Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
In life after Nerlens Noel, it’ll take a ‘by-committee effort’ to replace Noel’s defense and rebounding in the post. The good news for Kentucky is that three of their remaining six opponents are offensively-challenged teams who also do not rebound well. Usually, teams who don’t score much have more chances for offensive rebounds and put up respectable rebounding numbers. That is not the case, however, for Vanderbilt (281st in rebounding), Mississippi State (228th) and Georgia (204th). All three of these teams also rank worse than 300th in points per game.
The bad news? Missouri, led by Alex Oriakhi, ranks 2nd in the nation with 42.2 rebounds per game and offensively is scoring 76.5 points per game (21st in nation). We are far too familiar with what Patric Young and Erik Murphy are capable of doing against the Cats, even with Noel playing most of the game. Obviously, it’s going to take a lot more than a strong effort from just Willie Cauley-Stein to be able to put up a fight against Missouri and Florida. Every man on the court will have to rebound well.
You wouldn’t think Kentucky would struggle too much with Vanderbilt at home Wednesday night following a 30-point loss, but you can’t ignore the fact that the Cats just barely escaped Nashville with a win in their first meeting with quality minutes from Nerlens Noel (even if he was in foul trouble).
Below is a look ahead at the next three big men Kentucky will be challenged with in the upcoming three-game homestand. Kentucky may not stop all of these guys, but to have a chance, they’ll have to contain them and find a way to collectively out-rebound them. Oriakhi is the only one who scares me, but until this team toughens up without Noel on the floor, any of these guys are capable of having big nights against the Cats.
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Wednesday vs. Vanderbilt
Rod Odom
Height/Weight: 6-9/215
Junior
10.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg
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Saturday vs. Missouri
Alex Oriakhi
Height/Weight: 6-9/255
Senior
10.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg
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Wednesday, 2-27 vs. Mississippi State
Galvin Ware
Height/Weight: 6-9/270
Freshman
8.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg
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This sure would have been nice…
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Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
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February 17th, 2013 at 9:39 pm
Christ, I wish Oriakhi would’ve signed with UK instead of Mizzou. If for no other reason than, I think, he would’ve slapped the sh*t out of Goodwin by now and set him straight.
February 17th, 2013 at 9:51 pm
I would give my left n#+ to have Oriakhi right now! He would have given a lot whole lot of bit#* smacks out by now, not to mention his ability to show this group how tough you need to play at this level. With that being said I still love these kids and wish them all the best. Bleed blue for life no matter what!!!
February 17th, 2013 at 10:48 pm
Hope the “Fake Fans” come out to support a poser team like these losers.
February 18th, 2013 at 12:39 am
I can’t find it, but I remember Oriakhi made a derogatory comment about us on twitter after he signed with Mizzou. I’m sure he’ll light us up on game day.
#3 they aren’t losers, they’re teenagers, and some are more immature than others.
February 18th, 2013 at 8:16 am
#3 Sounds like you need to get b*tch slapped.
February 18th, 2013 at 8:59 am
‘Go Cats’ and all that…but I’m bracing for the worst. I’m going to continue to support the team and hope for the best, but am expecting to lose out to bad teams and stay home in March. Most of team just doesn’t seem to want to be here anymore, and there’s not enough time for them to work through their pre-existing issues and what looks like a collective freak-out after Noel’s injury. Hope they prove me wrong.
February 18th, 2013 at 9:30 am
I wish Cal would get more depth in the middle. It would be nice to have a Vargas or Perry Steveson play a reserve role. That’s what Jorts was until the one year we really needed him and he came through. To sign a guy with long term potential, even a project like Nazr Mohammed would be nice especially to get three years out of them. Of course, UK fans would go crazy if he signed a couple of those guys who weren’t five star recruits (like Alex and Archie, how is that workin out?).
February 18th, 2013 at 11:55 am
Goodwin’s parents must be bowling balls. I think he
thinks he’s still in highschool ande everyone will
just move aside and let him have a clear path to the
basket. Maybe he should join the football team and
play runningback. They could use soneone who can run
over people.Unless he changes and starts listening
to cal, he will never reach his dreams.