SB Nation - Darius Miller

Kentucky 90, Indiana 73: Postmortem

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:37:10 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Board domination, thy name is Patrick Patterson.

I'm taking a big, deep drought of the "John Wall as Player of the Year" Kool-Aid today, because he earned it. Blue raspberry. Mmmm. Good.

Congrats to the Indiana Hoosiers for playing a great first half of college basketball. Maurice Creek is definitely the real deal, and Tom Crean has this team playing at a high level considering how few true big people they have on the roster. Indiana is a team on the rise, and Tom Crean is quite likely a future Hall of Famer. This series will get much tougher for UK in very short order, I predict.

I loved the atmosphere in Assembly Hall today, it was truly excellent. The fans turned out in droves to see this great game, and they deserve all sorts of kudos for creating a terrific atmosphere for this storied rivalry.

There is no doubt whatsoever that this was the best game Kentucky has played this year, by a very wide margin. Almost everybody got involved offensively, due in no small part to the outstanding play of John Wall, which I'll talk more about later. I was very pleased by the way the 'Cats communicated and shared the basketball, and I have no doubt that Calipari was pleased as well. What the coaching staff will not be pleased at was the poor defense in the first half. To Coach Cal's credit, he motivated the team to a much better defensive second half, which resulted in the kind of dominating victory that should reasonably have been expected by a team as talented as this UK group.

More after the jump.

Here are my observations:

John Wall showed today that he can learn lessons, and will trust his teammates. This was, barring his relatively poor defense, simply an outstanding game for the superstar freshman. I could not be more pleased with how he played, and how well he passed the basketball. When Wall plays like that, I don't think Kentucky can lose. Penetrate and kick, and let your teammates score. Great stuff.
Eric Bledsoe has really worked hard on his shot, and it paid off in spades today. He was white-hot from the perimeter, and played by far his best game as a Wildcat. Bledsoe played great defense on Maurice Creek in the second half, and that was a big reason that UK won going away.
Patrick Patterson was again the man, and I am glad to see him get more touches than he did in the UConn game. He made the most of them. And he did a great job on the glass as well with eight boards.
DeMarcus Cousins was absolutely a beast in the post today. Easily his best game, competition consideration included, that he has played so far.
Ramon Harris -- Five big rebounds, three of them offensive. I still wish he could score, but he brings a lot of good energy to the team when he is in, and his judgement is very sound.
Daniel Orton was a little off this game. That's okay, he has been a difference maker in most games, and he is entitled to a clunker now and then.
Darnell Dodson played better today than in a long while on both ends of the floor. We need his length and shooting.
Darius Miller should have done more on the boards, but he had the second most assists on the team with four. Seven points, four assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers in 18 minutes is a good line.
Our team rebounding was really awesome, and blockouts were terrific.
Our team defense was not awesome. It was pretty good in the second half, though.
I loved Calipari giving a disappointed Cousins noogies to cheer him up. It worked perfectly.
Don't know what Cal said at halftime to change our defensive fortunes, but he should bottle it and keep it with him at all times.

No question, the best offense UK has played all year, and decent D in the second half. There are a lot of good things and fewer than normal bad things to take away from this game. I am very excited to see some really good, high-quality basketball, and see it for more than five or ten minutes. Any UK fan who saw this game has got to be pleased, not just with the outcome, but with the process.

More, please.

Kentucky Wildcats @ Indiana Hoosiers: Pre-Game Analysis

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:29:49 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

Eric Bledsoe is due for a performance versus the Hoosiers.

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It's time again for the border war -- the Kentucky Wildcats head north to challenge the Indiana Hoosiers in one of the longest-running and best rivalries between two schools in the nation.

This game is simply chock full of tradition and great games, from the 1975 classic in the NCAA Mideast Regional Finals to the 1998 overtime game in Freedom Hall, this series has been full of twists, turns, blowouts and close games. I believe this will likely be the last time UK faces Indiana with a prohibitive advantage in talent, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Kentucky has a small advantage in all-time wins versus the Hoosiers, 29-23, with our last loss to the Crimson and Cream back in 2007 at the hands of Cell Phone Kelvin Sampson's second and final Indiana team that included Eric Gordon and D.J. White. IU creamed the 'Cats that day, 70-51.

The Hoosiers are in the process of rebuilding a team decimated after Sampson's firing and subsequent defection of players to the NBA, loss to disciplinary actions and just plain thrown out. What was left wasn't pretty, and the proud Hoosiers suffered through a 6-25 season in 2008-09, the worst I can ever remember at IU.

But with a strong recruiting class and some solid returning players, the Crimson and Cream are playing much better basketball now than last year, just coming off a huge win over the Pittsburgh Panthers in Madison Square Garden. That victory brought the Hoosier's record this year to 4-4, and although they don't figure to challenge for the Big Ten crown or even an NCAA berth this year, they have a good team that will only get better as the younger players get experience. And we know that Tom Crean is a fine coach, having owned UK the last two times he played us while coach at Marquette.

Today, I had a nice long Q&A with Scott at Crimsoncast, which you can find linked here for your listening pleasure. It was a wide-ranging discussion about the rivalry that you may find interesting.

More after the jump.

Four Factors Analysis

As usual, we will begin our pre-game with the analysis of the Four Factors to Winning, compiled in this nice, interactive dashboard by A Sea of Blue member sylvar.

Looking at the offensive efficiency, we see that in all but the very first game, Kentucky has been far more efficient offensively than the Hoosiers. In fact, the Hoosiers have struggled at times this year, and even in their last game, a victory over a good team, they managed to achieve only 97.7 points/100 possessions. UK, on the other hand, had an OE of 110.6 in a tough, low-scoring battle with UConn. You can see the dial pointer well in the red for Indiana (the ranges use last year's top ten for scale), and Kentucky's is just below the green.

Defensively, Indiana is much better than they are offensively. As you can see, IU is allowing only 3.4 points/100 possessions more than Kentucky is, and both teams have been on a very even trend lately. So much like UConn, the Hoosiers are a solid defensive squad. Unlike UConn, the Hoosiers have trouble putting the ball in the basket.

Moving on to the Four Factors themselves, we see that UK is creeping up toward the kind of effective FG% they will need to reach the Great Eight at least in March, well over 50%. The Hoosiers are laboring around 47%, and that is an area they will need to improve to be competitive with the 'Cats.

Turnover-wise, the Hoosiers take better care of the ball, but not by much. Offensive rebounding is a mismatch, and will likely represent the statistic that will get the Crimson and Cream blown out if they allow the kind of disparity represented by the trend so far. Surprisingly, the Hoosiers are good at getting to the free throw line, and that is not a statistic that UK usually loses.

Defensively, the teams are very close to equal (remember lower is better for defensive eFG%). Indiana has been forcing more turnovers lately, but they give up way too many offensive rebounds. The Hoosiers also do not mind sending teams to the line, which could be a blessing or a curse for the Wildcats, depending on who they foul.

In the miscellaneous category, the Hoosiers are shooting 35.5% from three versus UK's 36.8%, and the Wildcats actually take more threes than the Hoosiers do per field goal try, which I find a bit surprising. Also somewhat surprising is that the Hoosiers actually play at a higher tempo, on average, than the Wildcats.

Next, we'll look at the players for the Hoosiers, and their stats:

Indiana Hoosiers Basketball Roster

	#	Pos.	Comments	W	H	College
Kory Barnett	-	F	-	186	6-6	sophomore
Bobby Capobianco	23	F	Spot minutes	230	6-9	freshman
Maurice Creek	3	G	Starter	200	6-5	freshman
Devan Dumes	33	G	Major reserve	188	6-2	senior
Derek Elston	32	F	Major reserve	220	6-9	freshman
Brett Finkelmeier	4	G	-	188	6-1	junior
Steven Gambles	24	F	-	220	6-4	senior
Jordan Hulls	1	G	Major reserve	170	6-0	freshman
Tijan Jobe	40	C	Spot minutes	255	7-0	senior
Verdell Jones III	12	G	Starter	176	6-5	sophomore
Daniel Moore	11	G	Spot minutes	167	5-11	sophomore
Bawa Muniru	15	C	-	260	6-10	freshman
Tom Pritchard	25	F	Starter	242	6-9	sophomore
Jeremiah Rivers	5	G	Starter	210	6-5	junior
Matt Roth	30	G	-	186	6-3	sophomore
Christian Watford	2	F	Starter	215	6-8	freshman

