More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Would you buy what this man is selling? If you want to be an NBA star, you will.

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I, along with others, have expressed concerns about implementing Calipari's now-famous Dribble Drive Motion Offense next year due to a lack of perimeter shooting, and there has been much give and take on that point.  We all know how the DDMO is supposed to work -- players attack the rim with the objective of a layup, a dump-off to the big player on the weak side, or a skip pass to the open shooter depending on where help comes from.  Simple.  Elegant. Effective?  Well, yes and no.

The obvious hole in the scheme is shooting.  In order for the DDMO to be effective, you must have people capable of making the three-point shot.  Kentucky has almost no proven perimeter shooting now that Jodie Meeks has moved on to the NBA.  Does that mean that UK's season is doomed to failure?  Can Calipari even run the DDMO with this bunch?

Before I attempt to answer that, let's take a look at this interview with Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal by Bluegrass State Basketball which does much to validate my concerns and provides an excellent opportunity for fans of the Big Blue to comment not only on the DDMO, but on all things John Calipari.  But first, I want to look at some of Wolken's comments to BSB:

As far as the DDM itself, it’s definitely wide open; guys have freedom in that system, and it’s a good sell on the recruiting trail. Otherwise, I’m not a huge fan of it. I saw Memphis get taken out of that offense way, way too much by zones and junk defenses, and it can look downright ugly when that happens and shots aren’t falling. The fact is, when teams go zone, you can’t really run the DDM. You have to have make shots and force teams to go back to man. That was really the flaw for Memphis last year, and Calipari knew that. Every time I talked to him, he lamented the fact that they hadn’t recruited enough shooters and was really in the process of changing his recruiting approach to get more guys who could make shots even if they weren’t as athletic. If you look at the game tapes, Memphis barely ran the DDM at all last year. There’s no doubt that going to the DDM when he did made Calipari think differently about basketball, and I think it really rejuvenated his career. On the other hand, I know a couple coaches who would take you into the film room and just trash it. At the end of the day, it’s really all about players.

So can UK run this offense with the current players it has?  Well, the answer to that may not be what you think, and there is still a lot we don't know about our perimeter shooting this year.  But what I find even more fascinating than how effective the zone and junk is against the DDMO is Wolken's comments on recruiting. 

I think Wolken validates perception that I pointed out on this blog some time back.  The reality is (at least in my opinion), the DDMO is more valuable as a recruiting tool than as an actual offensive system.  Does it work?  Absolutely, under the right conditions.  Can it be stopped?  Sure, and the zone is the easiest way to clog up the works.  But there is a much larger method to this madness.

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Uh oh. 3-point shooting could FAIL next year ...

View full size photo uploaded June 15, 2009

Jodie Meeks' decision to stay in the NBA draft is probably the best thing for him, but it is definitely not the best thing for the Kentucky Wildcats next year.  This puts UK in a real pickle when it comes to outside shooting.  Let's take a look at the leading 3-point shooters from last year:

Now, just let that chart roll around in your mind for a few minutes.

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More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

"The DDMO? It's simple, really. Check it out ..."

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Much has been written about the Dribble Drive Motion Offense, John Calipari's now-famous adaptation of Vance Walberg's strangely named attack-attack-skip-attack-attack offense.  Coach Calipari has said that it "unleashes players" in a way that other offensive schemes do not.  He has also intimated that it requires players to be very athletic and talented off the dribble.

This offense, of course, is nothing new to the ranks of the NBA.  They have been using DDMO-like sets for years, and still do.  The DDMO, at it's core, is a fundamental NBA set that isolates players and forces one-on-one situations by creating driving lanes and space between defenders that makes it difficult to help.  The idea is for the initiator to get to the rim, first and foremost, for a layup, but like the spread option offense in football, it provides the initiator with several different options depending on how the defense reacts.

But the real beauty of the DDMO is that it is a wide-open style, much like the the offenses run by AAU teams.  The fact that the emphasis of this offense is more on athleticism, ball-handling and shooting from the wing position makes it a favorite of high-school players.  Why?  Well, when Calipari says it "unleashes players," what he is really telling you is that it allows them many one-on-one opportunities, and that is a situation in which the most talented players obviously thrive.  But it also allows good shooters to get open looks by spreading the floor and forcing defenses that can't guard the ball-handler one-on-one to try to thwart the drive by helping.  When help comes from an inside rotation, the big man stationed on the block opposite the seam that the attack is coming from is an easy target for a layup.  When the help comes from the wing, the pass goes to the open shooter who's man just left him for an open three.

Of course, all offenses have an antidote, and the antidote to the DDMO is the zone.  That forces teams into more conventional offensive sets that we might see elsewhere, as a zone will force the dribbler into help, and close the driving lanes on which the DDMO depends.  But getting set up in the zone against the DDMO is hard -- the offense is designed to initiate before the defense can set itself, and that combined with the more athletic players required to play the DDMO makes implementing a zone much more difficult than it sounds.

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More photos » by James Crisp - AP

John Calipari: A man unafraid.

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UK basketball coach John Calipari certainly isn't averse to public speaking.  On the contrary, I think he rather enjoys the microphones on the table, and the cameras in the back of the room.  And his seemingly candid style is a ... change.

Which is a good thing.  On that we can all agree.

Calipari's Wednesday press conference gave us yet another glimpse into the mind of UK's basketball coach.  And I for one appreciate Calipari's eagerness to share this thoughts ...

