Kentucky throttles Campbellsville (74-38), Patterson looks ineffective

November 3, 11:35 AMKentucky Wildcats ExaminerAndrew Hardison

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(Patterson struggled in the new look offense/AP:Ed Reinke)

The Kentucky Wildcats took the floor of Rupp Arena for the first time under new head coach John Calipari. It was only an exhibition game, but UK fans got to see what their new-look team will be playing like for the ’09-’10 seasons. It was sloppy, exciting, and perplexing all in the same game with some key developments occurring already in the early going of the season. After one game, all UK fans need to realize that while yes, it was just an exhibition game this is the start of the season. After another exhibition game, they begin to count from here on out. Let’s take a look at last night’s action:

-UK’s defense was pretty stellar, even if they were playing against an NAIA team in Campbellsville. Kentucky only allowed 11 points in the first half, as Campbellsville finished with 38 on the night. UK’s defense slipped a little bit in the second half giving up 27 points. That was mainly affected by Campbellsville taking advantage of Kentucky’s apparent defensive let down and a couple of three pointers with about 5-6 minutes left in the game. Calipari has said that he wants his team to be one of the best defensive squads in the nation and this was a good start in his first season.

-One thing that may catch some UK fans off guard is the ineffectiveness of Patrick Patterson in last night’s game. It was a stark contrast to what we have seen in Patterson’s game in years past but it didn’t look like Patterson even knew his role within Calipari’s new dribble-drive offense. It will be imperative for Calipari and the team to define what Patterson’s role is right away. Is he a face-up, jump shooting power forward? Or is he the prototypical low-post, power forward that has his back to the basket? I understand Calipari’s desire to put Patrick in the best position to be drafted in next year’s NBA draft and part of that is becoming more adept at making jump shots from 15-feet and beyond. Let’s be realistic though, how effective did Patterson look while doing all of that last night?
If you saw what I did, then the answer would be not very. It’s early and there is a long way to go, but Patterson does a heck of a job muscling opponents underneath the basket and hopefully UK fans can see more of that as the season goes on. 

-There were a ton of turnovers last night but that should be expected with a lot of new players playing together in their first competition of the season. There were 23 on the night with big men, Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton, DeMarcus Cousins, Josh Harrellson, and Perry Stevenson accounting for 11 of those. That will definitely need to improve because it looked as if UK had carried over the turnover bug from last season, where the team didn’t have enough ball-handlers to be effective. John Wall and Eric Bledsoe will be expected to run the offense and turnovers will be a key issue later in the season with the freshman, along with how they develop at running UK’s offense. 

-Darnell Dodson was one player who surprised many in attendance. He looked a bit more comfortable on the court than some other players namely sophomore Darius Miller. Dodson took advantage of the 30 minutes he played, by scoring 19 points and grabbing 6 rebounds all while shooting 50% from the field. Dodson could very well be the missing piece to this year’s puzzle. He can knock down the occasional three-pointer, but it looks as if his playing days at Miami Dade Community College will pay off quickly. Dodson is ahead of the other freshman because of the fact that he was recruited as a JUCO player, with essentially two college years under his belt already. He didn’t looked intimidated by the stage of Rupp Arena for the first time and looks like he could find his way into the starting lineup permanently .

-One last note comes from the play of freshman point guard Eric Bledsoe. He led the offense effectively and looked to push the ball whenever it was in his hands. He’s extremely quick, but uses it methodically to get past his defenders. One of the most impressive aspects to his game is his upper body strength. There was a few times where Bledsoe would get into the paint and muscle his defenders off him to get the bucket or at least an opportunity at some free throws. Bledsoe looks extremely confident on the floor and the combination of he and John Wall is going to be scary for opponents.