Indiana Statistics

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Maurice Creek	8	25.5	5.5	11.4	48.4	2.1	5.4	39.5	2.5	3.6	69.0	1.9	2.3	4.1	2.0	1.3	1.5	0.5	1.8	15.6
Christian Watford	8	26.8	3.9	9.5	40.8	0.4	1.1	33.3	5.1	6.4	80.4	1.6	4.9	6.5	0.6	2.5	1.3	1.1	2.4	13.3
Verdell Jones III	8	28.5	4.8	12.1	39.2	0.4	1.6	23.1	2.6	4.3	61.8	1.0	2.8	3.8	3.1	2.3	1.4	0.6	1.6	12.5
Derek Elston	8	17.6	3.1	6.3	50.0	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.9	1.8	50.0	2.1	2.6	4.8	0.5	1.1	1.3	0.1	2.1	7.6
Jeremiah Rivers	8	29.3	2.3	5.8	39.1	0.0	0.1	0.0	2.8	4.8	57.9	1.1	4.6	5.8	4.4	4.0	1.0	0.6	2.5	7.3
Devan Dumes	8	15.9	1.5	5.0	30.0	1.0	2.8	36.4	1.0	1.6	61.5	0.5	1.8	2.3	1.4	1.9	1.1	0.1	1.6	5.0
Tom Pritchard	8	17.9	1.9	3.1	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	1.8	64.3	1.6	1.6	3.3	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.6	3.8	4.9
Jordan Hulls	8	15.0	0.8	2.5	30.0	0.5	1.5	33.3	0.8	1.0	75.0	0.3	1.0	1.3	1.4	0.6	0.5	0.0	1.5	2.8
Matt Roth	2	5.5	0.5	1.0	50.0	0.0	0.5	0.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0
Bobby Capobianco	8	9.3	0.8	2.1	35.3	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.4	0.8	50.0	1.0	1.1	2.1	0.3	0.6	0.4	0.0	1.9	1.9
Daniel Moore	6	5.7	0.3	0.5	66.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.8	1.2	71.4	0.2	0.5	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.0	1.0	1.5
Tijan Jobe	8	6.8	0.4	0.4	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.4	1.5	0.8
Bawa Muniru	4	3.5	0.3	0.8	33.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.0	25.0	0.8	0.3	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.8	0.8
Kory Barnett	2	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Brett Finkelmeier	2	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Steven Gambles	2	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Position Analysis: Point guard

The starting point guard for the Hoosiers is Jeremiah Rivers. Rivers is a transfer from Georgetown, and the son of NBA player and coach Doc Rivers. Rivers is a tall point, even taller than John Wall at 6'5". Rivers is a good ballhandler and passer, and a very good defender, although he is not ultra-athletic. Rivers does not shoot much from outside, and has only attempted a single three-point shot all year. He prefers to use his size and slash to the basket. Rivers leads the team in assists, and doesn't score a lot.

Rivers' defensive prowess will be severely tested against John Wall. Rivers does have good size to work with, but he is not even in the same universe with Wall when it comes to speed with the ball and the ability to finish at the rim. But Rivers is a very smart player, a coach's son, and he knows how to maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. This will be a very interesting matchup.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position Analysis: Shooting guard

You may remember the name Verdell Jones from back during the Billy Gillispie days. Kentucky recruited Jones, although somewhat indifferently, and he was on the UK recruiting board right up to the very end, when he chose Indiana.

Jones is another tall guard at 6'5", but at only 176#, he is very slight of build. Jones is a very hard-working and intelligent player. He is reasonably athletic and shoots a solid percentage from three, even though he doesn't put the three-point shot up all that much. Jones is also a very good passer at over 3 assists/game, against just over two turnovers.

The matchup between Jones and Eric Bledsoe is one of length versus athleticism. Defensively, I think Jones has a slight advantage on Bledsoe due to his very long arms and size. Defensively, I think Bledsoe comes out on top. Overall, Bledsoe is the more talented player.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position Analysis: Small Forward

Freshman Maurice Creek starts at the wing for the Crimson and Cream. Creek is actually an off-guard rather than a true wing, so Indiana, in effect, is starting three guards.

Creek is a skilled player, a Rivals 4*, and quite dangerous offensively. Creek is leading the Hoosiers in scoring at over 15 points/contest and is a 40% shooter from deep. Creek is also a good passer, leads the team in steals, and is a very good athlete.

Darius Miller is significantly taller than Creek, but Creek is quicker off the bounce and will challenge Miller's defensive skills. Defensively, Creek will have to contend with a much taller and longer player, and if Miller can regain his shooting form after a poor offensive outing against UConn, Creek will be hard pressed to contain him. Overall, this is a fairly close matchup, but Miller's extra year of experience and solid fundamentals give him the edge.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position analysis: Power Forward

Christian Watford is the power forward for the Hoosiers and the star of Tom Crean's excellent 2009 recruiting class. I saw Watford play in the Derby Festival Classic game, and even though he is highly unconventional, he is extremely fast and athletic, can really get up in the air, and seems to invent new ways to get the ball in the basket every single time out.

Watford is second on the team in scoring at 13+ points per game, and leads Indiana in rebounding at 6.5/game. Watford is also a respectable 3-point shooter, and is capable of taking bigger players off the dribble.

Against Patrick Patterson, Watford will struggle in the role of post player. Patterson is bigger, stronger, and just as athletic, but unlike UConn's more ponderous power forwards, Patterson will have to make his living closer to the basket. He is not quick enough to take Watford off the bounce, and Watford is a long, tough matchup on the perimeter.

But Watford cannot match Patterson's experience, skill, and versatility. Patterson is also the superior defensive player and rebounder.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position Analysis: Center

Tom Pritchard starts at center for the Hoosiers, and he is a big body at 6'9"/240#. Pritchard is not a particularly good rebounder for a man his size, nor is he a scorer at just under 5 points per game. Pritchard is slow-footed and not very athletic, but he does take up space down low.

Pritchard, unfortunately, is over-matched by the bigger, stronger, longer and quicker DeMarcus Cousins. Pritchard plays good, tough defense as evidenced by his tendency to get into foul trouble, but Cousins is a very tough matchup for him. If Indiana tries to stay man-to-man (which I doubt they will), the 'Cats should try to get Cousins the ball every time in the post. He will force IU to double-team, and an open shot should be the result.

Advantage: Kentucky

Bench Analysis

Indiana has a couple of solid bench players in freshmen Derek Elston and Jordan Hulls, as well as senior Devan Dumes. These men are all nice players that can shoot, but IU has little bench size and their depth is as painfully young as Kentucky's

Advantage: Kentucky

Overall analysis

The Indiana Hoosiers are a young group, but their young talent is just not as good as UK's this year. Tom Crean has the nucleus of a very nice team, but he is one or two recruiting classes away from getting the Hoosiers back into contention in the Big Ten, let alone nationally.

Indiana plays very good, fundamental basketball and Kentucky will need to be aware of their length and athleticism, which is better than many think. They are a good defensive team who will force UK to beat them with better offense. Even though the Hoosiers are young, they are not the type of team who beats themselves.

UK's size, talent and athleticism will prove too much for Indiana. Crean will not be able to send his big guards to the glass for fear of a John Wall-lead runout, and that's likely to happen anyway. Defensively, the Hoosiers are going to be forced into a zone, and since they are already a poor rebounding team, second-chance points and putbacks are likely to be a frequent occurrence on missed UK shots.

The Hooisers are getting their groove back, but this year, they are no match for the young 'Cats.

Projected score: Kentucky 78, Indiana 63

Kentucky 64, Connecticut 61 -- Postmortem

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:29:51 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

Josh Harrellson made one good play tonight, and this is it.

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What. A. Game.

We may be saying that a lot this year. I have no idea why, but at no time during this game did I ever worry about losing. Why? I can only suppose that perhaps John Wall is the reincarnation of the Buddha, and all I can think of is Zen.

Great effort by the Connecticut Huskies. They were what we knew they would be -- tough and determined. Jerome Dyson was incredible, Kemba Walker was amazing, Gavin Edwards outplayed everybody on both teams -- except one. John Wall. The Huskies were awesome, just amazing, but not amazing enough this time.

For Kentucky, well, we saw exactly what John Calipari implied we should see -- a really bad team having really good stretches because of their talent. Once again, UK had one more good stretch in this game than the opponent, a now-familiar theme for the 2009 Wildcats.

I have to confess, I really wanted Calipari to go zone. But as he has said, and perhaps I should acquiesce to (not a chance), "I am the coach, let me do my job." Okay, Coach, but forgive me if I sit in my armchair and disagree. It's what we do here in the Bluegrass State, and if you are going to kanoodle the job here at Kentucky, this is just another part of what you have so enthusiastically embraced. Deal with it.

Moving along, I was not concerned going in down six to the Huskies at the half. I want to stop right there and ask you all, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation -- when was the last time you could have imagined that we could go into half time down six points versus the UConn Huskies in Madison Square Garden and not be concerned? It has been a very, very long time, certainly the better part of a decade at least. That, in and of itself, is a wonderful thing.

More after the jump.

Here are the things that jump out at me:

Bad Cuz, Good Cuz, all in the same game. Nothing to see here. Move along.
John Wall. Well, what can you say? He was pretty good, but then, he always is. But he had a stretch in the first half where he looked very much like the freshman he is.
Patrick Patterson -- Warrior of warriors. I have no idea how severe his ankle sprain is, but I get the impression he would have gone back in with a compound fracture -- he was going to make sure this game was won, and physical maladies be damned. And largely because of his leadership, the 'Cats did win.
Eric Bledsoe had an off night, particularly defensively. It wasn't lack of effort, really, just lack of experience. He will get a lot better, and his effort was very good.
Darius Miller just took a step back tonight. He didn't look confident, his shot was flat, and the more he missed, the worse he played. But he had a great game defensively against Stanley Robinson, who was almost never a factor.
Darnell Dodson made a couple of big shots, but he played abysmally overall, particularly on defense. He is much better than that.
Daniel Orton did what he always does -- play harder than anybody. This time, he fouled out. He will have better days, and this day was better than it looked.
Ramon Harris is such a great effort player, but he sure does need some kind of offensive game. Big free throw at the end, though. And a ton of rebounds.
Josh Harrellson made one good play and then laid down flat. C'mon, Josh, you can do this.
Perry Stevenson gave some good minutes, and did what he was in there to do.
Are the oddsmakers any good or what? They had UK +2. Scary.
That 12-0 run showed what could happen, just like the 28-2 run last week did. If the 'Cats can ever learn to sustain the effort, look out Indianapolis.
Calipari did a great job. Then again, John Wall can make an average coach look like a genius. Fortunately, he didn't have to tonight.
Where the heck did our offensive rebounding go? On vacation to Hawaii, apparently.

