POSTERIZED: Archie Goodwin Pilots over Portland

Kentucky freshman Archie Goodwin is really starting to emerge as the high profile scoring option for the Wildcats early on in the season. Many pundits draw the comparison to Tyreke Evans, one of John Calipari's dynamic guard at Memphis.

But to compare Goodwin to Evans in terms of #POSTERIZED-worthy skills would be unjust, because Goodwin is on a totally different level.



This isn't Goodwin's first #POSTERIZED rodeo. While his dunk against Lafayette didn't count for two points, ball don't lie.

A #POSTERIZED is still a #POSTERIZED even if a charge is called.

But was it as good as these:
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. Florida State, 11/27
Week In Review - Feast Week, 11/18 - 11/25
Tarik Black - Memphis vs. Minnesota, 11/23
Ben McLemore - Kansas vs. Washington State - 11/20
Andre Roberson - Colorado vs. Murray State, 11/18
Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. Drake, 11/17
Archie Goodwin - Kentucky vs. Lafayette, 11/16
John Brown - High Point vs. Appalachian State, 11/13
Stefan Jankovic - Missouri vs. Alcorn State, 11/14
Cole Dickerson - San Francisco vs. Cal State-East Bay, 11/13
Clancy Rugg - Vermont vs. UConn, 11/13
Jamari Traylor - Kansas vs. Michigan State, 11/13
Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. St. John's, 11/13
Kris Brewer - Kent State vs. Temple, 11/13
Rakeem Christmas - Syracuse vs. San Diego State, 11/11
Deandre Daniels - UConn vs. Michigan State, 11/9
Ben McLemore - Kansas vs. Emporia State, 10/31
Keion Bell - Missouri vs. Northwest Missouri, 10/31

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#POSTERIZED: Almost Dunk of the Year

This is an excellent time to go over a few #POSTERIZED specifics.

1. It doesn't matter if the shot doesn't count. Putting somebody on a poster is not under the NCAA governance. #POSTERIZED does not recognize blocking and charging fouls. If a dunk takes place and there are witnesses, it's officially a #POSTERIZED candidate.

2. Unfortunately, you can only qualify for #POSTERIZED "Dunk of the Year" if the dunk was made and counted towards the overall team score of a sanctioned collegiate basketball game.

These two rules are very critical in our evaluation of the latest entry.

Kentucky has freak athletes all over the court. We saw what Alex Poythress could do on Monday night, humiliating much of the Duke basketball team, despite winding up on the losing side.

On Friday, it was Archie Goodwin's turn to show us what he can do. Unfortunately, some poor Lafayette Leopard was on the receiving end.

Enjoy:



What you just saw was unquestionably the best dunk of the young season. Unfortunately, due to the refs inability to properly identify the difference between athletic physicality and uncontrolled over-aggressiveness, we must look at this particular dunk as though it were in a vacuum unto itself.

In other words, if the referee had let the kids play, we would be talking about the clubhouse leader for "Dunk of the Year".

Oh, don't get me wrong, this is still a monster poster-dunk. FatHeadz won't not print wallbangers because the ref blew the call. It's just that "technically" this dunk can't qualify as DotY.

If we need picture evidence as to the magnitude of the blown-call, here it is:

(H/T @RICKdiculous_1)


Though I doubt a silly charging foul during a blowout win over Lafayette can/will stop members of #BBN lauding this as Dunk of the Year, and I wouldn't blame them for trying.

But was it as good as these?

John Brown - High Point vs. Appalachian State, 11/13
Stefan Jankovic - Missouri vs. Alcorn State, 11/14
Cole Dickerson - San Francisco vs. Cal State-East Bay, 11/13
Clancy Rugg - Vermont vs. UConn, 11/13
Jamari Traylor - Kansas vs. Michigan State, 11/13
Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. St. John's, 11/13
Kris Brewer - Kent State vs. Temple, 11/13
Rakeem Christmas - Syracuse vs. San Diego State, 11/11
Deandre Daniels - UConn vs. Michigan State, 11/9
Ben McLemore - Kansas vs. Emporia State, 10/31
Keion Bell - Missouri vs. Northwest Missouri, 10/31

Continue reading...

POSTERIZED: It's Miller Time

Sometimes we just can't wait until the end of a game to post a #POSTERIZED dunk. But when someone does what Kentucky's Darius Miller did, it deserves our immediate attention.

For a quick five seconds, it was indeed "MILLER TIME".
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Kyle Wiltjer's mom does "The Bernie", and I die a little bit on the inside

In this day and age, us media-types have to be on top of everything with in the world of college hoops. Sometimes it means writing a response about a missed goaltending call. Sometimes it means posting a video about a new fan anthem.

And sometimes, it means posting video about the parent of a player doing "The Bernie".

Hopefully this is the last time I have to waste words writing about this.



What you see here is Carol Wiltjer, the mother of Kentucky freshman Kyle Wiltjer, doing "The Bernie", (H/T AllKyHoops.com)

I'm not sure why she's doing it, nor do I care.

But she's doing it. Horribly, yes but she's doing it nonetheless.

Since Kyle plays D-I basketball, I'm responsible for covering things like this. Listen, I love "The Bernie". I never want it to go away.

I just don't ever want to see video of somebody's mom doing it. Ever.

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Is Terrence Jones really back?

You can find the rest of the features from the #BIAHRoadTrip here.

LEXINGTON, KY - "Terrence Jones is back. Not much to it."

That's how Anthony Davis summed up the performance that his front court mate had in Kentucky's 79-64 win over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, and he had a very valid point. Jones had been a different player for the past month, starting at halftime of UK's 73-72 win over North Carolina back on December 3rd. Since that game, Jones had only managed to score in double figures once, averaging 5.0 ppg and 3.0 rpg while shooting 32.3% (10-31) from the floor.

It didn't help matter that Jones was dealing with a dislocated finger on his shooting hand, an injury painful enough for him to miss two games.

Jones snapped out of that funk in impressive fashion Saturday, finishing with 20 points in 32 minutes on 8-9 shooting from the floor. He would have finished the game a perfect 8-8 if he hadn't jacked up a three late in the second half.
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Bruce Ellington, South Carolina's two-sport star

You can find the rest of the features from the #BIAHRoadTrip here.

LEXINGTON, KY - Bruce Ellington was South Carolina's best player as a freshman.

