Some belated thoughts on UK’s close call against Miami

You may be wondering why Carl H recapped the UK game last night (check out the recap by the way, he did a great job). Cardiac arrest was not the reason why I skipped out on it. In fact, I am traveling in the Lone Star State right now and was barely able to even make it to a BW3′s in time to watch it.

By the way, if you want to get some strange looks, I suggest requesting to watch a college basketball game in a bar in Irving, Texas. I don’t even know if they realized that college basketball was played in November.

Anyway, the Kentucky Wildcats revealed to us on Monday night what they began to reveal to us in the Campbellsville game: that UK is just not there yet. John Calipari has been trying to tell us that UK is not going to live up to the hype overnight. The ‘Cats oh so close call against Miami of Ohio was all the proof I needed.

UK struggled all game on offense with Charlie Coles’ packed in defense. They frustrated John Wall and Eric Bledsoe into trying to do way too much when UK couldn’t get a thing going, combining for 9 of UK’s 15 turnovers. Defensively, UK lacked intensity as Miami raced out to a 36-18 lead early.

There are going to be times all season during which UK struggles offensively against teams with effective zone or sagging man defenses. That’s the way to defend the dribble drive most effectively, especially when UK doesn’t have it down pat early this season.

However, the way UK is going to survive during those games is with the kind of defensive intensity they lacked early. I really believe that John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Darius Miller, Patrick Patterson, and Daniel Orton have the potential to be excellent defenders, and guys like DeMarcus Cousins and Darnell Dodson can be very good.

There are things to be discouraged about following the Miami escape, namely sketchy offense, poor decision making/shot selection, and Wall and Bledsoe not looking great on the floor together, but after 24 hours, I’ve decided that one big positive outweighs all of them: the way the ‘Cats competed and responded in the face of the first sign of adversity this season.

Down 18 at home with 7 minutes left in the first half, Patrick Patterson and UK flat out decided that they were not going to lose that game. They found another gear on defense, showing the kind of intensity that could make them a great team. They extended their pressure in the half court, and they all showed me something with the way they stepped up…especially John Wall. As phenomenal as Wall is with the ball in his hands, he can really be as much of a terror playing on the ball defense, which is scary.

When UK did pick up the intensity, it took them a while still to find their way offensively. At first, they were a bit out of control, trying to do way too much. Darnell Dodson got things started with a few big threes, but eventually, the post guys started getting it done and the guards settled in.

As UK faced pressure for the first time as a team and prospect of a bad early season loss was very much real, every single one of UK’s top 7 responded. John Wall, in spite of not playing his best game, found ways to score, getting to the line 14 times, and played great defense. Oh yeah, and he’s clutch.

Eric Bledsoe had an atrocious offensive game, but was good on defense. Darius Miller showed poise and confidence in scoring some big, big baskets in clutch situations. Darnell Dodson hit some big shots in his 18 minutes. Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins put up double-doubles and provided excellent post play on both ends. Daniel Orton did his fundamental thing despite taking a nasty head shot.

Like I said, the ‘Cats showed that they have a long way to go, but I believe they also showed that they have it in them to do it.

There are also a few other pieces of news floating around tonights, so let’s go through them quickly:

-First of all, John Wall has returned to North Carolina to be with his family after the passing of an uncle. Thoughts and prayers go to Wall and his family. There is no indication at this point whether he will be available on Thursday.

-On the recruiting front, Tobias Harris is slated to announce his college decision on Thursday on ESPNU. Tobias previously said that he will sign during the fall period, but there is some thought he may commit now, then sign in the spring.

Syracuse, Tennessee, Louisville, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and Kentucky are on his list, but Tennessee got a surprise visit from Tobias Tuesday night. Harris has said that he has not yet committed, but Bruce Pearl has to be feeling good with a visit so late in the game.

Harris is my personal favorite player in this class, so I’m disappointed to say that it’s not looking good for UK.

-The only other potential fall commit that we know of right now is Doron Lamb. Lamb recently surprised us by saying he would commit this fall, but hold off on signing until spring. We will keep you updated.

-Finally, we haven’t heard anything further about DeAndre Liggins. DeAndre warmed up with the team on Monday night, but did not see the floor. I think it’s a matter of time before he gets a chance, because he could be an x-factor for this team. Unfortunately, word is circulating that another player may be facing a suspension for a violation of team rules. We know little beyond that, but again, we’ll keep you updated.