That's it. It's late. I'm finishing up a taste of Four Roses for a nightcap. Up next -- the Hoosiers.

Kentucky @ UConn: Pre-Game Analysis

Truzenzuzex — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:47:57 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Which DeMarcus Cousins will show up tonight?

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Tonight, the Kentucky Wildcats will face the Connecticut Huskies in Madison Square Garden in the SEC-Big East Invitational.

Kentucky has only played UConn twice in its history, the first time being back in 2006 where the #2 ranked Huskies defeated Kentucky 87-83 in a closer than expected game.

This time, the Wildcats are ranked #4 in the land by the AP and the coaches, and UConn is ranked #14 and #12, respectively. Because of the proximity of Madison Square Garden to UConn, they will be the home team for this contest.

The Huskies are fairly young, but not nearly as young as the Wildcats. As far as experience goes, this UConn team is similar to the North Carolina Tar Heels. Also similar to the Tar Heels, this UConn team has plenty of size, and is also one of the few teams that can match up with the Wildcats on the front line. The interesting thing is, UConn can also match up with UK in the back court, size-wise.

The Huskies are 6-1 coming into this game, and Kentucky 8-0, but there is no doubt who has played the more difficult schedule of the two. Even with the addition of the UNC game, Kentucky has played far weaker opponents than UConn, who has played a good Hofstra team, LSU, and Duke. In fact, the Huskies lost to Duke by 9 in a game that saw them turn the ball over almost twice as many times as the Blue Devils, and get handled on the offensive glass to boot.

But UConn also thrashed LSU in a game in which their two starting guards looked like John Wall on the loose, making shots, dunks and layups from everywhere.

More after the jump.

Four Factors Analysis

As before, we will analyze what the results of this display means in detail. Please note that we won't be doing this for every single game this year, because creating all this is quite a bit of work. But particularly for the big games, you'll be getting this display and a detailed analysis of what it means.

First off, we notice that offensively, UConn is simply not as efficient as Kentucky. Much of that efficiency, though, can be attributed to the Wildcats' weak schedule, but even against the Tar Heels, you can see that UK's offensive efficiency is significantly higher than UConn's has been in their last three games.

Defensively, the teams are much closer, essentially mirror images of each other if you discount the first game or two of the season. If all is taken into consideration, UConn is somewhat better in DE, but I think that is mostly a result of their better defensive start and a tribute to the fact that they have a couple of seniors in the starting lineup.

Moving on to the Four Factors themselves, you will note that UK is more efficient offensively, a better offensive rebounding team and about the same when it comes to free-throw rate -- both teams get to the line a lot. UConn is noticeably better when it comes to taking care of the ball, and you can see by the green bar that UK has a long way to go to be top-ten caliber in that department.

Checking out the defense, both teams are decent at holding teams to low percentages with UConn being a bit better than the Cats. Kentucky forces more opponent turnovers and as previously noted, is a better rebounding team. UK does let teams get to the line more often than UConn.

Amazingly, Kentucky is a better three-point shooting team than UConn. The Wildcats figured to be average at best in that stat this year, but Darius Miller and Darnell Dodson, along with Patrick Patterson, have done a good job filling that void. UK also takes more 3-pointers than UConn does, and both teams play at track-meet tempo. No surprise there.

Next, we'll look at the players for the Huskies, and their stats:

Connecticut Huskies Basketball Roster

	#	Pos.	Comments	W	H	College
Kyle Bailey	55	G	-	170	6-3	junior
Donnell Beverly	2	G	-	190	6-4	sophomore
Jamal Coombs-McDaniel	4	F	-	210	6-7	freshman
Jerome Dyson	11	G	Starter	190	6-4	senior
Gavin Edwards	33	F	May start	230	6-10	senior
Alex Hornat	22	F	-	205	6-5	senior
Ater Majok	5	F	-	233	6-11	freshman
Jonathan Mandeldove	32	C	-	240	7-0	senior
Charles Okwandu	35	C	May Start	255	7-0	junior
Alex Oriakhi	34	F	Starter	240	6-9	freshman
Stanley Robinson	21	F	Starter	220	6-9	senior
Darius Smith	24	G	-	168	6-1	freshman
Jamaal Trice	13	G	-	220	6-5	freshman
Kemba Walker	15	G	Starter	172	6-1	sophomore

Connecticut Statistics

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Jerome Dyson	7	34.4	6.3	16.4	38.3	1.0	3.9	25.9	6.6	9.0	73.0	1.4	4.1	5.6	5.3	3.0	1.6	1.1	3.1	20.1
Stanley Robinson	7	34.3	6.4	12.0	53.6	0.6	0.9	66.7	2.0	3.6	56.0	2.7	4.4	7.1	1.7	1.4	0.7	1.9	1.1	15.4
Kemba Walker	7	34.0	5.0	11.1	44.9	1.4	2.6	55.6	4.0	5.1	77.8	0.6	2.6	3.1	5.7	3.1	2.7	0.9	1.1	15.4
Gavin Edwards	7	30.3	4.3	6.0	71.4	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0	3.1	95.5	2.3	3.4	5.7	0.6	1.7	1.0	3.3	2.7	11.6
Alex Oriakhi	7	31.4	2.6	5.6	46.2	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.9	2.1	40.0	3.1	6.6	9.7	0.4	1.4	0.6	1.7	3.1	6.0
Jamal Coombs-McDaniel	7	11.7	0.9	3.3	26.1	0.6	2.3	25.0	1.7	2.4	70.6	0.7	1.4	2.1	0.7	0.3	0.1	0.0	1.1	4.0
Darius Smith	7	5.7	0.4	1.1	37.5	0.1	0.3	50.0	0.7	1.3	55.6	0.3	0.6	0.9	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.1	0.4	1.7
Donnell Beverly	7	8.3	0.7	1.7	41.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.1	0.3	50.0	0.0	1.1	1.1	1.3	0.4	0.3	0.0	0.4	1.6
Charles Okwandu	7	6.4	0.4	0.6	75.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.9	0.7	1.6	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.9	1.9	0.9
Jamaal Trice	6	3.3	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.5	66.7	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.3
Alex Hornat	1	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Kyle Bailey	1	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Position Analysis: Point guard

The starting point guard for the Huskies is Kemba Walker. Walker was the #5 ranked point guard nationally in 2008 out of New York City, and was heavily recruited by almost everyone. Walker is excellent at getting to the rim as you saw if you watched any of the LSU v. UConn game. Walker simply blew by LSU defenders on the way to 20 points in a blowout win.

Like Larry Drew II of North Carolina, Kemba Walker is knock-down three-point shooter, making 55% of his attempts so far this season. Even though UConn does not shoot a ton of threes, when it is Walker doing the shooting, they normally go in.

The knock on Walker so far has been his inability to avoid turnovers. Even though he is averaging over five assists/game, he is also averaging three turnovers, which is short of the magic 2/1 number. Walker is also a good-but-not-great on-ball defender, and if John Wall is his assignment, that can't be good.

As far as wall is concerned, he is far superior to Walker (and anyone else, for that matter) in speed with the ball in his hands. Walker, like Drew, will struggle to stay in front of John Wall, although Walker is more athletic than Drew. You can be assured that Jim Calhoun will do whatever he can to minimize the chances of Wall's one-man fast breaks.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position Analysis: Shooting guard

Jerome Dyson is the starting shooting guard for the Huskies, and he is a good one. Dyson has good size at 6'4", and has all the experience that being a senior at UConn brings, which includes trips to the Final Four.

Dyson is a nice compliment to Walker in that Dyson is not a true off-guard, but more of a combo guard, and that shows up in his 5 assists/game statistics. Dyson is a very aggressive defender and like Walker, works hard to get to the rim. He has not shot the ball particularly well from the perimeter this year, but he is capable of doing so.

This will be a tough matchup for Eric Bledsoe, as Dyson is explosive off the bounce and has a slight size advantage. Bledsoe plays bigger than he is, which will help, but Dyson will be by far the biggest challenged he has faced, offensively and defensively, this year

Advantage: UConn

Position Analysis: Small Forward

Stanley Robinson is UConn's starter at the small forward spot and the team's leading scorer along with Kemba Walker. Robinson is a senior who, like Dyson, has been there and done that when it comes to big games.

Robinson can do it all -- slash, shoot the three, hit the mid-range shot. Robinson pefers to operate inside and use his almost-power-forward body to post up his foes or muscle them for the put-back. Robinson is a tough, savvy defender and is capable of scoring a lot of points in short order.

Unlike versus Will Graves, Darius Miller will not have a quickness or size advantage on Stanley Robinson. Robinson is an older, wiser, and frankly better version of Miller right now. This matchup will be a huge challenge for Darius Miller on both sides of the ball.

Advantage: UConn

Position analysis: Power Forward

Alex Oriakhi is UConn's starter at the power forward spot. Oriakhi is a freshman from New Hampshire and was ranked as the 21st best power forward in the land by Rivals.com.