The diminutive but obscenely athletic point guard led the team in minutes played, scoring and assists. He took 110 more field goals than anyone else on the roster and shot 65 more threes. He wasn't only the guy that had the ball in his hands at the end of a clock, he was the guy that had the ball in his hands, period.

That is why his decision to hit the gridiron for Steve Spurrier this season was so concerning for Darrin Horn's team. Throw in the transfers of Murphy Holloway and Ramon Galloway and the graduation of Sam Muldrow, and the Gamecocks were looking at a season with a roster stocked with youth and a star player coming off of three months worth of pounding from playing football in the SEC.

And as you might expect, there has been a bit of an adjustment period for Ellington.
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#BIAHRoadTrip The Diary, Part IV: A night on the town with KSR, "Always Strapped when I go to Rupp", and a Playboy interview?

3:00 pm Day 4
Hyatt Regency
Lexington, KY
Total Miles: 872

Road Trip Part-I
Road Trip Part-II
Road Trip Part-III


Remember how I said that I could live in Nashville?

I could never live in Lexington.

And that's a compliment, because if I moved to Lexi, I don't think I'd survive a year with Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and the rest of Team KSR only a tweet away. A Saturday night on the town with those rabble-rousers is something that I barely remember but will never forget. We ended up at Lexington Tin Roof, which I'm sure was fun given the way I felt this morning.
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POSTERIZED: It's too easy for Anthony Davis

Seriously.

It's just way too easy for Anthony Davis. Like it wasn't enough for him to just be 6-foot-10. Nope, he has to make it worse for everybody else by having an absurd wingspan of 7-foot-4. On top of that, he's only 220lbs, which means he has the agility and quickness of a welterweight and can cover ground like a wide receiver.

It's just not fair.

Throw the ball within two square miles of the basket, and Davis is likely to slam it home with relative ease.

Just look at what he did against Chattanooga.



In the interest of fairness, Chattanooga defenders should have been able to get running starts and propel themselves off of trampolines, a la Slamball.

Because other than that, there is no stopping Anthony Davis.



But was it as good as these?
Langston Galloway/C.J. Aiken/Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Villanova, 12/17
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. UC-Santa Barbara, 12/16
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State vs. Howard, 12/15
Raheem Appleby, Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State, 12/14
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Detroit, 12/12
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. UW-Green Bay, 12/11
Ronald Roberts, St. Joseph's vs. Creighton, 12/10
Dion Waiters, Syracuse vs. George Washington, 12/10 (DotY Candidate)
Victor Oladipo, Indiana vs. Kentucky, 12/10
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12/10
Vander Blue, Marquette vs. Washington, 12/6
Terrence Ross, Washington vs. Marquette, 12/6
Deville Smith, Mississippi State vs. West Virginia, 12/3
Terrence Jones, Kentucky vs. North Carolina, 12/3
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26



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VIDEO: Indiana upsets No. 1 Kentucky on a buzzer beater

Kentucky had two fouls to give.

That's why, with less than five seconds left and only a two point lead, Marquis Teague lunged at Verdell Jones in the back court. Teague missed, however, and Jones got into the Kentucky defense, finding Christian Watford all alone on the wing. Watford hit the three, setting off a court-storming that was four Kelvin Sampson-induced years in the making:



Indiana needed this win.

Its a statement. It shows the country that the Hoosiers are, in fact, back and relevant. And college basketball is better when Indiana is relevant.

All you have to do is look at this game to understand why. The state of Indiana is as basketball crazy. Their fans are as boisterous and passionate as any in the country, and that includes the members of Big Blue Nation. The atmosphere in Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon was unreal. The place was rocking hours before the game started, and while some blue managed to make its way into the stands, the fact that there was so little from a fan base that travels incredibly well and shares a border with Indiana tells you how tough of a ticket this was.

Indiana students tried to lineup for this game on Tuesday in weather that was so cold the university deemed it unsafe for them to camp out. Their dedication was rewarded when Watford hit that three, but the court-storming that ensued wasn't just a reaction to the excitement of a buzzer-beating victory, one that may not be topped this season.

It was the release of years of pent-up frustration. It was the wave of joy, the celebration that, finally, after toiling through the initial rebuilding process, Indiana basketball is back. It was concrete proof that Tom Crean's plan for the future of this program is working. And there was no better way for that to happen than the Hoosiers taking out a heated rival that was ranked No. 1 in the country on their home floor.


What We Learned

Indiana:

- The Hoosiers have quite a few offensive weapons at their disposal. Cody Zeller -- who finished with 11 points -- has been terrific all season long, giving Indiana a low-post scoring presence. Jordy Hulls is a lethal shooter that has come a long way as a distributor. Victor Oladipo, Will Sheehey, Verdell Jones -- these are all guys capable of scoring double figures on any given night.

Indiana's biggest weapon, however, is probably Christian Watford. The junior hasn't exactly had an ideal season, but he's played his best when the lights are the brightest. He had 16 points and nine boards against NC State. And he had 20 points, including 17 in the second half and the game-winning three, against the Wildcats. Watford showed on an impressively versatile offensive skill-set. If he can use this game as a springboard, he and Zeller can create a devastating high-low, front court combo.

- As good as Indiana was in this game, they nearly blew it because they stopped getting the ball to Zeller. The big fella had Anthony Davis, who was saddled with four fouls, guarding him down the stretch, but the Hoosiers barely even looked his way during the last eight minutes of the game. It worked out this time, but that's something that will have to be addressed.

- Depth may end up being a major problem for this team. Eight players saw time for Indiana against Kentucky, but Crean essentially used a six-man rotation -- Tom Pritchard isn't the kind of player that is going to see a lot of minutes if Indiana is going to be a Big Ten contender.

Kentucky:

- I loved what I saw out of Marquis Teague tonight. The freshman has not had the easiest start to his career, but given the ability of the point guards that John Calipari recruits, its hard to keep in mind that he is, in fact, a freshman. Teague didn't play like it on Saturday. He finished with 15 points and five assists (and just three turnovers) while making a number of big plays down the stretch to bring Kentucky back.

- I hated what I saw out of Terrence Jones: four points, one rebound, six turnovers, three shots, and the bench down the stretch. He was quite clearly sulking late in the game when he wasn't getting playing time. If this happened in a vacuum, I might be able to chalk it up to Jones having a bad day. But we've seen this before, although not quite to this degree. I went overboard ripping him on twitter during the game, and while I regret the words I used to describe him, the sentiment in the same -- Jones can be soft and a primadonna. He appears to have an attitude that doesn't respond well to adversity. I guarantee NBA teams have noticed that as well.

