Kentucky basketball started slow but finished strong at the 2023 GLOBL JAM Gold medal game Sunday night, beating Team Canada 89-72.

The Wildcats did not lose once through the tournament and walk away with the Gold and a 4-0 record in Toronto.

5-star freshman Justin Edwards was the most impressive player on the court for the Wildcats/Team USA Sunday night. He dropped a team-high 23 points with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and a pair of blocks.

Tre Mitchell, who recently transferred from West Virginia, also had a strong game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.

Antonio Reeves was named tournament MVP following the game.

The Wildcats are definitely still a work in progress, but this weekend was a strong one for John Calipari’s uber-talented squad. Freshmen Edwards, DJ Wagner and 4-star SG Reed Sheppard looked the part alongside strong veteran sprints from both Mitchell and Antonio Reeves.

Team Canada is no Arkansas or Tennessee but does have a few solid Division 1 basketball players on its roster, including Butler’s Jahmyl Telfort (16.4 ppg last season) and Maine’s Kellen Tynes (14.3 ppg).

There is plenty of room for improvement defensively, especially in transition. This is not exactly unexpected from a young team.

However, the Wildcats were missing a pair of players who will be in the main rotation come November (Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso) and have plenty of time to fine tune before the season tips off.