Boo’s Regular Season Review

Well fellow Cat fans, we made it through another regular season. Well, most of us did anyway. It’s been another rough and tumble year, which we should be very accustomed to by now. It seems every year we are surprised that we made it, but to be honest, it shouldn’t be surprising at all. We are all old pros at it. It’s now time to reflect on what was the 08-09 UK regular season.

The preseason was full of hopes and dreams for most. I was much more reserved. There were too many unknowns to say if this would be a break out year. UK brought in some size in Liggins, Galloway, Miller and Harrelson. All with plenty of unknowns. Miller and Liggins had the pedigree among the four and those two seemed to be locks at making the biggest contributions. But when and how much remained major mysteries for me. Still, many fans had already anointed one, two or all four of these guys as saviors even before we had a chance to see them play. Then, we got to see the Cats! The Big Blue Madness show did leave some room for promise, but it was one night which is never enough to make judgments. Harrelson made shots from everywhere, and the other new comers did not disappoint. The biggest splash may have come from the Cat that couldn’t play in Pilgrim. UK’s first exhibition did make me sit up and take notice. The Cats flat out destroyed. The second preseason contest wasn’t quite as big of a hit. Then it happened… The regular season kicked off with VMI… And so the story really begins.. And continued with UNC…..

I always wait for a large sample before making decisions on any Cat or the team in general. When the time came, I knew UK would be looking at another 10 loss year. I figured, looking at the schedule, UK would have a very rough finish. Patterson was slow getting back to form, and to be honest, I have only seen a handful of minutes where he looked like the Patterson of last year. Meeks, has been the streak shooter that he is, only he had some very big streaks. Of course he has also had his games where he cost the Cats dearly with his turnovers and forced play. Such is life when you live and die with the 2 on five game. And while I am not really surprised with the out come of the season in general, I am very surprised at many of the aspects of the season. I am totally shocked that the Cats have not tried to add more options to the offensive side as players like Miller have developed. I am surprised we did not see Patterson develop and utilize the skills to play at other spots on the floor like we were told he would. I am surprised that no one could ever get Liggins on the same page as the rest of the Cats. I am surprised that no one was able to pass up Porter and Harris. I am surprised at the magnitude of some of the losses.

UK was down seven to UL with seconds left on the clock. Some how, some way, UL fell apart and the Cats were able to make the push to tie the game. Sosa, who had never made a game winner in his life, and probably never will again, rose up with the luckiest shot of his career. The Cards used that victory to spring board themselves back into being a top 10 type team. UK used the experience to vault itself into the team to beat in the SEC after a 5-0 start. I must say that even with knowing who UK had beat, and knowing the rough schedule ahead, even I was tasting a bit of the fools gold back water. The major debate: Where was UK ranked and why were they not in the top 25. It could very well be that the Cats were having the same debates among themselves, because there is no doubt in my mind that they let up on the accelerator. And being young as they are, I also have no doubt they had no clue about what can happen when you let the SEC hit you with an upper cut and put you on the mat. To be honest, I don’t think Coach knew how to deal with the adversity of getting clobbered for a standing eight. I’m not surprised, as he’s use to being the one that clobbers others. So maybe if there is a silver lining in all of this, its the team and staff will be wiser and more aware, and should be much more hungry next year, and maybe even in post season play.

In the end, UK is 19-11. I thought they would be 21-9 and end up with 11 losses. Maybe 10 if they got on a roll in the SEC tournament. So I am not all that disappointed in the season from a wins and losses standpoint. I am disappointed in how it has happened and how it has been handled. But that’s nothing that some wins could not fix. One more win and the Cats are at the magical 20 win mark. Many fans were OK with that some years ago. While I am not, I do understand that it will take more time to get things back to where they belong. So for this year, that is all I ask for. Cats, please, just give me one more win.

FOR THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST…

For the eternal optimist, hope does spring eternal, and we now may have to cushion ourselves to earning our UK FAN PLEASURE from our Baseball Team and then our Football Team before we again can H-O-P-E to enjoy our basketball team – ….that is considering one is a three sport watcher and not Barnhart.

