Kentucky 85, Ole Miss 75: Postmortem
by Ken Howlett on Feb 2, 2010 11:10 PM EST
in Basketball
125 comments
The Kentucky Wildcats (21-1, 6-1) took care of business tonight in Rupp Arena, defeating a game Ole Miss Rebel squad 85-75. The Rebels (16-6, 4-4) are to be congratulated after having about 10 minutes to prepare for the 'Cats, due to having played at home on Sunday against Arkansas. They stayed within striking distance of the 'Cats for most of the evening, and performed up to their top-25 ranking.
The 'Cats, meanwhile, played a mostly solid game, with a dose of amazing plays, countered by a few sprinkles of careless possessions. The team still seems to become overly comfortable with a double-digit lead, but on this night, when coach John Calipari went to the whip, his blue-blooded thoroughbreds responded.
For a look at the individual highs and lows of the contest, follow me after the jump:
Once again DeMarcus Cousins meant business. UK's man for all seasons contributed 18 points,13 rebounds, nine offensive boards, and four blocks. Cousins posted his fifth straight double-double, ninth in his last eleven games, and thirteenth overall. The superlatives are beginning to run dry when attempting to describe his play.
John Wall, as many expected, had a very solid ball game. He ran the team as efficiently as he ever has, distributing the rock to the hot hand (Darnell Dodson), and feeding the post with aplomb. Wall ended the game with 17 points on 6-10 shooting (2-3 three-pointers), seven assists, and four turnovers.
Darnell Dodson, starting once again (his second starting nod in a row), proved his worth by having the white-hot hand from long-range; 4-5 three-pointers, and one assist, in only 16 minutes of action. He finished the game with 14 points, and some solid interior defense to his credit. Dodson has made 16 of his last 35 three-point attempts (45.7%), over a span of six games. Folks, when he's making shots, UK is very hard to beat.
Patrick Patterson played possibly his best game in the last few weeks. While playing 31 minutes, the big man scored 12 points (1-1 three-pointers), made all three of this free throws, and snagged four offensive rebounds; six boards overall. Patterson was clearly more aggressive on the blocks, both defensively and offensively. Certainly a good sign that Patterson is becoming more comfortable in his newfound role of inside/outside contributor.
The most spectacular play of the evening was perpetrated by one Eric Bledsoe -- On a John Wall alley-oop pass, (that was tipped by an Ole Miss defender), Bledsoe grabbed the errant pill, while turning in the air, and flipped the ball, with his back to the basket, off the backboard and into the twine. Both, great athleticism and body control, on display on that one play. Bledsoe finished the game with eight points (4-10 shooting), and eight big assists (and seven turnovers), to go along with a team-leading four steals. He, at times, put a bit too much mustard on his passes, and he tried to force the issue at times, but when he's intent on running the break flawlessly, that's what he does.
Daniel Orton and DeAndre Liggins both contributed mightily to the UK cause -- Orton played tremendous interior defense (no blocks, but several altered shots), and grabbed five rebounds in only 16 minutes of action. Orton was a perfect 2-2 from the field, finishing with 4 points. Liggins was his usual aggressive, hustling self. Playing 17 minutes, he snagged five rebounds, and scored five points, making his only three-point attempt. Liggins is becoming a defensive dynamo, taking over the helm from Ramon Harris, due to his solid ball-handling, and ability to score.
In only nine minutes of action, Darius Miller played well, and asserted himself more aggressively than has been the norm. He finished with five points, one assist and one turnover. Miller is losing PT to Dodson and Liggins, but in the floor time he had against the Rebels, I thought he was a more confident looking player.
For Ole Miss, guards Terrico White (19 points) and Chris Warren (15 points) combined to make 6-13 three-pointers (46.2%), which kept the Rebs just close enough to keep the game interesting. The off guard, Eniel Polynice, pitched in with 14 points on 6-12 shooting.
As a team, UK shot the ball well, making 31 of 62 shots (50.0%), and 9-19 threes (47.4%). The 'Cats did lose the points off turnover category, 26-17, as well as second chance points battle (18-12). UK ended the game with 17 TO's, but committed 11 of those miscues in the first 13 minutes of the game.
That's it for now,
Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!
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Ken, nice write up. Like your use of the word aplomb to describe JW play tonight.
I listen to Cal’s post game on UKAthletics radio (thanks ASOB for the link) but no mention
of why Cal used so many subs. IMO, first half was very disjointed and so ugly at times. During the game, someone on ASOB described tonight’s game as ‘a scrimmage’ …at times it did look like a scrimmage…especially our lack of transition defense.
Thought ESPN’s Janine’s Edwards post game interview with JW concerning his comments about Coach Cal was a cheap shot especially after his effort & performance this evening. IMO, BCG wasn’t all wrong.
