Just What These Cats Needed

What a wild ride! Most may not see the value in this game and hardly any average fans thought this type of game was possible. The very first thing you have to do is tip your hat to Miami. UK wasn’t ready for a perimeter game, and hasn’t been in any game so far, and Miami took advantage. They did a whole lot more right than just hit some shots. They laid the blue print on how to guard Wall and Bledsoe. Get back, try to keep them in front, funnel to the middle where help comes out in front of the basket or funnel to the sides. They boxed out well and limited the passes into the post, which is what UK wanted to do from the start. It seemed like the Cats all had their own things going on and no one was working together. That was especially true on D. I know I’ve been on Bledsoe about his defense but it was on full display last night. He just doesn’t want to play weak side defense and that is just as important, if not more important than on the ball D. The ball reverses, Bledsoe gets sucked into the lane, and in one case all the way across the lane, his man is free to roam to an open spot, the ball reverses to his guy, he’s no where to be found and a forward is stuck with two guys, his guy being the hot hand. This team wasn’t killing UK in the lane and the post simply didn’t need his help. This has to stop and now. BUT, there was a lot of good in this game. UK was seriously on the ropes. Dodson came in and provided good shooting and decent defense and UK began to cut into the lead. The guys started playing more together and started limiting the open looks. I had hoped to cut the lead to eight by the half and they did even better than that. But UK continued to do one good thing, then one bad thing the rest of the game. I again have to give Miami credit for not going away. They fought and took advantage of almost every UK mistake. I seriously question coach’s choice down the stretch and think he needs to do a much better job of understanding the personnel on the floor versus what he has on the bench. This has always been the knock on Cal and it was on full display last night. UK has the ball and a two point lead. Miami is going to foul, UK will get two shots and UK needs both of them. Wall is an all but automatic 1 for 2 at this point. Krebs is in his pocket and coach doesn’t pull him out. Krebs is a much better percentage at getting both free throws and if he gets one for 2, you put Wall back in. Krebs hits both shots and the game is over, and lets face it, UK was darned lucky to hit the shot and even more lucky they didn’t call a foul on Wall, which three free throws wins the game for Miami. I don’t think we will see the same team Thursday. I think we see a more timid team. We will see a team willing to jab and spar some instead of going for the knockout with one punch right out of the gate. Wall and Bledsoe swung wildly at nothing for a good part of the game. Much of that is our fault for thinking, and making them believe, they could over talent anyone. They also have to learn what they can and can not do at this level, and even higher than last night. I’ve been uneasy from the get go with having so much inexperience on the floor at one time. We’ll simply have to live with a lot of up and down play, and this team will probably lose to some lesser teams, and that’s OK. Wall seems to learn fast and the first thing he will learn is he will need help to be able to do the things he’s used to doing. He’ll learn that teams are going to try to take away his path to the rim and he’ll need to counter to make them pay. THEN the rim will be there. And as for Big Cuz, he gets my MVP award because he seemed to grow up right before our eyes last night. He was stellar, aside from his one late bone head, which turned out not to cost UK and may have helped use enough clock to shorten the game enough to get UK the last shot.

All in all, I think this was just what these Cats needed.  Oh, and they got the win..