Kensucky struggles in win over Div III school
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Its interesting to me to see the hype surrounding other high elite major schools. Kentucky seemingly had no problem beating down on a div 3 school and the journalists are drinking up that cool aide like its going to run dry. This article speaks to their difficulties on offense, but just barely. My question is this, how can such an alleged talented team only score 76 points against a div III school be ranked higher than KU or Louisville or Michigan St? No. Speaking of the latter team, they are loaded with talent and experience. Kentucky is going to have to play years ahead of their current experience level to even stand a chance against the Trojans in the Champions Classic game. There is a very good chance they will receive a pretty good beating and go home with their kitty tails between their legs. On the other side of that match up is KU vs Duke. Imo, both teams are young, both teams are talented. It will be a closer and much more exciting match up. KU will not have a problem with offense this year. They almost dropped a century against instate div II team Pitt state? ( To be honest, I watched the game but I was at a bar with friends and most of what I did see was blurred by beer goggles) But, I digress. The biggest question about KU against Duke to me is, can KU shut Duke down on the perimeter? That is seemingly where Coach K is going to get most of his offense this season, from what Ive read, plus KU’s bigs are bigger than Duke’s this year. Big edge inside to KU, pun intended. Back again to my ranking question, should KU be ranked #5 or 6? Probly not. I kind of like Keegan’s ballot putting KU at #9. I still don’t think Kentucky should be ranked higher because they have many more unknowns. Sure they are the #1 class but that doesn’t translate into games won all the time.
Either way, check out this article and tell us what you think!
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Ha… it’s fun to read the excuses on the blog at the bottom of that article.
I’d like to see Kentucky stay undefeated for a big part of the year. It will lull them into a false sense of security and they’ll start buying in to the idea they are Gods.
I have a feeling reality will strike them in the Champions Classic when the Spartans come in on big horses.
Randle wasn’t happy with his performance. He should do well with the big and talented guards out front, who should have no problem feeding the post, and should keep defenses drawn to the perimeter. We’ll see how that goes. Motion offense doesn’t favor his style of play like the hi/lo, and Self is the master at hi/lo and all the exploits possible when the ball goes into the post.
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It never made sense to me that Kentucky was voted pre-season number 1. Michigan State or Louisville, with their returning talent, were to me way more likely to be the best teams in the nation at the start of the season. Clearly there was consideration given to Kentucky’s potential for challenging for a NC. Yes…we were given some of that same “potential” credit, but we have a better chance of living up to that pre-season ranking at the start of the season than Kentucky does.
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Lulu I agree that a lower rank at this point in the season is reasonable for KU.
We are seeing a big change in college basketball with the advent of one-and-done players. I agree completely that more weight should be given to established teams and players, especially early in the season. It takes playing time for players to get up to full potential and find their footing. Highly talented players may get there faster (and then be more effective) that less talented ones but early in the season experienced teams have the advantage IMHO. The Champions Classic will show this, I hope.
I wonder if KU will be able to avoid most of the freshman problems. Personally, I doubt it. The first game was ragged, at best. Against better opponents there will be some losses, especially if the new players have to actually play defense. One possible saving grace is that many teams have this same problem. Another is that by January our players will have more experience and Coach Self is great at getting his teams to play together.
Julius Randle impressed me in the interview. He didn’t whine or get defensive. He seemed well grounded in reality. He would have made a good (maybe great) Jayhawk.
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Yeah - great excuses lol. It would have been better just to tell the truth in that they lacked motivation… not what I would have expected w/the ‘new’ UK ‘best ever recruiting class’.
I guess they missed UK’s final game last year.
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“I guess they missed UK’s final game last year.”
You guessed right. And there is a reason for that. Calipari has already screwed up big time. His all-star team would get enough of the light without anything extra, but Calipari has tripled the stage lights on this team with his comments… like…“we are reaching for an undefeated record” and “yes, I perform my best when there is more pressure.”
First off… why would he think his group of freshmen would perform better with more pressure?
Compare that to Self… and how he does what he can to defuse pressure.
I definitely wouldn’t mind if we drop a game or two before New Year. Knock us down in the poles, shrink the media spotlight (especially on Wiggins), and help us develop a chip on our shoulders we can use in March.
Calipari’s team is floating around stuck in his delusion of grandeur.
But who knows? Maybe they’ll figure it out and use it to their advantage?
That’s what is so great about college basketball. Every year is an experiment in personalities, team motivation, struggles… I know we better take nothing for granted! Even if Wiggins grows wings, he’s still a human, and he’ll be playing beside 4 other humans.
We have to stay focused on the prize, and stay disciplined away from the media chaos and magazine covers!
