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Vanderbilt 60 @ Kentucky 70:  Postmortem

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Let me start out by saying that the Vanderbilt Commodores gave a game effort today considering that arguably their best player was out with an injury.  Despite falling behind by 20 midway through the second half, Vanderbilt not only made a game of it but put a real scare into most Kentucky fans by going on a 17-5 run at the end of the game to get the deficit to 6 with over two minutes left to play.  In the end, it wasn't enough, but you have to admire the effort it took.

For Kentucky, this was a very uneven effort.  The first part of the game was full of defensive errors that lead to Vanderbilt baskets, particularly from outside.  But at about the ten minute mark in the first half, Patterson got his second foul and the bench came in and picked the team up, ultimately allowing Kentucky to go up five at the break.

The second half saw Kentucky's defense play very well for 75% of the period.  In the other 25%, Vanderbilt was almost able to make a breathtaking comeback thanks to some untimely turnovers by Kentucky, missed defensive assignments and weak rebounding.  In the end Kentucky held on, but it wasn't an effort that they want to point to as an example of their best basketball.

Here are my observations:

  • Patrick Patterson was not impressive today.  Yes, Vanderbilt was very effective taking him away, but Patterson only managed 1 rebound.  Yes, he was in foul trouble, but Patterson should get more than one rebound by accident.  He did have 3 blocks and 11 points, so he did help.
  • Jodie Meeks played hard, but not particularly well offensively.  So he did the next best thing and played solid defense (except for a breakdown near the end of the game) and rebounded the basketball.
  • Darius Miller did some good things out there, but he just couldn't buy one from the field.
  • I loved DeAndre Liggins' defensive effort, and hated his effort on offense in the first half.  He forced three shots and made a brain-dead turnover.  But defensively, he was a nightmare for Tinsley.  With Liggins in the game, Tinsley did not get a single clean look, and I don't think he made but one shot in the second half.  At one point, Liggins turned Vanderbilt over on two consecutive possessions and forced a jump ball on the third.  Interestingly, after that aforementioned dumb turnover, he didn't have another one.  He only had two assists, though.
  • Perry Stevenson had a good game, but he still tends to disappear at times and only managed 2 rebounds.  He did have 3 big blocks.
  • Michael Porter was adequate, and made a clutch shot.  But he seemed tentative to me and turns down way to many open shots.  He did make his free throws, though, and that was critical.
  • Ramon Harris was terrific on the offensive end.  He was less than terrific defensively, however.  An unusual reversal of the norm, but he did rebound very well.
  • 12 total turnovers, and about 4 of them happened in the last 3 minutes.
  • At times, Kentucky's defense was remarkable.  At others it was pitiful.
  • Kentucky showed good patience attacking Vanderbilt's zone.  I'm glad to see the 'Cats learning to do this, because they will be seeing the zone a lot this year.
  • Josh Harrellson needs to have more of an impact.  He made one really clutch shot, but that's about all.
  • UK was outrebounded by a team playing mostly zone.  That ought to make Gillispie apoplectic.

Overall, this was a pedestrian effort that could have been good but for a very few minutes of ineptitude.  The most important thing about this game was the final result, which is a win.  But we are going to need a much better performance to deal with Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas.

0 recs  |  Comment 27 comments |

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Galloway?

Where was Galloway? He didn’t see the floor this afternoon? More of Billy Clyde’s “he didn’t practice well this week” business?

by Danvillecat on Jan 10, 2009 7:58 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Meeks was stellar..

he did what all great scores do, he go to the charity stripe and he knocked them down. His great offensive production combined with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and only 1 turnover made him the star of the game. We are watching a speacial season unfold for Meeks and if it translates to an SEC championship and NCAA tourny success we are talking all-american honors.

by MyBloodRunsBlue on Jan 10, 2009 8:01 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Don't get it

… everyone watched a different game than I did. Yeah, some struggles offensively, but we held the other team to 32% shooting for the game, and nearly under 30 save for the final few moments. We got maybe Patterson’s worst game of the season and still manhandled Vandy for 30 minutes.

Is this all about style points now, then?

The Heart & Mind of the Big Blue Nation ...

by JL Blue on Jan 10, 2009 8:01 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

agreed...

From the few people I have spoken to I am getting the same impression. They need to realize that this team is a long way from worrying about how they win, just that they win. I believe a lot of people want to look at this game or past games and see how we will fair against a UT or UF, but that just isn’t gonna work. We are far too inconsistent for that and, from what I’ve seen so far this year, so are UT and UF.

by the spork on Jan 10, 2009 8:13 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

The problem ...

