. 03 Washington Jr. , TyTy 6-6 200 33.3 36-78 .462 7-20 .350 10-12 .833 89 14.8 4 26 30 5.0 8 18 12 8 3 12 Brooks Jr., Keion 5-5 132 26.4 29-58 .500 2-10 .200 11-13 .846 71 14.2 8 19 27 5.4 4 1 12 0 5 34 Tshiebwe, Oscar 6-6 165 27.5 35-57 .614 0-0 .000 9-13 .692 79 13.2 41 55 96 16.0 14 8 13 5 10 02 Wheeler, Sahvir 6-6 195 32.5 29-66 .439 3-11 .273 10-11 .909 71 11.8 7 12 19 3.2 16 55 19 9 0 31 Grady, Kellan 6-6 152 25.3 21-44 .477 12-26 .462 4-5 .800 58 9.7 1 7 8 1.3 2 3 1 8 0 10 Mintz, Davion 4-0 85 21.3 10-22 .455 5-11 .455 5-7 .714 30 7.5 4 11 15 3.8 5 6 3 1 0 04 Collins, Daimion 6-1 86 14.3 16-24 .667 0-3 .000 4-4 1.000 36 6.0 7 10 17 2.8 13 3 8 2 9 11 Allen, Dontaie 5-0 57 11.4 10-26 .385 5-19 .263 2-2 1.000 27 5.4 1 10 11 2.2 2 5 1 2 2 23 Hopkins, Bryce 6-0 63 10.5 8-16 .500 3-6 .500 3-4 .750 22 3.7 5 10 15 2.5 4 1 5 1 2 00 Toppin, Jacob 2-0 33 16.5 3-9 .333 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 7 3.5 2 6 8 4.0 4 2 3 1 1 55 Ware, Lance 3-0 17 5.7 3-5 .600 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 6 2.0 1 2 3 1.0 3 0 2 0 1 20 Payne, Zan 4-0 5 1.3 1-3 .333 0-1 .000 2-2 1.000 4 1.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 14 Canada, Brennan 4-0 5 1.3 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 25 Watkins, Kareem 4-0 5 1.3 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0.0 1 1 2 0.5 2 1 2 1 0 Total 6 1200 200.0 201-408 .493 37-107 .346 61-75 .813 500 83.33 97 182 279 46.5 77 104 82 39 33 Opponents 1200 200.0 140-370 .378 36-133 .271 50-77 .649 366 61.00 55 105 160 26.7 75 59 75 44 17The UK HealthCare John Calipari Show Behind Kentucky Basketball SUBSCRIBE TO PODCASTS TODAY! SPORTS NETWORKSPORTS NETWORK Presented By2021-22 Central Michigan Chippewas Statistics TOTAL 3-POINT F-THROW SCORING REBOUNDS No. Player GP-S Min. Avg. FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Pts Avg. Off Def Total Avg. PF A TO Stl Blk. 10 Jackson Jr. , Jermaine 5-0 137 27.4 23-52 .442 15-34 .441 7-8 .875 68 13.6 1 10 11 2.2 9 15 14 4 0 03 Henderson, Harrison 5-5 117 23.4 18-44 .409 7-16 .438 11-20 .550 54 10.8 8 17 25 5.0 15 4 8 1 2 12 Stafl, Miroslav 2-2 40 20.0 7-16 .438 2-6 .333 3-5 .600 19 9.5 3 3 6 3.0 5 1 7 0 1 02 Miller, Kevin 5-5 100 20.0 16-37 .432 3-9 .333 6-6 1.000 41 8.2 0 2 2 0.4 4 8 7 7 0 32 Lopez Jr., Oscar 5-5 146 29.2 13-41 .317 2-11 .182 12-15 .800 40 8.0 3 17 20 4.0 15 9 10 7 1 01 Bissainthe, Ralph 2-1 53 26.5 4-14 .286 2-7 .286 4-6 .667 14 7.0 4 14 18 9.0 4 1 3 4 0 00 Taylor, Brian 5-5 151 30.2 10-26 .385 6-18- 333 2-6 .333 28 5.6 4 22 26 5.2 15 5 7 3 2 11 Healy, Cameron 5-0 91 18.2 9-20 .450 8-16 .500 0-1 .000 26 5.2 1 8 9 1.8 13 9 1 3 0 15 Polk, Aundre 5-2 55 11.0 9-16 .563 0-0 .000 2-7 .286 20 4.0 2 6 8 1.6 12 1 7 1 2 23 Jergens, Dylan 2-0 4 2.0 1-2 .500 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 2 1.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 34 Hodgson, Caleb 3-0 21 7.0 1-4 .250 0-3 .000 0-0 .000 2 0.7 0 0 0 0.0 6 1 1 2 0 22 Pavrette, Nicolas 3-0 15 5.0 1-5 .200 0-0 .000 0-1 .000 2 0.7 0 3 3 1.0 4 1 0 0 0 05 Webb, Jack 5-0 55 11.0 1-8 .125 1-7 .143 0-0 .000 3 0.6 1 3 4 0.8 5 1 2 2 1 04 Wade, Ryan 4-0 15 3.8 0-2 .000 0-2 .000 0-0 .000 0 0.0 0 1 1 0.3 2 0 0 0 0 Total 5 1000 200.0 113-287 .394 46-130 .354 47-75 .627 319 63.80 33 112 145 29.0 109 56 70 34 9 Opponents 1000 200.0 153-305 .502 41-122 .336 74-111 .667 421 84.20 60 155 215 43.0 83 78 60 35 19 Ralph Bissanthe Aundre Polk 24 @KentuckyMBBFind your vibe at VisitLEX.com26 @KentuckyMBB 2021-22 Kentucky Wildcats No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/High School 0 Jacob Toppin F 6-9 200 Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y. / Woodstock Academy 1 CJ Fredrick G 6-3 190 RJr. Cincinnati / Covington Catholic 2 Sahvir Wheeler G 5-9 180 Jr. Houston / Houston Christian 3 TyTy Washington Jr. G 6-3 197 Fr. Phoenix /Compass Prep 4 Daimion Collins F 6-9 202 Fr. Atlanta, Texas / Atlanta 10 Davion Mintz G 6-3 195 Gr. Charlotte, N.C. / Mecklenburg 11 Dontaie Allen G 6-6 205 RSo. Falmouth, Ky. / Pendleton County 12 Keion Brooks Jr. F 6-7 210 Jr. Fort Wayne, Ind. / La Lumiere School 14 Brennan Canada F 6-6 198 Jr. Mount Sterling, Ky. / George Rogers Clark 20 Zan Payne G/F 6-4 215 RJr. Lexington, Ky. / Lexington Catholic 23 Bryce Hopkins F 6-6 220 Fr. Oak Park, Ill. / Fenwick 25 Kareem Watkins G 5-8 170 So. Camden, N.J. / Kingsway Regional 31 Kellan Grady G 6-5 205 Gr. Boston / Northfield Mount Hermon School 34 Oscar Tshiebwe F 6-9 255 Jr. Lubumbashi, Congo / Kennedy Catholic 55 Lance Ware F 6-9 225 So. Camden, N.J. / Camden Coaching Staff Head Coach: John Calipari Associate to the Head Coach: James "Bruiser" Flint Associate Coach: Orlando Antigua Assistant Coaches: Ronald "Chin" Coleman, Jai Lucas Quick Facts Location: Lexington, Ky. Founded: 1865 Enrollment: 31,800 Conference: SECNext >