Mid-Season Review

It’s a game late for my mid season review. I’ve been very busy and a game late but it’s better than not at all. 

 When thinking of UK’s progress to date, the first thing that jumps out is 16-0 Another number that jumps out is 2004.  When thinking back to this time last year, both are just as impressive as they are unexpected.  But here UK sits with a perfect record and a team to be reckoned with.  Lets take a few minutes and review how this start came about.

 It starts out front and on the wing.  Cal sold Bledsoe on playing with John Wall, and he has lived up to that promise.  UK, in turn, has thrived.  The reason it has thrived out front is because Cal has also sold the team on doing what you can to help the team, not yourself.  Bledsoe could be the star guard at almost any school in the country.  At UK, he’s simply, guard.  I’ve honestly toyed with the concept of Bledsoe and Wall changing spots.  Bledsoe handles as well as Wall and it would take some of the load off of Wall which may help with his cramping.  Both guards have played extremely well together, and with the help of Harris in relieve of Wall, Bledsoe or Miller, it’s been a back court of perfection.  Now UK has Liggins producing which has been my key to the run UK can make. 

The front court has been the defining factor in all but two games.  There simply is no answer for a Patterson and Cousins combo.  There have been a few teams to come close, and UGA was one of them, but the cost is usually foul trouble.  UK gets quality relief in Orton and Skinny, which does nothing but keep the interior pressure on other teams.  UK’s front court is most unique because they can beat you with strength in the post and they can also beat you down the court.   Rarely does a team have both.

 Now let’s talk about the overall positives of this year.  First and foremost, this team has played together which is the biggest key I can think of.  They rarely take bad shots and they work to get the highest percentage shot possible.  I’ve only seen them rattled a few times, and both have been of late.  But in every battle, they have been able to focus and execute down the stretch.   Much of that can be attributed to Wall, but the team as a whole must also execute when the game is on the line and for that, you must give them a sterling A+.  You would not expect a team full of All Americans to hustle as they do, but rarely is a ball on the court without an AA being in the mix.  The team, for the most part, has shot much better from outside than anyone thought they would and there have been times where they have shot extremely well from the free throw line.   UK’s interior rebounding and defense is second to none.

 There are not many areas where UK needs vast improvement, but there are a few.   UK has only played two or three games where the focus and intensity was there for 40 minutes although they usually haven’t needed to.   The team as a whole has had issues with turnovers, although this has been an area that hasn’t seemed to hurt the team.  Most of those issues are with the freshman guards, and they have shown signs of being able to play more under control when needed.  This has not been a very good rebounding team from the wing guard positions, but I think that is to be expected when you want your team to fast break as much as possible.  Still, teams have been able to stay close or outrebound the Cats at time.  One of the reasons UK has been outrebounded of late is do to a dip in outside shooting, shooting percentage and ft shooting percentage.   Missed shots equal defensive boards by the other team.  This dip is also a major concern going forward simply from a team execution standpoint.  Outside shooting makes the inside game more possible.  The three position over all needs some improvement.  Miller is an offensive threat, Harris is a defensive stopper and generally a better rebounder, and Liggins is just now getting his game legs under him. 

 Outlook:  I look for this team to get better and better IF, they can keep their focus, but I think that has been a struggle area of late.  UK needs to return to getting quality outside and free throw production across the board.  I think Liggins will now push the three spot into being just as productive as the other positions.  Miller will do nothing but improve from being pushed and Harris will be Harris, although I have not been happy with his rebounding of late.  I think the guards will continue to improve, which should translate into fewer turnovers.  This team has the tools to be as good as it wants to be.  With it’s will to win, it will be interesting to see how far they actually go.

 My player of the year so far is Boogie.  Many do not like his demeanor, many do not like his shot selection and many do not like his fake glasses.  But game in and game out, no one has played with a will to win greater than Cousins.  He is the absolute best since Sky Walker at scoring while being heavily defended, he’s a rebound machine, he defends and block shots, and no one on the team has more floor burns than Boogie.