Didn't see the Edwards interview with Wall
I do know it sounds like Wall is being sincere when he says he’s put it behind him … others should do the same.
He’s an 18 year old kid, and was frustrated. No need for the talking heads to try and score points off that now forgotten frustration.
it wasnt an interview....it was an assault on camera on a kid.....shes a hack.....
no better than some of the low-lifes she works with
Remember, we're having fun now!!!
I disagree
See my post below.
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
Ok, ABC,
here are my 2 cents on the "interview", after the fact. : )
When I first saw that Jeanine had John Wall and was about to interview him I totally cringed, and after her first question, I thought, "Oh no, she didn’t just really just ask him that, did she? How horrible".
Well, it’s quite possible that that was an overprotective motherly-like knee jerk reaction in me as in, "Oh my god, how dare she pick on our 18 year old superstar like that!". When in truth, she probably doesn’t even write the questions herself and was just doing her job. I don’t know where the questions come from for sure, of course, but it just seemed to me like she was a bit unsure of herself when she asked the first question (that is sort of my problem with her no matter who she’s talking to, because I’m sorry, you do have to portray a certain amount of confidence in order to be taken seriously if you are a sideline reporter, announcer, whatever) and that maybe she didn’t even want to be asking him the question in the first place. I don’t know.
Oh, and I also noticed that when they ran the SportsCenter segment later on they cut out her first question, and cut straight to the part where Wall talks about how the team needs to stay hungry, they got punched in the mouth by SC, etc., etc. etc. Did anyone else notice that?
But, like chirop mentioned below, Wall wasn’t the least bit rude to her (good for him, I say. I just love a young man with manners : )) and it did give him a chance to say a few words himself instead of just being quoted and maybe (hopefully) it provided some closure to the incident.
That's when you know the program is back
When players comments are scrutinised on this level.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
see my reply above....I know she probably wasnt in complete control of the "interview"
but after seeing what she did, maybe she should be??? I am just glad the kid is media savvy enough that he knows how to diffuse something like this….now if people will only listen to what he is saying now and let it go
Remember, we're having fun now!!!
And that's why
it was actually a good thing that she asked the question. It gave the national media a good chance to get HIS answer to the issue. So they should now let it alone from this point forward.
BSC-I read that you might have been Mama Bear concerning ESPN's JE question to JW about Coach Cal but...
I am still laughing at your written comment that Jeanine was showing her trailer park self by asking the question:)
I took that phrase to work today…but decided I probably shouldn’t use it for right now:)
Ha ha ha.
Yeah, the trailer park comment might have been a bit much in this case, huh? Glad you enjoyed it, though. ; )
Oh well, like I said, at the time I was all upset because Jeanine had just had the nerve to confront John Wall and my motherly-like protective rage kicked in, I guess. That motherly-like protectiveness can make you do and say crazy things sometimes. : )
How true. I work in a building where women outnumber the guys 4 to 1....
Mama Bear comes to visit many times in a working year. :) I am not sure when
the right time will be to use the trailer comment but…I have visions of the character named Joy from the comedy My Name is Earl. Joy is definitely your trailer woman of the year :)
I disagree as well
The way I looked at it is that John had an opportunity to give his side of the story on national tv. And being that it was such a big story this week, that was a good thing. John handled it very well and I really never felt as though Edwards meant it as an attack.
First Half
I thought they were running in high gear in the first half, maybe too high a gear. As noted, they (mostly Bledsoe) tried to force the issue once they got the big lead, which led to the 11 TO’s in the fisrt 13 minutes.
Their transition D was (well, weak would be an understatement) uneven at time in the first half, but I thought in the second half they got back much quicker,and were much more effective in stopping the UM break.
Agree. I do have a concern after watching the game this evening, it being Feb. and all. UK has 3 games to get their sustained complete game down...
Starting with the UT game on Feb 13th UK begins the toughest stretch of the SEC schedule.
Tenn (home), Miss State (away), Vandy (away), USC (home), Tenn (away), Georgia (away) and finish with Gators (home).
It is my perception that UK’s goal (or for that matter any team) is to achieve the highest seed possible for both the SEC tournament and the NCAA’s too. I am very happy with UK’s record, players etc…but it’s Feb. ! We will likely get stung one or more times at the end of Feb, if we play another first half like this evening…it’s not so much about win/loss record… it is about seeding.
Oh, I agree
I’ve written before that they’re going to go to the bank one of these games, and the $$ is not going to be there. I do though give some credit to Ole Miss. They are a very good bb team, and I didn’t think UK would blow them out. But they still relax a bit much.
The stretch of games you write about are going to be very, very tough, and we’re likely to find out if these guys have the mental toughness to withstand the road environment, and playing a high caliber team away from home (UT and MSU, and no one wants ot play UGA in Athens). Being generally a positive person, and believing in this team, I think the guys will excel.
We’ll certainly see.