But, let us consider that the date is October 15, 2009. Who will be on the court and starting for the CATS come opening day? Now this is way too much speculation coming from one who said that the Wildcats would be a “tough out” this year. They were just that for 5 games in the SEC, and then the wheels ran off, and all the coaches’ horses and all of his men could not put them back together again…At least, up until the last minute, and last second, the NCAA bubble floats perilously over a sea of pinpoints….

Again it is October 15, and the first day of practice; who shows up but Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks -…but there is another dynamic here to go with that reality. They have help…BIG HELP….Their names are Pilgrim and Orton, and they are contributors to a team that is a year older and a year wiser…Point guard spot gets nailed down by a guy not named Porter…

In the pre-season, blue-white scrimmage, Orton scores 20 and gets 20 boards, while Pilgrim and 2Pat face off for 15 and 10 apiece, and when ask what he likes about Orton, a cautious BCG replies, ……”HE’s TALL”!

UK beats UofL easily before conference time, after polishing off NC. They run through the SEC like butter, and have 3 on the All-SEC Team…., while taking a solid lead in the all-time wins category, and much like the NIT team of yesteryear did, went on and won the NCAA Title the year after that!

“To sleep, perchance to dream-
ay, there’s the rub.”

So what is wrong?

I did something very painful last night. I actually went home, sat down, and watched the UK-UGA game all over again. I not only watched it, I rewound parts and slow motioned parts. I spent four hours looking at how in the world UK could lose to UGA. These are just my opinions, mind you, and I know everyone has their own, but I feel firm and strong with the convictions that will be forthcoming.

Patterson: I love the kid to death and he plays so hard. But he just is not big enough, strong enough or skilled enough to be effective with three guys on him. Yet UK continues to beat its head time and time again on the feed the beast at all costs wall. Early, it was usually a turnover. But somehow the guys have found a way to cut that down for longer and longer stretches. In that time, a feed to Patterson might as well be a turnover because he has produced at the same clip as when the turnovers happened. But now, its a horribly missed shot and defensive rebound. Not much different that a turnover deep under your basket, if you ask me. Patterson’s goal should be 12 points and 12-14 rebounds instead of 18-20 and nine.

Meeks: Meeks is a streak shooter that has been keyed on of late. Yet UK is still hell bend on getting him 25 points. That’s a great idea when he’s on. But when he isn’t, and you STILL try to get him his points, the cost is too great for this team to over come. And most of that is on him because he has been forcing more and more and the more he forces the less he executes. Meeks should have a goal of 15 points and 5 assists instead of a goal of 25 points and one assist.

The bottom line for me is, these two aren’t nearly good enough game in and game out to carry the load the game plan has called for. As they say, the proof is in the pudding and when you look at this game plan, and then look at UK’s body of work, its quite obvious to me that it doesn’t work. People say the supporting cast can’t score and I say bull. The absolute best TEAM offense I’ve seen since Coach arrived has been this year when UK was actually looking to get other people shots in the right places to make a team pay for over playing Patterson and Meeks. The start of the UGA game was a prime example. UK had a seven point lead with very little help from Patterson and zero field goals from Meeks. Then UK decides its time to feed the beast. The result was turnovers and low percentage missed shots from Patterson playing one on three. Patterson needs to be told that he must generate his own points as long as teams are ganging up on him. That’s what he did in high school and he still got his. You then go back to him once teams must play him honest.

Carter: I know I only have a couple of quality minutes to go on, but Carter provided a major match up problem at the start of the UGA game. He was setting great picks and going to the basket strong. He actually stayed on the block and made a passing lane that no one used. UK only has one guy getting major minutes that likes to stay on the block. At least Carter likes to stay on the block. Why has he not been used? I know the penetration caused mis matches where he wasn’t quick enough but he played well containing the big he was guarding. He even caused a walk that wasn’t called. So the solution is to tell the other guys to keep their man out of the lane instead of sitting Carter the rest of the game. Which leads us to…..

