by Paul Jordan
Not a lot going on in the BBN tonight and tomorrow’s game against Auburn is not one that is going to get Wildcat fans ultra excited. UK has beaten Auburn 10 times in a row and 24 out of 25 times, but the last few games in Auburn have been pretty close. personally, I’d like to see UK jump out big, put a big claw on the Tigers neck, and not let them up at all during the game. UK definitely needs to hone it’s killer instinct. Never the less, I do have some quotes from Calipari as his team goes for that 18-0 start.
(on Auburn) “I watched the first half of (Auburn’s game against) Tennessee. I saw them beat Virginia. Every time I see a tape I get scared, because whatever you see in that team, you have to take it up two notches. They are a team that is going to shoot 30-35 three’s. If they make 20, it’s been a nice start to our season. They are going to shoot them and it’s not like we are going to stop them from shooting them. We saw Florida make some ridiculous shots and get back in the game. For the game they shot 29.6%, but they hit three or four in a row to get them back in the game. They may double team, they may make us shoot three’s or they may play zone. They played a lot of man against Tennessee, but they may come at us like everybody else and play 40 minutes of zone“
(on losing leads) “I showed them tape of three games where we let people back in the game. I showed clip by clip, and then I went to where we made runs. There is a market difference in their defensive intensity, shot selection, aggressiveness in attacking defense. They see the difference and they need to carry it over. They are a young team.”
(on Darius Miller) “He has to play, not defer. He slows down in the game, has the opportunity to dunk balls and he doesn’t. He dunked it last game and we were doing back flips on the bench. He is doing some good stuff.”
(on Darnell Dodson) “It’s more about are you willing to guard people, get rough, go get rebounds and play a tough game. If you do that, you don’t worry about that other stuff. It’s all a toughness you must play with, and if you don’t, you aren’t going to play here. He is doing it. Last game he played tougher, he came up with balls. He got a little lazy on some passes and stuff. But, he is playing. Every day, I either make him guard John Wall or Eric (Bledsoe). I tell him if he can guard those two, he can guard anybody we play.”
Also today, there was an interesting bit of recruiting speculation from Gary Parrish today as he was asked about Josh Selby/Brandon Knight. He says that one will go to UK, and one will go to Kansas. I think that is the general consensus right now. Parrish says UK gets Brandon Knight, and Kansas Josh Selby. I am OK with either player, but if Knight does go to Kentucky, I can’t see Selby at Kansas because I figured Selby for a Nike school.
And finally, I give him plenty of grief for being a Gator homer, but I had to share Mike Bianchi’s (Orlando Sentinel) twitter with you:
“As I was noticing talent discrepancy between Florida and Kentucky last night, my first thought was when did Gators turn into a mid-major?”
Got to love when the Cat’s make the Gator columnists eat crow. OK kids, I am out for the night. It’s the first night in Orlando in forever that it is not freezing, so going to make the most of our 65 degree night. Corey will be by later tonight/early morning with his “Inside the Numbers” column for UK and Auburn. Here’s a link if you are looking for my preview of the UK/Auburn game. Take Care.
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