Kilpatrick stars in World University Games Prelims

Team USA kicked off the World University Games in Kazan, Russia with a pair of eye opening performances. USA faced the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and throttled UAE with a 140-46 win. Although the margin of victory in this contest seems outrageous, the largest margin of victory recorded in this tournament was 150 points by USA in the 1970's. 

Many players on the twelve man roster contributed to Team USA's success in the opener, but UC superstar Sean Kilpatrick shined against UAE. Kilpatrick came off the bench to lead all scorers in the game with eighteen points. Kilpatrick was extremely pesky on defense, not allowing his man to get past him and even forcing a turnover on a steal late in the game on an attempted pass. UAE couldn't compete against the Big East style of physical defense that Kilpatrick displayed throughout the game, and his energy as a dynamic sixth man played a large part in holding UAE to under fifty points scored.

The eighteen points came in a multitude of ways for the Bearcats' senior guard. Kilpatrick was an ultra-efficient seven of fourteen from the field and scored on fast breaks and from behind the three point line. Many of Kilpatrick's three pointers were from the corner on uncontested shots. UAE had a lot of trouble keeping an eye on Kilpatrick in the offensive sets USA executed, and Kilpatrick slipped to the openings in the defense and made his opponents pay four times from behind the arc. "We just wanted to keep the pedal to the metal because we know that any team here is good," Kilpatrick said following USA's victory. "So, it is great to send a message in the first game."

Kilpatrick's twenty-four minutes against UAE tied Indiana's Yogi Farrell for the most played by anyone on the roster, and Kilpatrick also recorded four rebounds and three assists. Just by watching the game against UAE, it looks like Kilpatrick has further polished a deadly three point shot since the season ended in March, and he is surely enjoying playing with talented distributors on the team such as Farrell and 6'6 point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who combined for over twenty assists in the game.

USA advanced to 2-0 in the tournament earlier today with a 96-53 victory over a more talented Czech Republic team. Doug McDermott and Luke Hancock showed off their skilled affinity for scoring with twenty-three and fifteen points respectively, and Hancock was five for ten from behind the three point line. Kilpatrick once again provided a spark in his fifteen minutes of action. Kilpatrick scored seven points in his nine shot opportunities from the field.

Kilpatrick and Team USA will look to continue their hot start to the tournament with a matchup against Sweden on Wednesday. Kilpatrick is averaging 12.5 points per game against the top college aged talent in the world, and USA certainly needs his tremendous scoring ability to continue to advance through the upcoming later rounds when the opponents begin to get stronger. Kilpatrick is one of the top scorers in UC program history, and he won't shy away from any chances to put the ball in the hoop.

Rich Hidy
Cincy Sports Spot

Kilpatrick represents Bearcats in World University Games

Sean Kilpatrick isn't enjoying a typical summer for a college basketball player. Instead of playing in the local Deveroes Summer League and training in Cincinnati this year like many of his teammates and Xavier foes, Kilpatrick secured a spot on the prestigious 2013 USA Men's World University Games team roster. Kilpatrick celebrated Independence Day overseas while representing his home country on the court. The 2013 World University Games take place in Kazan, Russia, and run from the prelims on July 7 through the final round on July 16. Kilpatrick is one of 12 collegiate upperclassmen on the team coached by Davidson's Bob McKillop. Michigan's John Beilein and South Carolina's Frank Martin are assistants on the staff.

The roster is made up of established and rising stars in the college ranks. The most notable player on the team is Creighton's incoming senior, Doug McDermott. However, McDermott is surrounded by a supporting cast of elite college players like Kilpatrick, Indiana sophomore Yogi Ferrell, Louisville's National Championship hero Luke Hancock, and New Mexico 7-footer Alex Kirk.

Kilpatrick is competing with some of the best of his peers and is gaining some unbelievable experience before returning to UC in the fall. Kilpatrick is currently practicing against a couple of players who can clog the lane like McDermott and Kirk, and his job is to discover how to score on the big men by driving into the lane in practice and how to apply his skill set to the actual tournament. When Kilpatrick attacks the hoop well and doesn't settle for jump shots, he can really be an efficient scorer. Kilpatrick will also benefit from learning from a National Championship coach like Beilein.

Kilpatrick's experience in Russia could help him immensely in preparation for his senior season. The experience will help him take a more active leadership role that Mick Cronin will surely expect him to embrace with Cashmere Wright and JaQuan Parker graduated. The more Kilpatrick can play and get his feel for the game going even in the offseason, the better. Kilpatrick is a streaky player who becomes a more adept scorer as the game goes on. He will benefit from learning to compete against new opponents from around the world that he hasn't seen tape of or played against before instead of the typical Big East opponents he has been used to battling over his first three seasons at UC.

Team USA kicked off the tournament with an exhibition round against UNICS, a Russian Pro Club, on July 4. Luke Hancock was the leading scorer for USA in the victory, 96-60, with 14 points, but Kilpatrick held his own and contributed for 19 minutes. Kilpatrick didn't try to force the issue by taking only five shots, but he made two of them and had seven total points along with four boards and three assists.

Fans of Kilpatrick and the other college stars on this year's Team USA roster can track the progress of the group on usabasketball.com. USA is in Pool C along with countries such as Australia, Canada and Sweden. USA should be able to roll over the competition on talent alone, but if this team led by Kilpatrick and McDermott can develop team camaraderie, the summer hoops tournament could be very enjoyable to watch.