But, when a fan base is blessed with a coach who is apt to be fiercely verbose, well, that gives guys like me an opportunity to examine, critique, and opine ourselves, on what the coach has to say.

It all begins with: 

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For today's top-tier male basketball players I'm sure there are dozens, if not literally hundreds of deciding factors that go into choosing a school, but for the sake of this discussion, I just want to go over which one of the above options might potentially weigh the heaviest on the shoulders of today's male basketball youth and how UK might possibly be perceived by today's top recruits at this moment in time.

Recently, in my Internet travels, I came across an interesting comment in an SI piece written by Luke Winn.  The comment was made by CJ Henry while his brother was being recruited and the following quote got me thinking about what goes on in the mind of a top rated high school player when considering what school to choose. I realize that the Henry's both opted for KU anyway, and this really isn't about the Henry's specifically, but rather what they represent.  Here, Henry compares Memphis with Kentucky, and the last sentence is what ultimately made me ask myself about how UK is perceived as of late:

"Kentucky doesn't have the same 'oomph' to it that Memphis did. There's more tradition at Kentucky, but what [Calipari] was building at Memphis was different. Whereas every coach views Kentucky as a major upgrade over Memphis, not every player feels the same way".

Now, I realize that CJ Henry is just one college kid and his opinion is by no means the opinion of all high school or other college players out there, but the above quote did bring to mind that his brother, Xavier, also publically mentioned Kentucky tradition and he made reference to the fact that he really didn't know much about it.  Maybe this is a just a Henry family thing and it's much ado about nothing and the majority of all aspiring-to-be-NBA-bound young men think like we UK fans do -- that this is the University of Kentucky and with its outstanding fans and great basketball tradition it is to be revered?

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More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Just don't call me "Slick."

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Real life is often stranger than make-believe, and there is an almost, "You couldn't make this stuff up" quality about John Calipari taking over the reigns at Kentucky.

Most people would say that Calipari walks into a much easier situation than Rick Pitino did when he took over a Kentucky program in ruins back in 1989, and that is no doubt so, but the parallel is still remarkable, even striking.  Consider the following list of similarities:

Both coached in New England for at least seven years

Pitino:   Head coaching stints at Boston University and at Providence with a couple of years as an NBA assistant in between.

Calipari:  Head coach at UMass for eight years.

Both did time in the NBA with a New York area team

Pitino:  Two years as an assistant and two as head coach for the New York Knicks.

Calipari:  Three years at the New Jersey Nets.

Both coaches had only modest success in the NBA

Pitino did lead New York to a division title, but struggled at Boston.

Calipari took the Nets to the playoffs in 1997-98, but was fired a year later.

Both men are of Italian decent

No explanation necessary.

Both men are outgoing, "salesman" kind of people

Pitino:  Famously engaging and outgoing, and most would argue that personality was the perfect fit for Kentucky basketball.

Calipari:  Known as perhaps the best recruiter and salesman of a program in all of college basketball.  Another perfect fit for Kentucky

Both men are innovators in basketball

Pitino:  At the time, very few teams were running the press constantly and shooting three point shots all the time.  When Pitino came to Kentucky, the three point line was relatively new.  Pitino has always played an up-tempo, offensive-oriented style.

Calipari:  Adopter and innovator of the Dribble Drive Motion Offense, plays an up-tempo, offensive-oriented style.

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More photos » by April L. Brown - AP

Will Jodie Meeks return, or stay in the draft?

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We have all talked at some length about Jodie Meeks and his NBA future, especially this year after Jodie put up huge numbers against several teams, including an amazing 54 points against the Tennessee Volunteers earlier this year in Thompson-Bowling Arena.  With Jodie's selection as an All-American, it was just the cherry on top of a great year for the young man from Norcross, Georgia.

I think most Kentucky fans and pundits currently believe that Jodie Meeks' return is nearly, but not quite, a foregone conclusion.  But after doing a bit of thinking on the subject, I have come to the conclusion that Jodie is actually making a concerted effort to raise his NBA stock into or near the first round, and tentatively plans on making the jump this year.

What's that I see out there (via my magic Internet reader-cam-thingy) -- shock, surprise, what the ...?  No reason to be surprised or shocked, and before you disagree, read on -- then disagree if you want.

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More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

"How did my boys do on Saturday?" Pretty well, Coach.

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First of all, let me say that the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic was a fun game.  There were a lot of enthusiastic fans there, and if I were a recruit from any of the three main schools in the area, I would have been impressed by the atmosphere, enthusiasm, and overall support the fans gave to the event.

What I hope to do now is give you my impressions of seeing the UK recruits first-hand for the first time.  I think we all realize by now that all-star games like the KDFC are not really good for evaluating a recruit's game -- these things by nature are very guard-oriented, and a lot of the players wind up doing one-on-one stuff and crazy, highlight-reel attempts that they would never try in a college basketball game.  Even though they are competitive, it is hard to really believe that they care much which team wins or loses -- it is more about putting on a show.  Very little defense is played, as you know, but from time to time you see guys decide to dig in a make a stop.

But I think the biggest thing you can get out of games like this is a read on the relative athleticism and skill level of the player when compared to his peers on the floor -- how is his form on the jump shot, how does he handle the ball in traffic, is he selfish or unselfish, does his team perform better with him on the floor -- things like that.  Even then, I think you have to be very careful in drawing too many conclusions, but you can get overall impressions that, in the past, have served me pretty well.

So with all that said, here is what I thought about the UK recruits and signees:

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