Point Guard is the root of the Kentucky Wildcats problems in 64-50 loss to Notre Dame
By Paul Jordan
Nov 29, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 64-50. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE
Last night’s 50 points scored was a low in the John Calipari era at Kentucky and this morning, most fingers are being pointed at the point guard position:
"It’s a problem Calipari hasn’t had to deal with much in recent years. He’s been spoiled by players such as John Wall, Brandon Knight and Marquis Teague serving as the catalysts to the Wildcat offense. Ryan Harrow finally scored his first points in a Kentucky uniform, but the North Carolina State transfer only played nine minutes and finished 1-for-4. Harrow had been expected to claim the point guard job after practicing in the program and learning Calipari’s expectations all of last season. Freshman Archie Goodwin has done his best this season playing out of position at the point, but he reverted to playing more like a shooting guard against the Irish leading to some ugly possessions and making it easy for Notre Dame on the defensive end. He did manage five assists. Jarrod Polson is a scrapper but he is adjusting to a significant increase in playing time this season over his first two years and finally being needed again."
Expect the target to be on the PG position once again in Saturday’s game versus Baylor and in my opinion, expect a different Kentucky team.
Nov 29, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish center Garrick Sherman (11) battles for a rebound against Kentucky Wildcats forward Nerlens Noel (3) at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame defeats Kentucky 64-50. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE
Aside for the first few minutes of the game, it was a rough game all around for Kentucky. John Clay struggles to find the good from last night and has a longer list of what he did not like:
"What I liked: Not much. Julius Mays played well, scoring 16 points and fighting to try and get Kentucky back in it the second ahalf. He hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 59-46 with 6:35 left. UK got it down to 10 points, 60-50 with 2:35 left, but no closer. What I didn’t like: Pretty much everything else. The Cats seemed confused and the effort could have been better. Foul trouble hurt Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress, and Goodwin had by far his worst night of the young season. Even worse, was ESPN’s coverage. Dick Vitale is a great guy and has done a tremendous amount for college basketball, and I think Dan Shulman is a pro, but rarely have I watched a basketball game where there was less coverage of the basketball game. Notre Dame’s hideous black jerseys with invisible numbers didn’t help either, especially when you were trying to keep score at home."
Lots of Kentucky fans will have their mind on the Marshall County Hoop fest this weekend as there will be tons of future Cats participating. Andrew Wiggins, the number one player in high school basketball will be participating, and by a lot of accounts is down to Kentucky and Florida State. Here, Wiggins talks a bit about his recruiting and the two schools: