Missouri-St. Louis Tritons vs. The Kentucky Wildcats: Post mortem
by Truzenzuzex on Nov 3, 2008 11:33 PM EST
in Basketball
19 comments
First of all, thanks to the Tritons from the University of Missouri-St. Louis for coming in and giving it all they had tonight. Obviously, UMSL was a vastly over-matched team. They had many new players and are a Division II school, so we really can't take many deep lessons away from this game. But in the micro view, we saw some things, most of them encouraging.
Patrick Patterson was impressive of course, but we expected that to happen. Jodie Meeks ran amok, as I said he likely would. The Wildcats were vastly superior to the Tritons in speed, athleticism and skill, as expected. No surprises, nothing new under the sun.
Except ... well, a surprisingly cohesive offense that, unlike last year at this time, looked very much like it had a purpose. For heaven's sake, the offense looked ... well, for lack of a better word, intentional. Like they were doing it on purpose, instead of at random and without a clue, like last year. The defense was intense -- long, lean, quick and consistent. The second team played just as hard, intense, and almost as proficiently as the first team. In short, it looked like a University of Kentucky basketball team is supposed to look, even if they are facing a tougher team in practice every day than they did tonight.
What I liked was the intensity of this group, the lack of a desire to deviate into showmanship. No fancy passes, no reckless shots, nothing but consistent, fundamental basketball played by a bunch of skillful guys. It was very much a best of old school basketball mixed with modern athleticism. It was fast when it needed to be, and deliberate when appropriate. In an unusual twist, neither the offense nor the defense seemed out of sync when the pace changed, something that I have seen all to often in teams that either like to press the pace or play a deliberate style. In two words, it was opportunistic and steady.
Obviously, much of the success of this effort was caused by the size of the mismatch, so all the forgoing observations probably have no relevance to ultimate reality. Still, this is the time of the season to really get excited, scarf up some calories and get our passion into overdrive before we face the inevitable, and early, test of how good this team really is, in the form of the consensus #1 team in America at their place in 15 days in front of a nationally televised audience. If the 'Cats are not ready, they will be exposed in an affair that most of us will still be trying hard to forget by Thanksgiving.
But before I/we start waving a white flag, there is an awful lot to be encouraged about. This is a much more talented team than I expected, and I expected a lot. The summer has been particularly kind to Michael Porter and Josh Harrellson, and that will be my segue into general player evaluations:
- Patrick Patterson -- he still looks a step slow and an inch short on his vertical, but his intensity is just as powerful. All he needs is a few games to get his mojo back 100%.
- Michael Porter -- Physically, he is now ready to play point guard in the SEC. Mentally, I'm not quite sold. His shot did not look good tonight, and his defense was good but not great against inferior competition.
- Ramon Harris -- Tremendously improved in every area, but most noticeably ballhandling. Defensive genius.
- Perry Stevenson -- His confidence with the ball in his hands is vastly improved, but he still tends to disappear a bit on offense. He needs to be more assertive. Defensively, he is still an eraser.
- Jodie Meeks -- This kid is frightening in his ability to put the ball in the basket. His defense needs significant improvement, as does his desire to take the ball to the hole. But frankly, even if he never learns to play great defense, he is an amazing scorer and athlete.
- Josh Harrellson -- If this game is any indication, we could have another Scott Padgett on our hands. It's remarkable how similar his game is to Padget's. Harrelson's offensive footwork was fine, but he was often out of position on defense.
- DeAndre Liggins -- Still raw, but his skill and talent are remarkable. He made some fantastic passes from the wing, and just as I said in previous posts, loves to advance the ball rapidly with the pass. He can dribble and rebound a little, too. Defensively, he is inconsistent, but it's clear he's working hard and will be a very good defender.
- Jared Carter -- Improved, but I am not sure how much of an impact he will have. He still has work to do on both sides of the ball.
- Darius Miller -- He was great. I did not expect him to be that good, but he surely was excellent in almost every phase. His defense could be better, but it was pretty darn good.
- Kevin Galloway -- He played some of the best defense I saw, very aggressive and sharp. Got beat once off the dribble, so he isn't Ramon Harris yet, but he raised his stock with Gillispie tonight if he continues to give that kind of defensive effort.
- Donald Williams -- Looked lost, needs time.
- A.J. Stewart -- Absent for whatever reason.
OK, we'll have more on this later. Have fun with it. This game was just an exhibition, but feel free to be enthusiastic. Basketball season is here. I am content.
