The Big Blue Lowdown

The Kentucky Wildcats at this point in the season are truly a “work in progress.”

The BBL continues to be enamored with the play of Eric Bledsoe and John Wall. Both play completely out of control most of the time and don’t have the slightest clue how to play defense. But what they offer is absurd athletic talent and an ability to completely mesmerize on any given play. In 3 games the frosh guards are putting on a show statistically. Wall is averaging 20 points and 6 assists and Bledsoe 15 points and 5 assists.

Besides being stat sheet stuffers, they each continue to make plays that make UK fans run to their DVR’s to re-watch. Plays filled with highlight reel acrobatic moves and individual displays of athletic freakery.

As great as they can appear, each is also a human turnover machine. Tonight’s game was very similar to the last vs Miami of Ohio. Sam Houston State was a game opponent. Led by 3 senior guards, they put on a 3 point shooting display that rivaled the greatest in the history of Rupp Arena. In fact the individual record of 10 3’s in one game owned by UK’s Tony Delk was actually broken when Sam Houston’s shooting guard Corey Allmond went 11-16 from behind the arc. Amazingly Sam Houston State hit 18 three pointers but never got closer than within 6 points the entire game.

It was also a coming out party for DeMarcus Cousins. Big Cuz was a man among boys tonight scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the first half. He finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds. His hands and ability to finish around the goal are like few players in college basketball. To think he’s still growing into his body is scary for any potential opponent.

UK’s next opponent on Saturday is Rider. This team appears to be an enigma. They beat Miss State on the road by 14 points but then lost to UVA by 33 this week. For UK to have any chance of winning, they’ll have to improve in the following areas:

Halfcourt Defense - UK isn’t guarding anybody right now. They don’t close out on 3 point shooters and there is no help and recovery defense. Calipari has some serious work ahead of him over the next 6 weeks before the conference season starts. UK should be spending half their practices on defensive fundamentals.

Developing a Rotation - Right now Calipari has no idea who to play and when. He’s literally running Wall and Bledsoe into the ground by playing each more than 35 minutes a game. At some point, it would be good to see DeAndre Liggins get some floor time to rest one of Bledsoe and Wall so they can be fresh at crunch time. Daniel Orton also needs more minutes as he is statistically doing everything right in very limited floor time. The BBL sees enormous potential in this young big. Right now apparently Dodson and Liggins are in Calipari’s doghouse. We will need both of them before long. Playing these guys more now will pay dividends next year in the event that UK loses anyone to early departure.

Taking Better Care of the Ball - For the third game in a row, UK had more than 20 turnovers as a team. Wall and Bledsoe had 6 each. For UK to have any chance of competing at a level anywhere near their current ranking, they’ll need to cut them in half. This will mean Wall and Bledsoe playing more under control. They both need to stop trying to do something spectacular each time down the floor.

Free Throw Shooting - Right now UK is shooting 63% as a team from the foul line. This absolutely must improve to around 70-75% as a team for them to go anywhere. The talent is there. They just need practice and concentration. The BBL sees some disappointing losses on the horizon if these 4 areas aren’t addressed.

Watching UK right now is like watching an all world AAU team playing in an And One Summer tournament at Rucker Park. Calipari and his staff have their work cut out to get these kids to play defense and together.