BBL contributor UKHomer43 offers his considerably not optimistic thoughts on the eve of UK’s first 2010 NCAA tournament game.
I have analyzed the Bracket countless times now.
UK got the rawest deal I have ever seen. ETSU will push UK up and down the floor and after winning by 19 they will be exhausted vs Texas.
If UT’s goons come to play and Barnes sticks with Bradley and Brown in the backcourt, Texas will shock the world and beat UK in New Orleans (which will be a Pro-Texas crowd, as well.)
If UK does get by UT, I can’t see a worse matchup than Temple or Wisconsin.
Temple is the #1 defensive team in the nation and takes away perimeter shots. They are a good basketball team and coach Fran Dunphy’s style is deliberate and confounding. They will crush Cornell.
Wiscy is Wiscy and they could confuse and discombobulate UK’s turnover prone guards.
If Kentucky gets through to the Elite 8, they will win as their most likely opponent West Virginia doesn’t have enough size to match up with UK.
Unfortunately and no matter how anybody else spins it, the Cats’ road to the Final Four is paved with really bad matchups and styles to contend with. Not one team will try and run or “out-athlete” UK.
Just my take.
On sale now, the latest SLAM magazine with a celebration of John Calipari’s latest crop of future NBA studs.
See more here:
http://www.slamonline.com/online/the-magazine/toc/2010/03/slam-137-on-sale-now/
Two post-game quotes, courtesy of ESPN’s Chris Low, jumped out at us after the UK-UGA game Wednesday night. The first, from John Calipari, seems to indicate that Kentucky is putting itself in position to sign a few impact players in the late recruiting period (as if we ever doubted this). The second, from John Wall, is just a reminder that Wall is a money player and he knows it…perhaps more than anyone.
From Cal:
“Each situation is different, but I’ll sit down and be honest with every one of them [Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Bledsoe]. In most cases, you know what I’m going to say, because I’ve done it my whole career and then we’ll go back and better sign four or five more guys. Hopefully, they’re as good as the group we just brought in. And then after that, we’ll try to bring in four or five more. It’s a different day and age. You don’t have guys for three and four years.”
From Wall, on criticism of his shooting ability:
“I’ve been hearing that, but I can make shots when it’s time to make shots. I might not make them the whole game, and I might not be the best shooter there is in the country. But I can make shots when it’s time to make shots.”
Yes, this is what you think it is. The John Wall dance now has an official rap song to go with it. It’s not too bad either.
Check out the video here:
Points for creative rhyming of Patterson and Cousins, among others.
As we said earlier in the year, stuff like this just serves as a reminder that Kentucky is back. And not a moment too soon.