Great question
And very difficult to answer. Of course UK has no control over what the other elite teams do, but, in my opinion, if the ‘Cats lose no more than 3 SEC games, and make it to the SECT championship game, they’ll get teh No. 1.
And really, I said I would be disappointed in anything less than a No. 1, but in reality, a No. 2 seed is basically the same thing: First round “patsy” and second round game against a top-40 type team. From that point on, it’s all very good, or very hot, teams.
I am usually am the glass half full guy...even if the Cats fall on their face...I will always be a Cat fan.
I drove 14 hours straight (in the Spring of 2008) to watch the Cats play Marquette in Anaheim first round of NCAA with Joe Crawford, one legged Derrick Jasper, Bradley and without an injured PPat (stress fracture). They had very little chance to win and did not…but I was very happy to represent Kentucky from the West Coast and had a great time.
I would do it all over again. So my concern is really centered around were this team
is developmentally as of this evening.
Loss to Marquette
Did you write about that trip here on ASOB, because I seem to remember you telling us all about your journey.
Developmentally: In my opinion!, they are farther along than I thought they would be. Sure, it troubles me a bit that they let off the gas sometimes, but they have shown themselves to be so resilient …
Cousins is so much better than I thought he would be that’s it’s not even funny, which I think mitigates some of the shortcomings of the team. He’s 100% all the time, he doesn’t lose focus, and he’s gotten to the point to where he’s an automatic two points (although he did miss some shots tonight), or automatic foul shots. Just the fact that he draws so many fouls, makes him a real asset.
I don’t know, maybe I’m being too optimistic, but I do believe Cal knows what he’s doing with this team. He knows it’s this year or never with this group, and I believe he’s bringing them along at a nice pace.
I agree that Cal is highly qualified to coach this team and the man for the job...
however our uber talented freshman are still many times reverting back to what Cal calls “AAU” ball. The first half of the Miss game is further indication that we still play that style. It’s getting late in season…I thought we would be further along
in that area.
IMO, UK needs to mature very soon to get themselves a 1 or 2 seed for NCAA play and to pave their way to advance to the Final Four .
As i wrote earlier, should they fail to get to the Final Four, I will always be a extremely loyal Cat fan. This has been a very exciting season with so much promise.
It seems like Marquette has our number
ever since 77’
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
Re: blue o
I appreciate it, but I don’t know how “nice” the write-up is. I didn’t watch the game at my house, but I left my father-in-laws immediately after the game, raced home, and put it together lickity-split.
Tru has these things down to a science, me not so much:)
Edwards
I have to disagree with you here.
The only story anyone’s been talking about for the last 3 days has been John Wall and his “I don’t listen to my coach” comments. It’s been on PTI and Around the Horn. I’ve heard it discussed on ESPN radio. Jimmy Dykes talked about it plenty during the game.
The comment was news. For Edwards to have ignored it entirely when she had the chance to ask would have been poor journalism.
To his credit, Wall handled it well. Then she commented on 21 of 32 NBA teams being represented at the game and he broke out into a big smile as he walked away.
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
and as I recall
she ended the interview by mentioning the number of pro scouts in attendance. A clear sign of respect to Wall that got a big grin out him.
Well played, Ms. Edwards.
No matter where you're at, there you are
Agreed.
It was a bad question. IMO – she asks a lot of them. I totally LOVED that Billy told her so.
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 Feb 3, 2010 1:03 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I remember the Billy bad question thing......
And I remember SCREAMING out laughing cause I loved it so much.
Good post Ken ..
First of all I was happy with the play of John Wall – and I haven’t unhappy with it.
Second, a win is always a good thing so I want to critique and not complain.
On the plus side for the defense was the number of charging calls we were able to draw (I counted at least 3) … but overall the defense will need to get better for the tournament. Maybe we need the SEC tournament atmosphere to show us what defense will get you. It’ll be hard to make ther Final Four with a Sweet Sixteen defense.
Third, number of tournovers has got to be addressed and reduced … if we had been AT Ole Miss instead of at home – we might not be writing about a W. GO CATS!!
Another "W"
We must be very,very good to overcome 26 to’s. Just awful decision making. Good thing Wall has hyper talent, because he takes lots of chances with the ball, and makes all kinds of mistakes.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
17 turnovers last night
And Bledsoe was the one taking the unnecessary chances last night (team-high 7 to’s).
I misread the points of TO's stat. Thanks for correcting me.
Some of the turovers were also about the recipient not paying attention when passed to;not all on Bledsoe and Wall.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
As I wrote, I thought Bledsoe in particular got a little careless with his passes,
suffering from Bret Favre syndrome: Forcing passes into no space, but that was mostly in the first half. They commiteed 7 TO’s the first 13 minutes, then settled down nicely.
