Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
Remember that team that looked sluggish the other night against Campbellsville? Yeah me either. Tonight, Kentucky put on a completely different offensive performance, beating a Clarion squad by 65 that Calipari said is better than the team played on Monday. The Cats looked good on all facets, and showcased that as good as Eric Bledsoe is (and he is good), John Wall is special. With Wall at the helm, the offense ran efficiently, the defense was swarming and Kentucky pulled off a victory that generally left its coach happy. Some numbers from the game:
John Wall 27 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists (triple-double is coming)
Demarcus Cousins 20 points, 6 rebounds
Patrick Patterson 14 points, 6 rebounds
Darius Miller 11 points, 7 assists
Darnell Dodson 11 points, 9 rebounds
Jon Hood 7 points, 4 rebounds
Ramon Harris 11 points, 7 rebounds
Mark Krebs 5 points in 7 minutes
Perry STevenson 8 points (2-2 from floor, 4-4 from line)
Josh Harrellson 2 points, 3 rebounds
Some quick notes instead of player evaluations (they all played well):
— Daniel Orton went out early with some chest pains. He was taken to the locker room and then returned after. He sat out the rest of the game and afterwards Calipari and the players all said he seemed fine.
— John Wall is unbelievably special. Calipari said after the game that the performance was “very good,” saying he is a great leader. “He is saying to me, we gotta get Pat some shots. That is a leader folks.”
— Speaking of Patrick Patterson, Calipari said he thought he looked more aggressive and noted that he was urging Patrick to shoot more. He then said, “I gotta figure out how we are gonna play him.” He said he thought Patrick looked “a little uncomfortable” but said he had no concerns about Patterson in the season.
— Calipari called Demarcus Cousins the great term “a beast”, transferring it forever from Matt Pilgrim. Cousins had a great game and when he gets the ball in the low post, you can forget about it.
— Calipari specifically praised Mark Krebs, noting that when he is in the game, there is a “Krebs Effect”, meaning that the team executes the offense more efficiently and everyone passes better during those times. John Wall noted the same thing saying, “everything is just smoother when he is in. We have to all get like that.”
— Calipari also signaled out praise for Perry Stevenson who he said was now specifically in the rotation. Good to see for Perry and no one’s stock has raised more in a week.
— Speaking of stock, it is clear that there is some issue with DeAndre Liggins. Calipari said afterwards that he preferred to not talk about Liggins and talk about the players who played adding that he “would not throw any player under the bus” on an issue. I assume we will find out more soon.
— Calipari also noted for the first time that this “may end up being a post-up team.” While he looked a bit sad about it, he noted that Patterson, Cousins and Orton are all inside studs and Stevenson has stepped up as well. He said that the team might go to the post 50 times in a game, something he hasnt done, but may be required to use the skills this team has.
— Calipari also noted how important the aggression we saw tonight is to the success of the offense. He said that when people arent trying to score, the offense can look like a “Washington Generals weave”, which was a comment made by a couple of commenters on this site. He said aggression like tonight is what makes the offense work as it should.
— Finally, the most praise of the Cats came from the Clarion coach who said that in his 35 years of coaching, “this team is as skilled a team as I have seen.” He noted that the combination of young talent and quality veterans makes the team able to give a complete performance. He said that Wall was “the real deal” and that Patterson was a player he loved. “I told him afterwards that you are going to be the foundation. You are the key to how far they go.” He noted that the DDO is all about angles and with Wall, they do angles well. Ultimately he conceded they were outmatched and said that “our guys may end up on Wall Street. They may represent these guys when eight of them are in the NBA.”
It was a great night for the Cats in Lexington. The real games start next week. For now, the excitement of Rupp is back and there will be much more to come. As the Clarion coach said afterwards, “you guys are going to have a lot of fun in this building this year.” He is correct.
[powered by WordPress.]
Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
28 queries. 0.770 seconds
November 7th, 2009 at 12:27 am
I gave Matt an awkward high five during halftime
November 7th, 2009 at 12:34 am
A post up team, huh?
I actually think that’s great, especially for Patterson and utilizing the skills of the players available, but also for giving this team more offensive weapons and being able to switch up the offense to match different defenses.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:35 am
What happened to Bledsoe? That guy is a frigging stud!
