SUPER BOWL 2012

UKFREAK00
WT Member

*What I Saw vs. Marist*

Here we are after the first game of the season, with what I would like to call “Overreaction Saturday!” After a 50 point win, you will read the optimists stating how we are unbeatable, predicting an undefeated season and a National Championship without taking a minute to think about the fact that it was still Marist last night. You will have the pessimists claiming a 9 point lead at halftime shows how far this team has to go, and how we should not be ranked #2 and that a 50 point win is not good enough, because it was Marist. After re-watching the game, here is what I take away from the game last night.


Starting with the positives:


• Playing above the rim. There is so much length and athleticism on the court at any given time that we are able to play a foot above the rim. This leads to a lot of lob passes and easy put backs.

• The fast pace of the offense. This can be attributed to the fact that everyone on the team, outside of Vargas, can handle the basketball. As soon as we come down with a rebound, we are off and running. I love playing at this pace.

• Full court press. I love that we carried the full court pressure over into the regular season. A full court press is a good strategy to keep the pace of the game up.

• The all around unselfishness of this team. A lot of the lobs to Anthony Davis were on made when whoever was throwing the lob could have taken it to the basket themselves, but everyone on the team is willing to make the extra pass. 24 assists on 46 field goals just goes to show how unselfish these guys are.

• Michael Kidd-Gilchrist showed his length on defense. His 7’4 wingspan is going to be a nightmare for opposing guards on the perimeter.

• Free throw shooting was much improved. 12-15 from the line for 80%.

• Jarrod Polson playing minutes before the game was out of reach. No one expects Polson to be a major contributor this year, or during his career for that matter, but if he can come in and play a few meaningful minutes and not hurt the team, it would be a welcomed surprise.

• The slashing ability of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Kidd-Gilchrist seems to be made for the Dribble Drive. His ability to get into the lane from the wing and create is going to create a lot of lob opportunities at the basket, and kick outs for an open jump shot.

• After seeming out of control on a few plays early, and trying to make the highlight reel, Teague settled in, played under control, and ran the offense pretty well in the second half.

• Doron Lamb continues to show improvement in his game. He is becoming more than just a shooter this year. He is cutting to the basket without the ball, driving to the lane with the ball, and creating his own shots.

• We handled the match-up zone from Marist very well. The previous two years, the zone has been a concern of mine. We attacked the gaps of the zone last night, which led to a lot of open looks, which is something we struggled to do in the previous two years.

• 72 points in the paint. Even against the match-up zone we did not settle for a lot of jump shots, which is something we have done the past two years.

• Hustle from Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis gives a lot of effort. On every fast break opportunity, Davis was hustling down the court and trailing the play.

• Kyle Wiltjer continues to play fundamental basketball. Wiltjer is not as athletic the rest of our regular rotation, but his high basketball IQ and flawless fundaments is going to earn him playing time. As someone who was skeptical of Wiltjer’s ability to play significant time this year, I have to admit I was wrong. Wiltjer has been a very nice surprise.

• A balanced offensive attack. Eight players played six or more minutes last night. Davis led the way with 23 points. Followed by Teague with 16. Kidd-Gilchrist and Lamb both added 15. Wiltjer with 14. Jones and Miller each with 8. Followed up by Vargas with 5. Great scoring distribution.

• I saw a completely different team in the second half. Whatever message Calipari delivered in the locker room at halftime, it was clearly received. We played with much more intensity in the second half. The same intensity we showed in the second exhibition game. The intensity we did not show in the first half.

• Not a lot of bad shots taken last night. I can probably count on one hand the number of shots that I thought, “What are you doing!?” That is a good sign for such a young team playing in their first real game.

• 13 blocked shots. There are not a lot of teams in the country that are going to be able to match up with our length.


Even 50 point wins have some negatives:


• Davis still gets bullied down low on the glass. I saw, on numerous occasions, Anthony Davis being pushed under the basket in rebounding situations. Davis needs to be more physical and box out.

• Marquis Teague showed his “shoot first” mentality again in the first half. The point guard in this offense needs to be a distributor and let his points come to him.

• Lack of help defensively. Marist was driving and getting into the lane, and when they did, there were a lot of times when no one would slide over to help.

• Marquis Teague showed his tendency to pick up some cheap fouls and get into foul trouble again. That cannot happen this year. Without a real backup to Teague, we cannot afford to have Teague sitting on the bench in foul trouble. Especially if he is picking up some of those fouls thirty feet from the basket.

• Another disappearing act from Darius Miller. Miller needs to step up and take control of the team. He is the senior, it is supposed to be his responsibility to step up and be the leader of such a young team. Without that leadership, Miller could possibly go from being in the starting lineup to the seventh man in the rotation behind both Kidd-Gilchrist and Kyle Wiltjer.

Taking my blue and white glasses off and trying to look at this game objectively, it was about what I expected in the first half. We came out, looked a little sloppy at times, and our freshmen showed it was their first meaningful game in front of 24,000 screaming fans in Rupp Arena. However, the second half is not what I expected. We came out and looked in midseason form in the second half. I wrote after the first exhibition game that I felt we had longer to go this year than in the previous two years, and I would like to take that back. This team is ahead of the past two teams. We have the athleticism of the 2009-2010 team, combined with the basketball IQ of the 2010-2011 team.

The best team does not always win the National Championship (just ask 2010 Kentucky or 2011 Ohio State), but I like our chances this year. Watching the other top teams play last night, I feel like we are more athletic than everyone else in the country. The only team who has comparable athleticism is North Carolina, but I do believe we match up very well with them. The team I am more concerned with come tournament time is Ohio State. While they are not as athletic, their strength down low can create match-up problems with Kentucky. If we see them in March, I think we will see the opposite of what we saw last year. It will be Ohio State trying to slow down the pace and play a half court game while we are trying to push the pace.

I will be shocked if it is not one of these three teams cutting down the nets in New Orleans. And from what I have seen so far this year, I would have to believe we are the favorite.