Is it just me, or does it seem like we have officially started the basketball season about 5 times now? We had Big Blue Madness, which kicked things off, but only halfway. Then, we had the first exhibition, but that wasn’t totally it because John Wall wasn’t playing and it didn’t count. John Wall wore a Kentucky uniform for the first time in the second exhibition, but it wasn’t a real game and Bledsoe wasn’t playing. The win over Morehead State was the official beginning of the basketball season, but it was without John Wall.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed it. The opening of this season has been a celebration, and that’s the way it should be. However, I am looking forward to getting into the rhythm of a couple games a week, and I can guarantee that John Calipari is thinking the very same thing.

After Monday’s game against Miami (OH), once John Calipari and his ‘Cats take the floor for the first time with a full complement of players, we will be able to move on from this “first game” mentality.

So, who will the ‘Cats be doing it against? Common knowledge of RedHawk basketball is probably limited to the fact that they play in the MAC and that Wally Szczerbiak played there, but that’s obviously not enough. What else do we need to know about the ‘Cats opponent in the tomorrow’s game that could be win #1990 in the program’s history?

The RedHawks are led by long tenured coach Charlie Coles, who is the winningest coach in Miami history. Also, with two more MAC wins, Coles will become the winningest coach in conference history.

Coles kept his team in contention in the MAC all of last year, going 10-6 in conference and 17-13 overall. The RedHawks were good at home last season, winning 9 of 11 games. However, Miami struggled their way to a 7-10 record.

Miami played quality competition last season, making tough road trips to UCLA, Pitt, West Virginia, Xavier, Temple, Dayton. They even stayed close against UCLA, Xavier, and Dayton, and beating Dionte “Floyd” Christmas’ Temple squad.

However, the RedHawks lost their best player and the 6th leading scorer in school history, Michael Bramos, as well as 3 other graduating seniors who figured in the rotation in a big way. In other words, Charlie Coles has some work to do to turn his team into a MAC contender.

Miami will look to fifth year seniors Kenny Hayes and Adam Fletcher to lead the way. Hayes was granted a medical hardship waiver for that fifth year of eligibility and is Miami’s best perimeter threat and overall player. He played in only 8 games last season due to injury, averaging 13.9 points on over 50% shooting from beyond the arc.

Hayes did not shoot well in Miami’s opening season loss to Towson (which was not a good loss), but he led his squad in scoring (17), assists (6), and minutes (35). I think you will see John Calipari throw both Eric Bledsoe and John Wall at the 6-3 183 pound on the defensive end. An experienced mid-major guard like Hayes will relish the chance to go at a couple hyped freshman, so those matchups will be very interesting.

Center Adam Fletcher was a solid defender and rebounder last season and has made strides on the offensive end. The 6-9 241 pound West Virginia native started all but one game last season, averaging 4.6 points and 4 rebounds. He had a solid 11 point 7 rebound performance in the opener.

Hayes and Fletcher are joined as starters by junior forward Nick Winbush, sophomore guard Kramer Soderberg, and junior guard Rodney Haddix.

Winbush is forward with decent size and good range. He hit 3-5 from deep against Towson and figures to match up with Patrick Patterson. A four man with perimeter skills like Winbush is a matchup that should be beneficial for Patterson in the long run.

Soderberg played his way into the rotation this offseason, moving ahead of junior Antonio Ballard. He’s dangerous from the outside and is exactly the kind of player who seems to play big games against UK.

Haddix is a Georgetown, KY native that played for Scott County a couple years ago when Scott County was among the best teams in the state. Haddix has played in Rupp before, but never in front of the 23,000+ that will watch tomorrow. This will obviously be a big moment for him.

The guys off the bench that UK figures to see the most of are sophomore forward Julian Mavunga and previously mentioned guard/forward Antonio Ballard.

Mavunga will be called upon to play early and often due to UK’s interior depth and his good size (6-8 245). He notched 8 points and 6 rebounds in the opener and will do a little bit of everything.

Ballard started 16 of the 23 games he played in last season, averaging 6.7 points and 5.1 boards. The Jeffersonville, Indiana native has struggled with injury throughout his career, but he plays bigger than his size (6-4 222). He’s an efficient shooter…as long as he doesn’t shoot threes.

I expect Patrick Patterson to have another big game tonight. Miami struggled to deal with Towson power forward Calvin Lee in the opener, giving up 25 points to him. Lee is a solid sophomore for Towson, but with all due respect, he’s not Patrick Patterson.

I don’t think I need to tell you that the main thing I will be watching is John Wall. There has never been a player like John Wall to take the floor for the ‘Cats, so this is going to be fun. More specifically, I will be watching how the ‘Cats two dynamic freshman point guards, Wall and Eric Bledsoe, play off of one another.

We got to see the two play together in the Blue-White game, but let’s be honest, no one played defense in that game. Charlie Coles, on the other hand, is going to do what he can to make life hard for the two.

Finally, word is circulating that DeAndre Liggins could see his first playing time of the season. Steve Moss of WKYT was the first to report this and when Coach Cal was asked about the prospect yesterday, he was a bit cryptic, saying “We’ll see. He’s doing good things.”