News flash! Opponents are going to get shots off against UK and some of them are going to be open looks.

:thumb:

 

Rider is terrible! I wonder how they beat Mississippi St. so bad???

Rider is not "terrible" imo. I do believe they were intimidated by Rupp, the crowd and U.K. last night.

 

The young Cats will be fun to watch as they grow this season!

Yes they are, the potential here is just amazing.

 

UK played very strong on ball D in the first half. Especially guarding the 3 point line. They made it clear they weren't leaving it open.

:thumb: This team showed much more effort in this game. Looks like a message is starting to get through to them.

Very nice effort.

 

Christmas gifts for UK:

1. A shut-down defensive guard.

2. More physical strength at guard position.

3. Better 3-point shooting.

News flash! Opponents are going to get shots off against UK and some of them are going to be open looks.

 

:thumb: Thus the reason for teams running offensive sets. Why have plays if you cant get open looks.

The jury is still out on the perimeter defense and I wouldn't use Rider as my measuring stick.

The jury is still out on the perimeter defense and I wouldn't use Rider as my measuring stick.

 

I agree, that is still debatable.

 

Other thoughts though, I think if we keeping hitting the amount of threes we do now it will force teams to come out and gaurd us, and that opens up the lane for Wall and company to drive the basket. I saw a few times Miller driving the lane I'm impressed with that and think he is coming along great. I was a little dissapointed with Hood, I would have thought he would have been a little better than what he showed, but it is early in the season still. It's obvious that Patterson is the glue to this team, he shows that with his play on the court and leadership.

Has anyone noticed that Cousins is a stat filler. He puts up numbers even in limited minutes.

 

I've been saying ever since his commitment he is the most talented post guy we would have. No disrespect for Pat because he is my boy for like, but what Cousins gives you for a guy a 6'11" is simply amazing and more than likely why he will be a lottery or close to a lottery pick after 1 year. That in itself is something you don't see a lot being that if your that big and athletic in high school you can dominate, but at the college level the playing field starts to even out and it takes some guys time to adjust before they are ready for the big stage. Cousin's ability though makes him game ready and he will be the type of guy that with each season will keep on getting better, college or pro.

 

At times this year he has been flat out unstoppable. He just needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble, because in big games UK cannot have him on the bench longer than he is on the court,

Anyone listen to Cal's postgame show???

 

If so, what did Cal call coaches that tried to beat teams by 100 points???

Good game yesterday. Not only are the Cats finally exciting to watch again, they are the type of team that when clicking can be very, very good. Still a long long way to go, but March and April is still a long long way off.

 

Pat was Pat.

 

Wall was Wall.

 

And the D looked better.

 

 

The biggest thing to me is how decent the guys have been shooting from outside. All summer you heard, "Oh my Lord, the Cats lost Meeks, they have nobody to shoot the three, thats what the dribble drive is all about, if you don't have anyone to hit it from outside then your offense will be garbage. Bledsoe and Wall cannot shoot, Orton may be our best three point shooter, Dodson is streaky." I mean this is all you heard. However, Bledsoe has had a very nice looking shot the past two games, showing that he can hit NBA range if he has to. Wall has shown all season he is capable of hitting it. Dodson has especially, its just hard to say whats up with him. Darius has finally started to actually shoot the ball, and it has been going it pretty good. I mean I can just keep going and going. Just because we was not going to have a Tony Delk or Patrick Sparks, everyone assumed we would be garbage from the outside, but if the Cats keep shooting like they have been as a team from outside we will be just fine.

 

 

Another thing is the Cats have been scoring in bunches all season long. Although the defense hasn't always been there and kept a few teams close, its still hard to beat a team that puts up 90, no matter how good your offense has.

 

 

UK also done everything they did yesterday without Dodson. I don't need to express how solid Dodson has played his role this season. He is the spark off the bench we need on the perimeter, and so far has not let us down. Hopefully his time in the dog house or suspension is not that long because he is crucial to the overall success of the team this season, and he does not need to be missing time.

 

Along those lines the said can absolutely be said about Liggins. From Joe B. Hall to coach Cal, everyone was in agreement Liggins was the most improved player from the hold-overs. Many were quoted to have said that the fans were in for a pleasant surprise and that Liggins was going to look like a different player. Given his constant attack style, and athleticism, I knew DeAndre, Cal, and the DDM were a match made in basketball heaven. However, Liggins has apparently screwed up big time and I have heard a million rumors about what the real reason is. People don't often even think about this or how it effects the team being that we have Wall, Bledsoe, and even Miller to run the true Point position. However, in the spot Liggins was going to be used in, out on the wing, being like a point forward, he would have helped cause a lot of match-up problems being that would give Kentucky three guys out there who are point guards by trade, and that are super long and athletic, and who specialized in driving and taking it to the rack. The matchup problems that would cause is crazy. But after last year turned out the way it did for Liggins I'm sure mnay fans just feel he's over there because he sucks. BUT, I'm TELLING you. If Deandre Liggins gets on the floor for a handful of minutes, he could help this team A LOT this season. So I hope whatever is keeping him out, failed drug test, illegal recruiting tactics from Gillespie, etc. I just jope its something he can come back from, and start to play, soon.