… was that we did not sustain the effort. That’s what I didn’t like, and I didn’t like it a lot.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Truzenzuzex on Jan 10, 2009 8:58 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Young teams...

do that. They get up big and sort of slack off, its not ok, but it is understandable. You can’t expect this team to know how to play from behind and from the lead as young as they are. These things will fix themselves as the season goes on. We just need to mature a bit, your guess is as good as mine when that will be.

by the spork on Jan 10, 2009 11:49 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

JL is was a good game from UK.

Very good teams will win when they don’t play well.

Ken P., Meeks was great, the star of the game by far. I will take an ill-adivsed shot from Meeks over an open look for Porter always. I was glad to see Porter not hurt the team today, but he is not a scoring threat by any stretch, no more than 40yearcatfan is the answer to offensive rebounding.

by MyBloodRunsBlue on Jan 10, 2009 8:14 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

my thoughts...

Patterson just wasn’t in it, not a bad game, just not the usual Patterson performance.
Meeks cut down on the TOs and did a great job rebounding. He didn’t shoot the ball great today. He made up for it with his foul shooting, but I can remember atleast a couple times when he got bailed out by the refs on those drives.
Porter played a pretty good game yet again. My only real gripe is that he didn’t shoot the ball enough.
Harris played very well on the offensive end and it was great to see him make some open shots.
Liggins had a great game aside from his shooting.
Same goes for Miller, but he was taking good shots and I am very optimistic about him after this game. Some of his shots just refused to go down, but I am confident that they will begin to drop for him soon.

Overall, good game. A learning lesson for our young team about how to play with a big lead against good competition.

by the spork on Jan 10, 2009 8:27 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

It was more of a team effort

Than I have seen recently when PP was on the bench.

This team is showing marked improvement in many areas. Not especially offense with Liggins and Miller, but great defense. That is where it starts with these freshmen….offense scoring will follow. I would like to see more Galloway.

by kykat51 on Jan 10, 2009 9:30 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

It's a Win

Overall picture: Great defense in stretches, good overall. Vandy missed a lot of uncontested threes. With some exceptions, most of our scoring was from individual moves and hustle, not team ball movement. Because of youth in the SEC, most teams are probably going to be inconsistent. We’ll have more quality experience on the floor than most of them.

by Fortunatus on Jan 10, 2009 9:34 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

IMO Patterson will be back next year! He just is not ready to be a lottery pick.

I agree, he had an okay game, but I was so looking forward to a tremendous battle with the big guy from Vandy. When that didn’t materialize, I thought that Patterson would dominate. Instead he got in foul trouble just like he did last year. Another year will add the maturity he needs to not make those type of mistakes. Next year, with the new recruits, he will have size (Orton) playing along side of him so he can try the threes and know that missed shots will be rebounded. We will also have very good subs. (Pilgrim, Stevenson and Harrellson). Before entering the NBA draft, I think Patterson needs to add some weight (245-255) to be more markable.

Meeks, on the other hand, is taking better care of the ball, which was his major downfall. While I think he already has a NBA body, another 10 pounds of muscle wouldn’t hurt him either. With the numbers he is putting up, I just hope Jodie stays another year.

If my crystal ball is correct and both these players stay, it should be quite a year next year. In the meantime, this year will be a learning experience for the entire team. Go CATS!

by Blueobsessed on Jan 10, 2009 9:36 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Jodie

isnt leaving this year.

NBA scouts need another year in college to get a good read on him.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Jan 10, 2009 9:38 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

who's the third?

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jan 10, 2009 10:10 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Orton

Daniel Orton, frosh ’09.

The Heart & Mind of the Big Blue Nation ...

by JL Blue on Jan 10, 2009 10:38 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

of course

i would have known that if i could read. :)

i thought it said this year.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jan 10, 2009 11:19 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

i see only one possibly

and that’s patterson. i really don’t believe that meeks will be a lottery pick…he still forces too many shots, turns the ball over (though not as much as before), and doesn’t look to pass much when driving.

i love meeks, and think s he’s been absolutely amazing, but i just can’t see him going in the first thirteen picks.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jan 10, 2009 10:17 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Agreed..