- Indiana did get a bit lucky with Anthony Davis getting in foul trouble. Combine that with how Jones played, and the Wildcats got minimal production out of their front court on Saturday.

- I think that, by the end of the season, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will end up being the most valuable player on this team. He's just a scrapper, but an incredibly talented scrapper. He defends, he's vicious on the offensive glass, he finishes around the rim and he has the skills to play the point if need be. If I could have one player in college basketball to start a team, it would take some convincing for me not to take MKG first.
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Kentucky outlasts UNC, the Game of the Year lives up to the hype

I want more.

Seriously, let's run that back. I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels that way. We can do it right now. I don't think any of the fans in attendance would mind. Its still early in the afternoon, Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg have nothing else to do today. As we speak, CBS is airing a preview of "A Game of Honor". I'm pretty sure they can push that back.

More than anyone, I think No. 5 North Carolina wants a second shot against No. 1 Kentucky after losing to the Wildcats 73-72 at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon. After Marquis Teague missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 21 seconds left, UNC took possession of the ball with a chance to steal a win in Rupp. The Heels dumped the ball into Tyler Zeller, who promptly had it knocked out of his hands. The ball happened to bounce right to a seemingly wide-open John Henson, but Henson -- who has probably never had a jump shot blocked in his career -- had a 12-footer blocked by Anthony Davis, who came out of nowhere to make a game-saving defensive play.

But where the real bitterness for UNC isn't a result of the block, its the result of what happened after the block.

The shot left Henson's hand with about six seconds left on the clock, but instead of fouling Davis, who came down with the loose ball, Henson backed away. As Henson's teammates ran at the UK freshman, he threw the ball to Marquis Teague, who dribbled the final few ticks away.

If Henson has the awareness to foul Davis, he sends a freshman big man that is a 53% free throw shooter to the line with enough time to go to the length of the court for the tie or the win:



This had been the most highly-anticipated matchup of the college basketball season, and there isn't even a close second. The two most talented teams in the country. The two favorites to win the national title. A half-dozen lottery picks and a dozen potential pros on the court. John Calipari and Roy Williams.

It had everything you could ask for, and that's why every college hoops fan -- not just Big Blue Nation or the folks on Tobacco Road -- had been salivating over this game ever since Coach Cal had reeled in yet another loaded recruiting class and Ol' Roy got confirmation that his trio of talented front court players would be back for another year in Chapel Hill.

And up until that final possession, this game had completely lived up to the hype.

UNC used some hot-shooting from beyond the arc -- they were 6-9 from long range in the half -- to build up a lead and could have taken complete control in the first half had they been able to keep Kentucky off of the offensive glass. The Wildcats grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the first half and had 16 second-chance points.

While the first half brought us end-to-end action, like two feather-weight fighters catching each other with jab after jab, the second half was a heavyweight brawl, as the UNC and Kentucky traded haymakers.

Every time the Wildcats would put together a spurt to get back into the game, UNC had the answer. Kentucky scored seven of the first nine points in the second half, tying the game at 45, but back-to-back threes from Kendall Marshall pushed the lead back to six. Michael Gilchrist -- who had game-highs of 17 points and 11 boards -- scored seven straight points to give Kentucky a 52-51 lead, their first lead since the score was 11-9. But the Heels again answered, with a deep PJ Hairston three and a short jumper from Marshall.

It wasn't until the eight minute mark that Kentucky finally took control. Down 60-56, Darius Miller used a three-point play to spark a 13-4 run that was capped by back-to-back threes from Doron Lamb, putting UK up 69-64 with 3:49 left. Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock both hit tough, clutch threes down the stretch to set up the underwhelming finish.

If the anti-climatic ending did anything, it created a national desire to see a rematch.

And if the NCAA Tournament wasn't exciting enough already, we will now all be able to root for the same thing come March: running back the Game of the Century in New Orleans.


What We Learned

Kentucky:

- Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the truth, and this game was his coming out party. He's a terrific athlete and relentless attacking the rim, whether its off the bounce or on the offensive glass. He defends and he can create off the dribble. He is going to be sucha weapon for UK this year.

- Just as important was the play of Darius Miller, who finished with 12 points in 23 minutes off the bench. He made a number of big plays in the second half.

- Terrence Jones still doesn't understand quite how to use his physical tools. With his combination of perimeter ability and physical strength, he's an impossible matchup at the college level. He took advantage of that early in the game, as he was aggressive getting to the rim. But he spent the second half floating around the perimeter. That has to change for him to live up to his potential.

- Anthony Davis needs to get stronger. But he's as young and as raw as any prospect we've seen this decade. Three plays stood out to me: the lob he caught midway through the second half against Zeller, the rebound he grabbed -- stretch-armstrong style -- with four minutes left and, of course, the block to seal the win.

- I get on Marquis Teague as much as anyone does, but he deserves some credit here. While he struggled shooting the ball (3-11 from the floor for just seven points), he only turned the ball over once while adding four assists and controlling the pace down the stretch. The reason UK won this game was that they turned the final eight minutes into a half-court game. That credit goes to Teague.

North Carolina:

- The Heels are still getting beat up inside. The biggest issue I have is that John Henson and Tyler Zeller go to the defensive glass like they do the offensive glass. They aren't able to use their body to box out on the defensive glass.

- UNC was better in the half court tonight, especially on the offensive end of the floor, but they still run into trouble when teams are able to execute their sets offensively. They simply have too many defensive question marks. Looking at you, Kendall Marshall and Harrison Barnes.

- The one question mark that has been answered is UNC's perimeter shooting. PJ Hairston and Reggie Bullock knocked down some big threes in this game.

- The question that a lot of people were asking during the game was whether Harrison Barnes or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a better NBA prospect. I think, without question, the answer is Kidd-Gilchrist, simply because his all-around game is so much better. But anyone that says that Barnes isn't a terrific prospect in his own right is out of their mind. The kid is a terrific shooter that thrives in the clutch. He may not be the second-coming of Kevin Durant -- hell, he may not ever be an all-star in the NBA -- but he is going to score a lot of points for a very long time at the next level.

