UK Basketball: Chairs, Tables and Coach Hall, OH MY!

In the picture you see, stands the future of UK Basketball. At least the immediate future. There is a lot of talent in that picture. A lot of talent. As I write this piece and look at the picture, I fight back the urge to compare this team with last year’s, or any other team of the past that we had here at UK because they are nothing like teams of the past.

As fans we try to associate a new player’s game to that of a previous legend of UK history. He’s the next Tayshaun, or he’s Rajan Rondo with a jumper, and such. That allows the reader to correlate what they hear with what they have seen out of a previous player. We have to stop ourselves from doing that with this team. With or without Enes Kanter, we have never had more youth in so many places with virtually no leadership experience anywhere but the bench, and they do not have a lot of experience themselves.

Make no mistake, I love this team. They are a lot of fun to watch, because they are so dang fast. They may sometimes be too fast. But they hustle and try to make good on their mistakes, a quality that any coach would love to have. The hard part for this team, and we have already seen glimpses of it on Monday night, is that they are going to have to get mean. I am saying really mean. They are going to be bumped and pushed and shoved and knocked around like they have never seen before, and they are going to have to learn to answer.

We worried last year about too much attitude from our team, and the refs taking it out on us, but this year we have the opposite. We are all about finesse. So today, I get a Lexy message from Cal about guys tearing up tables and chairs going for rebounds, and diving into things as Coach Joe B Hall looked on and commented about Cal’s practice looking like a practice from the old days. So which team will we see come Friday night? My money is on a very aggressive group with a point to make. John Calipari did not like what he saw on the court Monday night and he is making a point to get everyone on the same page regarding attitude and effort concerning rebounding and “out muscling and hustling” their opponents. It makes one really pleased to see that even in a 30 point victory, Cal finds a way to put an emphasis on the things that are going to mean the world to this team come time to start counting games.

If Terrance Jones, Eloy Vargas, and Josh Harrellson can get somewhat of a mean streak to go with their tall, lanky frames, they will be a force in the SEC. But they are not alone. Rebounding is going to have to be done by everyone. Scoring is what everyone goes to watch, but defense and rebounding puts you in the NCAA tournament, and ultimately in a position to win it all.

We credit Calipari for his much vaunted DDMO, but defense is his stock in trade. And defense will put these Cats in contention come March. The players in that photo came to play for Calipari because he is the best man to teach them how to play in the NBA. IF they will listen and follow instructions, they can pick up an NCAA Championship ring to wear to the NBA Draft. I can’t wait to watch to see the difference after 3 days of practices designed to get the players to start getting tough. This team learns how to push people around the court, and retains that shooting they have and it will really become something special. Put Brandon Knight to making more plays with his teammates in mind along with that incredible ability he has to put the ball in the basket, and this is going to be so much fun it is not even funny.

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