 

 

 

 

I just cannot wait to see how it all unfolds with this group, and one things for sure, win or loss, I will absolutely love watching them play.

Good game yesterday. Not only are the Cats finally exciting to watch again, they are the type of team that when clicking can be very, very good. Still a long long way to go, but March and April is still a long long way off.

 

Pat was Pat.

 

Wall was Wall.

 

And the D looked better.

 

 

The biggest thing to me is how decent the guys have been shooting from outside. All summer you heard, "Oh my Lord, the Cats lost Meeks, they have nobody to shoot the three, thats what the dribble drive is all about, if you don't have anyone to hit it from outside then your offense will be garbage. Bledsoe and Wall cannot shoot, Orton may be our best three point shooter, Dodson is streaky." I mean this is all you heard. However, Bledsoe has had a very nice looking shot the past two games, showing that he can hit NBA range if he has to. Wall has shown all season he is capable of hitting it. Dodson has especially, its just hard to say whats up with him. Darius has finally started to actually shoot the ball, and it has been going it pretty good. I mean I can just keep going and going. Just because we was not going to have a Tony Delk or Patrick Sparks, everyone assumed we would be garbage from the outside, but if the Cats keep shooting like they have been as a team from outside we will be just fine.

 

 

Another thing is the Cats have been scoring in bunches all season long. Although the defense hasn't always been there and kept a few teams close, its still hard to beat a team that puts up 90, no matter how good your offense has.

 

 

UK also done everything they did yesterday without Dodson. I don't need to express how solid Dodson has played his role this season. He is the spark off the bench we need on the perimeter, and so far has not let us down. Hopefully his time in the dog house or suspension is not that long because he is crucial to the overall success of the team this season, and he does not need to be missing time.

 

Along those lines the said can absolutely be said about Liggins. From Joe B. Hall to coach Cal, everyone was in agreement Liggins was the most improved player from the hold-overs. Many were quoted to have said that the fans were in for a pleasant surprise and that Liggins was going to look like a different player. Given his constant attack style, and athleticism, I knew DeAndre, Cal, and the DDM were a match made in basketball heaven. However, Liggins has apparently screwed up big time and I have heard a million rumors about what the real reason is. People don't often even think about this or how it effects the team being that we have Wall, Bledsoe, and even Miller to run the true Point position. However, in the spot Liggins was going to be used in, out on the wing, being like a point forward, he would have helped cause a lot of match-up problems being that would give Kentucky three guys out there who are point guards by trade, and that are super long and athletic, and who specialized in driving and taking it to the rack. The matchup problems that would cause is crazy. But after last year turned out the way it did for Liggins I'm sure mnay fans just feel he's over there because he sucks. BUT, I'm TELLING you. If Deandre Liggins gets on the floor for a handful of minutes, he could help this team A LOT this season. So I hope whatever is keeping him out, failed drug test, illegal recruiting tactics from Gillespie, etc. I just jope its something he can come back from, and start to play, soon.

 

 

 

 

I just cannot wait to see how it all unfolds with this group, and one things for sure, win or loss, I will absolutely love watching them play.

 

Nice post. It is a joy to watch this team play.

For everyone who is so impressed with Kentucky's defense:

 

Is it because Rider struggled from the perimeter?

 

The defense was better, but still has a long, long, long way to go. Our post D is very good because we have so many talented big guys & Bledsoe & Wall both block shots. But we gave up way too many WIDE OPEN looks today.

 

I thought they defended well in the first half...they slacked in the second half, but Rider missed some open looks. Still a lot of work to do on that end.

 

The most impressive thing to me with this UK team is their unselfishness. With all the talent they have, you're always afraid guys will "want to get theirs", but I've yet to see anyone look selfish. They're always looking to dish to the open man...that bodes well for the future. I especially like the bigs ability to pass. Should be an exciting season.

 

5 guys in double figures in consecutive games.

I've been saying ever since his commitment he is the most talented post guy we would have. No disrespect for Pat because he is my boy for like, but what Cousins gives you for a guy a 6'11" is simply amazing and more than likely why he will be a lottery or close to a lottery pick after 1 year. That in itself is something you don't see a lot being that if your that big and athletic in high school you can dominate, but at the college level the playing field starts to even out and it takes some guys time to adjust before they are ready for the big stage. Cousin's ability though makes him game ready and he will be the type of guy that with each season will keep on getting better, college or pro.

 

At times this year he has been flat out unstoppable. He just needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble, because in big games UK cannot have him on the bench longer than he is on the court,

 

Cousins is awesome.

 

Its so much fun to see a team with this much athleticism wearing the blue and white again.

 

Wall has played well from the word go, but these last two games he's really shown why he got all the hype.

 

I can't speak for teams from back in the day, but this is the most talent I've ever seen on a UK team. I don't know how they'll end up doing, because they are inexperienced, but they are loaded. And, I can't state enough how exciting it is to see these guys play so unselfishly on the offensive end.

 

I've been pleasantly surprised by Bledsoe and Miller and their ability to knock down the open three. With this UK team, they are going to get that opportunity, and if they can capitalize, how do you defend them?

 

I can't wait to see them play UNC and UConn. Win or lose, I want to see how they fare against the step up in competition, and how they respond when the opponent has a comparable talent level.