Kentucky 86, Long Beach St. 73: Postmortem
by Glenn Logan on Dec 23, 2009 4:12 PM EST
in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball
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PrintI knew the 49ers were going to be tough. I didn't know they would be quite that tough.
Great job by Coach Dan Monson and the Long Beach St. 49ers. I expected the Kentucky Wildcats to come out a bit flat, and they did just that. The 49ers looked like they expected it, too, and started making big shot after big shot. This was a lesson in why, when faced with games like this near the holidays, you have to keep the team focused. Fortunately for Kentucky, the 49ers just didn't quite have enough left in the tank. But they gave the young Wildcats a lesson in heart.
I confess, I was really upset after the first half -- the defensive energy was low, the execution was poor, and Kentucky was losing the battle of the boards. It was the perfect storm, but it was largely caused by the fact that three of the Wildcats' starters were in foul trouble.
But even with most of their firepower out and energy low, the Wildcat reserves kept after it. Josh Harrellson made a big shot and a couple of good defensive plays for which Calipari rewarded him with significant minutes in the first half. DeAndre Liggins provided some much-needed energy off the bench, and even though Kentucky wound up going into the half tied, you felt like they were fortunate to be there.
But it wasn't good fortune, it was hard work by the reserves that got that job done. They couldn't seem to score and they didn't execute well, but they did manage to do enough to keep the game from getting into a bad place, and that is just what you want your bench players to do -- hold the fort down until the cavalry arrives. And arrive it did, in the second half.
More afer the jump.
Even the second half wasn't a thing of beauty, but with the starters back in the game, it seemed that it would be just a matter of time until the 49ers wore down, and ultimately, that turned out to be the case. The final margin of 13 points was not indicative of the game, which was single digits until about the 8:00 mark in the second half, when Kentucky began to pull away.
Today's observations:
- Once again, the 3-point defense stank. It stank. We allowed 44% from the arc.
- DeMarcus Cousins had two fouls (at least) that he didn't deserve. No wonder he had a chip on his shoulder the whole game. And at the end of the game, he had a double-double.
- John Wall really wasn't himself. He got 19 and 5, but he looked ordinary, even mortal.
- Patrick Patterson played great. Double-double, shot almost 60%. What more can you ask?
- Eric Bledsoe ... struggled. He looked not quite whole. He had no legs in his jumper, he seemed discombobulated, he just wasn't all there -- for most of the game. But when it really mattered, he came back. That's hard to do.
- Ramon Harris was great. Just great. He defended, he ran the floor, and he stabilized the team. He didn't score a lot, but he really helped keep the ship from foundering.
Calipari impressed me, a lot. He was active when he had to be, and calm when it was called for. He kept Cousins' head in the game, so that when the time came for him to go back in, Big Cuz was ready. He took charges. He dove after balls, he scored, he rebounded, and he emoted -- the right way.
Calipari changed the game when the 'Cats really needed it, trapping the wing at every opportunity and putting in a full-court zone press at the same time. Those two moves took the legs from the 49ers, and energized the 'Cats, making the game look like an easy victory when it wasn't easy at all. Kudos to Coach Cal.
For a while, I thought the 'Cats might actually falter. Silly me. This is a team for the ages, and what we are seeing right now is just a shadow of what we will see later this year. The thought of that excites and energizes me, makes it hard to wait for the next game.
But wait we must. Merry Christmas, Wildcats. It wasn't a thing of beauty, but when I look at 13-0, that sure looks beautiful to me.
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Agreed on all counts
I’m working today, so I was relegated to catching what I could on ESPN360, but the Cats were fortunate today. On Cal’s call in show last night he said that if one team wants it more than the more talented team, that team will win 60% of the time. I think we came in on that lucky 40% this afternoon.
We’ve played more games than anyone in the country so far. 13 games when most are sitting around 10-11 games at this point. The guys deserve the three days rest and then they can come back after Chrstmas and hit it hard.
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
As I've stated before...
the margin of difference was all got at the FT line(22-9). Although they were shot poorly in the first half, the second half was much better. There will surely be other nights when things don’t click, and if you make the free chances, you will usually get the W.