Oriakhi is not a big scorer. He is mostly in the game for defense and rebounding, although he is a strong finisher around the rim when he gets the ball in the post. Oriakhi leads UConn in rebounding with 9 per game, and he is also an outstanding post defender.

If Oriakhi winds up going against Patrick Patterson, as I would expect, this is the biggest mismatch problem for UConn. Patterson is much too quick, to strong and too agile for Oriakhi, as well as being far more experienced. Oriakhi does not have either the footspeed nor quickness to stay with Patterson on the break, or if Patrick decides to do his scoring from outside. Inside or out, Oriakhi will have his hands full.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position Analysis: Center

I expect Charles Okwandu to start at center tonight to counter the strength and size of the Wildcats. Okwandu is a junior and has had plenty of experience in Jim Calhoun's system. Okwandu is from Lagos, Nigeria, and although he is very tall and big at 7' and 255#, he is not a particularly good rebounder.

Okwandu is a junior college transfer from Harcum College in Pennsylvania, and is the least highly regarded of all the UConn starters. He is a big body who can take up space, but he isn't much of an offensive threat.

The other possibility is that Gavin Edwards will start. Edwards is a senior from Arizona, and has good size and who would probably play the power forward spot, moving Oriakhi to the center position. Edwards is a skilled post defender and a genuine offensive threat inside. He does not shoot the ball from the perimeter, but is a good leaper and good finisher at the rim. Edwards leads the team in blocked shots at over 3 per game.

No matter who starts, neither of the guys who are likely to wind up in the post are good enough to contain DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins is much to quick and athletic for Okwandu, and is just a better player than Orikahi. But a lot depends on whether or not Bad Cuz shows up.

Advantage: Kentucky

Bench Analysis

Connecticut has a deep, talented bench much like Kentucky, but unlike the Tar Heels, they are much smaller. UConn has plenty of good guards like Donell Beverly and Darius Smith who can come in and spell Walker and Dyson, as well as swing players in Alex Hornat and Jamaal Trice, but nothing special.

Advantage: Draw

Overall analysis

Once again, this is going to be a very fast game, and turnovers loom large again. UConn is not as talented as Kentucky, and their depth is probably no better. The big punch from UConn comes from their guards, who are talented scorers and adept ballhandlers. They have more than enough athleticism to get to the rim on UK, and they shoot very good free throws.

Although UConn plays at a very high tempo, thier big people do not run the floor as well as Kentucky's. This will force Calhoun to be very careful with defensive balance and may force the guards to say away from the glass. Kentucky is the better rebounding team, but sending his guards in to help could be catastrophic with Wall on the floor. Calhoun will also have to very carefully manage the minutes of his big men, as they are not quite as deep across the front line as the Wildcats are.

For Kentucky, guarding the three will be critical in this game. UConn is not a big 3-point shooting team, but that is mostly because they are too big and athletic for most of their opponents. Faced with a team like the Wildcats who are as big and even deeper across the front line, they may well shoot more from the perimeter, and that has been a big weakness of the Wildcats.

Once again, this game is likely to turn on offensive rebounds and turnovers. If UConn can get ten more shots than Kentucky, I expect that they will win this game. Otherwise, I expect Kentucky will.

Projected score: Kentucky 80, UConn 75.

UK Athletics: The Good, the Bad, and the Hilarious

Ken Howlett — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

More, please.

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With the basketball 'Cats fresh off their 68-66 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels, and the football 'Cats officially going country with their third Music City Bowl invite in four years, there is much happening in the world of Kentucky sports. While normally I write about a particular event or topic, today I'm going to venture into the realm of diversification and include in this post thoughts on the happenings of UK basketball and football.

For more, make the jump with me:

The Good

Fast-break 'Cats -- For those who witnessed UK's roller-coaster win over North Carolina on Saturday, you saw nine minutes and twenty-eight seconds of near perfection. With UK down 9-2 at the 17:16 mark of the first half, the 28-2 Big Blue blitzkrieg that followed, had me, 'ol Roy, and anyone else watching wondering if the Wildcats would pulverize our powder blue rivals into submission before halftime. For nearly ten minutes the 'Cats did what they do best, and that is leave it to John Wall to gallop at a break-neck pace; passing, shooting, and alley-ooping his way into the hearts of Kentucky fans (and NBA scouts).

During UK's dominant first-half demonstration Wall scored seven points, and assisted on four of UK's other eight made baskets. He loudly and proudly announced to the world that the hype surrounding his "game" is not only justified, but it may be understated.

Also getting into the act during UK's nine-and-a-half minutes of bliss were: Darius Miller -- Two three-pointers, a mid-range jumper, two steals, and one assist: Patrick Patterson -- A jumper, dunk, layup, and two free throws: Darnell Dodson contributed a three-pointer and a steal.

During a stretch most coaches only dream about, the 'Cats made 11-14 shots (with six assists), pilfered the Heels four times, and committed only two turnovers (neither by a guard). UK's stifling defense (with an assist to the pace) held the Tar Heels to only 1-9 shooting, while forcing eight turnovers.

From down 9-2, to up 30-11 in less than half of a half -- No one, and I mean no one will want to run with this team. If Roy Williams, possibly the elite fast break coach in the country, doesn't want any part of the John Wall-led "Wonder of Me Tour," no coach interested in winning will be enthused to see Wall streaking unmolested toward the basket with a team of thoroughbreds filling the lane, or waiting to pop from the perimeter. To emasculate a lesser-team in such a way is impressive, but North Carolina's roster is filled with talent, which makes what I saw awe-inspiring.

UK won despite a sub-par performance by DeMarcus Cousins -- Many so-called experts have prognosticated that Kentucky cannot beat good teams (and therefore, be a Final Four contender), without Cousins being a major force. Bull excrement!

Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton, and Perry Stevenson displayed why the mercurial Cousins, while very talented, is not the key to UK's low post play -- Patterson produced a typical PPat game: 19 points, seven rebounds, one block and one steal, while Orton and Stevenson combined to play 26 minutes and produced five rebounds, three blocks, one steal, and one assist.

As long as Patterson has another player of size working with him down low, taking a bit of the defensive pressure off, he is capable of handling the workload. He's proved that for two-plus years.

UK won despite John Wall missing seven straight minutes of action -- I admit, when Wall started limping, I started pacing.

When Wall left the game in the second half at the 18:46 mark (and began his hypodermic-dodging journey back to the floor), UK was up 45-30. When Wall reappeared, much to the delight of the record-setting Rupp Arena crowd (as well as millions of palpitating UK fans at home), at the 11:44 mark, Kentucky was up 54-42. My calculator says UNC outscored the 'Cats 12-9 in that nerve-racking stretch of the game. Not bad when one considers Wall is the heart and soul of what makes UK go.

The 'Cats did commit four turnovers (two by Bledsoe, one each by Patterson and Ramon Harris), and they made only 4-12 shots (three of the makes were by Patterson) during the stretch, but they held serve, they preserved the lead, and that's all that really matters. Good teams win despite adversity. The fulfillment of that adage was on full display Saturday afternoon.

The final two minutes -- With UK clinging to a 61-56 lead over the Heels (at the two minute mark), freshmen guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe refused to allow the 'Cats to lose. Over the two minutes that mean the most, Wall and Bledsoe combined to make five of six free throws, stole a pass (Wall), made a layup (Bledsoe), and dished out an assist (Wall).

The "Cool Hand Luke" demeanor in which these two players perform in end-game scenarios, at such a young age, cannot be overstated. Some players are simply gifted with the absence of fear. We are now watching two such gifted athletes. Enjoy 'em while ya got 'em.

UPDATE -- Kentucky's three-point threat -- With UK's 6-16 (37.5%) three-point shooting against North Carolina, the 'Cats trey accuracy now stands at 37.9% (50-132) on the year.

Led by Darius Miller's 40.0% shooting (14-35), Kentucky is quickly putting to rest the preseason questioning of their perimeter game. Eric Bledsoe, who's only weakness was thought to be his shooting, has pitched-in to the tune of 12 made treys on 25 attempts (48.0%); Darnell Dodson, now liberated from the Calipari doghouse, has made a respectable 38.5% (10-26), and possesses one of the sweetest strokes this side of Chris Lofton; and finally, Patrick Patterson continues to impress with his outside shot by making 6-14 (42.9%).

I don't know when UK's perimeter game ceases to be a cause for concern, but I sense the time is near.

Music City Bowl invite -- While many UK fans are unhappy about returning to Nashville for the third time in four years, I choose instead to celebrate four straight years of UK bowl games. It's a milestone for the program, and a tribute to one of the best senior classes in Kentucky football history.

So many 'Cats had outstanding seasons -- Derrick Locke, Randall Cobb, Micah Johnson, Sam Maxwell, La 'Rod King, and John Conner all produced fantastic individual years. They, as well as the other 'Cats, deserve the full support of the BBN while they do battle with C.J. Spiller and the Clemson Tigers in the Music City Bowl.

Football 'Cats honored -- It was announced Monday that five UK football players were selected by the Associated Press as All-SEC performers -- Randall Cobb: First Team all-purpose player -- Corey Peters: Second Team defensive tackle -- Sam Maxwell: Second Team linebacker -- Derrick Locke: Second Team all-purpose player -- Zipp Duncan: Honorable Mention offensive lineman.

