Jay Bilas and Seth Greenberg talk Kentucky Wildcats in ESPN Conference Call

ESPN college basketball analysts Jay Bilas and Seth Greenberg discussed the Kentucky Wildcats on a conference call Monday afternoon as the season is about to get underway.

The first question related to Kentucky was about the team’s defense this season.

Jay Bilas: Numbers. They can come at you in waves. They can play different ways and defend different ways without fear of foul trouble. You certainly don’t want fouls because that will put you in the 1-and-1 earlier and that changes the game. I’m not suggesting that. They don’t have to worry about personnel because they’ve got so many bodies so they can take some additional risks that maybe some other teams might not take.

I was with them in the Bahamas for that six game sin eight days thing and they had a unit that basically just pressed exclusively. It really changed the game. If I remember correctly, Derek Willis would point the press and Tyler Ulis was very disruptive defensively and put pressure on for 94 feet. They’ve got a number of different shot blockers so they can play zone. They had a very effective zone that was long in the back. They were able to play pressure man, both in the half court, full court. They were able to put 94 foot court pressure on so they gave you a lot of different looks

Ultimately, all those pro teams that they played, even those guys were older and they’ve been through it, they were tired. They wore those guys down. I think that’s what they’ll be able to do better now.

Seth Greenberg: They can protect the rim. How do you get to the basket on them? How do you get a lay-up? You’re talking 21 feet of post players. Guys that can cover up from mistakes. That will enable them to extend their defense that much more. I think Tyler Ulis gives them another dimension because he’s a guy that get up and under the ball and dominate the ball and get the ball basically out in the middle of the floor, which is going to be a little different because last year they were a little bit more contained, not getting split and the twins struggled containing the basketball out in front.

John’s teams are always terrific defensively. I think this year they are going to be different because, like Jay said, they’re going to have versatility. They can extend their defense. They might play a 2-3 zone with one defense and a 1-3-1 with a second part of the platoon so they can show a lot of personality defensively, which I think is going to be interesting. If they play a 2-3 zone, that’s a big zone. You’re talking about big guards in the top of that zone.

Two things that concern me with their defense. One is with those big lineups, can they get back into transition? When they’re with those bigger lineups with those 3 men, will they be disciplined enough to be able to get out and run people off the three point line. You’re going to have to make a lot of three’s to beat them but will they do that. But besides that, I think John’s teams are always good defensively but this year, I think they are going to have so much more versatility defensively in how they are going to play. They could literally be playing against two teams. You could have one team that’s going to be up in the passing lanes and you could have one team that’s going to be more pack-line. Again, it’s hard to adjust if you’re an opponent.