Kentucky Wildcats Big Blue Madness Recap

Did you hear about that little Big Blue Madness thing that happened tonight at Rupp? Oh you heard of it? Good. Seriously if you missed it, you missed a heck of a show. The women’s team went first and Matthew Mitchell stole the show early with a Michael Jackson dance routine that was awesome. Freaking Awesome, we have the coolest two coaches in the country, no doubt.

Next to the men. They announced some of the current NBA players who came on stage with: Tayshaun Prince, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Knight, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Josh Harrellson, DeAndre Liggins and Nazr Mohammed coming up on stage. Next the players were introduced and Kyle Wiltjer stole the show doing a Kid n’ Play dance that was awesome. Then Cal gave a long “State of the Program” speech about the Kentucky Effect and all of the great things that his teams have done since he has been here. Seriously, Cal could be a politician. Finally, UK unveiled the 2011 Final Four banner.

Then the scrimmage began and let me just say this: This team is SO athletic it is scary. The bigs run the floor and handle the ball like guards, the guards and forwards are uber athletic. Hardly any defense was played but that isn’t why we have BBM. The pace of the game was fast and there were more dunks and three’s than I can really count.

A couple of things from players that really stood out:

-Darius Miller: Looked great and shot the ball terrific. Really looked smooth with his jumper and appears to be in great shape.

-Doron Lamb: Made a three from the “U” that would have made Tayshaun proud. Look in control and is beefed up a little from last year. He looked great as always.

-Terrence Jones: Really the player who stood out for me. Is much bigger and looked EXTREMELY athletic and confident which is huge for him. Threw two alley oops off the backboard to himself and two others to teammates. Really attacked the basket and appears to have a newfound confidence.

-Anthony Davis: This guy may be 6-10 but he truly does handle the ball and shoot like a guard. He is going to be a star. Oh yeah, and his athletic ability is as advertised. Had some sick dunks and was the recipient of the best play of the night: An alley oop from half court he caught and dunked one handed.

-Mike Kidd-Gilchrist: Really attacks the basket with authority. For someone who just turned 18 plays through contact extremely well and is a tough, tough player. Again, I can’t stress how athletic he is enough.

-Marquis Teague: Seemed very in control which was nice to see. Has stupid hops and is super quick. His crossover is as good as I have seen from a player in a long time. Needs to work on the outside jumper but he is a slasher and distributor in every sense of the word.

-Kyle Wiltjer: Dancing machine. Didn’t hit his jumper tonight but handled the ball surprisingly well and I am going to tell you now, he is a guy who always seems to be in the right place at the right time and will get a ton of garbage buckets.

-Eloy Vargas: Didn’t do a lot tonight, but did have a very nice layup where he faked a pace on the run and laid it in.

-Twany Beckham: Really surprised me. If he plays like he did tonight just controlling the ball and staying in control he could definitely be the answer at the backup point guard position. He is more athletic than I thought he was and had several nice drives and dunks.

-Ryan Harrow: Is an athletic freak. He is a small guard and needs to get bigger but he has an unreal ability to control the dribble and his crossover is sick as well. He can absolutely fly toward the basket.

-Jarrod Polson: Played a nice game. He seemed in control and won’t play a ton but he showed he has improved and can play a few minutes without hurting the team. I was surprised at his ball handling, really seemed more in control tonight that last year.

Ok, it was an awesome night and I can’t wait to watch this team. Be ready if you didn’t watch tonight because this is the most athletic team UK has had in a long time from top to bottom and will be a blast to watch. Now bring home #8.

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