Congratulations to all the 'Cats selected, with one caveat -- Sam Maxwell deserved First Team honors. He was second in the SEC with six interceptions, and he made big play after key play in UK's road victories over Auburn, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. I honestly can't think of another SEC linbacker that I would have rather had.

The Bad

The DeMarcus Cousins in-game pout -- I was the same way at his age -- I allowed (perceived) poor officiating to get in my head.

What Cousins has to realize is: DON'T ALLOW THE OFFICIALS TO BEAT YOU TWICE. It's comparable to a golfer allowing one bad shot to adversely effect his next shot. It's a recipe for pine-time, and unfulfilled potential.

Although I feel confident John Calipari will work his pupil through this flaw in his game, it may take some time. Cousins, afterall, is accustomed to getting all the calls in high school, he's accustomed to bullying his foes, not being on the receiving end of such physical play (and there definitely was an abundance of physical play on Saturday). Well, this ain't high school ball, DeMarcus. Adjust accordingly, and become the beast that is within you.

Underused Patterson -- With the absence of John Wall from the 18:46 mark to the 11:44 mark of the second half, one would expect Patrick Patterson to become that which the offense runs through. Well apparently, one would be wrong.

During that seven minute stretch, Patterson took exactly four shots, with one of those shots being an offensive rebound of his only miss (of that stretch). UK's big man, and best player (if Wall isn't on the floor), simply has to receive more touches if such a predicament faces UK in the future.

I realize Eric Bledsoe was playing erratically at the time, he was ... trying to do too much while Wall was sidelined. But what young Mr. Bledsoe would be wise to remember is that he needs to run the offense through Patterson, ensure the big fella gets his touches, and everything else will open up.

Sam Maxwell's labrum tear and Micah Johnson's omission -- The terrible news out of the Nutter Complex that Sam Maxwell will miss the Music City Bowl was most unpleasant for this UK fan. Maxwell, a senior, played sparingly through his first three years in Lexington, opting to patiently wait his turn in lieu of transferring. And when earning the opportunity to start, the Georgia native put up big numbers, and made game-changing plays. My thanks to Maxwell for a job well done, and good luck at the next level.

Maxwell's senior statistics -- 80 tackles (42 solo) (second on the team), 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, six interceptions (second in the SEC), seven pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

Micah Johnson's omission from the AP All-SEC team is laughable. UK's senior middle linebacker posted 100 tackles (fifth in the SEC) , 6.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and one sack. And he did all of this while battling plantar fasciitis and a bad ankle for most of the year.

The Hilarious

I like John Calipari. I've liked him since he brought his UMass team to Rupp Arena in December of 1991. He impressed me then, and he's impressed me ever since; he's a fine coach, and a great recruiter. A fan can't ask for much more.

But, his "like-ability" quotient shot through the roof Saturday, when after the game he said the following (paraphrasing) -- When I saw where Seth Davis predicted us to lose, I knew we had a chance.

Most UK fans know Seth Davis, and most UK fans don't like Seth Davis. He speaks of that which he doesn't know, and is paid handsomely to do so. Which is why I spewed my just ingested Coca-Cola all over my carpet when Calipari called a spade ... a spade.

Thanks, coach, finally someone with credibility called-out a national media member, and did so without hesitation.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats, beat the Huskies!

Kentucky Basketball: Dear Santa

BigSkyCat — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:44:19 -0000

'Tis the season....

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For those of you who have children that still believe in Santa I'm sure you are all too familiar with "Letters to Santa", and if you haven't already done so, I'm sure you are getting ready to help your children write their Christmas lists, stamp the letters, and then get them mailed off to the North Pole. Or perhaps you are a grandparent who is assisting your grandchildren, or maybe you are simply an adult who is still very much a kid at heart and you, too, want to make a list. Either way, it really doesn't matter, the point is that this is the season for making wish lists and they give you the opportunity to see if you have been naughty or nice this past year.

I know that we all regularly post wishes and hopes that we have for our players as that is just what fans do. After a loss we want random things for so-and-so, and since we are a particularly hard-to-please bunch and are never quite satisfied, we even want random things for so-and-so after we win.

I'm a sucker for posts that are relevant now, but posts that are also interesting to look back on, so with that in mind, I thought it would be rather fun if we had all the basketball-related type things that we want for this year's team posted in one neat singular place. That way, in one, two, or maybe even three months down the road we can look back on our lists and not only see what areas of concern were addressed, but which ones might still be lingering.

In keeping with the spirit of the holiday season what better way to make our requests than to ask Santa? Based upon what we have witnessed from our boys up to this point in the season, I'll go first and make my list as to what I would like Santa to bring some of our boys this year in order to help out our team.

Dear Santa,

I am writing to you on behalf of some fabulous members of the Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball team. I'm certain that they have all been on their best behavior this year and I happen to think that there are a couple of things that they might need in order for us to have a stellar season. If you could assist them with the following it would be greatly appreciated.

First of all, there is one of our outstanding point guards named Eric Bledsoe. Eric is extremely gifted, appears to be in great physical shape and plays much larger than he actually is. But, one thing that might help our dear Eric at times would be the gift of control when he is in possession of the ball. I would also request that you assist him in the healing of his apparent tendinitis as he is having some pain, and since our Eric has shown great poise down the stretch on more than one occasion in this young season, he really does deserve the reprieve.

Next I would like to talk about one of our big men, Daniel Orton. Daniel has a certain gentleness about him and his demeanor definitely gives me a sense of calmness when he is on the floor. I'm never really worried that he will do anything totally horrible or out of control, but on the reverse side, I would request that that you bring some ferocity and aggression to his game that he could use when the occasion calls for it.

One of the three seniors on this year's squad is Perry Stevenson. Perry's role on this year's team is quite a bit different than it was last year as he is not getting nearly as many minutes as were asked of him last year. Even given Perry's somewhat diminished role, it appears to me that Perry has kept a great head about him and has come in and given good solid minutes and I would ask that you see that he is able to maintain that great attitude and those solid contributions. He is a senior and most surely has a special place on the team.

Next, I want to talk about yet another senior on our current team, the oft-criticized, Ramon Harris. Ramon is another person who goes about his business in rather obscurity and depending on what he does on any given night he is either forgotten about because he did just enough, or he is remembered because he made a mistake. In addition to possibly giving Ramon a bit more of an offensive repertoire, please see to it that he is able to keep up his defensive intensity and also, more importantly, please give Ramon the gift of being able to tune out all of the outside chatter (criticism) and just go about his business.

Now, let's move on to the beloved boy from Kentucky, Darius Miller. Although I think he has made considerable progress from last year, he still has a tendency to disappear, and although I realize not all the boys on our team can be standouts, if you could please see your way into giving Darius some more consistency in his play? Well, that would be awesome.

Next up is our All-American, Patrick Patterson. He is certainly a fan favorite and I have a feeling that he will remain that way long after he has left the confines of the University of Kentucky. He holds so many great qualities and it has truly been a blessing and an honor for him to wear the blue and white. His work ethic is second to none; he is a poster child for not only what you want in a player, but a poster child for what you want in a human. I'm struggling to find anything that Patrick might need as he really does seem to "have it all", already, but if I had to pick something, I guess I would say my one request for Patrick would be that he could embrace more of public leadership role for our team. We do have several youngsters that can only benefit from being around and absorbing the kind of wisdom not to mention the outstanding work ethic that Patrick has. In short, please give Patrick the ability and the know-how to share his wisdom with our youngsters and maintain his extremely high level of on-the-court intensity.

The member of the team who provides us all with plenty of topics for debate due to his incredibly spirited nature, DeMarcus Cousins, is next. Cousins already possesses a really solid foundation to be an excellent player. He has good size, soft hands, and a ridiculous wing span, but I think he is still in need of a few things. For DeMarcus, I would ask that you give him a greater degree of focus, more explosiveness around the basket and the strength to own his shots on offense. Additionally, and probably most importantly, I would request the ability to shoot a decent free throw percentage for DeMarcus. I'm not asking for anything spectacular here, but since he does seem to get fouled an awful lot, a decent, respectable percentage from the charity stripe would really come in handy.

In closing, (and I certainly saved the easiest member for last), I have one teeny-tiny request for John Wall, as well. I'm positive that John really isn't in need of many basketball-related things this year, but I would just ask that he have access to lots and lots of Gatorade, PowerAde, or whatever kind of sports drink he prefers that contain electrolytes so that he can stay properly hydrated.

Sincerely,

BigSkyCat

Now, I realize that I don't have a request for every single player on the team and I know that Darnell, Josh, Jon, Mark and DeAndre are all very deserving of gifts from Santa, as well. I'm also fairly certain that there are quite a lot of things missing from the above letter, but that's where all of you, my fellow fans, come in. My list was just to get things started, and your ideas are now most welcome and certainly encouraged.

Go ‘Cats! : )

Kentucky 68, North Carolina 66 -- Postmortem

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:13:22 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

One of many memorable plays by the Great Wall, even though he was less than 100% in the second half.

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Wow, what a game. Thank God I am diligent about exercise, because at my age, these kinds of games are bad for a less than strong heart.

Thanks and well-wishes to North Carolina for a very tough game. The Tar Heels came back from a big deficit in the first half to make this game a nail-biter. Needless to to say, my nails are bleeding all over the place. The Tar Heels showed much better defense in the second half and forced the Wildcats in to a level of turnovers that could have done us in. Kudos to the Tar Heels for a strong effort. Not only that, their presence today allowed UK to set a new Rupp Arena record for attendance.

