Cauley-Stein: All-American, but not Player of the Year candidate?

By: LARRY VAUGHT

Kentucky junior Willie Cauley-Stein was named as one of 20 finalists for the 2015 John R. Wooden Award Wednesday — and certainly has been a key player for No. 1 and unbeaten Kentucky this season.

He had 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting — most were highlight reel dunks — along with seven rebounds, three blocks, one steal and one assist in 29 minutes in Tuesday’s win at LSU.

He’s averaging 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and has had 11 double-figure scoring games. His best outing was a 21-point, 12-rebound performance against Texas in early December.

He leads the team with 34 steals and also has 39 blocks. He became the first UK player to amass 200 career blocks and 100 career steals. He’s also just one of just eight players in program history with 500 or more rebounds, 100 or more blocks and 75 or more steals.

But do his numbers qualify him as a legitimate player of the year candidate in college basketball?

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale doesn’t think so.

Vitale recently did an all-American team and had Cauley-Stein among his top five players “because his defense is so special and his rebounding ability.” But Vitale says he could not rank him as the nation’s top player.

“I would not put him in the top two or three. That’s for sure. But I definitely put him as an all-American if you are looking for all the intangibles. His size is so intimidating. His shot blocking ability, rebounding ability. Those are pluses. It is not just about scoring,” Vitale said.

“And you have to remember this, he doesn’t play 35 minutes a night. But he is a very good player. It’s tough to be a player of the year with Kentucky because of their system and not playing minutes and getting stats. Players of the year over the years have been guys who get stats, get numbers.”

Remember about this time last year Vitale called Cauley-Stein the nation’s “biggest tease” because of his propensity to play well one game and then disappear in other games — a trend that has continued at times during SEC play. However, Cauley-Stein admitted last year that Vitale was right.

“I saw what he told you about that. I think he is much more consistent and the confidence factor is there this year. I think he feels good about himself,” Vitale said. “I think it was a great answer he gave you about that. It was a compliment I was giving him, not ripping him. You see the potential he has. In today’s day and age it is very unique and special to see a player take something the right way.

“But he can be doing more. He is agile, mobile. Has great size. You look at his numbers and they have to be much better than they are for his skills. However, he also has a knack for making his biggest plays at the right time and that’s really, really special.”

Florida coach Billy Donovan, who watched Cauley-Stein throw down a game-changing highlight dunk against his team Saturday, said Cauley-Stein reminded him of a “young colt” as a freshman.

“He had great length and size, but he just didn’t always know what to do. He has progressed and gotten better each year,” Donovan said. “I think because of (Karl-Anthony) Towns and (Dakari) Johnson there is not a great need for him to be a great low post scorer.

“The one thing I really respect about him is the way is able to get a lot into the game without scoring a basket. I don’t know him, but he does not seem like a guy wrapped up in wanting to score. He has figured out how he can really impact his team defensively.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari likes that, but he also wants him to be a bit more assertive offensively.

“Be who you are. Go play, man. Get off the floor. Block shots. Do what you do. I’m trying to tell all these kids: There’s nothing holding you back. I don’t hold you back. You can say that. ‘I come out when I make a mistake,’ and you all look and say, ‘No you don’t. That’s not true.’ ‘Well, I’ve always said that since high school.’ You can’t say that anymore. I want you to perform and play,” Calipari said.

Yet Willie can be Willie. After Tuesday’s rally and win at LSU, he told media members he didn’t realize LSU went on a 16-0 run.

“You didn’t even realize it. It was just chip, chip and chip. The way we play, you aren’t worried about what other teams are doing. They could be making plays, and you don’t even realize they are making plays. We just have to stay with what we are doing. If we stay with what we are doing, we end up winning the game,” Cauley-Stein said.

“You stay solid. Once you have a couple of breakdowns that is your lesson. You can’t have any more breakdowns. Toward the end, our breakdowns are cut. Then, you can make up for it. You can scramble, and you can switch. It is a bear to score on us in that situation.”

Don’t worry about opposing fans bothering him, either.

“That is what you sign up for when you come to Kentucky. They tell you that when they are in your home visiting you, it’s going to be a sell-out every night. It’s going to be a gold-out, a black-out or a white-out every night. Everyone is going to have t-shirts. That’s what it is when you sign up to play here. It’s good for us,” Cauley-Stein said.