Defense: Sucks. And the reason why it sucks is the same reason it sucked at the beginning of last year. Most say its the three point defense but that isn’t really it. The problem is keeping people in front of them. When a guy doesn’t contain his man, he gets help. The help guy is the one that usually gives up an open three. The difference between last year and this year is Bradley and Crawford actually learned how to keep a man in front of them. Once they did, blammo! Instant quality defense. The major question for me is why was Porter, of all people, the only one that could actually stay in front of his guy. And that includes Meeks, who has started pressing and gambling too much for steals. He gets one and gives up five baskets on missed trys. That is a cost that is far too great. UGA was able to get in the lane any time they wanted, and every time UK was scrambling. And every time UGA got the look they wanted. And this isn’t even a good team.

Execution: Over all, what we have here is a failure to execute. And its across the board. I paid close attention to the things that cost UK the UGA game. And it was a bunch of little things that all add up to one major dump-fest. Porter missing a lay up he should hit, Patterson forcing triple contested shots, Meeks forcing all over the place for turn overs forced shots and three shots from too far under the basket, Miller getting deep in the lane with no options, Patterson not blocking out and giving up offensive boards he should not be giving up, Meeks missing a key free throw, Porter air balling a wide open/game tying three, Galloway allowing the ball too be taken away from him then shuffled out for a wide open three that extended a manageable three point game to a six point game. I could go on and on. And on and on. These guys are seriously trying but they look much more like headless chickens then a basketball team.

And all of this comes back to coach. He is the one that should understand that the game plan should change if it hasn’t worked by now. He is the one that should have these guys thinking they can not be beat. He is the one that should be teaching these kids about UK pride. He is the one that should have them focused properly so they execute. He is the one that should realize that a whole sale substitution when you have a two point lead might not work. He is the one that should notice that it didn’t work once UGA hit another wide open three. He is the one that should never let this team get this low. There is no way I’ll say that he isn’t the man for the job this early. That isn’t even close to a possible thought. But I do think he needs to take a good look in the mirror. He needs to find a way to wipe the regular season off the books, clear the kid’s minds, and get these guys to playing Kentucky basketball in the little time they have left this year. And its entirely possible. There is a switch that can be thrown because there is no way these guys are this bad. And I find it hard to believe he is this bad of a coach…

Gamecocks Flog Cats 77-59

The South Carolina Gamecocks showed us all last night why they should be in first place in the SEC East – and not us…They outplayed us…They outhustled us…and worse, they humiliated us. SC, not accustomed to being in this spot this time of the year, made the most of it last night, beating UK for the second time this year, and showing us what a matchup problem UK has with SC’s guards. Native son, Darrin Horn, must be basking in the glory after defeating UK twice in one season…SC, riding the wave of 16 blocked shots on the inside by its big men, and 9 alone on 2Pat, flogged UK for the second time in a row this season, and this one’s going to “hurt us for a long, long, time”….

For as good as UK looked on Saturday in the confines of Rupp; that’s how bad they looked on the road before a packed house of screaming Gamecock Fans…Indeed, UK showed it has the youth and immaturity to lose at any time should they not play with the passion commensurate with the situation. Playing for 1^st in the SEC East, UK looked like a bunch of high-schoolers getting their dose of humble pie before a packed house of screaming “I told you so’s….. We came out and looked rigid and tight and never really had a chance. Patrick Patterson was the only player that I could discern that played very hard while he was out there.

Sc rode the heady play of guard Devan Downey and came out and hit 4 of their first 6 three’s and the game was over for all intents and purposes. In my pre-game pep-talk I suggested that Porter might need lots of help with Downey. He did, and he didn’t…He did need help; he didn’t get it, in anyone that BCG put on Downey. He is just too quick and too good. The substitution pattern on this night went beyond logic into bizarre world…I don’t have the numbers on minutes played, but it looked as if Galloway could have been uses if available, for all those useless 30 minutes or so that Liggins stood out there. And, to play Porter and Sloan at the same time on SC’s guards was the biggest mismatch since Hawaii took on……just kidding Bill!,,, you guys know what I mean…There isn’t a way that those two can handle SC’s two at any time. Nuff Said!

Since BCG is always eager to take the blame for a loss, I will eagerly give him some of it; given he played the same defense against SC he played in Lexington and lost worse here than there…I wonder how BCG wanted us to double down on Downey and Frederick as they drove the lane when we couldn’t do it in Lexington and prevent them from the kick out pass to the man with the open 3.