For Kentucky, this represents a very good win that could have been great -- not because of anything the Tar Heels did, but because UK did not appear to come out ready in the second half. Combined with John Wall's apparent dehydration (I have no doubt he went to the locker room to take an IV), Kentucky and North Carolina literally swapped places at halftime. With UK at 43 points going into the half, who would have believed they would only score 25 points in the second half?

Of course, you can expect a team like North Carolina, a team with many players who know what it's like to play in the NCAA tournament at the highest level, to make a game of it after being uncompetitive in the first half. It will be very galling to UK fans who saw some great basketball in the first half to remember how the 'Cats went out in something less than style.

More after the jump.

Here are my observations:

DeMarcus Cousins has got to learn to control his emotions -- and his foul shots.
It goes without saying that this team is different without John Wall in the game.
Eric Bledsoe showed nerves of steel by making all those free throws at the end.
Patrick Patterson was awesome, but for some reason, we went away from him in the second half.
Dunk on Daniel Orton? Nope.
Ramon Harris continues to amaze with his rebounding and heady play. If he could only score a little more.
Darnell Dodson seems a bit off form, but he contributed some good offensive minutes and made a couple of good defensive plays.
Speaking of defense, this was the best defensive game the 'Cats have played all year.
Seeing North Carolina play at the pace they did was just weird.
Darius Miller vanished in the second half. But he sure was great in the first.
Calipari showed why he is such a winner. I think he out-coached ol' Roy today, and had a big hand in the outcome.
Perry Stevenson made some nice contributions on defense. I wish he could score more.
The best thing about this win was that UK will get better. So will UNC, but I think UK's ceiling is significantly higher.

That's about it for now, I am getting ready for the SEC championship game. This win makes my weekend automatically great. I am tickled to be writing about a win, because I was prepared to write about a loss.

Great win by Kentucky. Not perfect, but in the end, we won the stat that counts the most -- the final score.

North Carolina Tar Heels @ Kentucky Wildcats: Pre-game analysis

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:17:30 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

We hope to see a lot of this out of the Big Cuz tomorrow.

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Obviously, the UNC contest at Rupp Arena tomorrow is a big, big game for the team, but even more so for the fans, who are very tired of losing to our neighbor to the east.

The Tar Heels are young, but not nearly as young as Kentucky is. The Tar Heels start two seniors, a junior and two sophomores.

North Carolina is perhaps the only team in America that is taller and longer than the Wildcats are. The Heels go 6'10", 6'9" and 6'6" across the front line, and have four reserves 6'10" or taller. UK is taller across the starting lineup, but the 'Cats do not have quite as much height on the bench.

UNC is 7-1, their only loss coming in convincing fashion at Madison Square Garden versus Syracuse. That game was over with about 3 minutes still left to play, but the men in powder blue came back and beat a highly ranked Michigan State team in Chapel Hill just a few nights ago in the ACC-Big Ten challenge. In that game, the Tar Heels played extremely well at times, and that game tap has provided some sobering images for the UK staff and players.

What we will be doing today is presenting you with an extremely high-tech visualization of the comparative statistics of this game. This service has been provided by A Sea of Blue member Sylvar, and it is gobsmackingly awesome. I think no other blog can match this new style of graphical stats delivery, and I'm sure you will enjoy it. But remember, this was Sylvar's work, not mine, so be sure to thank him.

Also, for the Carolina perspective, be sure to visit SB Nation's excellent North Carolina Tar Heels blog, Carolina March.

More after the jump.

Four Factors Analysis

First off, I want to point out that this display is interactive. If you move the sliders just under the trend graph, you can zoom in on various slices of the series to see how they have done in smaller segments. The dials on the right indicate ranges from red (worse) to yellow (okay) to green (good) based on the average values of the top ten teams from last year.

As you can see by the offensive efficiency trends on the top chart, Kentucky has been trending better than the Tar Heels since about the fourth game of the season. In the last game vs. UNC-Ashville, UK's OE was at it's peak so far this season, but still just a bit below the peak UNC achieved vs. Valparaiso.

Defensively, you have to keep in mind that lower is better. UK's DE has been much worse than UNC's through the first four games. From game five (Cleveland St.) on, UK's DE has been improving, and the two team's efficiencies on defense have effectively merged. But you can see that UNC's peak DE has been much better than the best UK has put out there so far. This is largely a function of having more experienced players, most likely.

Moving down to the Four Factors, you can see that these two teams are almost dead even statistically. The green bar is the average statistic for the top ten teams from last year, just to have something to compare with. You will note that neither UK nor UNC are at top ten efficiency yet.

Another interesting thing is that UNC turns the ball over almost as much as UK does. That's partially a function of how many possessions they have per game as a function of their high tempo, but it is a bit surprising to see that a more experienced team like UNC is having as many problems with turnovers as a mostly-freshman UK.

Moving on to the defense, we see that UNC is the better team right now, but UK seems to be forcing a few more turnovers and doing a better job on the defensive glass. UK's free throw rate is very high, and that could be a major factor in the game as time goes on.

In the miscellaneous cateory, we see that both teams shoot a similar 3-point FG%, but UNC takes more 3-point shots per field goal attempt.

Next, we'll look at the players for the Tar Heels, and their stats:

North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball Roster

	#	Pos.	Comments	W	H	College
Marc Campbell	2	G	-	175	6-0	senior
Ed Davis	32	F	Starter	225	6-10	sophomore
Larry Drew II	11	G	Starter	180	6-2	sophomore
James Gallagher	35	F	-	185	6-4	senior
Marcus Ginyard	1	G	Starter	210	6-5	senior
Will Graves	13	F	Starter	240	6-6	junior
John Henson	31	F	-	195	6-10	freshman
Leslie McDonald	15	G	-	215	6-4	freshman
Terrence Petree	14	G	-	165	6-1	senior
Dexter Strickland	5	G	-	180	6-3	freshman
Deon Thompson	21	F	Starter	245	6-9	senior
Thomas Thornton	30	G	-	180	6-3	senior
Justin Watts	24	G	-	210	6-4	sophomore
David Wear	34	F	-	225	6-10	freshman
Travis Wear	43	F	-	235	6-10	freshman
Tyler Zeller	44	F	-	240	7-0	sophomore

North Carolina Statistics

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Deon Thompson	8	27.4	6.4	11.8	54.3	0.0	0.1	0.0	4.5	5.6	80.0	3.6	4.6	8.3	1.4	2.8	1.0	0.6	1.6	17.3
Ed Davis	8	25.4	5.3	7.5	70.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.4	5.3	64.3	2.9	6.5	9.4	1.5	2.1	0.5	2.4	1.6	13.9
Marcus Ginyard	8	30.9	4.3	7.6	55.7	1.3	2.6	47.6	1.4	2.4	57.9	1.4	2.3	3.6	4.5	2.5	2.0	0.1	0.8	11.1
Tyler Zeller	8	15.8	3.8	6.5	57.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.1	2.9	73.9	1.5	2.5	4.0	0.4	0.8	0.4	1.0	1.9	9.6
Larry Drew II	8	25.5	3.0	5.4	55.8	1.1	2.4	47.4	1.9	2.8	68.2	0.1	2.1	2.3	6.6	3.0	0.9	0.0	2.4	9.0
Will Graves	8	18.4	2.5	6.6	37.7	1.0	3.4	29.6	1.0	1.3	80.0	1.1	2.6	3.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.1	1.0	7.0
Travis Wear	8	9.0	1.4	2.8	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.0	87.5	1.1	1.0	2.1	0.1	0.6	0.3	0.0	0.8	3.6
John Henson	8	10.6	1.4	3.0	45.8	0.1	0.6	20.0	0.5	1.3	40.0	0.6	2.0	2.6	1.3	0.4	0.6	1.3	0.5	3.4
Dexter Strickland	8	13.4	1.3	3.1	40.0	0.3	1.1	22.2	0.5	1.1	44.4	0.3	0.6	0.9	1.8	1.6	0.4	0.3	1.5	3.3
Justin Watts	8	6.8	1.1	2.0	56.3	0.4	0.5	75.0	0.3	0.6	40.0	0.4	0.4	0.8	1.4	0.9	0.1	0.1	0.9	2.9
David Wear	8	9.4	0.8	2.1	35.3	0.1	0.3	50.0	0.1	0.5	25.0	0.1	1.0	1.1	0.8	0.6	0.3	0.1	0.4	1.8
Leslie McDonald	6	6.7	0.7	2.3	28.6	0.2	1.0	16.7	0.2	1.0	16.7	0.0	1.3	1.3	0.7	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.5	1.7
Thomas Thornton	3	1.7	0.3	0.7	50.0	0.3	0.7	50.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
James Gallagher	3	1.7	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0
Terrence Petree	3	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0
Marc Campbell	3	1.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0

Position Analysis: Point guard

The starting point guard for the Tar Heels is Larry Drew II, son of a former NBA player. Drew assumes the starting point guard spot from the now-graduated Ty Lawson. Drew is a solid point guard and is doing a good job of learning the spot this year. He had one year behind Lawson and is now familiar with Roy Williams style.

The strength of Drew, though not so much this year up until the last game, is his 3-point shooting. He is shooting a fine percentage, but has been a relatively reluctant shooter so far this year, preferring to get the ball to teammates in scoring position, which is the job of a point guard. His assist/turnover ratio is 2-1, which is the gold standard for point guard play.