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My favorite new guy
Going on record right now as saying Miller is my favorite among the newcomers. He looks totally comfortable in the system already. May never be a go-to guy, but he seemed to me to always be where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to do. Here’s hoping his shot is that automatic against higher quality competition. Looks to be the consummate four-year, home state, fan favorite.
Harrellson will be the one everyone is talking about, and he was better than I expected, but it looked to me like he just got hot against an overmatched, undersized team. He took good shots in the first half, but looked like he was forcing it in the second. I wonder if he will be that good against better competition. I hope so.
Dead on
about the lack of showmanship,and I noticed that as well.This group will run through a wall,and the future looks bright.It appeared that St Louis tried to play a 4 guard line up early on,and we still out-quicked them.Also,what is the deal with AJ,he was not in uniform,was he at the game?
?
This is unreal,but is this the first time a Kentucky basketball team has scored a 100 points in any game in 5 years.Hard to believe it has been that long.Nice to end the streak!
Turnovers
24 assists to 14 turnovers. That is encouraging. Often blowout games become sloppy and you get a lot of turnovers, but overall the offense looked like it had purpose and great energy.
Very excited.
Both this game and the Blue-White Scrimmage have gotten me excited for this season. I know we were playing very over matched competition but I saw fundamental basketball in terms of spacing, passing, defense and offense coupled with a constant high energy. There were only a few moments in this game where our team was not competing at a high level despite the competition which can sometimes lead to a lull. BCG is correct when he says you play the way you practice and tonight we saw evidence of that philosophy.
Xbox Live Gamertag: hoopchi
AJ
I went to the game last night. For whatever reason Stewart was on the bench in street clothes.
DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!
Gillispie said it was ...
… a “minor” disciplinary thing, and that he would be back on Friday.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Passing
I really liked what I saw of the passing game, especially into and OUT of the post. PP’s touch pass, and kick outs were spot on. Watching PP work in the post there were only a few times that they missed him, when he had his man pinned on his hip. Last year, ARGGG was the most uttered word in my living room, because they missed him so many times.
I too, was pleasantly surprised by Miller’s contribution. He looked very comfortable and confident.
I like Tru’s assessment of Harrellson, and his comparison to Padgett. I hope that positioning and foot-work are able to over-come what appeared to be a lack of a vertcal game. Or maybe he just felt like he didn’t have to jump as high against the smaller competition. But I love the willingness and ability to knock open jumpers, and Stevenson too.
I thought Porter played very well, and hopefully that shot will come back to him. But his ball handling was crisp, and he wasn’t bothered by the defense.
Meeks? What else is there to say? Other than keep it up, I love it!
Liggins played as well as I expected, and I expected him to play well.
I think Carter can give us the 5-10 minutes of quality play that we may well need as the competition gets tougher.
I was very encouraged. They did what they were supposed to do, and did it fairly well. Can’t wait for Friday.
The thing with Porter...
he will not be ask to score! he will do what he did last night; find the open man, run the team and do not turn the ball over. He will need help on quick guards, but even that part of his game as improved.
And Ramon Harris? OMG, he may be the best defender we’ve seen in awhile. What a guy to have, when ask to lock up an oposing teams “go to” player. Paint this true blue fan very impressed!!!
Porter looked very good last night.
He was comfortable, confident, and had 0 turnovers to 5 assists. I’d like to see him hit those open jumpers, of course, but as long as he isn’t turning the ball over and is getting the ball in the right hands at the right time, I’ll be incredibly happy. Right now he runs the offense better than Liggins, which is to be expected.
by BBallSophist on Nov 4, 2008 10:34 AM EST up reply actions
Pistol Pete Shorts
Anyone remember or have looked up to see some footage of the ORIGINAL master blaster?
Team mates say he would intentionally stretch out his socks. He said it was that he did not like them too tight but what it got was this sloppy slow “looking” effect and some who were victimized by him say it absolutely had a subliminal affect and made you think he was a step slower than he actually was. Watch a game if you can find it or download the documentary ESPN or someone did a few years ago and you will see what I am talking about.
Who knows but during the game I would see plays happen at blazing speed and swear I was tricked by those damn shorts.
