The BBL has seen enough of Darius Miller’s continual disappearing act to last us a lifetime. This guy is impossible to figure out. Just two weeks ago he scored a career high 18 points versus Arkansas. Since then in three games he’s been completely MIA. Against LSU Saturday he played 17 minutes and didn’t score a single point, taking only one shot. He took one shot?

Untapped Potential
Folks, this kid is 6-7 and might have the best basketball body on UK’s team. He jumps out of the gym, has long arms, can block shots and has a very accurate jumper from three point range. He can even handle the ball well enough for Coach Calipari to play him as a point-forward at times. All of these attributes should allow him to be an All-SEC first team type player. Instead, we see a kid who only shows up about once every four games.

It’s really sad to watch because he literally shies away from “stepping up,” especially in big games. At this point in the season it’s clear that Coach Cal defers to both DeAndre Liggins and Darnell Dodson before Darius. In fact, Miller has lost his starting position to Dodson and, due to the way Liggins is playing, it’s unlikely he’ll start again this season.

A Psychological Makeover
What can he do to become the player we all know he can be? We think it starts in his own head. He needs to be convinced by the coaching staff that his offensive production matters. Miller also needs to develop a fiery demeanor where he doesn’t back down or play soft against anyone. Can a player at his age and stage of development find a killer instinct this late in his college career? It’s hard to say. But what is certain is that he will never develop to the level of his talent if he doesn’t start changing soon.

We believe Darius is an NBA level physical talent but only with continued skill development and if he can find a killer instinct. The ongoing development of the three position is one of the keys to UK winning the National Championship (see our piece that ran yesterday.) For now, Miller is a vital cog in that triumvirate of players. We hope he can put it all together soon.

The BBL knows that UK’s hopes of winning the National Championship are dependent upon consistent production from the three position.

DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, John Wall and Eric Bledsoe are a constant to combine for 55 to 60 points per game.

For Kentucky to continue to improve and have a legitimate shot at a natty title, it’s imperative that they get another 15 to 18 points every night from the “3-D” triumvirate of Darnell Dodson, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins.

Darnell
Right now Dodson and Liggins are playing good basketball. Both are shooting as well from beyond the arc as anyone on UK’s team. Dodson is probably the best three-point shooter of the bunch, but he is also the streakiest. He has the potential to shoot UK in or out of a game. But as we’ve mentioned before, he offers the ability of a stone cold offensive assassin. Without a conscience, he will launch as soon as he has just an inch of daylight—and that’s all he needs with his quick, high release. We’d like to see Coach Cal start running at least four plays a game where he comes off a high ball screen and gets a look from behind the three-point line. He’s good enough to shoot 45% or better with open looks.

DeAndre
Liggins, due to his newly acquired role of “defensive stopper,” isn’t as likely to pull the trigger from behind the arc, and he definitely doesn’t seek to create offense for himself. He is however a very good shooter once his feet are set and he’s in the confines of the flow of the offense. We think UK should run a couple of plays for him so he too can get two or three wide open looks from behind the arc. Due to his length, incredible quickness, hands and leaping ability, Liggins is becoming an excellent weak-side rebounder (evidenced by his nine boards against LSU). He should consistently be able to get a few garbage put backs from long rebounds and hustle.

Darius
Miller is the X-Factor here. He can shoot the ball well from behind the arc but only when in rhythm or after he makes his first shot. He’s one of those players that, if he misses his first shot from behind the arc, lets it affect his game so that he’ll miss every shot he takes from then on out. Because of this, we’d like to see Coach Cal run some plays to get him early opportunities close to the rim and off the weak-side post. He has a variety of moves when posting up, especially on the kinds of smaller guards who, due to UK’s great size, opposing teams are forced to match up with him. It would be nice to see Darius start from the inside and them move out (more on this in a future BBL story).

In summary, we’d like to see the 3-D Men have scoring averages like this:

Dodson–8 pts
Liggins—6 pts
Miller—5 pts

Make no mistake about it. UK will only go as far in the tournament as their three position carries them. They will be zoned versus nearly every team they face in March, particularly in situations where opponents only have a couple of days to prepare.

