Post UK-Vandy Thoughts

Things got a little nerve wracking at the end, but today Kentucky got just the win they needed in beating the Vanderbilt Commodores in both team’s SEC opener 70-60.  UK built a 20 point lead with an excellent stretch of play at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half, but Vandy wouldn’t quit, cutting the lead down to 6 with about a minute and half left, before the Cats settled down and extended the margin back to 10.

Over the past few years, wins against Vandy have been hard to come by, so you have to be happy with a double digit victory over the ‘Dores before UK’s trip to Knoxville to take on UT (who had to come back to beat Jaw-ja at home today). 

There was no Shan Foster or Derrick Byars to silence the Rupp crowd today (which was a loud and large, a season high 24,259), but Vandy’s replacement, Jeffery Taylor, filled their shoes very well.  He’s not the shooter than Shan Foster is, but I have never seen that explosive of an athlete in a Vandy uniform, and Taylor is going to be a kid UK will have to contend with for the coming years, because Vandy is going to be a solid team as their young players gain experience this year. 

Vandy was also playing without AJ Ogilvy today, who dressed but did not play due to a bone bruise in his foot.  Even though Ogilvy is not a great defensive player, I still expected that Vandy would not have the interior bodies to contain Patrick Patterson with the big Aussie out.  It was quite the opposite, as Festus Ezeli and company managed to get Patterson in foul trouble, and while he was in, he found it very difficult to get in the flow of the game. 

Due to efficient shooting (5-8), Patterson managed to eke his way into double figure scoring for the 13^th consecutive game (by the way, Jodie reached double figures for the 16th time in 16 games), but he was constantly frustrated by double teams and the size of Ezeli.  Additionally, he was limited to one rebound all day. 

The other half of UK’s prolific duo, Jodie Meeks, scored 21 points (he always seems to get to 20 somehow) and grabbed 7 rebounds, but he did not shoot all that well (5-16 and 3-9 from three).  For the first time in a good while, the story of the game was not Jodie or Patrick.  Instead, it was defense and the play of guys not named Meeks or Patterson that was really behind UK’s performance today. 

Jodie had to fight for his points

At about the 14 minute mark, with UK up 42-35, I commented that Kentucky needed to “step on Vandy’s throat”, and that was precisely what they did.  What drove Kentucky’s run at that point was not Jodie’s shooting, Patterson’s offense, or anything like that.  What drove Kentucky’s run was the defense of DeAndre Liggins, and that is one of the more encouraging things I have written in a while: “When DeAndre (Liggins) started to get after them in the backcourt it was a nice play for us to extend our lead,” said Coach Gillispie.  Liggins pressured Vandy freshman Brad Tinsley into 3 quick turnovers, including 2 steals by Liggins, and Kentucky converted all of those into points, including one 2 on 1 fast break where Liggins made a beautiful behind the back pass to Perry Stevenson for a dunk.

DeAndre Liggins was absolutely brimming with confidence during this stretch of play, and hopefully it turns out to be one of the “light bulb” moments when DeAndre realized that he can do just as much for this team with intense defense.  The best part was that he seemed to really relish the defense he was playing, and I think that’s exactly what Coach Gillispie has been trying to get him to understand since he arrived on campus.

Another very encouraging performance today was that of Ramon Harris.  “This is the best I have felt since the injury,” Harris said, and he certainly showed it.  He made all 5 shots he attempted, including 2 from three point range, scored 12 points, tied Jodie for the team lead in rebounds with 7, and dished out 3 assists. 

Also, when Ramon switched onto Jeff Taylor, and Jodie moved to guard Jermaine “Dolla” Beal, Kentucky really turned the defense on.  Vandy scored 20 points in the first 9:48 of the game, including 7 points by Taylor.  Jodie is really not any good at defending guys off the ball on screens, and Taylor was abusing him. 

Once the switch was made, Vandy scored only 17 points over the next 22 minutes.  Vandy shot only 31.6% on the game, and 7-25 from beyond the arc.  Vandy was also limited to 9 assists while committing 15 turnovers.  The hallmark of Gillispie’s best teams are going to be defense and rebounding, and I think that UK really played with the kind of defensive intensity for an extended period that he demands.

Again with the long tie, Billy G

Before the grades, a quick update on the continuing story of Darius Miller.  Miller played today with as much confidence as he has since early in the season, he just could not buy a bucket.  He hit his only two foul shots, but how many times did he take good shots that just barely rimmed out?  It’s just one of those stretches for Darius, and I really think he’s about to break the seal.  It could be the smallest thing that finally does break it, and I think it’s coming soon.   He did everything today in his 14 minutes except hit the shot.  When he was on the floor for Harris, he played solid defense on Taylor; he hit the boards hard; and for the most part, he made sound decisions.  Keep on truckin’, Darius, it’s about to pay off for you.

Turnovers/Point guard play: A-

Outside of the run by Vandy to cut the lead to six, UK took very good care of the basketball.  They turned it over only 12 times all game, and had more assists (13) than giveaways.  Porter and Liggins handled the offense effectively, and played good defense, so I am happy with how these guys did today.

Rebounding: B-

Patterson was a non factor on the boards, as were Stevenson, Stewart, and Harrellson (they only had 6 rebounds between them), but UK’s athletic back court and wing players (Meeks, Harris, Miller, and Liggins) really picked up the slack, grabbing 25 rebounds between them.  If the back court can have this kind of effort with the front court on their game, the Cats are going to punish some teams.  Vandy outrebounded UK 35-34, but this number was thrown off slightly by a couple late possessions where Vandy had a bunch of offensive rebounds.    

Getting the ball to Patterson: B-

As I said, Patterson was largely a non factor, but I think most of that can be attributed to Vandy’s defense, Patterson’s lack of adjustment to the defense, and his foul trouble, not that he was neglected by his teammates.  I think that game was an aberration, and you can look for Patterson to do some serious work come Tuesday in the Volunteer state.

Secondary scoring: A-

Perry Stevenson scored UK’s first 6 points, and finished with 10 on the game to go along with Ramon’s 12.  Also, Michael Porter scored 8 points, including four clutch free throws to ice the game after Vandy stormed back.  This was one of those games we have been wondering about, asking “what’s going to happen if Patterson gets in foul trouble or has an off night?  How are they going to respond?”  I think they passed the test this afternoon, and the way other guys stepped up was a big reason why.