November 11, 20178 yr I know its been well established by Cal that he hates zone, but you have to ride the 2-3 if that's what this team is built for.
November 11, 20178 yr First time I’ve seen them play and after listening to Matt Jones for two weeks I’m in 100% agreement zone D is the key for this team. Maybe they’ll adjust but my first impression is zone all the way
November 11, 20178 yr Just finished watching this one, had to dvr due to h.s. football. .....and yes, there is a long, long, long way to go. When you throw 8 or 9 kids that's never played a college game in their lives, we're going to get that. Regular season crowd at Rupp still isn't like the couple of scrimmages / practices they have had. I would say that the UK freshmen were as "big eyed" as the opponent coming into Rupp. Actually, Utah Valley came out more relaxed than the young Wildcats, and it showed ....especially in the 1st half. As for the game, I really liked how U.K. looked in the zone defense and getting out and running off steals or rebounds. This team is going to take some beatings, especially early on. Three games in 5 days coming up ....a good Vermont team on Sunday and then comes the first major test on Tuesday when we play Kansas.
November 11, 20178 yr It's a win, but the Cats could easily lose the next two. Agree !00%. Vermont has a good team, and we all know about Kansas. These losses won't bother me too much but as the season goes on, I expect to see huge advancements. I hope Cal can get them to gel together early. If he can, no telling how far this team can go. Whatever happens I am just so glad basketball season is here and I am able to enjoy the ride.
November 11, 20178 yr Just remember what Cal always says about his young teams not knowing how to play defense. He can't wait until the school semester is over and he can get the team's full attention at the extra practices working on defense. This team will look much different come Jan. 1 than they do today especially on help defense. Right now it's easy to beat them on picks. That will change after they learn to help on defense. They won't give up as many easy buckets, they'll get blocks and steals and setup the fast break off of them.
November 11, 20178 yr First half they were just going through the motions and seemed to think just showing up was enough. I'd love to hear the half time talk from Cal. Seems like he got their attention. That said Utah Valley has a nice little team and the two guys inside are both decent players.
November 11, 20178 yr They are a zone team (for now) by default, not necessarily because it is a good fit.
November 11, 20178 yr Richards seem to play better with crashing the glass. Team has a way to go, but that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. We are gonna see them play more zone this year that the last 8 combined.
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