All three need to combine to shoot 40% or higher from three point line. With UK’s other offensive weapons garnering so much attention, getting open looks shouldn’t be a problem, provided they come from within the flow of the offense and with good ball movement and rotation.

The BBL is incredibly excited about the transformation on display from DeAndre Liggins.

Liggins came to UK as a consensus top 25 high school recruit but was thoroughly handcuffed and stymied during his freshman year by former coach Billy Gillispie. In Gillispie’s grind it out, yeoman style, Liggins’ tendency to try to force the spectacular play did not do him any favors. By the second half of the SEC season last year, D-Liggins was all but an afterthought in Kentucky’s rotation.

At the start of this season, Liggins faced the prospect of sitting the entire semester as punishment for off-court issues, possibly academic in nature. No one other than Coach Cal and DeAndre himself know what the real story was behind his unofficial suspension. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Since becoming “eligible” Liggins’ emergence as the team’s sixth man has been nothing short of remarkable.

His play off the bench has been marked by high energy and outstanding hustle. He’s also become an absolute defensive stopper. Every time out, he offers a flurry of deflections and batted balls, and he has shown a knack for the blue collar play, diving on the floor and fighting for every loose ball. With his non-stop ballhawking, Liggins seems to be everywhere at once and his defensive intensity is currently best on the team.

We’ve always known him to be an excellent passer with amazing court vision. That part of his game was already on display last year. But now he has improved his jump shot to the point where he can consistently make the open three. In fact, his form is good, and if his feet are set he is deadly from behind the arc. With his long, athletic 6-6 frame, he’s also a solid rebounder who can mix it up in the paint. All in all, Liggins is on the verge of becoming a bigtime weapon.

It’s clear to the BBL that Calipari has been instrumental in his improvement. He is focused and playing much more from within the team concept. Everyone knows how good Cal is at assembling the pieces to a great team. But he deserves a ton of credit for his personnel management and ability to get kids to buy in. Liggins is a case study of this fact.

Right now he’s a little tentative as a ballhandler and creator, but that is understandable given the talent and skill level of the players around him. Still , we look for great things from DeAndre in the future and wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him become UK’s featured player by his senior season.

Though the BBL was high on Eric Bledsoe from the moment we saw tape of his scholastic days, it appears that the secret is now out among NBA GMs. As of right now, UK faces the very real possibility of losing Bledsoe to the NBA draft after only one season.

In fact there is a large contingent of pundits and analysts who are listing him as the second best point guard on the board behind only his backcourt mate Mr. Wall. Chad Ford of NBA Draft Insider recently said that Bledsoe would already be considered a lottery pick if it wasn’t for Wall.

To think that UK could have two top five picks in the same draft in its backcourt is hard to imagine. And both are freshman.

As we see it, here are Bledsoe’s primary strengths:

• Upper body and freakish athleticism
He is a man among boys next to most college frosh. He overpowers guys on his penetration and can finish and draw a foul. Also possesses the ability to leap with anyone and block shots despite a 6-0 frame.

• Speed with the ball
If there is a player in college basketball faster end to end with the ball in his hands it could only be John Wall. He is a human blur and is a one man press breaker.

• Ability to spot up and shoot from deep
Bledsoe shows excellent technique in his ability to set his feet, square and connect from deep. He is shooting 47% from three point land and has become the Wildcats’ most consistent three-point shooter.

• Low center of gravity and ball handling ability
He handles the ball like Isaiah Thomas when he is guarded one on one. He can break anyone down off the dribble, get to the rack and drop an assist or finish himself.

Bledsoe’s main weaknesses:

• Controlling tempo
He is a frosh and can play at warp speed on every play, leading to turnovers and out of control body movements.

• An overly aggressive nature
Bledsoe clearly plays with a chip on his shoulder. He will need to tone it down a bit and learn to harness his emotions before starring at the next level.

At this point it’s hard to predict what EB will do once his freshman season ends. If he continues to improve all the way through March, we know the lure of a big money NBA contract will be hard to resist.

Bledsoe himself has stated that he wants to return to school next year, unless he is projected as a top 10 pick. The question is, are there nine guys who will go in front of him?

We’ve said it before but, as UK fans, we should sit back and enjoy the show. John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, as we boldly predicted three months ago, might end up being the best UK backcourt of all time.