Kentucky

[champs99and04]

I'm as much of a fan as everyone else on here, but their talent is undeniable. I think they are the best team in the country, and I don't think it's that close. Their resume is the best in the country, and they haven't even come close to meeting their potential yet. Indiana beat them, but it took the perfect storm: Terrence Jones disappearing, Anthony Davis battling foul trouble in the first half, and Indiana playing some of the best basketball they've played in ten years in front of a crazy crowd. All that considered, it still took a last second three to knock em off. They beat a top ten team in Kansas by 20 on a neutral floor, they handled Louisville, destroyed another top ten team in Florida, beat North Carolina on a day where they hit more than 50% of their threes, and pretty much embarass everybody who's not ranked.

I've heard on this message board and other places that this is a year in college basketball where anybody can win. I disagree. The National Title goes through Kentucky, and to knock them off it's going to take a monumental effort coupled with Kentucky having a bad shooting game like they had in the Final Four last year or in 2010 against West Virginia. As far as I'm concerned, this is the most talented college basketball in at least ten years. Anthony Davis looks like a kid who has no buisness playing college basketball. He completely dominates games with his freakish length, athleticism, and unibrow. He blocks three pointers, doesn't allow any layup to go uncontested, and seems to grab every offensive rebound.

As far as sure things in the NBA go, Mike Kidd-Gilchrist isn't far behind. Strong, quick, energetic, incredibly athletic, and the best "motor" in the country. He plays with the type of relentlessness that Kemba played with last year. Think Scottie Pippen, except not nearly as good offensively.

Now there is always the "inexperience" card to play, but frankly, I'm starting to think more and more that this argument is bull . We always hear about veterans making "cool" plays under pressure, but every year you see 34 year olds like Scoop Jardine and Nasir Robinson choke while kids like Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Love, D-Rose, and Carmello Anthony are unphased. Sure there are counter examples, but it has much more to do with your makeup than age.

Not only that, but in the present day of college basketball, Kentucky's not all that young. Anthony Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist are not normal freshman. They are ready to play in the NBA right now, and they have never appeared rattled during any game so far this season.

Marquis Teague is quietly getting a ton better. Say what you want, but nobody is better at teaching a PG to play the position than Calipari. My bet is by the end of the season he'll be as good as Brandon Knight was last year.

Terrence Jones is an enigma as sorts, but Kentucky has proven to win games without him and demolish teams with him. It seems like he's starting to put things together, rendering Kentucky pretty much unbeatable.

Darius Miller and Doron Lamb are the guys that make this Kentucky team the best of the last decade, IMO. We saw Darius Miller make clutch play after clutch play in last years tournament. Perfect role player, who is capable of taking over games. Doron Lamb might be the best shooter in the world not named Ray Allen from beyond the arch. He's played almost 60 games and he's shooting almost 50% from deep. Just insane.

I thought before the season UConn would be the best defensive team in the country. Stupid me. Kentucky is the best defensive team, and it's not close. The length and quickness is impossible to handle. Watching Davis play in college is like watching Dwight Howard play in the NBA. Just tough to handle.

Now could a UNC, OSU, or Cuse team trip them up? No doubt. Just as the 99 UConn team was a bad matchup for Dook, I think Cuse is a bad matchup for Kentucky. If they played on a neutral floor, I might pick Cuse in an upset. But the problem for Cuse will be avoiding upset themselves, something they've always had trouble with. Cuse strikes me as a team who loses concentration at times, which could lead them prone to an upset in say, the sweet 16.

If a UNC, OSU, or Cuse doesn't play Kentucky in the tourny? Blowout city. They haven't even hit their stride and they are blowing teams out.

Now am I trying to jinx Kentucky by crowning them in February? Maybe a little. And if you have any friends who are Kentucky fans (Which might be an oxymoron btw) try hyping them up as much as possible to make the misery that much worse if they lose.

 

[imno1]

Kentucky is very impressive. And they have really improved since the start of the season Their only issue is depth. Fouls are probably the only way they get derailed in the tourney.

 

[caw]

Them and Cuse are looking really good. Baylor has the talent to beat either, OSU has the most consistently best player I've seen this year and UNC only lost by a bucket in Rupp (though the two teams are quite different now).

 

[CTKIDD]

Last night was the first time I saw them coast to coast. They looked good... Looking forward to the game tonight so I can start a thread about a potential spread for the Cuse game.. Right now its at UCONN +17. (thats my line of course, not vegas)

 

[RuffRuff]

Great post, the well timed unibrow bit was hysterical - and as much as we hate the squid, the guy is fine tuning a system that is working on the college level. That is a system that suggests talent, not seniority, wins. It's why Pitt doesn't win in March. Kids become big boys once they have a season under them. It's why it's impossible to use the youth factor with this Uconn team. He has a few years with this now and has climbed a little further and further every year - maybe this is the one where he goes all the way. The current progression would suggest the finals. If he wins it, his recruiting success only gains more momentum as these future NBA lottery picks are not only seeing it as the best program to build their NBA acumen and have the support to bolt but to also have a realistic shot to win a Title. It will become the de facto school for every top recruit, if it's not already.

 

[ford82]

I agree that Kentucky is the best team right now, but disagree about the part that nobody is better at teaching the point guard position than Calipari. He is the best at recruiting the point guard position. Rose, Evans, Wall and Knight would have been one and done even if they didn't play for him. Teague is developing, but again he was a big time recruit and that is how he is supposed to play. The weakness of Kentucky is Calipari's coaching in close games. Maybe they will blow everyone out in the tournament. If they play a veteran team like Syracuse in the tourney and it is a close game, I think coaching could be the deciding factor. It could be Calipari's year, but history has shown that he makes coaching mistakes when things get tight.