Patterson
It seemed to me that Patterson spent much more time in this game setting up just outside the paint, around the baseline. That let him go after more offensive rebounds and be in a position to do something with the ball when he had it – either via a rebound or a pass. I think that contributed a lot to his increased aggressiveness.
3 > 2, except for very large values of 2.
Two reflections on last night.....both of which will bear out to have significance for the rest of the season
Platooning Miller and Dodson at the three works…..it isnt pretty at times, and it has more holes in it’s defense than swiss cheese, but it works. We are steadily gaining production in the 3 spot ( I believe we got 20-25 pts out of there).Dodson has earned the right to start and play as long as he is not getting killed on defense. The three is a difficult spot for a lot of the teams we are playing, so our weaknesses are not as glaring. We will have to kick it up another notch on D before the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
I think that Cal is going to have to take a dose of his own medicine on the issue of turnovers. If everyone remembers, when Rajan Rondo was here, he was a 1/2 step to a full step ahead of everyone else on the court. He had to literally slow his game down in order for the rest of the team to catch up to him, and until he did we lived in turnover city for a while. Rondo was passing to a much more veteran team than Wall or Bledsoe are. Cal is trying to develop 2 freshman point guards who are both literally a full step ahead of everyone else on the court. AND they are trying to pass to a very young team. We are going to have turnovers folks. Without turnovers, this team doesnt have anyone get closer than 20 to us at any point this year. But they are going to happen when those guards try to truly play that DDMO which they did last night. Organized chaos is still chaos, and we dont have players at the 3,4,5 with the exception of Patterson that are always ready for those passes, and even he is not ready all the time. By tournament time Cal will either have slowed Wall and Bledsoe down just enough to trim the TO’s, or the rest of the guys will make up a 1/2 step or so and be able to complete more of the plays. 10 of those turnovers last night were dumb mistakes…..the rest were blown plays by the player moving to the pass, or not being able to fight through the defender. That is going to happen. Cousins had 3-4 last night himself also, which didnt help, because he normally doesnt lose the ball down inside, but he made up for them 10X over with the rest of his play. Face it folks, we are young, and we are going to mishandle the ball, but when you play this DDMO at the pace we play it, it just makes the TO’s that much more glaring in the light of day.
I will say this, I have never thought we were in any danger even once this year, including the SC game. Maybe I am having the same problem the team is, because I honestly believe they can handle any challenge thrown at them….and I am starting a petition to have the SC game vacated from the schedule as soon as we win all the rest of them…..lol
Remember, we're having fun now!!!
Very nice
A high point is that Cousins is so good, he dominates even on a bad shooting night(for him). If he hits his FT’s we win, no ,matter what. Last night his FT shooting was not so good, but as you said, we were never truly in danger.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
One Step, Two Step
Great point about Rondo and now Wall/Bledsoe, three of the fastest people I’ve seen here. Once they learn to slow it down just a touch to keep control and allow teammates to run with them, this team will be scary.
by wildcatfaninexile on Feb 3, 2010 1:29 PM EST up reply actions
Don't leave Liggins out of the speed equation.
Several times in the last three games or so, I’ve had the impression that he could move as fast as the other two, or maybe “as fast as he wanted to” would be a better way to phrase it. And his ball-handling and decision-making have both come a long way from last year, too.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
Agree
I would like to see a foot race but I think Liggins would hang with Wall and Bledsoe. He is pretty fast. Miller is not that slow either really.
Only gripe...
for me was the transition D. If we shut down all those driving layups in transition, this is a true blowout. Otherwise, I thought we played well. Can you believe we are 21-1?? I had almost forgotten what it feels like to have a team that can flat out play. Thank you Cats!
It’s great to be on top and great to be feared and hated again!!
Xbox Live Gamertag: hoopchi
85 points shows this team
can score…even against a tough team playing primarily zone. What seems to be consistent with this team are the two things that kept this game closer than it should have been last night.
We keep turning the ball over more than an elite team should. Several commented last night that this was because of the number of players Cal was playing especially in the first half. The reality though is that 11 of our 17 turnovers were from Bledsoe and Wall. They both played significant minutes and of course they’re handling the ball the majority of the time but it seemed at least 7-8 of their total were just attempting things they shouldn’t have been doing.
The other thing that’s keeping these games close is the teams inability to focus on defense for more than 5 minutes at a time. It was incredible how many uncontested drives through the lane resulted in baskets for Miss.. It seemed to be mostly on transition and while I credit several guys for taking charges…..there appeared to be some general lack of hustle for getting back and making them earn their baskets.
You can make an argument that this is the most talented team in UK history…at least the starting 5. As the season progresses it looks more and more like we could have the top 2 picks in the NBA draft….no team ever done that. PP and Bledsoe at some point should both be top 10 NBA picks.
