NEW YORK -- John Calipari knew Malik Monk was set to pop.
The Kentucky freshman had what Calipari would describe after the game as "one of the best shootarounds that any of our players have had in the last few years."
High praise -- and an omen of positivity. Monk's shootaround showing carried over and turned into the most important factor in No. 2 UK's nonchalant 69-48 blowout victory over No. 13 Michigan State on Tuesday night at the Champions Classic.
Monk struggled in Kentucky's first two home games against sub-par foes. His emergence is big for a Kentucky team that will rely on his deep ball. The heralded shooter sank seven 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to go with six rebounds and just one foul in UK's impressive victory. The Wildcats are now 3-0 and looking like a team rightfully pegged in the top five of every preseason poll of significance.
Monk, who was a streaky but electric scorer as a prospect, went 7-of-11 from deep. He has the potential to lead Kentucky in scoring, and if he leads UK the way he did on Tuesday night, he'll blossom into one of the must-see players in the sport this season. It was the breakout game the Wildcats needed. Monk was all smiles and quips at the postgame press conference. He even said the environment of a filled Madison Square Garden paled to what he experienced in high school.
I'm sorry -- what? Yeah. That is right: Monk didn't think much about an MSG crowd. He came from the frenzy of Arkansas high gyms, after all.
"Coming from Arkansas, I was like the top player in Arkansas, of course, but every game was packed for me," Monk said. "I had a lot of adversity, because I committed to Kentucky and I was from Arkansas. I was used to a lot of [that]."
Monk has an unconcerned disposition. Cal doesn't want that anywhere near the team, not before the games and not during them.
"Getting him and De'Aaron (Fox) to not be casual," Calipari said. "They think they're getting ready for an AAU game. They get hungry, they want something to eat. What are you talking about? They've got to have another habit."
Draining treys is one habit Monk will quickly get addicted to. Not every night will be like this, but Calipari will look to him to be a reliability on offense. The way he plays off Fox can be a dynamic no other team in college hoops can duplicate. When both of those players go, they flash and blur.
"He is one of the most athletic kids that I've coached," Calipari said of Monk, and then later added that Fox is an even faster player at the college level than John Wall was.
If Monk's breakout was the top story, Kentucky's defense is the sidebar. The Spartans couldn't even crack half a hundred. MSU's turnover problems stemmed from Kentucky's attack, Kentucky's length and athleticism. Speaking of AAU, Tom Izzo had trouble accepting what he saw from his guys.
"I'm actually a little embarrassed," Izzo said. "We looked like a team that was an AAU team."
There was no offense to be had for Sparty, and a lot of one-on-one bravado that ended in embarrassment too many times at the rim or with turnovers -- MSU had 20 of them.
With that, MSU just didn't have offense it could create with any consistency.
Kentucky shot just 38 percent -- and it won by more than 20 points. That's outrageous, and something we probably won't see duplicated anywhere in college basketball the rest of the season but a handful of times.
"We did play crazy defense today," Isaiah Briscoe said.
Michigan State stud freshman Miles Bridges had his share of wowing play, but in the end he wound up nine turnovers and just six points. Shut down Bridges, shut down Michigan State. That's the scouting report right now. He had a few absolutely spectacular defensive plays. Chase-down blocks that looked as beautiful as they did aggressive. But he had no help on offense. Creation was not there.
"When he drove there was somebody already in his lap, which is why he turned it over," Calipari said.
Izzo said this team is one of the best teams he's seen Calipari field and we're just three games into the season. The expectation for Cal is this group to be, without debate, the best defensive squad in the nation by February. It's on its way, sure, but remember that MSU has no point guard and its interior is missing critical pieces. A complete win against an incomplete team came on Tuesday night for UK.
Calipari wants his team to learn to "fail fast." They do a lot of things fast, some with more burst than almost any other team.
"The difference in the game was Monk," Izzo said.
Without a doubt. With Monk's range, confidence, athletic ability and aggressive mindset, he pushed UK past MSU before halftime came. In the second half, Kentucky was allowed to fail in spots -- though those spots were rare. This is one of the best freshman classes Calipari's ever had, which is saying a lot. The defense is going to show up almost every time. We see now what happens when Monk is in the fold. Kentucky looks more complete, tougher to guard and eminently watchable.
Anything but casual.