November 7th, 2009 at 12:35 am
#1 yes you did…but I thought it was a solid effort
November 7th, 2009 at 12:36 am
Bring on Morehead!! (please no one say, “that’s what she said”
November 7th, 2009 at 12:36 am
3. ankle injury
November 7th, 2009 at 12:52 am
I cannot wait to see Wall and Bledsoe out their together…. they are going to be absolutely lethal together on the court!
November 7th, 2009 at 12:53 am
We beat Clarion so bad that they’re gonna take back Coach Cal’s degree. Speaking of his degree, I was not surprised whatsoever when I found out he had a Bachelor’s in Marketing.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Man, with Wall running the show, this team is UNREAL! This guy
lived up to the bill and then sum….I am so freakin pumped. WE ARE BACK!
November 7th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Also, I’m calling it right now, the mircowave Purry or Razor are going to come up big this year in a big game, and pull out a
key victory….They dont have the talent of the freshman, but we all know Kentucky is all about heart too!
November 7th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Wall was what everyone expected but I am concerned for Orton. Best wishes to you Orton, you seem to be a great young man. Nice to see Miller with 7 assist and Dodson getting 9 rebounds is huge. No team should out rebound this team and that could make this a special year.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:10 am
I couldn’t watch this game… can we get a youtube highlight reel up pronto?
November 7th, 2009 at 2:45 am
I feel sorry for the rest of the nation if Patterson starts knockin down the 3 like he did in the 2nd half tonight…. the other scary part is this team will get better & better each game.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:11 am
I’m gonna have to start utilizing “The Krebs Effect” with my lady…
November 7th, 2009 at 3:15 am
Pilgrim is a beast.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:17 am
Yes, Patterson and Cousins are more suited to post than break down off the dribble. And they are more talented than the bigs he had at Memphis (Dorsey and Dozier). So that makes sense.
That excites me because I hope we can play well both full and half court. Cal had a very, very good halfcourt offense with his UMass squad in ‘96, feeding to Camby with lots of cutters.
November 7th, 2009 at 6:27 am
What is up with Liggins? I had been hearing that he was playing very well compared to last year. I fear that the issues go beyond the court and may be about attitude or going to class. It just makes no sense he wouldn’t get ANY minutes for any other reason in an exhibition (twice). Dude, you are blowing it…..again. Get it together.
November 7th, 2009 at 6:44 am
I’m sure we weren’t the only team playing an exhibition game last night… yet we were the only ones on sportscenter… things are clearly back to normal!!
November 7th, 2009 at 7:31 am
I am smitten. I love it that coach will go to his strengths. I have grown tired of people trying to fit square pegs in round holes.
With the new guys we have, I now feel comfortable with last year’s starters (sans Pat) coming off the bench and that is so freakin awesome. But I still cringe when they are all on the floor together.
The Krebs effect makes you 5% tougher.
During the live blog, someone mentioned that Big Cuz’s nickname should be “Dirty Jobs.” I shall call him “Dirty Jobs” from now on because it is excellent.
Cats on Sportscenter during an exhibition rout > Syracuse on Sportscenter during an exhibition loss. Are you listening Tobias???
November 7th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Liggins will play on monday
November 7th, 2009 at 8:20 am
5) That’s what Tipton said!!!
November 7th, 2009 at 8:25 am
giggity!
November 7th, 2009 at 8:31 am
The fact that Cal is willing to adjust his system and give some low post love to our front court monsters tells me everything. Good grief folks…Patterson and Big Cuz on the front line with a supporting cast like Orton, Stephenson and Harrelson etc.?
Am I dreaming all this?
Giggity!
November 7th, 2009 at 8:31 am
I have never been a big Ramon Harris fan. But I think that’s about to change. I can see Ramon being a valuable part of this team because he will be used correctly by Coach Cal. He will be a very effective complimentary player and will not be asked to do things that he is not capable of. His hustle, energy, and defense will definitely help this team and his weaknesses will be minimized.
November 7th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Mark Krebs is a BEAST
November 7th, 2009 at 8:42 am
I’m a BEAST, I have the flu too
November 7th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Matt, wheres the picture you took of my beard?? haha.
Oh and I just want to say, that the few Clarion fans that made the trip were of the most classy people I’ve met from an opposing team at Rupp. I just wish all fans post-game could be as courteous as they were.