The point is that we have all the talent needed to win # 8. Many seem to already be making excuses for why this won’t happen but I was raised being told “to those who much is given, much is expected”. This team will be loved in UK history regardless of the seasons outcome but if Cal can focus all that energy and talent we will truely see something unique.
You can't fix "stupid"!
by UKlvrJM on Feb 3, 2010 8:27 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
85 points in the last two games
even though we’ve been forced to play a more deliberate half court game in each case. We did get a few more fasst break plays in this game though.
Focus
Like you said, we have some really good 5 minute stretches. We need to apply that lockdown mentality to a whole game to get #8. The best way to break a team’s back is some tenacious D (not the band) that essentially tells the other team "You will have to scrap and scrape and battle for everything. Not just every point, but every loose ball, every rebound, every pass.
We will give you nothing and take everything."
by wildcatfaninexile on Feb 3, 2010 1:31 PM EST up reply actions
Starting to Think
That it is when the bench starts coming in that we tend to blow leads. Maybe you and others see it differently. I think the difference between 2010 and 1996 Talent-wise is players 6-12. Now, at this point, the 96 team had some more experience too but actually 1-5, I take this team’s talent, speed and length.
depending on what talent means
it’s a tossup. Though this team looks prettier on paper than Delk, et all; they have their ring. When this team gets one,then we can make better comparisons. Stats can be misleading; especially when you compare point guards, as that role varies from system to system. IE: Stephon Marbury’s numbers in college blow Wayne Turner’s away; yet wins and losses clearly have Turner as the better college player(and about anyone else you can dig up). Kyle Macy, still a better player to me, than either, based on his role in UK’s scheme.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
Wazoo Replayed Last Night...
The UK UMASS Semi in 96. Yes, accomplishment-wise the 96 starters win right now but the bench was good enough even after losing many players to go to two more Championship games. Does the ‘96 team win without bench?
Anyway, I am hopeful that this group’s bench will begin to assert themselves and we are seeing some signs of life from them. Now it is time for Harris and Stevenson to play like I know they can. 8 Minutes of solid relief from those two and continued progression from the starters, Miller, and Liggins and this team starts winning by 20+ per game
Good game...
But still seem a bit like they were for the SC game and Vandy game. They pull away, then let the other team come back.
That can be very risky. This game, I felt the PG’s were trying to “thread-the-needle” a bit too much. Perhaps trying to get that dynamite play.
I think that is all and well, but if the first few executions don’t work, then you know the defense is on to you.
The turnovers were too high for my comfort level. As you mentioned, a few careless possessions, but that needs to stop if this team is going all the way.
Other than that (which is sometimes youthful mistakes) they played well. I blame the turnovers for letting the Rebels come back, but then the offensive machines turned back on to put UK back on top after every run.
Very happy, still :). Lets get a handle on the turnovers.
Cuz
Cuz was getting absolutely abused down low – he could have drawn a call basically every possession. I think the refs might be looking for an actual stabbing before calling a foul.
It's time. . .
True.
But, it isn’t going to get any easier for DeMarcus in the NBA. There his competition will be bigger and stronger than anything he is facing now, this is good practice for him.
Cousins’ competition now is only being extra physical with him because they have no answer for his skills. He can take it, and then shame them by putting up his usual, what-are-now-to-be-expected stellar numbers. : )
transition and TO's
these are not items the Cats can’t improve on…i’m NOT unhappy with our team…they really are the Greatest!!!…Cal is handling tham extremely well…i was worried in and after the SC game, but there’s been so much improvement since then, i am truely impressed!!!…2 HUGE keys…the mix to fill the 3 spot and focusing more on PPat’s game…the learning ability of this team is miraculous!!!…these kids are gonna teach everybody in the NCAA how it should be done!!!…as said above…the TO’s don’t worry me as much as the transition game…and i know they’ll pick it up here…without a doubt…this is getting to be the toughest part of the season…and Cal has really made some BIG adjustments helping the Cats improve…OMG!!!…thinking back to only one year ago makes me sooo amazed…i am sooo proud and happy to have this team represent our BBN…we are watching a thing of beauty on the court with every game!!!…keep it coming, team…my heart swells with love for ALL of you!!!…remember…a thing of beauty…
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as much as you please."...Mark Twain.
I liked seeing us attack the zone last night
There were a couple of plays with Daniel Orton getting free in the middle of the zone and then receiving a stellar pass at just the right time for a basket. I like that we’re learning to attack the zone and not just trying to shoot over it. If we’re hitting our threes and running an efficient zone offense, this is a team that will be near impossible to beat. What are you gonna do? Run with them?!!? LOL
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
Orton
I still see him as a taller Chuch Hayes in his time here. He finally showed some skills on O last night. That was a big help to the team. I admit that when he goes to the line, however, I consider it a turnover. I suppose I could look up his FT%, but I won’t. I’m sure it is ugly. He can’t be more than 2 makes out of his last 10.