PP MAYBE a lottery pick next year… I absolutley love Jodie Meek’s game. I think he will go down as one of the all-time greats at UK. BUT, he is not a lottery pick this year or next. Even if he repeats next season what he is doing this year, he may not even be a first round pick. The NBA is totally different.

by MyBloodRunsBlue on Jan 11, 2009 6:23 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

Good point! Of the members on that dominate Gator team that won two national chamionships,

how many are getting quality playing time in the NBA? Where is Brewer? Where is Green? They were very good college players. Where is the guy that set all of the SEC and NCAA three point shooting records? NBA wants flash, showmanship and dominant players. Every team has more than five and is always seeking more. Unless you would be able to score 30-40 every night in the NBA, like LaBron, Kobie or Wade, it is tough to immediately break into the NBA starting lineups. Again I make the point it is in the best interests of players like Meeks, Patterson and Orton to stay in school and break as many school records as they can and win a national championship to increase their marketability before they try the big time. Look at the NBA teams and see how international they are. Our college kids are competing for NBA spots against a worldwide population. Great players in college do not always end up with large NBA contracts for a variety of reasons.

by Blueobsessed on Jan 11, 2009 8:02 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

KyGirl we Need You

We’ve gotten past the Lville game and opened up SEC play. It’s time for some more inspiration from our poet laureate.

by hoboat33 on Jan 10, 2009 10:35 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

We'll take the win

Against a good defensive team as Pom said. It was good to see Harris with a good offensive effort. Very good to see the turnovers down! The lack of consistent defensive intensity on our part (especially toward the end) with Meeks and PPat not lighting it up is still troubling. When we’ve got a team down by 20 without our usual offensive threats I think it’s really important to keep that D kickin to get more offensive looks. As Tru said, we’ve got to have that killer instinct. The free throw shooting and low turnovers really helped today. It is a win too, by golly! I’ve still got high hopes for our SEC play. Go CATS!!!

by slidemank on Jan 10, 2009 11:31 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

Liggins...

really showed off his potential tonight. His behind the back pass to Stevenson on the breakaway really got the crowd into it. I can’t remember the last time I heard Rupp as loud as it got during the middle of that 10 minute stretch in the second half.

by ben-p on Jan 11, 2009 12:38 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

excited rupp

good point benp, i noticed that too i just want rupp to be like it was in th good ol days

by hummer11092 on Jan 11, 2009 2:59 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

UK had a stretch in the 2nd half

It was from about the 14 min mark to the 4 min mark. During that 10 min stretch, we played outstanding basketball. Our intensity was excellent, our D was great and we looked good on offense.

The rest of the game, I thought our play was average and even below average at times.

GBB!!!

by OGETARTS on Jan 11, 2009 8:04 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

Porter

…. over the last 3 games he is averaging 9.3 ppg :-)

GBB!!!

by OGETARTS on Jan 11, 2009 8:27 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

A couple of thoughts...

1. I have maintained for awhile that the key to this team’s success is defense. I thought they played an outstanding defensive game against Vandy. Granted there was the issue toward the end, but I see this team getting better in this area.

2. From my perspective, there is a coaching issue with this team that I haven’t seen brought up. A good team is made of players who know and play their roles. Other than the starting four (Patterson, Meeks, Porter, and Stevenson), I don’t know if the other players know their roles. It seems so haphazard on who and when players are coming off the bench. The rotation is not consistent and its no wonder Miller and others play w/o consistency and for some, w/o confidence.

'..when they bring a knife, you bring a gun...that's the Chicago way..'

by HozeKing on Jan 11, 2009 10:55 AM EST reply actions   0 recs

I agree

That’s the point of my question on Galloway. He was good enough to start the previous games yet he doesn’t even get on the floor against Vandy. That just doesn’t make sense unless he was injured and there were no reports of an injury. There’s a difference between a coach being a disciplinarian and being a martinet. A lot of UK fans are assuming there’s a method to Billy Clyde’s madness but I’m beginning to wonder.

by Danvillecat on Jan 11, 2009 9:55 PM EST up reply actions   0 recs

I think we all ...

… wonder a little. Gillispie’s reasoning is just so opaque.

But, that’s just his way, I guess.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Truzenzuzex on Jan 12, 2009 7:04 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

His rotation and substitution patterns are very bizarre at times

I have no idea on Galloway. I can only assume it’s a combination of Harris playing better and Galloway not practicing well.

GBB!!!

by OGETARTS on Jan 12, 2009 8:47 AM EST up reply actions   0 recs

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