BCG did have this to say about the game:

“They have a point guard; we don’t”

On Perry Stevenson: “He is just not playing hard enough”, Gillispie said. “That’s two times in the last, what, week or eight days that I’ve said something about a guy not playing hard enough and that’s the first two times in my career I’ve ever said that. That’s shameful, in my opinion, to everyone involved.”

SC and Darrin Horn, had the easy, logical, perfect game plan, and we had the task to crack it. We did not. We let them run the ,”drive and kick”, on their first 6-3 balls and they hit 4 of them. It would be better to let the guards go on those drives than the wing defender to collapse on him and let Downey kick to the open shooter…..But that is what happened last night and that is how they took us out in Lexington….

AND, don’t get me started on the substitution patterns…Can we hire Bruce Pearl’s guy who does his for him..BCG’s patterns were illogical based on even his last game and I don’t think that anyone did anything in practice since Saturday to radically change the way one would expect it would be. I suspect that after BCG watches last night’s game for the 20^th time, maybe he would concede that.

UK needed a “team effort” to play in this game, and they hardly looked like one all night. As bad as we made UT look on Saturday, SC made us look last night. That is basketball, but this glaring weakness is one that teams will exploit until BCG and Co. Stops it. Maybe we don’t have the personnel to stop it. Maybe we do not have the point guard the SEC requires to overcome it. We shall see.

UK vs SC PEP TALK

“Basketball Jones…..I got a Basketball Jones….I got a Basketball Jones… Oh Baby..” , the song goes…., and I have one, a “Basketball Jones that is…I want to see if UK can repeat the performance they had in Rupp arena on Saturday. Saturday was UK’s finest hour based on the number and production of players not named Jodie or Patrick….

We’re on the road now with this group and they are playing a FINE SEC squad that beat us at home, on a last second shot by Devan Downey, who else?…SC has a pair of dynamic guards led by Devan Downey, a mini-mini version of Allen Iverson, who is almost unstoppable off the bounce. He must be contained assist-wise for us to win, and a win would be for 1st Place in the always tight SEC East…

UK will have its hands full and the logical thought is that Liggins or Galloway will have to spell Porter more than normal. Keeping up with either of SC’s guards will be a chore for him. Winning this game though, is entirely within the realm of this team should we manage the play we exhibited Saturday…

If we play the way Gillespie says they are STILL playing we lose…

Billy Gillispie had this to say on the topic of whether the players have known their roles so far this season: – from KSR

“We are very far away from that. They have been defiant. Every single person has to defensive rebound much better. We have to help defend much better. We have to offensive rebound much better. We have to reverse the basketball better. We have to feed the post better. And when you talk about those things that need improving as a team, those are the things that individuals must do to improve as a team and we are not doing that right now. “

Play like you did Saturday…., LADS - the rest will take care of itself…:)

Coaches are never happy…And so it goes………….

Post UT Ramblings

It’s the Monday following the total dismantling UK put on UT and many are still a buzz with how different this team looked for a day. I thought it might be a good time to ramble on some of my thoughts. We always know what went wrong when the Cats lose, but its also good to look at what went right when they dominate.

I have wondered aloud time and time and time again about how the team would do if they actually took what the defense gave them. And of late, defenses have given anyone with a name other than Jodie or Pat just about any look outside the lane they wanted. And in some cases, they’ve even invited UK into the lane. It’s no secret that UK has had turn over problems most of the year. And while the Cats do make their share of dumb plays, I’ve always contended that a good portion of those came from forcing a play where there isn’t a play. On Saturday we saw a team that worked the ball to open areas and players other than Jodie or Pat actually executed. It was actually quite easy getting the right people (on this day) into those spots and getting them the ball. The difference here is the offense seemed to be LOOKING for these guys instead of it being a last resort. And by doing so a balanced production was the prime result. But another stat sticks out to me and I can’t help but think it also has a direct connection to this change of the game plan and that is the turn overs and turnover margin. The principle players, or the ones in double digit minutes, combined for nine turnovers. More so, all but one had and equal or positive assist to turnover ratio and all the positive ratios came from the primary ball handlers. This is an astounding change. The one question I had was can UK win with this type of philosophy and I think the answer is an easy YES. It’s my hope that UK uses this blue print going forward. And as they do, I think we will see that it will be much easier for Jodie and Pat to do their jobs.