We need to learn how to beat the zone
Because Syracuse may be looming in our tournament future.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
Learn how to beat the zone
They’ve shown how to be a zone all year long, excelling of late at making the trey.
I thought they had a had a tough job of entering the ball into the post
Against the zone in some games. I still believe that one good shooter(Dodson) can beat Syracuse, with or without an inside game; but you can’t count on that.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
21-1
It’s barely February and we’ve won 21. To put it in perspective, last year our 21st win came in the NIT. The year before, it didn’t come at all.
I may be paranoid, but that doesn't mean they're not out to get me.
Perspective
John Wall was smiling, Big Cuz was his usual beast and PPat had a great game. Cal promised that he would keep on working with PPat and he promised we will see even more greatness. This coach gets it. He is great with the guys and can ease the fears the BBN to boot.
Maybe there were a few TO’s, but they managed to take off with a lead, and they never lost that lead. I would rather see that than having to make a comeback from being down. The team with the most points, well, you know…..
Listening to the pre-game, I heard that Ellen Calipari is called Mom by DeMarcus, and she is growing tired with players constantly going after him. It seems, she has a little temper. I love it !! Maybe Big Cuz should bake her some brownies.
It sure is fun to watch this team. :-)
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
Cal coached a good game last night
Not sure about the frenetic pace of the first half, but I believe it may have been, partially, to tire Ole Miss out after a make up game on Sunday.
He used reserves in the first half, too, to keep top players fresh for a more ball controlled second half? — I presume.
He called more set plays, especially, after more frequent time-outs.
I think I saw more ddmo used last night.
Coupled with the post up plays for Cuz and PPat.
Good hybrid in the second half.
No matter where you're at, there you are
I missed the first eight minutes
because of the demolition derby on I-75 in Atlanta, but the Cats sounded pretty good on the radio. The other 32 minutes were a bit uneven at times, but I believe if we played Ole Miss 10 times, we would beat them 10 times. No disrespect intended for a very good Ole Miss team, just an observation.
I may be paranoid, but that doesn't mean they're not out to get me.
A Different Take on PPat
Is it just me (which, by the way, is quite possible), or does it appear that Patterson has lost his inside touch? By this I mean that, unlike prior years, Patterson is obviously making more threes but seems to be missing considerably more short-range, inside shots that he used to make at a very high percentage. Although I have not studied the box-scores (and I’m too lazy to look up the stats), it seems like, in the last two games especially, Patterson missed almost all of his inside shots, and scored only because he made most of his three point attempts. I know he has been working hard on his outside shot (and the results of this hard work have been rather obvious). However, I am concerned that all this focus on his outside shooting has caused him to experience a bit of a confidence crisis with respect to his inside shooting. Anyone with a proclivity for stats and shot selection analysis want to help me out (or shoot me down) here?
PPat is shooting north of 60%, actually close to 65%, but
I believe you are right about him missing shots from within the paint that he usually makes. Could be a number of things, not the least likely being he’s being HAMMERED, just as Cousins is.
You Are Right
I have watched the re-play in Hi-def and our big guys are not getting the same calls as the opposition’s bigs. Ken, it really makes me wonder this year is it-
1) Calipari is not going to get the benefit of the doubt? or
2) We are so strong inside and we draw so many fouls that Refs call it close against us to equalize the fouls situation? or
3) We just have not mastered the art of drawing a foul like flopping yelling like Homer Simpson?
Am I just being an overly sensitive fan?
In my view, you are NOT being overly sensitive
I’m not sure what’s at work here, though. I doubt it has anything to do with Cal, but who knows.
It may be the “Shaq Effect”
Cousins, in particular, is so much larger than most of his competition, that it takes a pretty good blow to knock him either off his feet, or make him alter his shot. So he can get creamed, and there’s no call.
Cousins is taking quite a few foul shots, but he should be taking twice as many as he is.
Perhaps a session with Coach K will help the guys draw more fouls:)
Please........
Keep Coach K away from our guys, PLEASE !!!
hahaha ;-)
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
Yes... but the Hack-a-Shaq philosophy won't translate well into Hack-a-Cuz
when he’s hitting free throws like he is!
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
reminds me of the Pitino Press when he was at UK
If those games were called close, everyone fouls out. So, they just let some stuff go. The tenor of officiating evolves as the game goes on. With this inside loaded team, we are on the opposite end of the stick, where our opponents are getting the benefit of the doubt.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
Disagree, at least overall
Year-by-year 2pt FG% for Patterson:
2008: 58.1%
2009: 60.5%
2010: 64.1%
Now, there are a lot more types of 2pt shots than just shots around the rim, but if you were correct, that would mean Patterson is making a HUGE number of 2pt perimeter shots which seems really unlikely to me.
3 > 2, except for very large values of 2.