Changing how you think will change what you think.
jc
i understand that we should support all our players, but give me a break. Jared carter is horrible, he never was good and he never will be good, end of story. He consistently gets out rebounded and boxed about by guards. Why is this guy playing basketball, he can’t even catch the ball. I’m sick of people getting excited about him when hes a proven disappointment. A month or so before the season, all I was hearing was “Jared Carter has improved so much over the summer”……“JC shut down Patrick Patterson in a pick up game!” screw all of that and as you can see, none of it is true and its just wishful thinking.
JC may very well be improved
But I don’t see him cracking the line-up for any meaningful minutes when the games count.
Based on what I saw last night, I now feel comfortable with an 8 man rotation.
Porter
Meeks
Harris
Stevenson
Patterson
Miller
Harrelson
Liggins
Liggins and Galloway didn’t show me enough to make me think I want them handling the ball any more than Porter, and I know that Michael is battle-tested. I’ll take him.
In the end, I just don’t see Carter getting any minutes. I also don’t see where AJ Stewart or Don Williams will get minutes either.
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
Turnovers....
here they are…. A/T
Porter – 5/0 (WOW!)
Meeks – 4/2
Harris – 5/2
Pttrsn – 3/1
Liggns – 4/2
Miller – 1/2
Hrrlsn – 0/2
Most of these don’t look too bad, except that two of our top 5 scorers are in the negative here and this wasn’t even competition.
GO BIG BLUE!! Long Live Coach G (so long as he wears KY blue)!!!
TO's
As far as Harrelson is concerned; it isn’t unusual at all for big men to have a negative a/t ratio.
I wouldn’t worry too much about Miller, after-all it was his very first “game” at the collegiate level. One should never read too much, positive or negative, into exhibitions.
"It was fast when it needed to be, and deliberate when appropriate"
Ahh, reminds me of Sunday with my lady friend and…um enough about that. I’m so glad basketball is back. I’m predicting sweet 16 this year and final four next. No pressure :)
I'll wait a bit before making Final Four predictions for next year...
But I think Sweet 16 this year should be a legit goal.
If we achieve that, and then we add in Orton and Co while losing essentially no one… I think Final Four could be a real goal for PPats junior year. Gawd… that has potential to be a huge drop off in talent that year doesn’t it? PPat and Orton could go pro… Meeks/Stevenson/Porter graduate… Ouch. Anyways, nevermind all that. The basketball present is fun to watch! I’m excited for Friday’s game!
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
They Know What to Do
Whether they’ll be able to do it against better competition remains to be seen, but the top 7-8 guys demonstrated last night that they know what to do on offense. It appeared that all the players were running the same offense (which wasn’t evident last year). The spacing was good, and the passes flowed. Nobody dribbled much.
All the returnees look better, and Miller and Harrelson have good skills and seem to fit in well. The defense looked solid for the first 10-12 minutes. They’re off to an excellent start. Only 35 or so games to go.
It's nice to see that we have
nice killers on this basketall team. They manhandled UMSL until the game was out of reach and then just played hard ball until the final buzzer. On one hand I wonder what “could have been” had they continued to play with the same intensity throughout the entire game (185 pts?) but on the other hand it’s nice to see good sportsmanship by these young men. With UNC just a couple o weeks away I am liking the idea of a competitive game. I’m predicting Sean May returns to suit up as Psycho T and Patterson shuts him down. :) ha!
It sounds to me these guys studied their opponent, had a game plan and executed it well. Ideally it would be nice to have a Louisville or Syracuse or Texas to play prior to UNC to warm up to the level of competition but if these guys can sustain their “killer” mode for a longer stretch these next two games I am confidently going to stick by my original pick for a UK win. Should UK find itself in a 40 point advantage over UNC I wouldn’t be surprised to see their natural empathy for an addled team take hold and lets the Heels back in the game.
Maybe BG will have them foaming at the mouth like a pack of rabid pit bulls ready to bite and maim until the final buzzer. Would hate to see the UNC faithful watch such a carnage but it sure would be fun to hear Dick Vitamins choke over repeated UK highlights. Vein would probably bust on his head requiring Bilas to scream down there from Storrs to restore order to the court. Well, he is a lawyer too. Did I mention my love for them? Aight, they’re pretty smart guys who know a few things about basketball, prolly know more’n me, shucks! But they rub me wrong with their commentary sometimes!!!
Here’s to Friday and the OBU Tigers and Coach Gillispie and the young men who are practicing HARD!
GO BIG BLUE!!!!!
Beavis-“Heh heh….heh heh….he said rub!”
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