UK vs Campbellsville

UK did one of the things they really need to do against undermanned teams.  UK hit Campbellsville in the mouth right out of the gate; hard.  It was a darned good thing they did, as UK is no where near ready for prime time, and no one should expect them to be.  I actually thought the defense was further along than the offense.  With only one guy taller than six four, Camp. is the type of team that can usually has enough ball handlers on the floor to handle a press.  But I thought UK’s press flustered the NAIA team any time the press was on.  Some of the bright surprises of the night included Bledsoe, who was everywhere at all times;  Big Cuz, who I thought hustled the way he will need to and just plain played big;  Orton, who you can just tell will bring his lunch pale every day; Dodson, who will obviously slide into a Meeks role as an all round scorer; and lastly but not leastly Stevenson, who obviously has not been getting it done in practice and obviously was mad about not getting in until cigar time and obviously played like a man possessed in showing he does have something to offer.   I don’t think Cal was thinking that he was getting through to Perry, but when all was said and done last night, the senior did everything that Cal would want in the DDO.  His drive to the hoop was impressive, to say the least.  His three point shot was dead on.  His handle looked much more sure.  The kid just needs to bring that focus every day.

The disappointment of the night was 2Pat.  He looked lost last night other than a few plays and his stat line showed it.  We shouldn’t be surprised at all because this sort of offense is completely opposite of how his game has been defined until now.  He will have to tear himself down and build himself back up and that will take time.  Patterson will do it and he will be a much more valuable player because of it.  It will probably cost him a first team All American selection at year’s end but the team will be better off because of it and that’s one of the things that makes him so special. 

All in all, I was thrilled with the effort and I was thrilled to see the old mixed in well with the new.  Seeing guys like Harris out there directing traffic even though he will not be the vital contributor he was in the past warms the heart.  These kids want to do whatever they can to make this team better, and the team is already better because of it.