Kentucky Basketball: 3 takeaways from Wildcats season-opener loss to Duke

3. Kellan Grady had a solid debut, but more will be expected

Former Davidson standout Kellan Grady didn’t have a terrible outing with Kentucky basketball in his debut, finishing with nine points and two rebounds on 3-of-7 shooting from 3-point range. It was a tale of two halves for Grady as he started out strong in the first half but faded in the second half.

Grady had a strong first half, scoring all nine of his points in the game off the bench in a pivotal point of the game. However, he faded down the stretch, going 0-for-3 in the second half after knocking 3-of-4 of his 3-pointers in the first half.

Across 30 minutes of action, Grady also snagged just two rebounds. In a game where playing time comes to those who can do multiple things on the floor, he’ll have to expand his own role a bit more as one of the top sharpshooters in college basketball.

It’s clear that the Wildcats need another playmaker that can do more than just score on the floor. At times, the offense stalled for them but they were bailed out by a Sahvir Wheeler-quick pass or an offensive rebound from Oscar Tshiebwe.

In a perfect world, you’ll want them to but as Kentucky looks to build other options on the floor, it’s something they’ll need to think about after seeing just two players finish scoring in double figures.