(In his third year, Patterson wants a taste of post-season play. AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
As Kentucky begins their arduous journey back to the summit of college basketball, post-game press conferences will be riddle with questions for new UK head coach John Calipari.
As the #5 ranked team in the nation, Kentucky is expected to do things they haven’t done in years, namely getting to the team’s first Final Four in eleven years. Monday night’s scare-fest against Miami (OH) is just one test for Kentucky during their season-long schedule.
Kentucky’s inexperienced shined through that night with the revelation that indeed, the Wildcats are still far from being a true #5 team. Here are some season-long points of interest for the Kentucky Wildcats and the Big Blue Nation:
Patrick Patterson: The junior All-American is an obvious decision to start with. He is the true, no-questions-asked leader of this year’s Kentucky basketball team. It is evident after only playing two games of basketball on the long season, that Patterson is the glue behind the 2009-2010 UK basketball team. With two double-doubles on the season already, Patterson does everything a power forward is supposed to do. His rebounding prowess is something to watch, as Patterson continually puts himself in the best possible position for a rebound looking to pick up the scarps left by his teammates. With that said, most of Kentucky’s opponents are going to play some type of zone. How effective will Patterson be when this happens? After two games, it doesn’t look to be working but teams will look to do everything they can to disrupt Patterson’s flow. Something also still left up in the air is how will Patterson’s role be defined? Patterson has lived under the basket and is determined to stay there this season. His developed shooting touch is nice but Patterson should stick to what he does best and out-hustle opponents down low. An occasional three-pointer is nice, but hoisting it up 3-4 times a game isn’t necessary.
Defense: Kentucky’s defense was stellar in a victory over Morehead State last week. The Cats held the Eagles to 59 points on 25-65 shooting. The Eagles only made 4-24 from three-point range, another indication of the Wildcats playing solid defense throughout. Monday night was a different story. Miami (OH) effectively ran multiple sets of screens and pick and rolls for the entire game. The constant switching done by Kentucky defenders left Redhawks players like Nick Wishburn open for three-point baskets. He made eight on the night.
Defense has always been a focus of Calipari’s dating back to his UMASS days. He days in Memphis are lauded because of the Tigers constant domination on the defensive side. Will that trait become evident for this year’s Kentucky team? There’s no doubt Calipari is going to instill the die-hard, defensive attitude in the 2009 UK team, but the question now becomes how long until it is effective? Through two games, there are two different stories. As the season progresses, players will become more comfortable with each other while on the court. This is one of those instances. Look for Kentucky to be one of the better defensive teams in the nation by the middle of the season.
Eric Bledsoe or John Wall: It is evident that both Wall and Bledsoe will see tons of minutes on the court this season, with many of the them coming together. The freshmen duo are the two primary options at the guard positions and Calipari will use them as much as he can. In Monday night’s game, Wall took the role of veteran as Bledsoe struggled to get his rhythm going against the tough Redhawks defense, mainly point guard Kenny Hayes. Just days before, Bledsoe had been named SEC Freshman of the Week for his 24 point performance against the Eagles of Morehead State. With Wall leading the Cats to a last second victory on Monday, who will lead the duties of getting the offense going? Both need the ball in their hands to be effective and touches do become a concern if they aren’t evenly distributed. The main focus is that although being highly regarded high-school prospects, they are still freshmen and will still look sluggish at times. The two of them playing together, like anything else, will take time to look completely functional. Let’s see if Thursday’s game will clear this up.
Who owns the PAINT: Kentucky boasts one of the largest front-courts in college basketball. All made possible by the commitments from two of the nation’s best low-post prospects, Kentucky will look to own the paint on many nights. This comes down to rebounding, blocks, and owing the paint. The area around the basket is somewhere freshman big-man DeMarcus Cousins will have to make his living. Monday night’s game was a testament to this fact as he posted 10 points and 10 rebounds, all in the second half. Kentucky is at +32 rebounding mark on the season, having out-rebounded opponents by at least 10+ in each of their first two games (21 against Morehead State). The Wildcats ability to dominate the low-post area will make opponents one dimensional, thus making them play from the perimeter for most of the game. Teams like UNC, UConn, and Mississippi State will pose competition for the Cats but others may struggle mightily when it comes to owning the paint.
Composure: The Wildcats are lucky to be where they are at now. Months earlier they were in the midst of another coaching change, the second one in three years. The hype and praise has come early and often for John Calipari’s first Kentucky basketball team. With that said, the hype and praise don’t mean anything until the team backs it up. Sure it’s only two games, but the Cats have to start somewhere. The #5 ranking they have right now doesn’t mean anything until they start to play up to that distinction. After two games it doesn’t look as if the Wildcats are ready to be in this position. A main focus for this year’s team is their overall composure. Miami (OH) led by as many as 18 points at one point in Monday’s game but the Cats clawed their way back into the game. The Wildcats must play with the utmost composure because of the make-up of this team. Much depends on if the 2009 freshmen recruiting class can shoulder the load of taking the Cats to places they haven’t been to in almost a decade. If the overall, team composure is there, then the sky is the limit.
Other Kentucky Wildcats articles:
Andy Katz takes a look at the 2009 Kentucky Wildcats
Jay Bilas speaks his mind on the new look Cats
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