Bad Dream
Thought I was having a bad dream, the last 10 minutes against Drexel and most of the 1st half today…. The crawfish, harris, miller, harrellson and liggins.. oh my gosh, is it still the “G” era… where are the stars, the speed and the giants in the lane.. only 10 points, alot of missed open shots and almost as many to’s… Thank you Big Blue for waking me up! (PS and U waking up in the 2nd half!!) The FTs made the difference when we got in the bonus… Man, we almost packed our jerseys a day early for the trip home for Christmas! Now, back to the business at hand!
sign of a great team-
When you don’t play well, and still win…
"You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't"
Well,
I’m just sitting here wrapping my loads and loads of Christmas gifts, having some cocktails, and relishing the fact that we are 13-0. That last little fact just puts an even bigger glow on my already fabulous holiday season, it’s so great and it makes me smile.
One quick thought on Cousins. I’m truly amazed — how exactly does one accomplish 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block and 4 fouls in 13 minutes of play? That’s, well, for lack of a better word, amazing. Just think of the damage he could do in, say, 30 minutes of play? My goodness.
Hope ya’ll are ready for Christmas and that Santa brings you exactly what you want this year. Merry Christmas, everybody! : )
On the Box ...
Liggins got 14 minutes today and although the numbers aren’t as impressive as Cousins’ numbers he gave us another good defensive performance. I’ m happy to see Liggins contributing. We’ll need that in March.
One footnote BSC …. One of Big Cuz’s 4 fouls was a T … I love his intensity and I think we just have to kind of take the good with the bad for now … He’ll come around – What a talent he is!!
Merry XMAS Cat Fans ….
Big Cuz
Always misses his shot if it is not a dunk,grabs his own rebound and gets the magical double double by default.He lacks “soft hands” but can run the floor like no one his size.He has a Gift.
Cousins Has Exceptional Hands
One of his strongest faculties.
"Learn(ing) without thinking begets ignorance. Think(ing) without learning is dangerous."
-Confucius
Don't want to pile on here, but...
Cousins has very good hands for a big man; I would go as far as calling him an exceptionally gifted big man when it comes to handling the pill.
Yeah,
sorry, Zoso, but Cousins definitely has great hands.
He has incredibly soft and rather non-clunky hands for one his size. It is one of his greatest attributes, IMO, (among the many that I could list, of course, but I’ll stop there for now : )).
I just adore Cousins and where some of you talk about taking the good with the bad in regards to his play, well, for me, it’s all good, and just like Christmas, he makes me smile, too. Always. : )
He has sat on the bench ten times in the first half with 2 fouls
Sometimes I wonder if Orton should start to let boogie’s adrenaline settle down. Just a thought —
Imagine his second half’s doubled.
No matter where you're at, there you are
That’s an interesting idea.
I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad idea and I understand the reasoning behind it, but for me, I really hope that doesn’t happen. Orton has all next year to start and starting every game as sophomore is certainly nothing to sneer at. I say let Cousins start while we have him. : )
On the fouls, I’m not one to complain about officiating on a regular basis as I think it’s kind of a cop-out, but when Tru says above that 2 of Cuz’s fouls yesterday might not have been earned, I have to agree. If you notice when he is in the game, he is always in the mix for a loose ball, he always seems to end up guarding the guy with the ball under the basket, he’s always in the picture. And by picture I mean that figuratively and quite literally, as well. He’s everywhere, and judging from the stats that he is able to put up in a ridiculously short amount of time, he seems to have some sort of magnetic connection with the basketball in addition to being extremely skilled, so I’ve kind of resigned myself to the fact that he might always pick up fouls and I don’t know if he is ever going to escape with less than 3. Most of those being earned by him, of course, but due to his ridiculous arm length and size, he is bound to be caught by the officials as he is quite simply the one they see, more often that not, IMO.
Maybe I can mediate this dispute;
it is Christmas, after all. I suggest that Cuz has soft hands but lacks the strong lift to get the ball through the first contact so he can use those hands (Orton, double ditto, and both need some work on that).
Or maybe he’s just boosting his rebound total by missing the first, then getting the put-back :-)
No moral victories--it's all about Ws and Ls!!!
I think when people
hear the word “soft” they tend to think of weakness.Big Cuz does have good hands,I guess I should have said “soft around the rim”.Or perhaps smooth.
