To use a football analogy - Liggins plays to win; Miller has been playing not to lose.

 

I was standing by Liggins in the postgame when someone mentioned that Coach Cal had said he was proud of him and it almost looked like he had a strong bit of emotion. It sounds corny, but I think Cal has shown Liggins the type of off-the-court love that he really needs.

Just food for thought, will bringing Miller off the bench decrease his confidence even more? Is Liggins better suited coming off the bench to be a spark the Wildcats need? I am not leaning one way or the other, but I love having a dynamic player coming from the bench. When on, both players should be able to fill that void.

 

Some guys play better coming off the bench, because they have less pressure on them and have something to prove. I hope that Miller may be one of those players should they decide to bench him, but as you say, it may actually backfire.

Just food for thought, will bringing Miller off the bench decrease his confidence even more? Is Liggins better suited coming off the bench to be a spark the Wildcats need? I am not leaning one way or the other, but I love having a dynamic player coming from the bench. When on, both players should be able to fill that void.

 

UK is deep enough to allow Calipari to continue bringing Liggins off the bench. I don't think Liggins starting or not is as important as how many minutes he plays and when he's on the court. If he continues to play better than both Miller and Dodson, then I believe he should be playing more minutes, and he should be on the court down the stretch of games, whether he starts or not.

 

Its a tough call, because you never know how things will play out. What if Miller doesn't respond well if he's benched, Liggins doesn't play as well as a starter, or it just messes up the chemistry of the team in general...there's no way to predict that. I doubt anyone would argue that Anthony Epps was a more talented player than Wayne Turner, but when Pitino finally decided to put him at the point in '95-96, it set that team off and they turned into a juggernaut. Perhaps this UK will operate at its best with Liggins providing that energy from the bench, while keeping the more reserved Miller in the starting lineup. :idunno:

Has the starting lineup changed all year?

 

I would say at this point Cal is a little supersticious and is going to stay with this lineup. I think that the tell tell sign is how fast Miller comes out. He has gotten the quick hook the last few games.

He said Miller will continue to start because of the spark Liggins provides off the bench....

Has the starting lineup changed all year?

 

I would say at this point Cal is a little supersticious and is going to stay with this lineup. I think that the tell tell sign is how fast Miller comes out. He has gotten the quick hook the last few games.

It has fluctuated some, but not much.

Has the starting lineup changed all year?

 

I would say at this point Cal is a little supersticious and is going to stay with this lineup. I think that the tell tell sign is how fast Miller comes out. He has gotten the quick hook the last few games.

 

Even if he doesn't change the lineup, I think we'll see Liggins start to get "starter" minutes, and be on the court down the stretch, if he continues to outplay Miller (and Dodson). I expect that Dodson's PT will be determined on a game-by-game basis depending on whether he's hot or not.