Got to see bits and pieces
of the game…….I was smiling at thinking of Cawood calling the games for these guys “The Cats are running” would have been a very common theme. Boy I sure do miss him :)
Every mention of Cawood tugs at my heart too, tenken.
He was THE connection to the program for a lot of us in our younger days. My personal favorite, though, was right after, “Hello, everybody, this is Cawood Ledford” when he said, “and KENTUCKY basketball is on the air.” Emphasis his. When I heard that, I knew that the next couple of hours was gonna be fun.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
by oldcat'69 on Feb 3, 2010 5:35 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
I know
I just love him……in rural Kentucky there was not much cable around unless you lived in the city so I had to listen to alot of games when we moved to the lake. It took about a year to get cable out there but I just loved listening to him. John Ward from Tennessee is alot like him to. To me they sound familiar. Not the same but similiar to each other.
Going through
some boxes after a fire at my mother’s house, I found a record album titled “Rupp” and narrated by Cawood. It is unopened, completely sealed in plastic. Probably dates to the mid to early 1970’s. I would love to find out where to get an idea on its value.
It's worth whatever somebody will pay for it,
and I would think there are some folks who would pay a lot of green to have it.
Cawood did the Sweet Sixteen also
My whole hometown was religously enraptured to the broadcasts as we went west to play the big city goliaths at Rupp; " Sisler; from the parking lot!".
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
Tom Leach may be nearly as good as Cawood.
He may even get to be as good. But neither he nor anybody else will ever be better. You can’t improve on perfection.
I may be paranoid, but that doesn't mean they're not out to get me.
by UKCat on Feb 3, 2010 5:42 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
and sadly
he won’t be heard as much as Cawood. People don’t listen to them as much anymore because of TV sound systems and such. I don’t live in Kentucky so I don’t even bother with the radio on the internet to listen to Leach. . We do listen to Bob Kesling though when Tennessee plays. I just love the radio. Its better then theh TV commentators.
The radio commentators have to draw the picture with words.
For knowledgeable (that’s ASOB for sure :))) fans, the TV guys often step on the action with their remarks. It’s probably a tough job, but . . .
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
I think it helps when you are a Big Blue fan
you hear it in their voice. I loved Cawood and I think Tom is gaining a big following. Cawood was depended on to paint the perfect picture for many. He mastered the art, that is for sure.
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
"Conley across the top of the key,
down the right side to Riley. Up. GOT IT. Wildcats lead by twelve."
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
Says in my notebook that the Rebels are either
the first or second best team we’ve played this year. They shot a good percentage from 3-land, OK percentage overall, only got outrebounded by 5 (with one more offensive rebound than we had), and they did very well on the secondary break, although this may have been because of our defensive lapses. All in all, they played pretty well against a team that had more talent than they did.
As for UK, I thought the number of turnovers was pretty bad, although a couple were fake-out situations where our potential pass receiver faked to an area and then went backdoor, but the passer already had the pass in the air when the reversal was made. I haven’t come to grips with how I feel about that, except that I don’t like the turnover. The worst ones, however, were trying to either drive into an overly-crowded space or trying to force the ball through a hole that wasn’t there.
I don’t care what anyone says, there are no good turnovers. I will admit that a running team will make some, and there may be an acceptable level if we’re pushing the ball, but like aircraft accidents, every one is preventable, even if “all turnovers” as a group are not.
Plays of the Game (my nominations): Bledsoe’s reaction to the lob that was tipped. Taking that ball on the underside and putting it in back over his head was awesome. Also nominated: Cuz’ one-hand make from behind the board. Incredible. I’ll leave it up to someone else to judge whether awesome is better than incredible or not.
I was afraid Cuz was going to get kicked out of the game for the way he was overly aggressive toward the rim on the fast-break dunk where he was the only player in the offensive end. Terrible thugism. I think the NCAA ought to investigate. Why, he might have hurt that innocent rim and I’m sure he offended everyone in the rim community.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
by oldcat'69 on Feb 3, 2010 5:53 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
:-)) Best post of the thread.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
I forgot. Did anybody notice
that Cuz had to dribble on that break; and that he, because of defensive coverage of our more vertically-challenged players, had to dribble the ball upcourt once. Methinks we have a 6’11" point guard in the making. Think about it. His “lobs” for alley -oops could really be thrown downhill. Maybe I’ll write Coach Cal a letter.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
Great point
Cousins is a tremendous ball handler for a man his size. Against Vandy he dribbled nearly to the mid-court line, as the guards were being pressured.
by Ken Howlett on Feb 3, 2010 7:33 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
And don't discount Orton.
He brought the ball downcourt once, too, and he actually jogged along while dribbling instead of walking like Cuz did.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
I'll say it again
I want to see an on-the-court lineup of: Patterson, Cousins, Stevenson, Harrellson, and Orton.
Cousins and Patterson can form the “backcourt.”