- UNC now has two losses in their last three games. Losing to UNLV was an issue, but don't read too much into this loss. Kentucky is absurdly talented and was playing in an unreal environment at Rupp. This team will be right there at the end of the season.
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POSTERIZED: Terrence Jones delivers a Big Blue poster

North Carolina and Kentucky played in NCAA basketball's version of "The Game of the Century", and unlike their football counterparts, the two teams didn't disappoint. John Henson had a chance to win the game, but his baseline jumper was blocked by Anthony Davis, and the Tar Heels decided not to foul with six seconds left.

Terrence Jones finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. But what won;t show up in the box score was the huge poster-dunk that he shoved down Tyler Zeller's throat.

Bobby Knight would love this dunk. Note the shot-fake



It was a big win for the Wildcats, who are now 38-0 under John Calipari at Rupp Arena, and it was a huge dunk for Jones.


But was it as good as these?

Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Georgetown, 12/1
Anthony Marshall, UNLV vs. UNC, 11/26
Michael Kidd-Glichrist, Kentucky vs. Portland, 11/26/11 (DotY Candidate)
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/25/11
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24/11
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Ray Willis, North Carolina Central vs. Wagner, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26




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POSTERIZED: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is no kid, he's a man

Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is one of the top freshman in the country. The kid can literally do it all. I'm sure recruiting services don't rate kids based on their dunking skills, but hot-damn, this kid can throw down.

I don't have much else to say because, well, this dunk has me speechless.



When we get a better version of the video, we will get it out to you, because this jam has Dunk of the Year potential

It's ironic that this dunk took place against the Portland Pilots, because Kidd-Gilchrist literally took fight....

But was it as good as these?

Markel Brown, Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/15/11
Rodney Williams, Minnesota vs. DePaul, 11/24/11
Thomas Robinson, Kansas vs. Duke, 11/23
Stan Okoye, VMI vs. Ohio State, 11/23
Kyisean Reed, Utah State vs. Southern Utah, 11/19
Ra'Shad James, Iona vs. Western Michigan, 11/18
Alandise Harris, Houston vs. Arkansas, 11/18
Sam Thompson, Ohio State vs. Jackson State, 11/18
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Wichita State, 11/18
Eric Griffin, Campbell vs. North Carolina A&T, 11/18 (DotY Candidate)
Olek Czyz, Nevada vs. Pacific, 11/17
Chris Watson, Pikeville vs. Mountain State, 11/16
Mike James, Lamar vs. Ohio, 11/15 (DotY Candidate)
Quincy Acy, Baylor vs. San Diego State, 11/15
Deniz Kilicli, West Virginia vs. Kent State, 11/15
Chris Evans, Kent State vs. West Virginia, 11/15
Tony Mitchell, Alabama vs. Oakland, 11/14
Isaiah Brown, East Tennessee State vs. Virginia Tech, 11/12
Michael Lyons, Air Force vs. Army, 11/11
Dezmine Wells, Xavier vs. Morgan State, 11/11
Jeremy Lamb, UConn vs. Columbia, 11/11 (DotY Candidate)
Andre Drummond, UConn vs. CW Post, 11/4
Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. CW Post, 10/26

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Kentucky is the most vulnerable against physical teams

UNCASVILLE, CT - Every team in the SEC should send a thank you note and an edible arrangement to Old Dominion after their 62-52 loss to Kentucky in the final of Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.

The Monarchs just wrote the blueprint for how to beat Kentucky this season. Its simple, really: make it ugly.

"Old Dominion did a great job," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said after the game. "We know that this is how people are going to play us. They'll hold the ball and be physical with us. They were very physical with us, especially in the post. I don't know if one of many teams has missed as many one-footers as we missed. They were on your body and we weren't going to get a free look that way."

We've been saying it since October -- the player that Kentucky is going to miss the most from last season's Final Four team isn't Brandon Knight or Deandre Liggins, its Josh Harrellson. For all the talent that the Wildcats have in their front court with Terrence Jones, Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer, the one thing they lack is a big, physical post presence. They don't have that guy that will battle for position and make it difficult for an opposing team's center to score on the block.

I don't think its a stretch to say that Harrellson would make the Wildcats unquestionably the best team in the country.

"They got the ball wherever they wanted to in the post," Calipari said. "It was too physical for Anthony Davis. It was so physical that he couldn't even grab the ball. He must learn to bend over and play that way or every game he plays is going to be like this. Kyle was fighting and trying to get to some balls, but he had some baskets scored on him too."

"We got behind the post and we fouled, because we didn't get position as they were fighting harder than we were fighting."

To be fair, Old Dominion just matches up well with Kentucky. The Monarchs are a team full of veterans that are well-coached and disciplined defensively. The guys on that team know what is going to be asked on them on every possession, and they simply execute. They are also very, very physical. Throw in the fact that this is the second noon-tip in a row for a young Kentucky team that is on the tail-end of a week-long road trip -- remember, they never went back to Lexington after their game on Tuesday at the Champion's Classic in New York City -- and it was a perfect storm.

It only made sense that the Monarchs were going to give Kentucky problems.

And it also makes it easy to identify who is the most likely to knock off the Wildcats in the SEC. Alabama has a couple of tough, veteran bigs and they play a physical style of defense. They should give Kentucky problems. After seeing Mississippi State two nights in a row this week, I think the Bulldogs can also give Kentucky a fight. But is Vanderbilt really going to change the way they play, particularly if Festus Ezeli is still injured or not back to 100%, just for a game against the Wildcats?

More than anything, this is an indicator of who Kentucky will struggle with.

But its also a perfect teaching point for Calipari. Watching this tape, it won't be difficult for him to clearly lay out for his team exactly where they are going to struggle this season and what they need to improve on. Teaching point aren't easy to come by when you're running Kansas out of Madison Square Garden or outscoring Penn State 47-15 in a half. Nearly losing to Old Dominion, however, will get this group's attention.

"We're either going to evolve or we're not going to be as good as everybody thinks," Calipari said. "Because what its going to be is mush-mouth basketball right now until we prove we can play."

"But I think I have a good enough team with good enough guys, they'll figure it out."
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Kansas and Kentucky both can learn from last night

NEW YORK - Kansas is the favorite to win the Big 12 this season.

The Jayhawks have earned that right by winning seven straight Big 12 regular season titles and eight of the last nine. Baylor and Texas A&M both have good teams this season, but Big 12 supremacy won't be given away. It has to be earned. Texas A&M is dealing with their head coach's health issues and their star forward's knee injury. Baylor has is still trying to figure out who will run the point and how to win with Scott Drew coaching. While the Big 12 may be the most balanced conference in the country, there is no one in the league that can be considered a tier above the pack.