The knock on Drew has always been his footspeed and athleticism. Unlike Lawson or Wall, Drew is not a blur getting up and down the court. Drew is a competent but not flashy ballhandler, and he isn't going to blow by people like Lawson before him, or Wall does now. But what Drew does have is NCAA championship experience, and a year under his belt. That is worth a lot.

For Kentucky, the point guard is John Wall. We all know what John Wall is capable of, that is, at least to the level he has currently played. Wall and Drew could not be less similar -- Wall is an athletic freak and a slasher, as well as a flashy ballhandler and passer, but an average 3-point shooter. Drew will need help with Wall, as Wall is not only quicker, faster and a better athlete, but he is also four inches taller.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position Analysis: Shooting guard

Marcus Ginyard is the starter at shooting guard for the Tar Heels. Ginyard is a strong, athletic player with good size at 6'5". Ginyard was injured back in 2008, and was granted a medical redshirt.

Ginyard brings senior leadership to the Tar Heels backcourt, and does the little things that help his team win. He is not a big scorer, averaging 11 points/game, but he is a good rebounder and fine passer. He is athletic but not extraordinarily so, and has a good understanding of the North Carolina system. Ginyard is a polished defender, leading the team in steals.

Eric Bledsoe will be the starter at the off guard for Kentucky, and even though he is significantly more athletic and just as strong as Ginyard, he is far less experienced. Blesdsoe is much quicker off the dribble than most any player of his quality that North Carolina has faced so far this year, so Ginyard will have to deal with a quickness disadvantage.

But Ginyard has the advantage in virtually every other area, especially in experience.

Advantage: North Carolina

Position Analysis: Small Forward

Will Graves is the Tar Heel's starter at small forward. Graves is the least touted of all the North Carolina starters, grading out as only #105 in Rivals' class of 2006. Graves is a hard worker, good team player and has loads of experience coming off the bench during North Carolina's most recent run of success. He is not a particularly good three-point shooter, although he can make it. He is a decent but not outstanding rebounder. What he does do particularly well is defend.

Graves is an experienced player who adds experience to the team, as well as bulk and strength inside.

Graves will be going up against Darius Miller. Miller has the advantage of height, quickness and athleticism over Graves, but Graves is much heavier and stronger than Miller, which could provide UNC some opportunities with Graves posting Miller up. If Miller decides to assert himself (a big "if"), he could give Graves great difficulty due to his superior skills, speed, and athleticism.

Advantage: Draw

Position analysis: Power Forward

Ed Davis is the power forward for North Carolina, and the young sophomore is extremely talented. Davis is strong in the low post and quick off the floor. He doesn't have great range, but he is a good finisher and has a strong lower body. Davis runs the floor very well and will dunk on you if you are slow getting back. He is a solid defensive player with long arms and good footwork.

Davis is not strong in the upper body, though, and has narrow shoulders, which makes it harder for him against more physical power forwards. Davis is a good shot blocker with long arms and good timing.

I am going to assume that Patrick Patterson will be guarding Davis, because I think he is just too quick for DeMarcus Cousins. Offensively, Patterson is a much more versatile and powerful player than Davis. Davis is highly skilled, but Patterson is capable of shooting with range and will probably try to take Davis away from the basket.

Defensively, Patterson is stronger than Davis in every respect. He should be able to keep him far enough off the low block to force him into spin moves or short, challenged jumpers. Pattrerson runs the floor just as well as Davis, so there is really no part of the game in which Davis is superior to Patrick Patterson.

Advantage: Kentucky

Position Analysis: Center

Deon Thompson will play the post for the Tar Heels, and Thompson is a senior with all kinds of great skills. Thompson can face up from 15 feet, bury you on the block, rebound, block shots, you name it. He is the Tar Heels' leading scorer and overall best player.

The knock against Thompson has been that he sometimes doesn't work that hard, but this year he seems to have solidified his work ethic. Thompson is big, strong, reasonably quick and has great hands -- he will catch everything thrown in his direction.

DeMarcus Cousins will likely get the assignment on Thomson. Offensively, Cousins and Thompson are very similar players, with the main difference being that Thompson is a better face-up player. Cousins is longer and even heavier than Thompson, so a determined effort by Cousins will force Thompson farther away from the basket than he has been most of this year. Cousins also has the unusual habit of keeping his feet on the head fake, and using his very long arms to bother shots. That will serve him very well against Thompson if he continues to do that.

Offensively, Cousins is capable of pushing Thompson around in the post, and his greater length and soft hands make him a big challenge for Thompson defensively. What works against Cousins are two things -- Thompson is a senior, and has all the experience in the world. Cousins is an excitable freshman, prone to fouls, and a poor foul shooter. Overall, the balance of the equities goes to Thompson.

Advantage: North Carolina

Bench Analysis

The Tar Heels are huge on the bench, having four bench players at 6'10" or taller. UK is deep along the front line as well, but unlike the Heels, Kentucky has better depth at the guard position. It would be much better if DeAndre Liggins were available, but we won't know about that until game time.

Kentucky has been the much higher scoring team so far, but North Carolina gets a greater percentage of points from their bench. That is something the Wildcats will have to keep an eye on.

Carolina's depth is actually better than UK's at critical positions. They could, for example, execute a "Hack-a-Shaq" game against Cousins if Cousins is able to dominate in the post, and force him to the line. They could literally expend 24 fouls guarding Cousins and still field a great team.

Advantage: North Carolina

Overall analysis

This game is going to be a track meet, so it is important for both coaches to manage their players carefully. Loafing up and down the floor will likely produce dunks on the other end, and I expect to see a ton of dunks in this game.

These two teams are both extremely big and long, and you can expect a lot of shots blocked by both sides. If the officials call this game close, it will be to the advantage of the Tar Heels in a big way. If they don't, that advantage is minimized.

The higher the pace, the more advantage to Kentucky. That's because UNC has so many big men, and relatively few guards and swing players.

UK must strongly guard the three against UNC, because they can shoot it. They don't shoot it that much because they would rather get layups and dunks, just like UK, but UNC is the more dangerous team from the perimeter. If UK doesn't put on some strong perimeter defense, the Heels can burn the 'Cats there.

I think this game will ultimately come down to which coach manages his player's minutes better. Both are going to be tired at the end, and I would be surprised if the winning margin is more than ten points. Kentucky has the home court advantage, which will be big, but not huge, in this game.

Projected score: Kentucky 93, North Carolina 88.

UK Basketball: Grading the 'Cats

Ken Howlett — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:31:10 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Early term grades are out, and a celebration is in order.

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With the "soft" portion of the Kentucky schedule now in the rear-view mirror, and dates with No. 10 North Carolina, No. 14 Connecticut, No. 20 Louisville, and Indiana looming large in Big Blue's headlights, it's time to cast a critical eye toward the progress of this youthful edition of the 'Cats. We've all heard and read John Calipari plead for patience with this group ... don't expect too much, too soon, has been his oft-heard mantra. And while I certainly agree this team is an unfinished work of art, following closely the evolution of Cal's (would be) masterpiece is too tempting to toss aside.

For the particulars, follow me after the jump:

The Good-to-Excellent

Overall team shooting -- The 'Cats are currently shooting the ball at an exceptional 51.5% rate of accuracy, good for 10th in the nation. Leading the way by shooting 69.1%, is junior forward Patrick Patterson. Patterson has made 47 of 68 shots, as well as making 38.5%% of this trey attempts (5-13). Patterson's post teammate, freshman DeMarcus Cousins, is shooting 55.8% from the floor (43-77). Freshman guard John Wall has made 55.6% of his shots from the floor (35-63), and big man Daniel Orton at 50.0% (11-22) rounds out the four 50.0%+ shooters (with at least 20 shots taken) UK currently boasts. Close behind that quartet is Darnell Dodson, who's made 15-31 from the field, good for 48.4%. For those concerned with points-per-possession; UK is averaging 1.16, good for 17th in the nation.

Considering two of the 'Cats' primary scoring threats can be found down on the blocks (Patterson, Cousins), one can reasonably expect the teams shooting percentage to remain hovering around the 50.0% mark for most of the year. And so far, the shot selection of the UK guards has been solid, if not spectacular, and shot selection, i.e. taking good shots, is the key to shooting a high percentage. Even though UK's competition ramps up considerably in the coming weeks, if Wall, Dodson, Eric Bledsoe (44.4%), and Darius Miller (40.0%) continue to be selective, and take shots via the offensive game-plan, as well as continue to score easy fast-break baskets, the 'Cats' shooting should continue to be checked off as a positive in the season's ledger.

Coming into the season, the guards' overall shooting was a major concern for most UK fans, ergo, I have to award a well-earned A in this category.

Three-point shooting -- If there was a bigger concern than the overall shooting of UK's freshmen and sophomore guards, it was their potential three-point shooting numbers that most kept UK fans up at night wondering where their Jodie Meeks had gone. Well, as of yet, the troubled minds of the BBN seems to have been fraught with angst for no good reason: With no less than three shooters (taking a minimum of 20 threes) making at least 40.0% of their trey tries (Bledsoe - 52.2%, Dodson - 40.0%, Miller - 40.0%), UK is sporting a very respectable 37.9% three-point shooting percentage. Also getting into the act, as promised, is Patrick Patterson. The big fella is showin' the NBA he has mad range, making five of 13 threes (38.5%) so far this season.

