UK 67 UM 73

POP. That was the sound of UM doing to UK what Porter and Harris did to each other out in Vegas. UM hit UK hard and UK never knew what hit them. UM could do whatever it wanted early and get whatever shot they wanted, and UK had to settle for whatever shot UM allowed them to take. Hindsight is a coach’s worst enemy, especially after a tough loss. Should he start two freshmen? I’m not saying because I don’t know. I do know the one he did start was so lost coming out of the gate that there were times he didn’t even know who he was supposed to be guarding through the entire possessions back to back. Not once, but twice. In a row. So does a coach double that risk at the start of a game? Hindsight says yes. Hindsight is always right because it can never be proven wrong.

In my view, two things stand out more than anything else. Harris would have been where he was supposed to be and Miller did not get the luxury of seeing it done first as he usually does. Each game is a brand new set of circumstances and variables. Guys were totally out of sync because of having to give help at times they were not supposed to have to give help and Porter was having to guard a guy he had no business guarding. It took a half, and some adjustments, but UK finally did get in sync on the defensive end. Too little too late? I say no. Even with getting popped from the start and being out of sync, UK could have easily withstood the UM pop if it had done the second thing, and that is to shoot a decent percentage, especially from the outside. Meeks had a horrid offensive game. If the normal percentage of his outside shots go down, it opens up several other things and UK may have never dug a hole anywhere near what it did. Meeks needs to understand one thing. This team needs him and he needs to rise up and meet the challenge. That is what winners do. That is what UK does.

This was a tough loss. UK was as good as UM if not maybe even a little better. UM was more experienced and this time experience won out. So is their anything good that can be taken from this loss? I think so! UK will not be this inexperienced in a few more games. The upside for UK is huge. Soon it will not be a question of putting two frosh out there at the start if needed. They will be semi sophs. One of them, Liggins, is growing up right before our eyes and you have to love the kid’s heart. UK never gave up and did fight back. No ifs about it. But UK could have easily came all the way back and could have easily won this game IF they hit their shots late, even after not hitting them early. The kids need to understand that just because you didn’t hit your shots in the possessions before, it doesn’t mean you can’t hit them in the possessions coming up.

So where does UK go from here? Well, I think the very best thing to do is to get back in the saddle and do it again. And that is just what UK will do today. I think this back to back game set is a great idea. Plus UK will have little time to think about the UM loss. It will hopefully be a game where UK can put hindsight in the rear view mirror.