That's why the nod has to go to Kansas as the favorite.

And if any team is ever going to end the Jayhawk's reign atop the Big 12, this is the year to do it.

Kansas lost 75-65 to Kentucky at Madison Square Garden in the nightcap of the Champion's Classic on Tuesday. And while the final deficit was only ten points, in the second half it was quite clear -- Kansas was undeniably out-talented by Kentucky. By a wide margin. In the second half, when the Wildcats found their rhythm, Kansas got steamrolled.


It was further evidence that Kentucky may just be the best team in the country.

But the news wasn't all bad for Kansas.

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I don't think there is any question who the most talented team in the country is.

Its Kentucky. When they put it all together, this team is an absolute joy to watch and nightmare to play against. They have size up and down their lineup. They are loaded with athletes. They run the floor. They have shooters that spread the floor and finishers around the rim. They have a point guard that is able to get those guys the ball. Maybe the best measure of just how good this team is is Kyle Wiltjer. He's a top 20 freshman and he can't sniff the court this season.

There's was a stretch of last night's game where I closed my computer, I put my phone down and I just watched Kentucky play. I sat back and I admired what this team is capable of. They are that good.

The problem?

That Kentucky team only showed up for second half of last night's game. In the first half, Kentucky looked like a completely different team. They turned the ball over 12 times, six of them coming from their freshman point guard Marquis Teague, and shot just 38.5% from the floor. The problem was offensive execution -- far too often, the dribble-drive motion offense that John Calipari preaches broke down into his players trying to go one-on-one.

"We broke off every play," Calipari said. "I told them after the game that what I'm going to have to start doing is that is you break off a play, you're coming out. You think its ok that you're supposed to go right and you go left because you feel like it, you're coming out."

"Everybody walked into that game today and they were going to do their own thing, and they did it."


Its no secret that the key to winning at the collegiate level is recruiting, the ability to identify talented players and bring them into the program. But talent alone doesn't win games. That's why Butler was able to make it to the last two national title games. Its why Memphis finished fourth in Conference USA last season. Its why the 2010-11 Kentucky team was able to make the Final Four and not the much-more talented 2009-2010 Kentucky team.

"Everybody thinks talent wins," Calipari said. "No. Talented players that play together win."

"The message I gave them yesterday was 'we don't compete with each other'. We compete with the other team. We push each other and we challenge each other, but we complete each other. We all do what we do and we play off one another and we complete the team. We don't compete with each other."

That's not the only issue that this Kentucky team has. This is a young group. Of the eight players that played last night, four were freshmen and two were sophomores. The two seniors on the roster? They both came off the bench. Its not difficult to foresee composure being a problem from this group.

Two incidents stuck out last night. In the first half, Teague just absolutely melted down. Six turnovers is way too high for a point guard, and Teague had that number in the first half. He was over-penetrating, he was throwing bad passes and he was getting himself caught in the air without anywhere to go with the ball. With every mistake, Teague tried harder to make up for it. Coach Cal even moved Teague to the off-guard spot, allowing Doron Lamb to handle the ball, but that didn't make much of a difference. Teague's disastrous first half was a major reason Kentucky found themselves down. The Wildcats were lucky that performance came against Kansas and not North Carolina; they could have dug a hole too deep to get out of.

Teague isn't the first Calipari point guard to deal with these issues, however. Brandon Knight had the same problem at the start of last season. John Wall did as well, although he was able to mask his turnover problem by hitting game-winner after game-winner.

Then midway through the second half, Terrence Jones was knocked to the ground by Thomas Robinson, who regained his balance by straddling Jones. Instead of stepping to the side, Robinson walked over Jones, similar to the way Scottie Pippen walked over Patrick Ewing in the 1992 NBA Playoffs. Jones' reaction was to get up and try and get into Robinson's face. He wasn't alone, as the rest of his team rushed over and started some pushing and shoving.

While somewhat justified -- I probably would have done the same thing if I were him -- the incident shined a light on another potential issue for the Wildcats: composure. What's going to happen if Jones catches an inadvertent elbow from John Henson? What happens if Kidd-Gilchrist, who was the most vocal when the two teams came together last night, gets knocked into the scorer's table by Chane Behanan? How will the Wildcats react? Will it take them out of their game? Will a punch get thrown?

When Terrence Jones -- a kid who sulked his way out of the lottery at the end of last year, preens after every made shot and walked away from a car accident to avoid the punishment -- is the leader for a young team, having concerns about composure and handling adversity is certainly warranted.

"They think they're in Orlando," Calipari said, referring to where the AAU national tournament is held, "and they've got another game tomorrow morning and one that afternoon."

"Now they're talking to the other team, you can't do that here. You want to talk, but you want to talk to your team. They're young. They don't know better."

There is one common thread in all of the criticisms about Kentucky: youth. This team is young. They are freshmen and sophomores. They will learn. They'll understand that at this level of basketball, the game isn't all 1-on-1. They'll learn how to fit into an offense and how to play a role on defense. They'll learn what is a good shot and what is a bad shot. They'll learn how to walk away from a confrontation.

And with the amount of talent that this group has on their roster, if they learn it by the end of this year, watch out.

"I don't want to say that [this is my most talented team] because I've had some pretty good teams," Cal said, "but this team has a chance to be special."

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"I think we played better than them in the first half."

That's the first thing that Tyshawn Taylor said to the group of reporters that managed to track him down outside of the Kansas locker room 45 minutes after the game had ended.

And you know what? He was right.

A lot of Kentucky's struggles were self-inflicted. Marquis Teague was playing out of control, Kentucky was breaking off their sets too early, Terrence Jones and Anthony Davis were taking some ill-advised shots. But some of the credit deserves to fall on the shoulders of the Jayhawks. They were the ones that made the steals when Teague threw a bad pass. They were the ones that played solid -- and well-prepared -- defense, helping to frustrate Kentucky's players into playing 1-on-1 basketball. And most importantly, they were the ones that capitalized on the Wildcat mistakes, jumping out to a 10-3 lead early and extending that lead to 21-14 at the under twelve timeout.

Kentucky made a push to get the game tied at the half, but Kansas could go into the locker room feeling pretty good about the 20 minutes that they had just played. The Jayhawks had held Kentucky to 38.5% shooting from the floor and forced 12 turnovers.

The second half was a different story.

"We had a lot of turnovers," Taylor said, "it was our mistakes, and they made us pay for it. One of the main things we wanted to focus on was taking care of the ball. There's different reasons that we didn't, but that's what cost us."