3 > 2, except for very large values of 2.
Maybe if we're +20 against LSU, JL. I'd be a little worried if the defense
was Downey, Warren, etc., but the rebounding might be awesome. :-)
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
I was really, really, really hoping for it during the non-conference schedule
And in a dream world in which I won that dinner with Cal, that would be the primary dinner conversation – convincing him that he needed to play that lineup!
3 > 2, except for very large values of 2.
lol
It’s probably uncountable the guys who had to play center in HS , and it cost them an opportunity to go to the next level. For example, 6’3" Mark Edwards at Jessamine County in the Mid 90’s, guard skills; but had to play center because the Colts had no big man.Kind of like a HS football team that runs the option; pretty much dooming any skill players on offense but the RB to never going any higher.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
I actually thought
that he showed tremendous mercy towards that rim. As I held my breath in anticipation, watching him bearing down on the unsuspecting hoop, a vision flashed before me of Bad Cuz ripping down the basket with his tooth, I mean teeth.
Well played, wineman.
I guess two halves of teeth equal one tooth. He’s a heck of a lot better off doing that than Issel would have been. First, Dan had no halves of front teeth, and second, he MIGHT have been able to get high enough to dunk. ’Course he could have taught Big Cuz a thing or two about the reverse layup when actively guarded.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
What about the hook?
Only unblockable, and most effective post shot. Sadly, forgotten.
"Ignorance, I can fix, stupidity, well that's another matter!"-82nd Airborne NCO
Meant to add that the vision I had
was of him dribbling the ball off his (considerable) foot.
Where there is no vision, the people perish. :))
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
considerable foot?
I believe it’s a size 16, to be exact, and you know what they say about a man’s foot size, right? ; )
I couldn’t resist, sorry if that is seen as bad humor. : )
Yeah, wear a 12 myself,
but all myths don’t have a basis in truth. ;-)) I think what it really means is that it’s hard to find shoes to fit.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
And I think the humor is perfectly acceptable,
except that I’m an American fighter pilot and am very easily offended by ribald and suggestive remarks,(eagleTDL, weasel, and finkgolf, if you guys say a word, I’ll report you to the JWSRO (Jeremiah Weed Society for Reprobate Officers)), but just this once, I’ll let you get away with it, BSC without reporting you to Tru. ;)
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
whew.
Thanks fellas. I sure wouldn’t want to get reported. And, going forward, I promise I’ll try to keep my “ribald and suggestive remarks” to a minimum, I swear. ; )
That's BS and you know it!
The rim TOTALLY had it coming! Why, I swear I saw a loose thread ravel try to choke him in the play right before that!
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 Feb 4, 2010 9:09 AM EST up reply actions
Like the refs, I might be missing a few attacks on our little teddy bear. :)
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
Patterson Steps Up
Perhaps only one rung but definitely on the ascent. The extra half-hour of work with Calipari maybe is paying dividends. The play in which he received the ball on the short corner, took a dribble and attempted a shot was an example of increased aggressiveness — mitigated somewhat by the offensive foul. In previous games he had a number of such opportunities but didn’t avail himself. If he could develop a merely adequate midrange jumper to accompany his more than acceptable 3-point shooting he would be very difficult to guard.
Other notes from game review:
Oldcat69 is dead on with his evaluation of Rebels, they may be the quickest, most athletic team top to bottom that Cats have played — certainly in top two or three. Their quickness was evident on defense perhaps more than offense and tipped balls led to a number of the Cats’ excessive turnovers — plus the tip that led to Bledsoe’s acrobatic goal was a great athletic defensive play. UK may not see 3 quicker, more athletic guards than Warren, Polynice and White. The less than effective transition UK defense can be attributed to (besides the notable lack of effort at times): one, not having seen the Ole Miss style previously, two, underestimating their speed, three, not having defensive spacing, i.e. nearly all Cats below free throw line. In retrospect and review UK did much better versus UConn, another team that likes to run out.
With the exception of the frantic and hurried play — perhaps we’ll have to live with that the entire season — and the resultant turnovers I was pleased with a double-digit win over a quality conference team.
"The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." --Thomas Jefferson
Addendum
I forgot to mention: Did it seem to anyone else that Ole Miss offense had a few DDMO principles?
"The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." --Thomas Jefferson
You know, you're absolutely right, Weasel.
I haven’t gone back and reviewed (as I know you have), but it seems to me that there was a lot of penetrate/kick going on. And with them hitting threes pretty well, it worked.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena . . .who spends himself for a worthy cause . . ."
Cal talked about that in his postgame
The Rebs ran a variation of the DDMO,and did it quite well. But, while watching the game, it never came to my mind that they were running the DDMO, but when I heard Calipari talking about it, I said, “He’s right, they were running the freakin’ offense he’s supposed to have perfected.”
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