November 7th, 2009 at 8:50 am
For those of you that missed the game last night. You can watch it here http://www.justin.tv/funchester/archive
Click on the second link for Nov 6th 2009. The arrows under the video player indicate the time, not the video length. click on the right arrow until you get to around 7 o’clock and enjoy. Video is broken into 5 min. segments, it will auto-play the next segment.
November 7th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Great game. Cats looked and played much better and will just improve with every game.
Love the fact that Cal would modify his beloved DDO for a more post oriented game because it works better. Billy G said he’d play to the skill set of his players but never really did. He tried to fit a square peg into a round hole.
That was one of the more frustrating things (in a long list of frustrating things) about BG.
Thanks Cal!
November 7th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I was much more impressed with Cousins than what I had seen in previous games. His post moves are smooth. And when he missed the 3, snagged the long rebound, split two defenders and had a windmill dunk as a put back, all this happened in a few seconds. I am like wow, where did that come from. If he continues to play like that, he will be a lottery pick for sure next year. John Wall was just absolutley unreal last night. And for a team that can’t shoot, did we not hit about 10 3s last night?
November 7th, 2009 at 9:04 am
After Wall sits out the Morehead Game, I wonder who will start between Dodson Blesoe, and Miller? Man once this team gets it’s vibe a few weeks from now, we are in for something special. Talk about a variety of weapons, and so much for Cousins not being in on every poay, he is a force. And a coach that is willing to play to his teams strengths by declaring that they may post up alot as opposed to only running the dribble drive,,,,Deadly.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:21 am
My projections as to starting lineups and depth chart
I think its pretty obvious the starting lineup and major playing time at this point is:
Wall
Bledsoe
Miller
Patterson
Cousins
6.Orton
7.Dodson
after that, the 8th man in the rotation is most likely Harris, but should change from game to game. I look for Liggins to get some good time toward the end of the season.
basically, we are deep and going to be awesome!
November 7th, 2009 at 9:22 am
and i wont be surprised if Dodson takes Miller’s starting spot at some point in the year(both will still get major time)
November 7th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Imagine how unstoppable a pick and roll play with Wall and Patterson would be. Cousins on the weak side to rebound, Dodson spotted up for the kick out 3 and Miller or Bledsoe as an additional cutter. Money every time.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Are Nick Saban and Billy Bob Thornton the same person? I am just curious…
November 7th, 2009 at 10:31 am
32 - I believe the rotation will be 9-deep most games and would add Harris and Hood to that mix. I still don’t see Stevenson getting much time (if any)against the better teams on our schedule.
November 7th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Just imagine if Gillispie had come back. The starting lineup would be:
PG: Porter.
SG. Slone
SF. Harris
PF. Coury
Ctr. Stevenson.
After a shocking opening loss to Campbellsville he would have the ole familiar deer in the headlight look of “we got whooped.”
But I love Cal as the coach because he is flexible enough to use the personnel he has to win. Our post guys can absoltely dominate the paint against most teams. Our guards will be able to beat anyone of the dribble. And the depth is unbelievable. This team will be able to win even if Patterson is off because we have so many talented guys that score. If feels great to be climbing back to the top of CB. For the first time since 2002 UK is ranked in the top 5th.
November 7th, 2009 at 11:45 am
That quote by Clarion’s coach may end up being the quote of the year. Love it.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Miller looked great last night running the point. He also has great vision and makes great passes.
And its great to see Ramon so productive in this offense. He really contributes by knocking down open threes, cleaning up misses and playing good D.
Very encouraged to see how well the games of the new guys and old guys complimenting each other so well. Will allow Cal to keep a fresh team out there the whole game which will really help their defense and running game.
It s/b a very fun year.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
[...] 2) The Kentucky Wildcats concluded their exhibition season with a 117-52 annihilation of Clarion University. As for the John Wall hype- believe it. [...]
November 7th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Coach mentioned the he doesn’t practice free throws with the team bc he doesn’t want to “mess them up”. I wonder why Coach thinks he’s a horrible free throw coach? He lead Clarion in ft percentage when he played for them. I guess if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
November 7th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Just realized I used coach too many times there. Sorry bout that. coachity coach coach