And while the loss hurt -- Taylor said after the game that he felt like his team had lost the championship -- its important that Kansas doesn't ignore the positives from this game. They hung with the most talented team in the country for 20 minutes and didn't quit after they dug themselves a 17-point second half hole. There are positives to take out of this game.

I know its weird to read, and even weirder to write, about moral victories when you're talking about Kansas, one of the top five programs in the history of the game, but its just one of those years for Kansas. The Jayhawks were crushed by early-entry after last season, with Josh Selby following the Morris Twins out the door and into the lockout. Kansas also lost starters Brady Morningstar and Tyrel Reed, valuable role players that could shoot and defend. Combine that with the swing-and-misses that Self has had on the recruiting trail over the last year or two and the fact that three of the Jayhawk recruits -- including Ben McLemore, the star of Self's 2011 class -- were ruled ineligible by the NCAA.

What does it all mean?

The Jayhawks have no bench. Their front court depth starts Kevin Young, a transfer from Loyola Marymount, who is actually playing behind Justin Wesley, a walk-on transfer from Lamar, where he averaged 1.2 ppg and 1.3 rpg. Connor Teahan, a former walk-on that finally earned a scholarship last year, played 23 minutes last night.

The guys that do play are all feeling their way through new and expanded roles. Taylor and Thomas Robinson are now the focal points of this offensive attack and expected to be in the running for all-league teams. Elijah Johnson, Jeff Withey and Trevor Releford are all seeing their first significant minutes since they entered the program. All three are former top 50 recruits.

"This was definitely a learning experience for a young team like us," Taylor said. "We got a lot of young guys, guys that just haven't been in this position before, pressure situations like this. I think we can definitely watch tape and learn from this."

"It sucks to lose like this, but its a learning experience. We just gotta build."

Kansas still has plenty of chances to learn before they start Big 12 play. They kick off the Maui Invitational next week against Georgetown. The host Long Beach State, Ohio State and Davidson in September before heading out to LA to take on USC. There will be plenty of opportunities for this team to learn and plenty of room for them to grow.

"We're only two games in. We just got to keep working hard and I think we're going to be where we want to be pretty soon."
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2011-2012 Top 50 Countdown: No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats

Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country. You can find a complete schedule of our 2011-2012 Season Preview coverage here. To browse through the rest of the Top 50, click here.

Last Season: 29-9, 10-6 (2nd SEC), lost in the Final Four to UConn

Head Coach: John Calipari

Key Losses: Brandon Knight, Josh Harrellson, DeAndre Liggins

Newcomers: Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Kyle Wiltjer

Projected Lineup:

- G: Marquis Teague, Fr
- G: Doron Lamb, So.
- F: Darius Miller, Sr.
- F: Terrence Jones, So.
- C: Anthony Davis, Fr.
- Bench: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Fr.; Kyle Wiltjer, Fr.; Eloy Vargas, Sr.; Twany Beckham, Jr.


Outlook: John Calipari did it again. For the third straight season while heading up the Kentucky program, Coach Cal has brought in a freshmen class that is absolutely stocked. This difference this year, however, is that instead of bring those freshmen into a program that has nothing else left, he actually returns two potential first-round picks from last years team. It sounds weird saying this, but this may actually be the most talented team that Coach Cal has had in the Kentucky tenure, including the 2010 team that had John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and three other first round draft picks.

The strength of this team is going to be their front court as Anthony Davis and Terrence Jones both have a chance to be first team all-americans. Jones is the more intriguing of the two. Early last season, Jones looked like a potential player of the year candidate. He was scoring everywhere on the floor, he was dominating the glass, he was blocking shots and he was hitting threes. But something happened midway through the season. He lost his confidence, he worked his way into John Calipari's doghouse for being selfish and by the end of the year he was the third or fourth option for the Wildcats offensively. Which player shows up this season? Based on the amount of work Jones put in this summer (he's now built like a tight end) and the 52 point performance he had in UK's Blue-White scrimmage, it will be the former.

Davis has a chance to be just as good, if not better, than Jones. Davis sprouted from 6'3" to 6'10" before his junior year in high school, meaning that he still has the perimeter skills he had spent his life cultivating, just now in the frame of a power forward. He also managed to keep all of his coordination and athleticism -- a fact that may actually be more impressive than the growth spurt itself -- which makes him just a scary prospect. There are two issues for Davis heading into the season. The first is obvious: strength. He's rail thin and it will take him some time to adjust to the physicality of SEC basketball. The second problem is whether or not he actually knows how good he is as a player. This is a kid who, if possible, has been talked up even more than Harrison Barnes was last season. Just a year ago he was a run-of-the-mill, 6'3" guard on an average high school team in Chicago. Does he get the fact that people are saying he can be somewhere between the next Kevin Garnett and the next Kevin Durant?

Coming off the bench will be Eloy Vargas and Kyle Wiltjer. Wiltjer is a top 25 recruit and a player that would be the jewel of any other program's recruiting class. He's a face-up four with range beyond the three-point line. Vargas is a 6'11", 250 lb center that has never lived up to his ranking as a top 50 recruit in high school. He's going to be an important piece this year, however. It sounds weird saying this, but the player that Kentucky is going to miss the most this season will be Josh Harrellson. They don't have that physical presence in the paint, the guy that can get them eight or ten rebounds a game, block a few shots and make opposing big men work to get position or a post touch. I don't think Vargas can be that guy, but it sure wouldn't hurt the Wildcats if he did.


The most interesting positional battle on the UK roster is going to happen at small forward between Darius Miller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Miller has kind of taken over the role of leader for this team. He's a veteran presence that has been through his share of battles with these Wildcats. He's a sniper from distance, a more-than capable rebounder and a guy that seems ready to embrace the role of being the defensive stopper for this team.

The problem? That's everything that makes Kidd-Gilchrist the player that he is. I'm not sure that there is a player in the country that I'm more intrigued by than MKG (yes, I'm making that a thing). We're talking about a kid that was considered by most analysts to be the best high school player in the country, regardless of age, heading into his junior season. He fell in the rankings by the time he committed to Kentucky, but that doesn't take away from the raw talent MKG possesses. He's a grinder, a guy that is perfectly suited to playing a role on a team loaded with other future lottery picks.

