Enjoying UK Basketball again

There is something about having fun that imprints knowledge on the brain more effectively and more completely. This is not to say that drills are not important in order to get the fundamentals right, but during game situations, creativity needs to be encouraged in order to allow the learner/player the ability to apply what he has learn in new and challenging situations. What helps is that the learner in a basketball game is not alone when he applies this new learning. He is part of a group effort . . . a team working together toward a common goal. If this experience of working together can be turned into effortless fun and not boring work, the energy level rises as does the enjoyment level of each player. Obviously, victories add to the enjoyment level, but I am talking about something that has been missing for some time now in Kentucky basketball, FUN and CREATIVITY on the court!

More after the jump ...

I have been watching the video of Anderson bouncing the ball off the glass and setting up McCarty's slam and have been thinking. I don't know whether Anderson and McCarty liked each other or not. I do know that Anderson gave up a gimmee to have fun and that McCarty made sure that this creative play was not lost by finishing the play. Based on the reaction of both players, it was fun to do this. I would go so far as to think that if it wasn't rehearsed, it was dreamed about prior to this game and may have also happened during some fun part of practice. These guys enjoyed doing this.

This new offense that Coach Cal has brought to Lexington depends on having talented players who can beat their man off the dribble and make outside shots, but it has another interesting side. It fosters CREATIVITY and FUN on the court.  It also takes players who may be small for their positions and after increasing their skill sets, puts them in other positions that will permit them to dominate.

I know there are a lot of reasons that the truly excited  players who rushed their coach at half court  last year during Midnight Madness were so disappointed at the end their season and almost seemed glad it was over. IMO somewhere we, as the BBN, last year focused on the negative  rather than the positive. I heard a lot of discussions that tended to explain the weak link or chink in UK's armor. Much of our discussion was about individual weaknesses and not team strength. I hope that disappears. I hope this year will be fun for our team. In order for that to happen we will need certain traits to exist that were also on last year's team.

• We will need a teamwide toughness exhibited by Porter, Harris and Patterson
• We wil need a blue collar work ethic demonstated by Patterson
• We will need a creativity of play that I hope will be led by Bledsoe and Wall
• We will need teamwide foul shooting excellence that will make people pay for fouling us
• We will need a positive attitude even when we turn the ball over.
• We will need courage to take the shot, even if someone else thinks its wasn't there. All of our players have to be respected for their shooting. You can't make a shot if you don't take a shot.
• We need to be defensive experts like Harris in every position; teamwide.
• We need an enforcer to step forward and to announce to the other team, "We will not be pushed around". This person could be Cousins. No one should outrebound us; either offensively or defensively.
• We need to share the ball, be creative and have fun. One advantage of having "one and done" players forces everyone out of dreaming about the future and enjoy living in the now. Bring it on!