Friday Quickies: Fixing Devin Askew Edition

Here’s to hoping things turn around, soon.

By John Morgan Francis@MonJorgan Jan 29, 2021, 6:40am EST

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Despite shooting 2-9 on Tuesday at Alabama, Brandon Boston’s confidence quickly rose in the week prior. While it appears he may be right back in another slump, point guard Devin Askew has most certainly joined him over the last four games.

In Askew’s last 88 minutes, he’s... well... not exactly cutting it in terms of efficiency.

Devin Askew in the last 88 minutes he has played on the court: 0-13 shooting from the field
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) January 27, 2021

It’s enough for both the common fan as well as the media to see. So why is he playing so much late in games? Or even at all?

These are Askew’s last 4 games

23 mins , 0 pts, 1 reb, 2 assists
33 mins , 0 pts, 3 reb, 4 assists
30 mins, 3 pts, 5 reb, 4 assists
30 mins, 5 pts, 3 reb, 3 assists

Why is he playing so much?? Why is he playing late in the game?? WHY
— Nance. Mr Nance. (@Mr_Nance47) January 27, 2021

Kentucky is losing much more than they’re winning so far this season, so it makes sense to play their players who are playing the absolute best right now and worry about feelings/emotion later.

But that probably makes “too” much sense for head coach John Calipari. For a head coach that currently has a record of 5-10 this year, Calipari believes he has a “simple” explanation for Askew’s struggles.

Calipari on Devin Askew: “His struggling is – he and I talked again – he’s thinking too much. Really simple.” https://t.co/kobvBOY3KD
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) January 28, 2021

Unfortunately, until proven otherwise, that explanation doesn’t appear to be the solution. But hopefully we’re all wrong and Calipari will end up proving us so. Because looking at all of the successful Kentucky teams, they were driven by excellent point guard play. And right now, Kentucky doesn’t have that at all.