Post UK-CMU Thoughts

Everything pretty much went according to script to get that 11^th win in an 84-52 win over the Chippewas of Central Michigan, other than a slight hiccup to start things that translated to an early 15-6 lead for CMU.  The Cats got contributions from a variety of players, dealt well with the pressure and diverse defenses shown by Ernie Zeigler’s team, and Billy Gillispie wore his signature ridiculously long tie (I just cannot understand this look, why does anybody wear their tie that long?).

The start of the game was a bit strange.  DeAndre Liggins got his first career start, and promptly threw a nice entry pass to Patrick Patterson for an easy bucket.  Jodie Meeks then took a terrible, contested three early in the shot clock, and got yanked along with Liggins, who did not get back on defense, for Landon Slone and Darius Miller.  The offense sputtered with Meeks out, leading to that early deficit.

A quick thought: Liggins getting the start is very encouraging to me because of what starting means to Billy Gillispie.  Starting for Coach Gillispie means that you are doing what is asked of you on the practice floor, and that you deserve it.

Maybe I’m stretching a little to call any shots “the biggest shots” in a 32 point win, but Landon Slone’s three and then his mid range jumper when UK was down 15-6 was the impetus for the 36-8 run over the final 13 minutes of the first half.  After that point, UK ratcheted up the defense quite a bit, and CMU was hard pressed to get a good look at the basket until the outcome was long since determined.  I don’t think I can understate the importance of a Landon Slone or a Michael Porter stepping up as a threat from outside in any given game.  Players like Jodie and Patrick take advantage of the smallest amount of space allowed to them, and another shooter on the floor gives them just that. 

Even the most vocal Porter haters have to be happy for the kid after a performance like that one.  Porter pushed the ball in transition, hit outside shots, made nice passes, and pressured the ball very effectively.  Did you ever think Porter would start a fast break with a steal and finish it with a left handed layup and an and one?  He reached double figures in points for the first time in his career, and played with a confidence I have not seen in him his entire time at UK.  Porter is not the most athletically gifted player on the roster, but his crippling lack of confidence did not allow him to show the athleticism he does have (you’ve got to able to move pretty well if Pete Carroll offers you a scholarship).

Porter and Slone’s shooting predictably had a positive impact on the rest of the team, and allowed Jodie to get loose and score 23 points after being held scoreless for the first 12 and half minutes.  Jodie really is amazing.  He is as fearless a shooter as I have ever watched.  His confidence remains unshaken no matter how many bad shots he has taken or how many shots he has missed.  I know I repeat myself a lot (I only do it because I want every UK fan to continue to enjoy what we have), but it really is such a pleasure to watch Meeks and Patterson operate.  I would qualify this game as a “quiet” night for the two of them, but look at the box score and you will see 38 points between them and another near double-double for Patterson (1 rebound shy).

The reason Patterson and Meeks seemed so quiet was because four guys who aren’t nearly as consistent as these two stepped up and contributed in big ways.  We’ve already talked about Porter and Slone, but DeAndre Liggins and Josh Harrellson also played solid games.  I recognized that DeAndre was distributing well tonight, but I admit that I was somewhat surprised to see that he had registered 8 assists.  He was a bit audacious in transition on a couple occasions, but his speed on the ball and the way he uses it to force the defense into fouls and mistakes is amazing.  Josh Harrellson joined Meeks, Patterson, and Porter in double figures with 12 points on 5-7 shooting to go along with 6 boards.  Harrellson is so important to this team because he is the third most confident scorer on the team, and his presence has to be accounted for by the defense. 

One concerning development to watch: Ramon Harris was out of uniform tonight nursing the back spasms that have plagued him the last week or so.  He’s on his way back from a tough, scary injury, so some bumps in the road are to be expected.  Let’s hope he recovers quickly, because we’ll need what he brings to the team going forward.

Overall you have to be pleased with UK’s focus and play after the start today.  They played solid defense got some pleasantly surprising contributions from guys not named Meeks or Patterson.  I look for this win to springboard the team into a solid week of intense practices, leading up to a game that I imagine Coach Gillispie is going to want to win really, really badly: it’s gonna be fun!

If I had offered you 11-3 as the Cats record entering the UofL game, you would have taken it, right?  Granted the VMI loss still stings, but 11-3 really is pretty good.  If the Cats beat UofL on Sunday, they will jump into the top 25 conversation and have a solid start to an NCAA resume.  If they lose, I don’t see it as anything more than an opportunity lost.

Now for the grades, and stay tuned for a brand new category:

Turnovers/point guard play: B

Porter and Liggins did have 9 turnovers of the team’s 13 between them, but most of these turnovers were not the kind we saw early in the season out of these two, rather aggressive turnovers that put pressure on the defense.  Also, the play of these two in other areas and the way they ran the offense outweighs the turnovers in my opinion.  They will both have to be better to give the Cats a really good shot at UofL, but they did play pretty well.

Rebounding: C+

Just an average outing by the Cats in this area.  They outrebounded an undersized team that had been outrebounded in 7 of its previous 8 games by only 3, and CMU had 13 offensive rebounds to UK’s 8.  There were a lot of CMU misses to go around (40 on 58 attempts to be exact), but you’d like to see better from the Cats.

Getting the ball to Patterson: B

Yeah, Patterson only took 7 shots, but he was a priority early, and I give CMU credit for doing a good job on him when he did not have the ball.  The Cats have improved a lot in this area, and while there will be games that they struggle in it, I may soon be willing to stop grading them in this category.

Secondary scoring: A-

This UK team is growing and changing, and so must the categories on which the Cats are judged.  I think as tape builds on this club, you will see teams come up with new ways to attack Patterson and Meeks, and at some point they have to have an off night or two (at least you would think so), so guys outside of the two of them stepping up is going to be a key to the development of this team and the heights they reach.  Today was a good start to the category thanks to Jorts, Porter, and Slone.  They provided the kind of inside and outside scoring that will take this team to new levels.