The further into the season we get it seems Miller's role will continue to diminish, and rightfully so. He doesn't bring near the offensive firepower of Dodson or the defensive intensity of Liggins.

 

Speaking of Liggins, what a turnaround from a year ago, eh? Last year he was a shoot-first, all about me out of control PG, and this year he's the most selfless player on the team, making all the hustle plays, and seeming to like playing defense more than offense.

 

:thumb: I couldn't agree more. Liggins is one of my favorites this year.

I agree that Liggins has been playing great. He's all over the floor and playing very hard. Good to see.

 

Stevenson played well last night, but he shouldn't get much PT.

 

Miller gets so many open looks & is unable to knock them down consistently. I can't think of another player in America who has had that many WIDE OPEN looks.

If the TO's get down to 11 or 12, then if Kentucky continues to shoot well and play good D, then they will be extremely hard to beat in March and April. Good win for the Wildcats.

Maybe Coach Cal should bust out some old game tape from these teams to help express his point. I'm sure these guys would like to be remembered as the best team to ever wear the White & Blue, but they have these guys to top.

 

Think that would give them any type of motivation?

 

I don't really know if it would or not. The game has changed so much since then, and by that I mean everything surrounding these kids. It just doesn't seem like today's player is as conscious about "historical significance" as they were 15 - 20 years ago. It is such a business now and they use the school as much (almost) as the school uses them. A means to an end. I would love to be able to debate at the end of the year if THIS championship team was as good as '96 though.

Has Miller shot always looked that unorthodox? Something just looks odd about it.

 

DeAndre gets it.

Miller gets so many open looks & is unable to knock them down consistently. I can't think of another player in America who has had that many WIDE OPEN looks.

 

Has Miller shot always looked that unorthodox? Something just looks odd about it.

 

I personally think that it's all about confidence. He doesn't look confident when shooting the ball, which may be part of the reason that it looks so unorthodox.

:thumb: I couldn't agree more. Liggins is one of my favorites this year.

 

He has really stepped up! I am tickled for this kid! I love his effort on the floor!

Has Miller shot always looked that unorthodox? Something just looks odd about it.

 

DeAndre gets it.

Miller needs to put more arch on his shot IMO. It's too flat. Lowers his chances of making it.

I agree with most of the above posts on defense and lack of fundamentals. IMO Coach Cal needs to crank it up even more on raising the intensity level and he has enough firepower on the bench to do it. He has started doing this some, especially when he sees lackluster effort on the defensive end. He needs to do it even more. The message is play with intensity or come sit and watch someone else get it done. Poster child for this message is Liggins. He is bringing it every night and he is getting the playing time as a reward.

 

The defense the last 5 minutes of the game was excellent. No one from Ole Miss got to the rim even though they spread the floor to take advantage as had been happening throughout the game. UK picked up the intensity and shut them down. It shows that if they played with that focus and intensity they can get it done. The reason UK consistently lets teams back in games is because of losing focus on both ends of the floor. They get lazy on defense and allow easy baskets. They get cute on offense trying to put on a show and start turning it over and having lost possessions. The next time UK starts to let a team back into a game, if I were CalI would empty my bench and put my 5 best defensive players from the bench on the floor. Crank up the defensive intensity and make that other team work for every basket. Get patient and work for the good shots on offense. I would go with Liggins, Harris, Orton, Stephenson and then maybe Wall or Beldsoe to keep a PG leader on the floor. Tell them to get after on D and let's see what happens.

Stevenson and Harris are far from the being in the 5 best defensive players. I have never understood the label of defensive player that Harris seems to get.

The further into the season we get it seems Miller's role will continue to diminish, and rightfully so. He doesn't bring near the offensive firepower of Dodson or the defensive intensity of Liggins.

 

Speaking of Liggins, what a turnaround from a year ago, eh? Last year he was a shoot-first, all about me out of control PG, and this year he's the most selfless player on the team, making all the hustle plays, and seeming to like playing defense more than offense.

 

Couldn't agree more. It really has been a joy watching his turnaround from last season.

 

He's not putting up crazy numbers but he looks comfortable, he looks like he belongs on the floor when he's playing.

Couldn't agree more. It really has been a joy watching his turnaround from last season.

 

My wife said something similar last night. She says it's like seeing a child mature right before your eyes. She's very proud. And this is all funny because she's only about 9 years older than Liggins!

It bothered me that Jeannine Edwards grabbed John Wall before he had time to go through the line and shake hands with Ole Miss.

 

That stuff might fly in the NBA, but Jeannine should wait.

Good to get another win,Ole Miss has a good team and is very athletic,but still can't put a team away unless they're really bad.

Lets go with a new lineup,replace Miller and Bledsoe with Liggins and Dodson.

I think the team gets bored during the game. They come out strong and then find out that they are much better than the team they are playing and they relax. The next thing they know the opponent has creeped back up on them, then they turn it on again.

 

To me one of the most dangerous things for a player or team to find out is that they can coast and still win. I think that is where this team is right now. IMO.

I agree about Liggins, and the key is that he is not playing out of position this year.