The other two perimeter players for the Wildcats will be Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb. Lamb is a guy that has taken a ride on John Calipari's hype machine already. Over the summer, the Kentucky head coach referred to him as the best player on the roster. While its tough to agree with that sentiment, I do think that Lamb is a terrific player. Coming in with the reputation of being a player that thrives in the mid-range, Lamb proved himself to be a dangerous three-point threat and capable of getting the ball to the basket. Teague will be intriguing to follow this year. He comes in with quite a bit of expectation -- the past four Calipari point guard recruits have gone 1st, 4th, 1st and 8th in the Draft -- but without the same level of hype. He's the best point guard in this recruiting class, but he's not necessarily a great NBA prospect. He's a terrific penetrator and scorer, but he will have to learn how to be a leader and a guy willing to kick the ball out when he draws an extra defender.

Kentucky has as much talent as any team in the country, and the only reason they are currently sitting behind North Carolina on this list is because of their youth and their question marks. Kentucky does have some unknown quantities that will be starting and/or playing major minutes. But, barring injury, this team will win the SEC and will certainly be a favorite to win the national title.
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Talent isn't the issue with Terrence Jones

Terrence Jones scored 52 points in Kentucky's Blue and White scrimmage on Wednesday night.

He did it going up against Anthony Davis, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2011 and a guy that could end up being not only the SEC Player of the Year and an all-american, but the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft as well.

Let's forget, for a second, that this was nothing more than a glorified pick-up game. Let's ignore the fact that Jones was going up against a physically over-matched Davis in a game that featured little-to-no defense; Jones' team scored 126 points. Jones still managed to put up 52 points on 24-31 shooting from the floor to go along with 16 boards and six assists. Regardless of the level of competition or the defensive intensity you are going up against, those are incredible numbers; numbers that make his coach look smart for saying he's the best player in the country.

But you shouldn't be surprised to see Jones put up those kind of numbers, not after some of the games he had last season. Remember the 27 points and 17 boards he had against Notre Dame? Or the 16 points, 17 boards and four blocks he had against Washington? Or the 24 and 10 he put on Georgia's front line? Or the 35 points he hung on Auburn?

Talent wasn't the issue for Jones as a freshman, and it certainly won't be the issue as a sophomore, not after he apparently spent the summer doing nothing but lifting weights and running sprints.

The issue with Jones was his attitude. We all remember the hullaballoo that was created when John Calipari was caught on camera calling Terrence Jones selfish in a very non-Disney movie way. That happened because, frankly, Jones was playing selfishly. And he didn't respond well to the challenges from Calipari, either. He moped and he pouted and he lolligagged his way through the last month of the season, a shell of the player he was during the first couple of months of the season.

In case you have forgotten, Jones was one of, if not the favorite to win the National Player of the Year award in mid-December last season. But he wasn't even one of Kentucky's first two options offensively during their run to the Final Four.

If Jones cannot find a way to give consistent effort all-year long and doesn't buy into the system that Calipari is running, than he will never live up to his talent level at Kentucky.
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Winning a title with predominantly freshmen is possible

All week long, the folks over at Grantland are running a series featuring writers pen 4,000 word arguments as to why their favorite team will win the national title.

Matt Jones, the brains and the brawn behind Kentucky Sports Radio and the leader of the cult known as Big Blue Nation, was picked to provide a homer's view of why Kentucky hang their eighth banner this year. And while much of the article reads like the sermon given at a Big Blue pep rally, Jones does make a crucial and important point, one that he will -- and should -- make many times throughout the year: winning a national title with elite freshmen is not only possible, its been done before.

In the last two decades, there have been five years were one team was able to land a powerful recruiting class that included at least three of the top 15 high school players in the country -- Michigan in 1992 (the Fab Five), Ohio State in 2007, and Kentucky in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

• In 1991, Michigan started five freshmen -- Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson -- and while they struggled during the regular season, earning a six seed, the Wolverines clicked during the NCAA Tournament. The Fab Five made it all the way to the national title game, where they lost by 20 to Duke.


• In 2006, Thad Matta brought in Mike Conley, Greg Oden, Daequan Cook and David Lighty. Despite Oden battling injuries throughout the first half of the season, the Buckeyes were still able to earn a No. 1 seed in the tournament and a trip to the national title game.


• In 2009, Kentucky's recruiting class was so good that four players -- including one kid that couldn't get off the bench -- were picked in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft. But as talented as John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins were, they couldn't get past West Virginia in the Elite 8.


• Last season, Kentucky played with blue-chip freshmen in Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb -- Enes Kanter was the best recruit of the group, but he never got cleared to play. Regardless, even without Kanter, Kentucky was able to play their way to the Final Four, upsetting Ohio State (who started a freshmen at point guard and center) and North Carolina (who started a freshman at point guard and small forward) along the way.

In the previous four instances where a team has relied heavily on a vaunted freshmen class, there have been two No. 1 seed, a trip to the Elite 8, a trip to the Final Four and two appearances in the National Title game. That's impressive. And that's successful. The worst case scenario in this (extremely) small sample is winning both SEC title, earning a No. 1 seed and making a trip to the Elite 8.

What coach in the country wouldn't take that?

But there's more.

In 2002, Syracuse brought in a well-regarded recruiting class that was headlined by one uber-recruit named Carmelo Anthony. Anthony went on to have one of the best freshman seasons in the history of the NCAA, averaging 22.1 ppg and 10.0 rpg while being named a second-team all-american and leading Syracuse to the national title. Joining him in the starting lineup that year? Freshmen Gerry McNamara and Billy Edelin. McNamara averaged 35.3 mpg, which was second only to Anthony's 36.4 mpg. That group of freshmen accounted for three of the Orange's top five scorers in 2002-2003. Of their top seven scorers, three more were sophomores, meaning that of Syracuse's seven-man, title-winning rotation, six were freshmen and sophomores.

There's an even more recent example. Last season, Kemba Walker took over March. He led UConn on a five-games-in-five-days run through the Big East Tournament and to six more wins and a national title. He was a junior, which means most people will ignore UConn on this list. But the Huskies deserve to be on this list. Last season, five different freshmen started a total of 104 games for the Huskies. The freshmen averaged an even 100 minutes out of a possible 200 hundred minutes per game. In the national title game against Butler, UConn got 111 minutes out of freshmen. Jeremy Lamb became the team's clear-cut No. 2 scoring option, becoming the biggest reason teams were unable to double team Kemba. Shabazz Napier matured enough to hold down the point guard position, allowing Kemba free-reign to be a scorer. Alex Oriakhi, UConn's enforcer inside and the guy that allowed a team that started Tyler Olander or Charles Okwandu to dominate the offensive glass, was only a sophomore. Almost three-quarters of the minutes played by UConn Huskies last season were provided by freshmen and sophomores.

