UK basketball preview: Know Your Enemy – Austin Peay Governors

GAME 11 – 12/19/2009

4:00 PM – RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY

AUSTIN PEAY GOVERNORS (7-4)

TV – CSS

IN ORLANDO ON BRIGHTHOUSE:

CHANNEL 47

KENTUCKY LEADS SERIES 4-0

LAST MEETING:

12/31/2003: UK 61 AUSTIN PEAY 53

In Austin Peay, the Wildcat will face a team that has averaged more than 20 wins the last three seaasons and have made postseason play the last three seasons: In the NIT, NCAA, and the CIT. In addition to that, the Governors sport, without one of the worst logos in college sports with it’s bastardizd version of the Associate Press logo. I looked to see if I could find something better, but found their secondary logo was just as horrid:

The Governor’s lost some key personnel last season and are a pretty young team, so I doubt there is that much that can stand in the way of UK and win 1999, but let’s meet the Governors.

THE STARTERS

G- WES CHANNELS, SR, 6’3, 220 — 14.1 ppg, 4.3 reb, 3.4 assists

G- CALEB BROWN , JR, 6’0, 170 —4.4 ppg, 2.9 reb, 3.2 assists

G/F – ANTHONY CAMPBELL – SO , 6’6, 185 — 15.3 ppg, 4.9 reb, 1.6 assists

F- MARCELL WILLIAMS – SO, 6’6, 235 — 7.2 ppg, 5.7 reb, 1.4 assists

C – JOHN FRALEY , SO , 6’8 , 220 — 8.9 ppg, 6.9 reb, 0.5 assists

The key to the Governor’s success will be Channels. Channels has the most assists and has the second best percentage at 3-pointers at 48.8%. Interestingly enough, his regular FG % is pretty horrid at 38.2%. Also he does turn over the ball almost with almost as many assists he has. He does have that senior leadership which is worth more than what his numbers on the court amount to. Caleb Brown handles the ball much better and has an A/T ratio of 2.3/1. He is not much of a scoring threat however, as he takes only about four shots a game and is just 2-12 from beyond the arc. Anthony Campbell is the other big component in the AP offense and plays that G/F position. He is the main 3-point threat, averaging just below 50% and he is not afraid to put the ball up. He is hitting close to 50% on all his shots as well and the only knock on him is that he can be a turnover machine. The Governors have some solid backups contributing to the guard position off the bench: Tyrone Caldwell is averaging 6.5 a game, and Justin Blake is third on the team in 3-pointers with 10.

John Fraley is a nice player at 6’8 and unfortunately his lack of size will be a major liability against Kentucky’s big men. He is scrappy and has a nice touch around the basket, but unfortunately is a bit overclassed in this matchup. Williams is the shorter of the big starters but is the more physical player and is a pretty good defender. He is not a big threat offensively however and even though he is a good rebounder, will struggle against Cousins. Duran Roberson, at 6’8, will likely see a lot of minutes against Patterson and Cousins/Orton. He averages 7.5 minutes and 3.3 rebounds in just 2o minutes a game. Aside from these three, there is not a lot of depth and this can be huge problems for the Governors.

An interesting sidenote in this game is Freshman Guard Eric Mosley. If Billy Gillispie was still coach, it appears that Mosley could be a Wildcat as a “preferred walk on” role.

OUTLOOK

I am not trying to be arrogant or abusive to the Governors, but simply put this is a huge mismatch and the Wildcats should dominate early and often. The Governors have done a great job making it to the postseason the last three seasons, but there is too big a talent discrepancy. The main thing to watch with this game may be how much playing time DeAndre Liggins will get. This is a game where Liggins, Hood and the rest of the bench can get plenty of minutes as I think this will be a UK 91 Austin Peay 63 romp.

Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Ke
ntucky fans