Speaking of Patterson, I also could not help but notice his improved touch. Isn’t it amazing how valuable one middle finger can be? While he moved very well I can’t help but think I saw him favoring the ankle just a little. That means he could be even more huge down the stretch. But I didn’t really understand how much UK had missed his touch until Saturday.

I know some think I have been in a love fest with Porter and Harris all year. And while I have advocated their playing, the real truth of the matter is I believe firmly in disciplined basketball. While those guys have not always produced, they have at least tried to follow the game plan. On the flip side, I’ve been very quick to say that the ones who are having problems following the game plan should sit for the very same reason. If anyone is curios as to what I am fearful of when it comes to just throwing guys out there, Saturday was a prime example of exact opposites. In UT, we saw a team that, on paper, was way more talented at three spots, and maybe even or slightly less at two. We also saw a team that, on paper, had more talent coming off the bench. We also saw a team where said talent has been allowed to play through very poor basketball and is still playing poor basketball. We also saw Liggins, who played poorly in the first half, come into the second half and play extremely well. I was very impressed with his play in the second half. Liggins is one heck of a player when he’s where he’s supposed to be and is looking to make others better.

This is a game the team needs to watch over and over again about how they need to play. UT won one stat and that was offensive rebounding. To be perfectly honest, the game would have been out of reach in the first half if they had not because they got zero production in their “sets” (if you want to call them that). By the way, UT finished with four assists. In my mind, this is a stat I would choose to leave alone. If UK can dominate while giving up four assists and 23 offensive boards, then I say have at it. OK, maybe they could cut it down to 15..

Carter got to play! And he did more than just take up space. His rebound had authority written all over it and his up and under had Kevin McKale written all over it. One minute, one board and two points. Now that’s what I call production! See ya again when UGA comes to town, big fella..

Isn’t it amazing how smart coach looks after a big win?

VandY TuNeS UK ~~~~~~~~~~~~77-64

The University of Kentucky Wildcats rolled into the Music City on a two game winning streak after losing 3 in a row…Indeed, to beat Vanderbilt on the road would be a tall order given that Patrick Patterson’s game status was that he “would not start”. Yet BCG was foiled here last year and his own losing streak was in jeopardy. Would he lose again? Could he solve the “TrIcK sAcK GYM” that worked it’s magic here last year, producing a win of over “two (2) score for de Dores”?

Well, it turns out he could not as UK fell to a determined Vanderbilt squad in one of the most atrociously officiated games I have watched in the first half. At the half with the score tied at 30 and with 20 more minutes to play, and 13 total fouls whistled, and 13 more to be blown on Vanderbilt, AND Darius Miller getting 3 fouls while playing well – and starting the Second Half..

BCG is getting a much needed Technical in the First Half, just to keep the refs from taking over the game, UK has fought and scratched the first half with our starters, Darius Miller(2^nd half) and Perry Stevenson on the bench, with 3 and 2 fouls, respectively.

In the second half the ‘Dores came out firing, and went up by 5 points early, as UK turned the ball over, while BCG takes out Harris and Porter…at the 17:46 mark of the second half… Galloway, who had a good first half, comes in for Porter.

If Perry had a pair, he’d be a pick, but he don’t and he won’t. Tough to hit with a pass; Perry needs to create and pass himself, which cripples the team not having the BIG WARHORSE in there on the receiving end on the Passes ‘O Perry…Vandy scores the first nine of the second half and UK never recovers…

Fouls started again, with the “stripes” calling 3 straight on UK, two of which were on Liggins. This has to be the toughest place to play in the conference, due to the officials losing their “peas” on one end of this building. It happens every year that I see, and is apparently not going to stop….I know that Tubby did not enjoy playing in that building, and I know that BCG don’t envision lots of losses there in the future, but right now it’s a tough out!

Good to see A.J. put that move on Ogilvy and get 11 points. A.J. played until he fouled out and for the most part played hard…Perry Stevenson had a sub-par game and his play was needed in the worst way. Jodie Meeks did not play his game as he was harassed by a 6’7” “athlete” the entire game. Oh, he hit his average; but in a loss 6 for 21 shooting is not good enough…BCG said he had “a good game for a great player…the team just didn’t play well”….