Best hands on the team
by far, belong to PPat!! Cuz has got, at this point in time, good hands, as does Orton. Will agree with OC69, they both need to work on strength to the basket with the ball, along with not bouncing the damn thing on the floor before they go up!
If your wings don't sweep....
Yeah, man,
dribbling is for guards!!! (and Falcon drivers!!)
No moral victories--it's all about Ws and Ls!!!
It's obvious
that the big men want to dribble the ball once to reset the pivot foot. They have to learn that if they get the ball with their feet set wrong, they will just have to pass it back to the perimeter or another open man.
Or just take one really big step and
STUFF it. Bwahahaha.
Actually, you’re right on. With experience, they’ll get their feet in position before the ball gets there. And when that happens, watch out. Truth is, I think Orton has as much potential as Cuz, but somebody needs to lace his mashed ’taters with some gunpowder. Or something.
No moral victories--it's all about Ws and Ls!!!
If he ever gets where he can play 25-30 min a game
He’ll be a 25 and 15 guy, no doubt. He’s the most amazing big, big we’ve had here in a long time, maybe ever.
hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas
and we beat the crap out of Clemson…..GOO CATSS
This is a tough bunch
When the going gets tough, this bunch gets going.
Sometimes they win pretty; more often it’s ugly. But they win. In that regard, they are more like a veteran team than a freshman dominated crew.
The ’78 champs — if memory serves — toughed out a lot of games. They won all the preseason; lost two on the SEC road early; then won all the rest.
This team is beatable, but it will take one hell of a team to do it.
Not worried about this game at all
Every team throws a few clunkers, heck UNC lost at home to a dreadful Boston College team last year just to name one. From the radio it sounded like the guys played as though Christmas was just around the corner, so it’s nice that was actually the case.
3 > 2, except for very large values of 2.
In the post game show...
Cal said they did not practice since monday’s game.
that means they celebrated the 2000th win Monday night and on Tuesday. Then got up early to play the early start – knowing the early start was so they could get home.
Given LBS is not a traditional cupcake, all the distractions, and the early foul 1H foul trouble for 3 of our bigger names, it was not a bad showing.
I am back in Memphis – a bit disappointed i did not get to see Wall’s best game in person but what little i did see was amazing.
I also thought we showed just how deep our bench was – the pieced together lineup at the end of the 1H played pretty good defense and held it together so the bigs could win it in the second half….
only one rule in my house - uk has to be your favorite college bball team
by memphis wildcat on Dec 23, 2009 11:39 PM EST reply actions
To prove that "things could always be worse"
I am back in Memphis – a bit disappointed i did not get to see Wall’s best game in person but what little i did see was amazing.
You could be a Vikings fan that just got back from Charlotte after wanting to see in person the best games from AD and Percy and Favre and Allen…. and instead getting… whatever that was Sunday night.
At least you were inside!
by Sonic on Dec 24, 2009 12:25 AM EST up reply actions
The quotable Cal
I rather enjoyed this quote from the game wrap on ukathletics.com
“I’ve done this so long, there are certain things that you can expect,” Calipari said. “On the game before Christmas following the 2,000th win where there is a celebration and people are going nuts, there is going to be a little bit of a letdown.”
Because that’s the sort of thing that happens all the time when you’re a coach.
3 > 2, except for very large values of 2.
Excuses earn you an "L"
Yea, yea…it’s Christmas, 2,000 wins, blah blah blah. This young team needs to realize that when your Nikes hit the floor of Rupp Arena, there is no world beyond that floor, and there is no past- only present and immediate future (like to the end of the game in progress). Not to be too harsh (too late?) but making excuses lands teams in the L column eventually.
Now, one more hit on the Woodford Reserve in the ol’ egg nog, and looking forward to Hartford (yes…one team at a time- not thinking about the team after that one- team had better not be either- yet another practice that lands you an L). 13-0… DAAANG! Go CATS.
Merry Christmas everyone......glad to see the Cats chalk up another W.....
no matter how ugly it was
Remember, we're having fun now!!!
Ugly wins are like...
the guy who graduated last in his class at medical school…you know what they call that guy, right? Doctor.
One thought about the strange start time
Do you think this was to give them a taste of what it could be like in the early rounds of the tournament? There’s always a couple of very early starts in March, right?
Cal has already explained the odd start time
He routinely does it with his teams so they can get out of town early and spend time with their families for Christmas.