 

[Gurleyman]

The youth factor has been combined with the lack of continuity with us as well. Boatright being and in out of the lineup has affected Lamb and Napier, and Boatright of course. Calhoun being in and out has had its issues as well. Every time we've dealt with these things - we've responded well for one game: the first game without Calhoun due to suspension we survived on the road, the first game without him due to his back against Seton Hall, the first game without Boatright at Notre Dame. But sustaining it has proven to be difficult. Sounds weird to say, but Drummond in the rotation has hurt us to a degree - through no fault of his own. He is so talented and capable of being so dominant that he needs to be out there, but he's still so raw that you can't count on him for production every night out, like you could with Sullinger last year as a freshman (or a guy like Khalid or Carmelo or DRose, etc.).

Kentucky in recent years has been able to get their system to work by going with an 8-man rotation (mostly five of the top recruits in the country with a couple veterans mixed in) and their roles have been cemented from day one - the veterans getting squeezed out by more talented freshmen have dealt with it - there hasn't been a phasing in process. As a result there have been very few adjustments, other than allowing their players to get better (last year, they plugged Jorts in when Kanter was ineligible). And they've been able to mold that talent as the year has gone on. We haven't brought in the same level of instant talent, other than Drummond.

I was hoping we'd be more like Carolina was last year - up and down, but then they'd all settled into their roles around now and got it together (Marshall at the point, Barnes had broken through as a scorer, etc.).

 

[mauconnfan]

Marquis Teague is quietly getting a ton better. Say what you want, but nobody is better at teaching a PG to play the position than Calipari. My bet is by the end of the season he'll be as good as Brandon Knight was last year

I agree Kentucky is very good again. When you get that much talent to go somewhere they need to be pretty damn good at some point I guess right? Davis is unbelievably talented, super impact guy. Gilchrist a great athlete although I think he needs to be more consistent shooting it, but a great finisher and he can pass it too. Teague is very good a little wild, not as good as his brother but solid and talented coming in. Like Miller a lot and also Lamb who bring a nice maturity to the team. Jones should be better but up and down......kinda the coaches fault because he's never actually sat his a** down!

Anyway, you or I or even huskymagic could coach the PG's he's gotten. Just to prove it he made John Wall so good he turns the ball over left and right. The kid never listened to him and he still isn't listening to anyone! Rose? C'mon if went to AIC he'd be the same player he is right now...................no credit to Cal for these guys! A little maybe but not much - what have they won???

 

[RuffRuff]

I'm with you gman in that sense is that ADs addition has been a chemistry ding to the squad. He's that guy you can't start because you don't know how long you'll have him so I think it's confused the pecking order of the team. I've said all along the starting lineup for this team should be exactly what it was minus Kemba from last year. It's been earned and earned with a title. Start every guy and sub in if they don't deserve to stay in, but give them the chance and courtesy of the spot they've earned.

 

[Fishy]

If Kentucky and Syracuse ever meet, the game will be decided by whichever of their point guard implodes when the game gets tight - because either Jardine or Teague will blow themselves and their teams up somewhere along the way.

 

[traitor71]

If Kentucky never won another game that would be too soon for me.

 

[orangehomer]

- because either Jardine or Teague will blow themselves.

that would make for some weird tv right there.

 

[selles]

because either Jardine or Teague will blow themselves and their teams up somewhere along the way.

From your lips (or fingers, as the case may be) to God's ears.

I am becoming increasingly concerned that this may be the year that squid boy finally wins a (temporary) national title.

 

[HuskyFan32]

Their D is ridiculous. MKG is an all around beast. He's a much better version of Roscoe. He holds the team together and brings great energy and does all of the little things that scoe did for us last year plus he can score. Jones is garbage but MKG is the reason that I actually think they might win this year. I loathe them as much as everyone else but they are very versatile and tough to score on. The only hope is that Teague or Cal blow it. Both very likely scenarios. Oh and free throw shooting. My prediction is OSU takes em out in the title game (barring us not making the dance)

 

[dogpause]

The bright lights of the NCAA Tournament can have a strange impact on a team stuffed with NBA hopefuls. If even one player decides they need to showcase themself instead of playing for the team, bad things can happen. Also, there's more pressure on the "sure thing". The tournament is long enough that the pressure builds up too. I would like to see Kentucky lose, if only to invalidate the wisdom of stockpiling one-and-dones, and because I don't like Calipari.

 

[bobbygt]

+Good job on the jinx- I think we should start a thread everyday about all the teams that are better than uconn.

I will say that I disagree that the title goes through UK.

I think there are about 10 teams that can beat UK and will not necessarily need to playing their A+ to do so.

The tourney is a whole different beast- get A Davis in foul trouble and I think they'd be in trouble.

 

[dpross]

Them and Cuse are looking really good. Baylor has the talent to beat either, OSU has the most consistently best player I've seen this year and UNC only lost by a bucket in Rupp (though the two teams are quite different now).

Baylor? I watched most of the KU/Baylor game last night and I was perplexed at how Baylor is a top 10 team. It didn't seem like they had a single shooter and their bigs flat out struggled. Off night or coincidence? I think they are overrated having not beaten KU or Mizzu. UK would have a field day with Baylor.