UK Basketball Preview- Know Your Enemy: Winthrop Eagles
By Paul Jordan
GAME 11
DECEMBER 22, 2010 1 PM
Rupp Arena, Lexington KY
WINTHROP EAGLES (5-6)
SERIES HISTORY
Kentucky leads 1-0
TV – FS SOUTH
RECENT MEETINGS
11/21/2003: Kentucky 65 Winthrop 44
With Christmas just three days away, John Calipari and his Wildcats are in the midst of unwrapping the presents that the scheduling gods hand delivered. Winthrop is expected to contend in the Big South Conference, which is populated by former Kentucky nightmares VMI and *cough* Gardner Webb. So any team from that conference has to command some respect from UK. Remember that thing about those that don’t remember their history are doomed to repeat it and yada yada yada.
For the season, the Eagles have wins over Wake Forest and Jacksonville … the team that beat Florida yesterday, so there is always the possibility that if the Wildcats attempt to sleep their way through this game, they could be in for a very rude awakening.
THE STARTERS
#23 G – ROBBIE DREHER – SO 6’4 185
15.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg
#21 G – ANDRE JONES – JR 6’2 190
12.5 ppg, 4 rpg, 1.7 apg
#4 G – REGGIE MIDDLETON – JR 6’1 190
11.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.9 apg
#43 F – GEORGE VALENTINE – JR 6’8 235
7.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 0.8 apg
#5 C – MATT MORGAN – JR 6’9 235
7.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.3 apg
BACK COURT
Robbie Dreher is the most explosive scoring threat for the Eagles but he does not always start. He is hitting 43.8% of his 3-point attempts and can also create his own shots and is very solid offensively. He is a decent passer, but his real responsibility is getting the ball in the basket and he has scored 28 points in a game this year. Justin Burton may start and will see a lot of time regardless as he is the best ball handler on the team. He is not that much of a scorer and has gone without a FG in 3 of his last 5 games. He is just shooting 20.3% from the field and just 20% from the 3-point range. At 5’10 and 165, Burton could be in for a very long day, dealing with Kentucky’s length and athleticism. Andre Jones is more of a scoring threat and can fill up the basket as he had a three game stretch earlier this year where he scored more than 20 points a game. Jones is a respectable 3-point threat, hitting 39.4% but he has not made a trey in his last two games and he has scored just 10 and 6 points in those games. He is a pretty good rebounder for a guard and can create his own shots. Reggie Middleton has started eight of the 10 games he has played in this year and should also see some time at the point. He can wrack up the assists, but the TO’s can come in bunches too. He is good at creating his own shot and is a good rebounder. He is only hitting 28% on his treys for the season. Middleton is also quick defensively and can wrack up some steals. Gideon Gamble is a big 6’7 guard that can play multiple positions and is averaging 5.9 points a game. In addition, he is shooting 50% from beyond the three point line but only averages around 13 minutes a game.
FRONT COURT
George Valentine is an adequate presence at the four but he will have his work cut out for him dealing with Terrence Jones. Valentine is good for an occasional double digit scoring game, but he tends to disappear offensively as he has two scoreless games in his last four. He is capable of very good rebounding nights as evidenced by his 16 boards vs VMI. Valentine tends to get in foul trouble however. Matt Morgan has an unforgivable 31.5% FG % considering most of his shot attempts are within a few feet of the basket. Morgan can score occasionally with three games in double digits, but it took 40 shot attempts over those three games to get there. For the second game in a row, this should be a battle Josh Harrellson wins handily. Charles Corbin (5.5 ppg) and Joab Jerome (2.5 ppg) will get some minutes but neither are a threat to post big numbers.
OUTLOOK
It’s the rare weekday 1 PM game so that only means its should be another easy win for John Calipari’s Wildcat’s. Kentucky has an overabundance of talent at every position and this should be a game that is over within the first half. But given Kentucky’s sluggish starts lately, this is a team that Kentucky needs to pay particular attention to because overlooking this team can lead to a bad day. Even with that warning, it’s hard to conceive a situation where Kentucky is really tested. All they have to do is look at the recent Tennessee and Florida games to see they need to take this game seriously. KENTUCKY 81 Winthrop 53
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