Can Josh Harrellson, Eloy Vargas have a "Brian Zoubek" efffect on the Wildcats?

With the news that DeAndre Daniels will probably not play basketball in January even if he enrolls at a school early and the continuing lack of optimism of Enes Kanter walking through that door, a lot of pressure is being put on Josh Harrellson to step it up and be that presence in the post.  And it is asking a lot to ask a player who has had roughly two years of rust on the bench to step it up and be a key cog on a nationally ranked team.  But bit by bit, Josh Harrellson is stepping it up and showing signs that he can be “the guy”.

Keep in mind that it is still mid December and there are lots of time for Harrellson to assert himself and bring his his game to the level expected.  At least Harrellson is starting now and getting that game experience and learning on the job.  It took until February 13 of last season for Duke’s Brian Zoubek to finally get his number called and start making an impact for the Duke Blue Devils.  And as Duke made their NCAA run, the play of Zoubek was credited as the missing piece to the title puzzle.

It’s not like Zoubek came in and threw up Enes Kanter type numbers when he was inserted at center.  He had big games of course, like the 16 point 17 rebound game he had against Maryland in his first start.  But for the season, Zoubek averaged 5.6 points and 7.7 rebounds on the season. Duke’s PF last season, Lance Thomas averaged 4.8 points and 4.9 rebounds a game last season.  Now these numbers proved that you do not have to have a dominating frontcourt to win the NCAA.

What Duke had of course, was a very solid “big three” of John Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler who more than made up for the lack of numbers by the post position players.  And Duke had one big thing that Kentucky did not have:  frontcourt depth in the form of Ryan Kelly and the Plumlee brothers.  While Kelly and the Plumlee’s were not worldbeaters, they did offer 15 additional fouls as they roughed up the other team and about another 12 points and 10 boards off the bench.

Terrence Jones is more than doing his job in Kentucky’s frontcourt.  Terrence Jones is averaging 18.9 points and 10.2 points a game.  His numbers are better than what Duke’s Kyle Singler brought to the three last year as Singler averaged 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds.  Jones numbers give Kentucky a dominating presence but he certainly needs help.  Darius Miller is averaging 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds from the three spot this season.  Miller has done a good job in boosting his numbers but if he can become a 12 point, 8 board a night player, this can help Kentucky’s case considerably.

About the only frontcourt depth Kentucky has is former five star recruit Eloy Vargas, but he has appeared lost and been badly beaten physically for most of the season.   For the season, Vargas is averaging just 2.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.  This has been frustrating for Kentucky fans as Vargas seemingly has the pedigree and the size to throw his body around and make an impact this season, but so far, he has struggled against smaller players.  It’s obvious that someone has to light a fire under Vargas and get him to play up to his potential.  If he can even turn into a 6 point, 6 rebound a night player, he can make a big difference for Kentucky.

And what about Harrellson?  Now Zoubek’s number last season are eerily similar to what Kentucky’s Josh Harrellson is doing this year.  So far, Harrellson is averaging 5.4 points and 9.0 rebounds a game.  But Harrellson is not as physical as Zoubek and Harrellson has to control the stupid fouls.  Harrellson certainly has the potential to have big games, but just needs to be more consistent and cut out the fouls.  Even boosting his numbers to 8 and 12 can take the pressure off of Jones.

I know that we are just nine games into the season, but that is not a time to panic about the front court yet.  All of this could be a moot point if somehow the NCAA gods smile on Enes Kanter, but until then, Kentucky has to light a fire under Harrellson and Vargas to get more production.  Duke proved last year that you don’t need a monster frontcourt to win, but a cohesive, well tuned unit that knows their roles and produces on the court.

I am actually in the camp that Kentucky can make a deep tournament run with the talent they have now, but someone needs to step up and take control of his teams destiny in the frontcourt …. just like Brian Zoubek did.

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