Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. has unfinished business with Kentucky

Rupp Arena isn’t Rupp Arena, not this season. And those Wildcats struggling in front of empty seats, they aren’t what we’d expect from Kentucky, either.

Yet as lightly regarded Vanderbilt pushed them to the finish line in a tense, close basketball game Tuesday night, a comment from analyst Jon Sundvold on the SEC Network broadcast was eye-opening all the same: “Advantage Vandy, because they have the best player on the floor.”

© James Crisp, AP
Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr., right, passes around Kentucky’s Devin Askew during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

He was referring to sophomore guard Scotty Pippen Jr., and he wasn’t kidding. Pippen was outplaying the Big Blue’s blue-chippers and putting the Commodores on his back, nearly carrying them to a huge victory.

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It slipped away in the final minute. Kentucky sank a 3-pointer, and Vanderbilt missed a pair of them to lose 77-74 despite Pippen’s 18 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and many heroics.

Best player on the floor? You bet

And it meant something to him to be called that.

“Kentucky was my dream school,” Pippen said afterward. “I was not heavily recruited. I was a three-star prospect coming out of high school, at most. I’m trying to prove everyone wrong, coming out with a chip on my shoulder and show that stars don’t matter.”

Sounds strange, considering the bloodlines. Pippen’s pedigree — being the son of Chicago Bulls great Scottie Pippen — is hardly that of a basketball underdog.

But a famous father doesn’t matter much in recruiting. Playing out of California, Pippen’s best offer was the one he accepted from Vanderbilt. He never heard from Kentucky.

“I knew Scotty from his dad,” second-year Commodores coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “It just kind of worked out that I came here and he had already committed. It was a situation for him where he had the smarts to be able to get into Vanderbilt and he could hopefully one day stick it to Kentucky, a team that didn’t recruit him the way that he probably felt that he could have been recruited.”

Whatever it was that colleges didn’t see in Pippen in high school, Stackhouse did when he got to Vanderbilt. He immediately made his point guard of the future and began building around him. Pippen started 31 of 32 games last season as a true freshman. He averaged 12 points and made the SEC All-Freshman team.

He was a promising player, but his improvement so far as a sophomore has been staggering, especially as a scorer.

Entering Tuesday night’s game, Pippen was averaging 22.6 points a game, second-best in the SEC. The Commodores’ offense runs through him. He has become both a distributing playmaker and the most prominent scorer for a team trying to replace two NBA draft picks in Aaron Nesmith and Saben Lee.

“Being the man this year,” Pippen said, “I’ve got to take over in those moments and just be aggressive when my team needs me.”

© Arden Barnes, Arden Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2021; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Isaiah Jackson (23) and guard Brandon Boston Jr. (3) block a shot by Vanderbilt Commodores guard Scotty Pippen Jr. (2) during the first half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Arden Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Against Kentucky, Pippen made 8 of 16 shots, and most were drives to the basket. Twice in the game’s final two minutes, the 6-foot-3 Pippen fearlessly drove at 7-foot Kentucky center Olivier Sarr. The first resulted in a basket and Sarr’s fourth foul. The second fouled out the Wildcats’ leading scorer with 1:03 remaining.

“Pippen, look, how many did he end up with? 18? I mean, he’s a good player,” UK coach John Calipari said. “They’re going to win games because they make shots.”

Pippen’s two free throws tied the score before Davion Mintz made a 3-pointer that won the game for Kentucky (3-6).

Vanderbilt (4-4) made eight 3-pointers in the first half and led by 9 before intermission. The Commodores only made two from long range in the second half, though.

So a tough defeat, one that got away. But a sign of progress, considering Vanderbilt lost by double digits to Richmond (by 11), Davidson (by 20) and in the SEC opener against Florida (by 19).

Pippen didn’t quite get what he sought against Kentucky, but it won’t be his final opportunity.

“He’s going to get them back,” Stackhouse said. “I thought we had a good chance to get them tonight. Fortunately, we’ll see them again at our place (on Feb. 17), and hopefully, that chip on his shoulder will be even bigger.”

Reach Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt’s Scotty Pippen Jr. has unfinished business with Kentucky | Estes