His game can be maddening at times, but this Kentucky Wildcat is only getting better
One of the most memorable plays in Kentucky’s win against Illinois on Sunday night wasn’t quite the dagger that put the Illini away, but it was close.
The image of Lamont Butler racing behind Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, knocking the ball away, turning on a dime and finding Brandon Garrison at the rim for a and-one finish is one that will live long in UK basketball lore if these Cats keep on winning this March. At the end of it, Garrison was the one who scored the bucket. He was the one screaming and flexing for the Milwaukee crowd. But he was the supporting player in this play.
In the moment itself and after Kentucky’s eventual 84-75 victory over Illinois to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, it was Butler’s defensive excellence that drew the most attention. Rightfully so. And that was just fine with Garrison. It’s the role he’s found himself in all season long.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound forward, who had just been selected as a McDonald’s All-American prospect the year before, committed to coaching Mark Pope’s first Kentucky squad almost a year ago. Garrison had started for Oklahoma State as a freshman. Amari Williams, a 7-footer and three-time league defensive player at the mid-major level, was already a member of the Wildcats’ transfer class. In Pope’s attacking scheme, it was obvious that the two large men could not play simultaneously—not very much, anyway.
“There was a little bit of tension on — positioning and minutes wise — how was that gonna work?” Pope told the Herald-Leader this month. “And so we actually started talking about that from day one, before I think Brandon even decided to come. Part of the conversation with Brandon was, ‘You were at Oklahoma State. You had nobody to compete with, nobody to learn from. You were just out there on an island as really the lone post presence on the entire roster.