UK allowed Vanderbilt to be more comfortable in what they tried to do in the second half, Vanderbilt had too many second chance points, and shot 46 per cent for the game, and let them get too comfortable in their own offense…

This team without 2Pat is a shadow of what it can be, and the margin for error is slim now. The loss is tough, but not the end of the world…2 Pat will be back and we’ll be a tough out again; tough enough to beat Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt “Tunes UK” ~~~~ 77-64

The University of Kentucky Wildcats rolled into the Music City on a two game winning streak after losing 3 in a row…Indeed, to beat Vanderbilt on the road would be a tall order given that Patrick Patterson’s game status was that he “would not start”. Yet BCG was foiled here last year, and his 2 S-C-O-R-E/and some loss, was the largest of his Tenure….His own losing streak notwithstanding: Could he solve the “trick gym” that worked it’s magic last year?

Indeed, this is not a basketball gym, as the sidelines are so deep it is more of a “baseball dugout”, given the room to operate…I hear the Vandy players get their workouts just “running into the game”, but that’s a different tale for a different day…

PLaying all your games in a gym like that gives one school a tremendous advantage. Now, I once played some competitive billiards, and one’s home table is special, but you don’t want to be gifted on a 9 ft table, and then forced to play on a “snooker table”…It’s human nature. Psychology takes over the players minds also. In short, we played like crap, and as UKBoo noted, there is a reason some players don’t play as much, and we ALL were able to see that last night!

Well, it turns out BCG could not solve the short “jinx” he has going, and just as his predecessor once took it on the chin, so shall he. UK fell to a determined Vanderbilt squad in one of the most atrociously officiated games I have watched in the first half. At the half with the score tied at 30 and with 20 more minutes to play, and 13 total fouls whistled, (AND 13 more should have been blown on Vanderbilt), AND Darius Miller getting 3 fouls while playing well – and starting the Second Half..

BCG is getting a much needed Technical in the First Half, just to keep the refs from taking over the game, UK has fought and scratched the first half with our starters, Darius Miller(2^nd half), and Perry Stevenson on the bench, with 3 and 2 fouls, respectively. Lucky to be tied at 30-30 and the officiating eased up the second half and we proceeded to lose the game. NO EXCUSES!

In the second half the ‘Dores came out firing, and went up by 5 points early, as UK turned the ball over, while BCG takes out Harris and Porter…at the 17:46 mark of the second half… Galloway, who had a good first half, comes in for Porter.

If Perry had a pair, he’d be a pick, but he don’t and he won’t. Tough to hit with a pass; Perry needs to create and pass himself, which cripples the team not having the BIG WARHORSE in there on the receiving end on the Passes ‘O Perry…Vandy scores the first nine of the second half and UK never recovers…

Fouls started again, with the “stripes” calling 3 straight on UK, two of which were on Liggins. This has to be the toughest place to play in the conference, due to the officials losing their “peas” on one end of this building. It happens every year that I see, and is apparently not going to stop….I know that Tubby did not enjoy playing in that building, and I know that BCG don’t envision lots of losses there in the future, but right now it’s a tough out!

Good to see A.J. put that move on Ogilvy and get 11 points. A.J. played until he fouled out and for the most part played hard…Perry Stevenson had a sub-par game and his play was needed in the worst way. Jodie Meeks did not play his game as he was harassed by a 6’7” “athlete” the entire game. Oh, he hit his average; but in a loss, 6 for 21 shooting, is not good enough…BCG said he had “a good game for a great player…the team just didn’t play well”….

UK allowed Vanderbilt to be more comfortable in what they tried to do in the second half, Vanderbilt had too many second chance points, and shot 46 per cent for the game. UK and let them get “too comfortable” in their own offense in the second half, according to Darius Miller on the “Star of the Game” show.

This team without 2Pat is a shadow of what it can be, and the margin for error is slim now. The loss is tough, but not the end of the world…2 Pat will be back, and we’ll be a tough out again; tough enough to beat Vanderbilt.

