Goose Givens and Tom Leach share impressions after Kentucky’s 2 wins in Canada

Goose Givens and Tom Leach this week have called Kentucky’s wins over Germany and Canada in Toronto during the GLOBL JAM, a a worldwide basketball tournament.

On Friday, they offered some perspective on the play so far as it’s the first glimpse of this season’s Wildcats, notably featuring a slew of newcomers. Givens said the team has exceeded his expectations, “big time.”

“I really didn’t know what to expect, frankly, and especially since Ugo (Onyenso) went down, I knew we were going to need some bigs,” he said. “It was a big, big, big question mark going into that first game, but the team responded well. They really like playing with each other, Tom, and that’s the thing I’ve enjoyed the most up here in Canada.”

Leach noted that ball movement has been ahead of schedule as he noted UK had 27 assists on 35 baskets against Canada. Givens added that “one more pass” and rebounding have been a pair of early themes for the team.

Another wrinkle is full-court pressure and accelerating the tempo at times, Givens said.

“A lot of little things, and then all 5 guys getting back and rebounding is going to help that deficit that we’re liable to see all season,” he said.

.@goosegivens & @tomleachKY share their thoughts after @KentuckyMBB’s two wins to start the GLOBL Jam.@Hyperice pic.twitter.com/KEqfIVVsnK

— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) July 14, 2023

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.