Kentucky Basketball: Tyler Ulis Emerging as Wildcats’ Leader

By Matt Johnson | Nov 22, 2015

As one powder blue and white team falls, another royal blue and white outfit is primed to take its place. Therein lies the message of the past day in an ever-changing college basketball world.

But is Kentucky, a team that lost seven players to the NBA Draft after last season and is heavily built by freshmen, prepared to assume the mantle of No. 1? Ready or not, John Calipari’s Wildcats will undoubtedly find themselves manning that perch following North Carolina’s 71-67 road loss to Northern Iowa Saturday.

Granted, the Tar Heels were without the services of do-everything lead guard Marcus Paige. North Carolina fans still had plenty to grumble about however after their team was outscored 39-26 in the second half and connected on just 5-of-18 three-point attempts. Without Paige, Roy Williams’ veteran-laden club couldn’t make plays down the stretch or overcome a balanced Panthers offensive attack that saw four players score in double-figures.

As for Kentucky, the Wildcats are living large at the moment after wins over Duke and Wright State in recent days. Against the Blue Devils, Kentucky won the turnover battle 16-9 and limited Mike Krzyzewski’s national champs to 40.7 percent shooting.

Even more impressive was the defensive effort put-in against Duke’s high-flying Grayson Allen. The dynamic sophomore, who had been averaging 27 points per game heading into the contest, was held to six points on 2-of-11 shooting.

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When the Wildcats sprinted out to 38-straight wins to begin 2014-15, their attack was predicated primarily on shut-down defense. While Kentucky was efficient on offense, it’s lockdown “D” had analysts drooling over UK’s place amongst the all-time greats.

The memory of that outfit’s flame-out against Wisconsin at last year’s Final Four remains fresh in the minds of Wildcats fans. Still, if Kentucky is to make another run, defense will feature prominently. Just make sure not to overlook the importance of point guard Tyler Ulis in that equation.

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

It should come as no surprise that Ulis, the dynamic 5-foot-9 playmaker, stepped up against Duke with a game-high 18 points, six assists and zero turnovers in a full 40-minute performance. After all, such are the moments he’s waited more than a year for.

Even as his Wildcats’ teammates received all kinds of accolades last year, the diminutive guard was content to play second-fiddle to the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Willie Cauley-Stein and Devin Booker.

A year older and better, Ulis’ time has arrived. Forget freshmen Skal Labissiere, Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray, who started alongside Ulis against Duke. Or that those three have already emerged as double-figure scorers. The bottom line is that this is Ulis’ team, and if Kentucky is going to take the final step towards another title in 2015-16, it’s going to be Calipari’s sophomore point guard that makes the difference.

Ulis knows Kentucky’s system and doesn’t turn the ball over. To top it off, he plays aggressively on both ends of the floor. Ulis’ pairing with Murray has already provided dividends defensively as the duo has combined for 12 steals in four games.

Is Kentucky a finished product? Absolutely not. No team can be crowned after just four games. And as North Carolina’s result with Northern Iowa proved, any team can be beaten under the right circumstances.

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The Wildcats will undoubtedly drop games here and there. Maturity in college hoops is learned after all, not endowed. And label of being No. 1 in any college basketball poll also provides a massive target for opponents to aim at.

One thing has already become clear for Kentucky however. No matter where the royal blue and white ultimately ends up, it’ll be because Tyler Ulis led them there.

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