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
I was thinking,
during the pregame when they announced the starting lineup.. and a thought popped into my head. Does anyone else out there see Liggins sneaking into the starting lineup by the end of the season. I can see him replacing Darius Miller if he continues to bring such energy and can get a little more into the offense. He looked very good most of his time on the court and I’ve always been a fan of him.
"I'm gonna go home, drink a Coors Light. Because Bud Light ain't payin' me nothin'." - The Brock. Quote of the Year
by Stuck in Cincy on Dec 24, 2009 10:50 AM EST reply actions
I see your point, but don't agree about him starting. Liggins has come along great, but
Miller has been steady, but not spectacular, of late. His 3-shooting has been very good, and he’s steadied out some in the frantic way he used to handle the ball. I see him as a very good small forward now. I think you hold your defensive stoppers, of which we are very blessed now with two—Liggins and Harris, of course—until you see who on the other team has the hot hand. This team is really coming around in my eyes, even though they’re clouded by looking through the half-empty glass :-), because we have viable back-ups at most positions and are developing a decent 9-10 player rotation. The SEC season ought to be interesting.
That said, I’m off to my daughter’s house, so MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my friends here. May you have love, peace, and enjoy the satisfaction of being once again relevant.
No moral victories--it's all about Ws and Ls!!!
It's Christmas oldcat'69,
Fill that glass up. :)
I like...
Cal’s comment about his halftime speech. He just told them to forget the first half and ball the second half. No ranting, he knew from experience they would be flat. This is really a “coach”, someone who “gets it”. I think it bodes well for the second half of the season. Happy Holidays everyone!
was nice to see that...
…no player was put in a bathroom stall cause coach was upset…
Merry Christmas ASOB..!!!
Steelers fan 1st! UK is my 2nd love.
Happy Holidays to the Big Blue Nation
Even my wife who is from Chicago who really knows nothing about basketball is getting a crush on our man Boogie, and said Coach Cal is smart and entertaining. Her usual take is okay whatever dear…if she notices…hey are back baby!
Rupp
I have to say that Rupp was PACKED at this game. I was actually a bit suprised with the game being so early in the day on a week day so close to Christmas but there were very few empty seats. The crowd’s energy really impressed me to especially since the game was not a thing of beauty by any means.
I was fortunate enough to be at the Drexel game, then Long Beach, and will be there again for Hartford on Tuesday – and I have loved every minute of it. I dont care where my seats are – I’m just always SO happy to be there and be part of the atmosphere. I absolutely LOVE Rupp – no place like it.
Merry Christmas to everyone!!
It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.
by kentuckygirl0724 on Dec 24, 2009 12:33 PM EST reply actions
Keep on cheering!
Enjoy the holiday trifecta!
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
by chirop1 on Dec 24, 2009 1:39 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sorry I've been away
I’ve been trying to get this John Wall nativity scene up all week.
Anyways, pretty predictable game yesterday, huh? We didn’t really care that much, enough talent to win though against a decent team. I’ll take it. LB would probably have beat us by 15 last year.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas-
Got an e-mail today saying that my UK-2K shirt wouldn,t be shipped until Monday. Seems that Kennedy’s is overwhelmed with orders. It’s great to be relevant again GO CATS!!!
"You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't"
Everybody Has The Blahs — Now And Then
The blahs, it’s a little bit early for most folks. They usually arrive sometime around January 2, for some perhaps December 26. For most UK fans I think the blahs arrived early December 22, and as a matter of fact I think the blahs descended on the UK players in the wee hours of the same day. To be honest I would imagine that a great many fans watched the LBS game with approximately the same blahness as the players exhibited in the first half, but it is not unexpected as the late Lawrence Grossman said:
"You wait for a gem in an endless sea of blah."
Well we, all of us, had our gem — in every sense of the word — Monday, and fortunately it would appear there’ll be many more in our future. So Christmas would seem a good time to seek and forgive the blahs and an even better time recharge our mental batteries. Just in time to jolt the Tigers in Music City.
"Learn(ing) without thinking begets ignorance. Think(ing) without learning is dangerous."
-Confucius
All Big Blue Fans-
In Middle Tennessee hope that the Big Blue Nation has a great time in Nashville this bowl season! GO CATS!
"You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't"
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