The Pinkie Previews: Morehead State Eagles at Kentucky Wildcats

The John Calipari era at the University of Kentucky officially begins on Friday Night at Rupp Arena against the Morehead State Eagles. This is the moment that Big Blue Nation has been waiting for since Calipari was hired on April 1st.

We are finally here. But, the defending OVC Tournament Champions are here, as well, and they return four starters from a year ago. Simply put, these Eagles are no joke and if you sleep on them, you will get beat.

MSU is a confident bunch who played under the lights and microscope of the NCAA tournament a year ago. They will not be fazed by the Rupp Arena crowd. In fact, expect them to thrive off of the excitement a little bit.

Donnie Tyndall, a Morehead alum, is entering his fourth year as head coach and has compiled a 46-48 record, including last year’s trip to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Alabama State and lost to Louisville. His recipe for success is quite simple, everything starts with defense and rebounding.

On defense, Tyndall likes to play man-to-man but unlike some coaches that I know of, I am not mentioning any names, he is willing to come out of it if the situation deems necessary. If they struggle in man, look for them to implement some match-up zones in an attempt to limit Kentucky’s penetration.

The defensive and rebounding charge is led by junior Kenneth Faried (6-8, 225). Faried, the 2009-10 OVC Preseason Player of the Year, is an absolute jumping bean on the court. That is the best way that I can describe his game.

He is coming off of a season where he averaged 13.9 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and the coaching staff is raving about how much he has improved. The area in which he has improved the most is his jump shot around the goal. If he can consistently knock down short jumpers, this kid can be scary.

He is big and strong, he jumps out of the gym, and he one of the best rebounders that I have seen. When the ball comes off of the glass, he is under the impression that it undoubtedly belongs to him.

I have seen him play on multiple occasions and I promise you that Kenneth Faried is the real deal. He is a big-time player that just so happens to compete in the OVC.

Patrick Patterson will be spending a lot of his time on the perimeter in the DDM offense, but when the two are matched up down low it will be fun to watch.

Maze Stallworth, a junior forward, is their best threat from deep. He suffered a concussion in their exhibition game against Cedarville, but is expected to play on Friday. Last year he shot 38-percent from deep and 73-percent of his attempts were beyond the arc.

He is an extremely streaky shooter, who at times keeps them in games by himself but also has the tendency to do the exact opposite and shoot them out of games.

When he is hitting, he really opens things up for Faried underneath.

Senior Brandon Shingles and junior Delmonte Harper will get the start at the guard spots. Shingles is a pass first guard and is not a threat from deep at all. He has the ability to get into the lane and create for his bigs underneath.

Harper does a little bit of everything for the Eagles, including turn the ball over. Last season, he led the team in turnovers with nearly four-per-game. However, he also gives them an ability to score from the wing, either by penetrating or from shooting the deep ball, and he is also willing to find the open man.

Look for 2009-10 version of the Morehead State basketball team to be deeper than last year. During their tournament run, they often played only six guys. With the addition of Ty Proffitt and the emergence of some younger guys like Steve Peterson and Terrance Hill, Tyndall will have the luxury of reaching a little deeper on his bench.

Coach Calipari continue to express that the priority of these early season games is learning. Both his players learning how to play and him learning about his team.

He will be forced to do the learning on Friday without John Wall, but expect both Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton to play.

“Our first two games we could be 0-2 and me feeling wonderful that I’ve learned enough to know what I’ve got to do, said Calipari. They’ve exploited our weaknesses and we move on and we get ready. It’s not football. This isn’t football. You lose your first two and you’re out of the race for the national title. That’s not what this is.”

He then spoke about the advantages of playing a team like Morehead State early.

“No question we’re going to learn about our team because (MSU) is an NCAA tournament team and that’s what you want, he said. The only way you can learn is against teams you risk losing games to. It’s the only way.”

The learning and a new era begins on Friday night.