The UConn example is all the more reassuring for Kentucky fans because there is a good chance the Wildcat's first two options offensively won't be freshmen. John Calipari is notorious for using his words in the media to manipulate, but he said over the summer that Doron Lamb would be the best player on this team. Terrence Jones was the best player on the team last year before he lost his confidence. There's a legitimate possibility that these hyped freshmen end up being the most highly-recruited role players in the country.

No one said that winning a national title with a roster chock full of talented underclassmen would be easy.

But winning a national title isn't easy, period.

The best way to win it is by putting as much talent as possible on the floor. If you can't compete with the blue bloods for top 20 recruits, than you have to build your program around development and upperclassmen. If you can compete for the best high school players in the country, then, by all means, recruit them and hope that things break your way during the season.

Because, eventually, Calipari is going to break through and win a national title. And when he does, this silly notion that experience is the only way to succeed in March will finally be thrown out the window.
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Don't feel bad for Marquis Teague, he wanted this pressure

Rick Bozich has an interesting column up over at the Louisville Courier-Journal today.

The point of the column is that, essentially, Marquis Teague is getting an unfair amount of pressure put on him as he deals with competition from Calipari guards of the past. In case you just started watching college basketball this year, Calipari's last four point guards have spent a grand total of four years on campus, with each -- Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall and Brandon Knight -- ending up being pick somewhere in the top eight.

As a result, Bozich argues, Teague loses his transition period. Kentucky fans are expecting the point guard John Calipari has repeatedly referred to as a "pit bull" on the court to be just as dominating as his four predecessors from the second he steps on the Rupp Arena floor the first rime:

So far the procession has been flawless. But in fairness to Teague, please remember that “The Next” thing is risky business. Ask Curtis Hunter and Kevin Madden.

Who are Curtis Hunter and Kevin Madden? They were North Carolina recruits who were supposed to be The Next Michael Jordan. I won’t even touch the lengthy lists of the next Larry Birds or Magic Johnsons.

That’s where we are in college sports today. Players aren’t guaranteed an adjustment period, although they should be. As supremely talented as Teague is, he will likely need one. Most guys do.

On the one hand, Bozich does have a point. Since the one-and-done era kicked off with some magical freshman performances, every fan in the country is expecting the top recruit on their team's roster to develop into a star. It puts quite a bit of pressure on those players, and that pressure can manifest itself as early season struggles. Take a look at Harrison Barnes. There was so much hype surrounding his arrival to campus last season, but once he started off slowly, it took him until mid-January to finally gain back his confidence.

So yes, in general I agree with Bozich's column.

But in regards to Marquis Teague, Bozich couldn't be more wrong.

Teague knew exactly what he was getting himself into. As a junior is high school, the Indianapolis native was committed to play basketball at Louisville. But once he realized that there was like going to be an opening at Kentucky's point guard spot, he decommitted from the Cardinals and became a part of Big Blue Nation. No one forced him to make that decision. No one held a gun to his head and told him to leave one side of the UK-UL rivalry to defect to the other side.

He made that decision on his own, and he did it fully knowing the kind of pressure that gets put on Kentucky's players, particularly their freshmen point guards.

I don't feel bad for Marquis Teague at all. This is what he wanted.
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Kentucky loses interest from two recruits

Something strange has been going on the past 24 hours.

Two of the elite high school forwards in the country -- TJ Warren (the 23rd ranked player in our Consensus Recruiting Rankings) and Mitch McGary (who is now No. 2), who both are attending Brewster Academy this season -- have made some progress in their college decision-making process. And while both kids have received plenty of interest from John Calipari nd Kentucky during their recruitment, it appears as if neither will end up in Lexington.

Warren has cut Kentucky from his list completely. The high-scoring, 6'7" forward was scheduled to be on campus for Big Blue Madness, but he is now down to just four schools -- UNC, NC State, Georgetown and Florida. McGary hasn't cut Kentucky from his list, but he's canceled the rest of his visits. He won't be attending Big Blue Madness either. Most believe Michigan is the leader there.

Its still too early for Kentucky fans to start worrying about their 2012 class. They've already landed one of the best wing prospects in the country in Archie Goodwin and will still have an impressive amount of talent coming to campus for Big Blue Madness, which always seems to be the tipping point for some recruits.

So what happened?

Maybe Calipari stopped recruited Warren and McGary as hard because they weren't his top targets. Maybe McGary and Warren got scared off when they started receiving tweets like this from Kentucky fans. Maybe those two simply don't want to go to Kentucky.

Who knows. But I sincerely doubt its a sign Kentucky's recruiting class is in trouble.
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Kentucky gets a recruit for 2012 in a business decision?

John Calipari is finally on the board in the Class of 2012.

Archie Goodwin, the No. 8 player in our Consensus Recruiting Rankings, announced last night that he will be headed to Lexington to play for the University of Kentucky. A 6'5" wing, the Arkansas native is quick and powerful when going to the basket, capable of finishing above the rim with authority. He'll only get better as he continues to develop his mid-range game and his perimeter jumper. He's also extremely competitive and a winner, which are traits that are almost as important in a prospect as their vertical and their wingspan.

Goodwin, who picked Kentucky over Arkansas and Memphis, is a perfect fit for Coach Cal's dribble-drive motion offense thanks to his ability to slash to the basket.


More importantly, however, is that Goodwin is the first commitment for Kentucky in the Class of 2012. Who will follow? The Wildcats are, as always, in the mix for a number of high profile recruits, including the likes of Shabazz Muhammad, Mitch McGary, Kaleb Tarczewski and DaJuan Coleman. Many of their targets will be on campus for Big Blue Madness, but will Goodwin's commitment be the spark needed to start getting some of these players to commit to the Wildcats?

My favorite part about Goodwin's commitment is this quote that Dave Telep tweeted out last night: "I love my state but it’s a business decision and this is best for my career and my family."

A business decision? Is that right, Archie? Is that an unfortunate choice of words or, finally, a moment of clarity? Whatever the case, given Coach Cal's track record and the rumor and innuendo that surrounds his recruiting successes, that quote is too funny.


As always, here's why UK fans should be excited about Goodwin:


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