It’s a cold, windy day in Bowling Green, Kentucky as the UAB Blazers, leaders of Conference USA, begin their shootaround in E. A. Diddle Arena. 21 games into his first season in Birmingham, opponents have become aware of Jordan Walker’s M.O. A 36-point explosion against Louisiana Tech has cemented Jelly as the conference’s premier scoring threat.
“Walker is the best player in this league, hands down,” says WKU head coach Rick Stansbury before the game. “He’s a pro. His quickness and his athleticism and his ability to shoot that basketball is very rare, a guy that’s got the abilities he has.”
“He’s a tough shot maker,” adds guard Camron Justice. “You sit down and watch one of their games and he’s kind of relentless, aggressive from start to finish. He’s definitely going to be a big key for us, trying to limit his touches, his shots, and make those shots more difficult.”
Justice’s words ring true. Using a box-and-one defense, Western spends much of the first half trying to deny Jelly the ball. Dayvion McKnight essentially face-guards Walker, staying attached to his counterpart’s hip like his life depends on it. It’s the most effective defense any C-USA team has played on Jelly up to this point. The dynamic guard is stifled through the first twelve minutes of the game, attempting just three field goals and making none of them.
“We threw a good look at him with the box-and-one,” said Hilltopper guard Josh Anderson. “I feel like it worked for a pretty good amount of time.”
With about eight minutes left in the opening period, the Hilltoppers give McKnight his first break of the afternoon. Lacking a suitable guard to head their box-and-one, Western Kentucky switches into a man-to-man defense.
“When they went man-to-man, my eyes lit up,” Walker later told AL.com’s Evan Dudley. “I knew it was going up. I don’t mean to be rude to anybody but I was not giving the ball up. I fully believe in myself. When they stopped going box-and-one and went man-to-man, I knew I was going to make a play.”
Midrange jumper. Layup. Layup. Three. Pullup two. Three. The floodgates are open. Jelly scores 14 points in the first half, and each of them comes after the Hilltoppers abandon their zone defense. Even after McKnight returns, Western declines to switch back to the box-and-one. A strong defensive effort by the Blazers closes out the half, and UAB runs to the locker room with a 34-27 lead.
To Western Kentucky’s credit, they adapt. Their man-to-man defense looks vastly improved in the second period; the Hilltoppers again frustrate Walker, denying him open looks. The UAB star scores two points and shoots just four times in the 16 minutes after halftime. The Blazers struggle with turnovers and have a hard time getting stops.
“I told our group afterward, we did as many things wrong down the stretch to allow Western to get back into it… Offensively, we were very futile in the second half,” Andy Kennedy told AL.com.
The Hilltoppers creep back into the game on the back of a monstrous Josh Anderson performance. With 44.7 seconds on the clock and UAB leading 62-60, Walker fouls WKU’s Camron Justice as he’s shooting a three. The frustration on the face of the Blazers is palpable.
Justice, an 82% three-point shooter, has no problem converting from the line. He buries all of his free throws and the Hilltoppers inch ahead, taking their first lead of the night with less than 45 seconds on the clock.
Walker drives past a Trey Jemison screen, drawing two defenders, and finds Justin Brown at the top of the key. Brown, on the court for exactly this moment, receives Jelly’s pass and buries a massive three:
But Jamarion Sharp throws down a McKnight lob to tie the game once more.
Walker dribbles up the floor and calls a timeout. It’s clear to every man, woman, and child in E.A. Diddle Arena who is going to take the final shot.
The Hilltoppers ensure Dayvion McKnight, their best defensive guard, is on the floor. When Western Kentucky returns to the court, Stansbury instructs McKnight to pick up Jelly the moment he crosses halfcourt.
“We knew it was going to him,” WKU guard Luke Frampton would later say.
When asked about UAB’s decision-making process, Walker said there were no doubts about who the Blazers wanted with the ball.
“I don’t gotta say nothing. AK says it. And everyone on the team — I don’t know, they just knew. Jelly’s gonna have it, we’re gonna live and die with him… I didn’t have to look back at my teammates like ahh, they might be mad. There wasn’t none of that. They put confidence in me.”
12.7 seconds remain in the game. Justin Brown tosses the ball into the backcourt, and Walker begins his slow march towards the basket. After a brief pause, Trey Jemison sets a screen near the WKU logo.
“That daggone screen was so high and so deep,” a dejected Stansbury told the media. “I know it was 30 feet at least, wasn’t it? It had to be 30 feet.”
McKnight, who defended Walker so well in the first half, is a step late and can’t force his way around Jemison.
“The best part about this play — and he won’t get credit for it — Trey Jemison,” Jelly told Swish. “He hit him! I’m free! I don’t see nobody. I don’t see the person guarding me. Number 20 is out of the play. I don’t even see him anymore, all because of Trey Jemison’s screen.”
Walker steps, gathers, and launches, catching Jarius Hamilton, Jemison’s defender, off guard.
“[Hamilton] has gotta get up on that screen. Gotta get up on that screen,” said Stansbury. “[Hamilton] wasn’t up on that screen.”
The ball is in the air for less than two seconds, but it feels like an eternity.
GOT IT!
“Give the young man some credit. I don’t know if that’s the shot they wanted — a 30, 35 footer, whatever it was — I don’t know. But he jumped up and took it,” Stansbury said. “That’s what he does. That’s what he’s been doing.”
When asked what UAB did to win the game, Josh Anderson shrugged, his eyes lowered.
“Bro was just making shots, man.”
The Box Score and Dominance categories are relative to Jelly’s standards, obviously.
Box Score – 2/10
Walker certainly didn’t play poorly — he scored 21 points on 42.9% three-point shooting, dished out five assists, and recorded just two turnovers — but he was mortal. His Game Score against WKU was just 14.6, the lowest of any game in our top 20.
Dominance – 3/10
Western Kentucky effectively shut Walker down for most of the first half and all of the second half — barring the final ten seconds, of course.
Game Importance – 3/10
At the time, Conference USA was split into “East” and “West.” The Blazers were sitting atop the standings, having just picked up a head-to-head win over western rival Louisiana Tech. A loss to Western Kentucky, a member of the East division, wouldn’t have been devastating.
Long Odds – 3/10
The Hilltoppers were very solid in 2022 and Diddle Arena is always a tough place to play. However, UAB was clearly the better team and the Blazers led for nearly the entire game.
Clutchness – 9/10
A 30-foot three to break a tie with four seconds left. This performance could only be more clutch if it was in a postseason game.
Other Factors – 2/10
It’s always nice to beat longtime rival Western Kentucky, and this was UAB’s first win in Bowling Green in three years.