UK 64 Vandy 77

There is no gym in America that I wish would burn to the ground more than that God awful place Vandy plays in. The place reeks of bad basketball and plenty was on full display last night. Not just the players and coaches but the refs as well. Vandy’s uniforms suck, their gym sucks, their cheerleaders are ugly, their coach looks retarded and they didn’t pay the refs nearly enough for what they got in return. UK did its part as well. Porter played as poorly as I have ever seen. Harris did next to nothing, and UK never goes anywhere when it has to rely on a Liggins, Galloway Miller combo. And I wasn’t surprised at all with the outcome. UK went into a place where the home team always has its way as far as calls are concerned when UK comes to town. UK went in without its main guy inside. And as much as we love seeing Harrelson all over the floor on offense, he simply can’t defend the likes of Ogilvy. UK did it’s part to stink things up as well. I finally figured out the main problem with Liggins, Miller and Galloway last night. They have no idea where their bread is buttered. Not one pick was set by any of the three to free up Meeks. Not one. There is your answer, to those people who do not know why those guys do not get more minutes. Basketball is about doing the little things. Especially when you have the likes of Meeks and Patterson. Creating your own shot is great and all but you must understand how UK wins games. UK has won a total of one game where Liggins created his own shot. It has won a total of one game with Galloway feeding someone other that Meeks or Patterson. The rest have been won with Porter and Harris getting Meeks free and setting up the inside. Those three could do it much better than Porter and Harris if they applied the proper mindset. YES, you should create your own shot if you can’t get Meeks free. YES, you should get in the lane and dish if you can’t set up Patterson. But you must understand who you are playing with. A tight dish to Stevenson in the lane is a sure turnover. That’s just how it is until he shows better hands. Liggins does one thing and that’s drive the lane. He will continue to pick up charges until he realizes teams teams know exactly what he will do and sets up for it. On the bright side, I thought Stewart came in and provided a much needed lift. He has developed quite the jumper and his post defense, while horrid, was the best of the night.

In the end, this game wasn’t lost because of Liggins or Porter. It wasn’t lost because of Harris or Miller. It was lost because UK was short handed, the game was not called the same on both ends either inside or out, and UK had no one to generate an inside threat or rebound. Players picked up fouls where they didn’t even touch Vandy and Vandy was allowed to man handle anyone they chose to. I’m spitting this one out because chewing on it has left a really bad taste in my mouth.

UK 57 M St 66

Sometimes, the outcome just doesn’t add up. UK usually wins when it keeps other teams off the offensive boards and doesn’t turn the ball over. UK held the Dawgs to 8 offensive boards and “only” turned it over 15 times, which is a major accomplishment for these cats. You can’t look at Porter or Harris or Liggins or Miller or any Cat and say they played a bad game. I made a bold statement earlier this year and this game took a bite right out of that statement’s behind. I said that UK would win any contest where it held a team to the mid 60s. While the Dawgs got slightly more than that, they could have easily scored less and won. Scoring, in my mind, has not really been the issue. If UK scores in the 70s, with the D they are supposed to play, they should win. The problems now seem to be at both ends.

This is three games in a row that UK should have won. This is three games in a row UK needed to win. Because things get much tougher now. How do they turn this around? I have no clue. The general feeling among many of the fans was that UK would explode when Miller and Liggins were ready for more minutes. They are ready now, and UK has exploded, just in the wrong way. I am not saying this particular loss is on them. Maybe it is just a coincidence all the way around that UK has struggled since coach decided to give them more minutes. Maybe the players need to adjust to the new rotation.

One thing I do know is this team needs to play even smarter if it wants to compete from here out. It isn’t hard to figure out that you need to guard guys at 35 feet out if they are making 35 footers. It isn’t hard to figure out that smaller guards are not going to be able to challenge the best shot blocker in all of the NCAA at the rim. UK has a small margin of error in every game they play. They simply are not talented enough to make easily fixable mistakes over and over and expect to win.

Every Cat fan is frustrated these days. I am most frustrated at the defense. Even when things didn’t go well in the past, I could always count on great defense. I can not here of late. This is three games in a row where teams have shot the lights out from long distance. This is where coach earns his money. Now go to work and get this thing fixed..

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