Although it's not yet time to exhale, the perimeter shooting of this group has been a major surprise, especially considering the person thought to be UK's best outside shooter (Dodson) has missed three games. A 37.9% make rate on threes earns this category a solid A.

Offensive rebounding -- Kentucky's big man combination of Patterson (31), Cousins (28), and Orton (10) have combined to grab 69 offensive rebounds in only seven games (a cumulative 9.9 per game). As a team, UK has snagged 21 more offensive boards than their opponents, a welcome change from the numbers we've witnessed over the last few years.

UK's offensive rebound percentage is ranked fourth nationally at 45.9%, but before we throw the boys on the blocks a way-to-go party, keep in mind these numbers were accumulated against inferior, and many times, much smaller front lines than UK will encounter in the coming months. But, as long as they continue to crash the offensive boards aggressively, I feel confident this group will continue to snag more than their share of offensive rebounds.

Fourth nationally ... it doesn't get much better than that. Once again, an A is in order.

Overall rebounding -- As expected, UK is averaging a +12.4 in overall rebounding. With Patterson (10.6), Cousins (8.6 in an average of 20.0 minutes per game), Ramon Harris (4.1 in an average of 16.7 mpg), and Orton (3.3 in an average of 14.7 mpg) crashing the boards with abandon, Kentucky's domination of the glass has been thorough.

As is true with most of the early-season statistics, UK's overall rebounding will be put to a sterner test beginning with Saturday's game against North Carolina. But, posting a +12.4 at any point in the season is certainly commendable, and deserving of another A.

Shot block differential -- Kentucky's big men have blocked a total of 58 shots (8.3 per game), good for first nationally. DeMarcus Cousins (18) and Daniel Orton (12) have led the Big Blue block party to this point in the year. Kentucky's opponents, on the other hand, have blocked only 18 shots (2.6 per game), for an excellent +5.7 differential.

Shot blocking was thought to be a positive for this year's team, and they have not disappointed. Why break the streak ... another A for UK's block monsters.

Overall opponents' field goal shooting -- UK is adeptly holding their opponents to only 36.6% floor shooting, which is good for 20th in the nation. As is true with many of the above categories, this number can be traced back to the level of competition UK has faced thus far, coupled with the effectiveness at guarding the basket UK's big men have displayed to this point in the season.

While I expect the current 36.6% number to rise slightly, a realistic goal of this group should be to hold opponents to sub-40.0% shooting on the season. A solid B+ is much deserved.

Team chemistry -- There are no stats to dissect, no numbers to crunch (except 7-0), but this team seems to like one another. I'm not at practice, but from all reports, the team members' desire to win trumps their desire to put up individual numbers.

This area was a slight concern coming into the season, so a feeling of relief results in a very well-deserved A+.

The Average-to-Below-Average

Turnover differential -- Kentucky is averaging 17.1 turnovers per game, while their opponents are averaging only 14.9 turnovers per game. These numbers are a function of UK's youth, and the fact that the team hasn't displayed the defensive tenacity often related to a John Calipari-coached team. The two primary ball-handlers for the 'Cats, John Wall (4.0 per game) and Eric Bledsoe (4.3 pg), have combined to commit 54 turnovers, which, considering their freshman status and pace of play, aren't terrible numbers, but there is certainly room for improvement, which should come as the players become more experienced and accustomed to the offensive sets.

Considering the 'Cats are going to run with the ball if given the opportunity, somewhere near 14-15 turnovers per game is an acceptable average. And as the team learns and executes Calipari's defensive desires, UK's forced turnovers, otherwise known as steals (currently averaging 7.0 per game), should also increase. But at the moment, the best I can award is a tepid C-.

Free throw shooting -- As a team UK is shooting a mediocre 66.8% from the charity stripe. Only John Wall (80.4%), Eric Bledsoe (88.2%), and Darius Miller (88.9%) are shooting the rock with aplomb from the free throw line.

The Scooby Doo crew is needed to unravel the mystery of Patrick Patterson's sudden shakiness from the line -- Coming into this season, Patterson was 216-287 for his career (75.3%), but this year he's making his free tries at only a 51.7% rate (15-29). Considering Patterson will take upward of 150 free throws on the year, with many of those coming at critical junctures, solving the Patterson free throw puzzle must be done, and soon.

It was heartening to see DeMarcus Cousins make eight of 11 free throws against UNC-Asheville Monday night in Freedom Hall, after he made only 18-36 (50.0%) up to that point in the season. Practice produces confidence, DeMarcus. Thanks for demonstrating that fact live, and in color.

On the plus side of the season ledger is the fact that UK's primary ball-handlers are all shooting their free throws at an excellent rate -- Wall, Bledsoe, and Miller are a combined 60-74 (81.1%).

Calipari's teams have often been plagued by poor free throw shooting, and it cost him a national title two years ago. This season Cal, has at times, made light of the poor free throw shooting this team has demonstrated, but no one will be laughing if their under-performance begins to cost the 'Cats victories. A shaky C- is all that is deserved at this point in the season for UK's (mostly) shaky free throw shooting.

Opponents three-point shooting -- UK ranks 218th in the nation in defending their opponents' three-point shooting, which stands at 35.7%. The horror show looks like this -- Miami - 57.7%, Sam Houston State - 47.4%, Stanford - 35.0%, UNC-Asheville - 40.0%.

Unacceptable ... there really isn't anything else one can say. Sure, UK is young, but youth is not an excuse for failing to get a hand in the shooter's face, or denying the shooter the ball. But, the team will learn defensive rotation in time, as well as the effort it takes to defend competently. Or at least they better, because we all know the three-point shot is the great equalizer. Grade? A well deserved F.

Early December Exam Results

Through seven games this team is showing why so many thought so highly of UK's chances of having a great season. Sure, they've had a couple of close shaves (Miami, Stanford), but with youth comes inexperience, i.e. taking opponents lightly, but as the season progresses, if they mature at an acceptable rate, this team should be very tough to beat regardless of the level of competition.

Freshman summation -- John Wall has been spectacular, if at times a bit too comfortable dribbling the ball; Eric Bledsoe has shown he CAN shoot the ball beyond 15 feet; DeMarcus Cousins is simply ferocious, if a bit too emotional; Darnell Dodson, if he can demonstrate a willingness to play defense, has the chance to be special at the two/three-spot; Daniel Orton has been a solid edtion to the low post with his solid shooting, and timely rebounding (10 offensive boards in only 14.7 mpg); Jon Hood hasn't played enough to render any meaningful words ( four games, 8.5 mpg), except ... I hope the Madisonville native gets a chance to shine.

As the team embarks on the rest of the season, the competition increases exponentially. Losses may be in the offing, but as they continue to learn the system, and learn each other, I expect mostly victories, with a chance for greatness.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Kentucky 94, UNC-Asheville 54 -- Postmortem

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:44:25 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Coach Cal was very animated tonight, and it made an impression on the team.

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Finally, UK has a relatively effortless victory over a markedly inferior team. It has not been that way most of this year.

Our thanks to the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs for putting forth excellent effort tonight versus the Kentucky Wildcats. Everyone knew they are a bit undermanned facing the 'Cats huge front line, but the Bulldogs came out and gave it their all tonight in Freedom Hall. Thanks to the Bulldogs for their hard work.

For Kentucky, this was by far the most complete game they have played all year, and even though it's hard to point to progress versus the Bulldogs, it isn't hard to see that UK is working on a lot of things, and that work is beginning to pay off.

I got the impression from Calipari's half-time interview that the DDM offense is only going to be run part-time this year because of the size of this team. Yes, UK is athletic enough in some ways, but the DDM is an offense that is not really run best by a team that goes 6'11", 6'9", and 6'8" across its front line. I think Calipari realizes that he has to use his size in the post, and the move to a hybrid offense that features more of a traditional motion with some added DDM elements is likely to work much better. It certainly hit on all cylinders tonight.

More after the jump.

Tonights observations are little more than handing out superlatives. Here goes:

What a game by John Wall. What impressed me most all night was not his freakish athleticism, nor his quickness, nor his speed. It was when he found himself one-on-three and instead of trying to score, he pulled the ball back out and waited for his teammates. John Wall is growing up before our eyes.
Patrick Patterson was as he always is -- steady, determined, mature and highly effective.
Eric Bledsoe played under control for the first time all year. Nice to see.
Darnell Dodson was back with his deadeye shooting. Just in time.
How good can DeMarcus Cousins be? Well, we won't really know until he faces top foes, but he was way, way too much for the Bulldogs. Mabye Calipari is making progress with his free-throw shooting, because this game was the best of his career at UK.
Darius Miller is getting better and better, particularly from the perimeter.
Daniel Orton is not quite up to Cousins, but he is still really good and keeps getting better.
I can't say enough about Calipari's intensity in the first half. It clearly motivated the team.
The Wildcats moved the basketball better tonight than they have all year, by far. I have no idea how that will translate to tougher opponents -- hopefully well.
Ramon Harris once again did what he does -- give energy to the defense and pay attention to the little things.
Turnovers vs. assists -- I'm sure that number will be impressive.

Overall, this was by far the best we have seen of our young Wildcats, but the opponent was not strong enough for us to judge how much of this will carry over to the next game. And it is very important that some of it does carry over to Saturday, because North Carolina will be a much bigger test than any other team we have played so far.

Is UK up to the challenge. I think so, but that may be my heart talking.