Texas Tech football: 3 Kentucky stars Red Raider fans need to know

Point guard Ashton Hagans is Kentucky’s catalyst

6-foot-3 point guard Ashton Hagans is the player that is most important to Kentucky.  At 13.6 points per game, he’s second on the team and he leads the SEC in assists at 7.3 per game.

To understand just how well he can fill up a box score, consider what he did against Georgia.  According to Dean Straka of 247Sports, he became just the fifth NCAA Division I men’s basketball player since 2010-2011 to have at least 23 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 1 block against another Division I opponent.

Hagans is skilled in a number of the nuances that might not be immediately recognizable.  One important one is his ability to feed the post, which is something Tech will try to make difficult for him given that the Red Raiders will want to try to limit Richards’ touches.

He’s also a cerebral player who, according to the aforementioned article by Straka, often leads his team’s discussions during timeouts.  He is also improved as a shooter as he’s elevated his 3-point percentage from 27.5% last year to 30.8% this year.  Still, expect the game plan to be to force him to settle for long-range jumpers.

Additionally, the 20-year-old is incredibly poised, something that will serve his team well in what will no doubt be a hostile environment on Saturday.  For what it’s worth, Calipari has said that Hagans is the best point guard in the nation and though a few other players might take offense to that, it’s hard to find many that are better.

At times though, he’s had problems protecting the ball.  He averages 2.7 turnovers per game and has had at least four in seven games this season.

He’s also sometimes susceptible to lapses on the defensive end of the floor.  What’s more, he’s fouled out in two of his last three games.

But when it all breaks down and Kentucky needs a bucket or a play at the end of the shot clock, they are going to get the ball to Hagans.  Whether or not Tech can keep him from playing the role of hero is going to be one of the most important elements of this game.