Just rewatched the game...

[StormCruzzer]

After watching the game live, I was able to re-watch and focus on different things than I normally would when watching it the first time around. The biggest thing I noticed was how incredible everyone’s footwork was, and how active their hands were. Even EJ, Nick, Khalil, and Brooks we’re constantly bouncing, changing their stance, and ready to shift wherever they needed to block off the drive. I made a post after the first game talking about how many of the wings and bigs just looked out of place and stagnant, and in last nights game, I saw none of that. Even when Nick and EJ had to guard out on the perimeter they stayed solid, and didn’t fall for pump fakes, which if you remember, have been a huge problem for a lot of our players the past two years.

Neither Nick nor EJ showed up too much on the stat sheet, but they played solid and filled their roles extremely well. EJ has made a much bigger leap than most people give him credit for. He doesn’t do anything flashy and still misses easy little bunnies, but he’s not making the same mental mistakes he would make all last year. Can’t wait to see how the team progresses as the year goes along! Especially since we’ve yet to see much upside from Brooks/Juzang/Whitney on the offensive end.

 

[akaukswoosh]

Nick’s quickness on defense impressed me even during the game.

 

[KentuckyMildCats]

Just the overall energy the team played with is what impressed me the most, everybody was getting after it. I didn’t expect it after those two lackluster exhibition games but damn that was a great opener. Now if we can get the offense going we’ll be straight, can’t live through Maxey every game.

 

[Rideordiewildcat]

I rewatched too. I didn't pay attention when all of Mich St's players did the Dookie floor slap on defense LMFAO.

 

[akaukswoosh]

 

[Cowtown Cat]

We have a really good team. I've thought all along that this year's team would be better than last year's team. What I watched against MSU makes me believe it even more. Don't get me wrong, we had a very good squad last year, but this team's ceiling is much, much higher IMO.

Our defense will be better and we have some legit rim protectors. I also don't see our go to guy, Maxey, disappearing in crucial games, either. With IQ in the game with Maxey, that's just lethal. With these guards, I think we are Final Four bound, with a great shot at winning the whole damn thing. GBB!

 

[CELTICAT]

Our defense looked light years ahead of last year. Whitney closing out on ball reversals was as good as it gets. The pressure Hagans, Quickley, and Maxey put up was a big difference maker as well.

This may be Kentucky team that looks a lot like some of Cal's Memphis teams. Heavily guard oriented on offense, and ridiculous length and pressure across the board on D.

 

[onearmedjesus]

MSU had a better "team" in the game, but we had the better talent. What I mean is that we had players that could make a play by themselves far more than MSU. That is why they had a 14-9 assist lead. If we learn to use that talent to play off of each other and share offensively, we will be really, really good.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

Did we win the 2nd time? Asking for a friend. [thumb2]

 

[catsfanbgky]

Nick is going to be a problem this year. I think the kid has finally got it. Just do what you are capable of, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[sambowieshin_rivals]

My biggest take-away from this version of the Cats is that we appear to have much more lateral quickness and 'bounce" with our guys than I've seen in a while. These boys ain't getting beat off the dribble too much this year if this game is any indication.

 

[yoshukai]

I was a little concerned we would be "out toughed" by a veteran Michigan State team . I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

I rewatched too. I didn't pay attention when all of Mich St's players did the Dookie floor slap on defense LMFAO.

They pretty much wilted after that...

 

[jameslee32]

1. Better perimeter D and worse post D that will likely even out more as the season progresses.

2. Maxey needs to start.

 

[catsfanbgky]

The post defense was excellent. WTF are you talking about ? Winston was the only MSU player in DD's. Now, rebounding could have been better.

 

[KA4Prez_rivals78700]

Nick looked like a poor man's Junior year Willie Cauley-Stein, and that's a big compliment to Nick. WCS was the best defensive player in the country that year and he hid a lot of the deficiencies we had with Ulis, the Harrison twins, Booker and Lyles.

 

[jameslee32]

The post defense was excellent. WTF are you talking about ? Winston was the only MSU player in DD's. Now, rebounding could have been better.

Winston is a guard.

 

[westerncat]

I read that Cal has said that the staff has to teach the young players coming in on how to play defense. That makes a lot of sense as many play AAU and defense is not taught that much. I was surprised how well we played defense against Mich. St. The offense will get much better over the next 5-6 games. By March we will see a very good team.

 

[gossie21_rivals69805]

MSU had a better "team" in the game, but we had the better talent. What I mean is that we had players that could make a play by themselves far more than MSU. That is why they had a 14-9 assist lead. If we learn to use that talent to play off of each other and share offensively, we will be really, really good.

This is a pretty significant point. We are still riding high off the win over the #1 ranked team. But outside of Winston they really lack elite talent. They beat teams with cohesive play and relentless energy.

We will find out real soon how good MSU is. They play Seton Hall, Maui Classic, and Duke coming up.

Kentucky won’t be fully tested again for quite some time.

 

[mebeblue2]

MSU had a better "team" in the game, but we had the better talent. What I mean is that we had players that could make a play by themselves far more than MSU. That is why they had a 14-9 assist lead. If we learn to use that talent to play off of each other and share offensively, we will be really, really good.

i think we had the better "team" and the better players
that is why we pretty much controlled the game from the beginning

 

[Soupbean]

After watching the game live, I was able to re-watch and focus on different things than I normally would when watching it the first time around. The biggest thing I noticed was how incredible everyone’s footwork was, and how active their hands were. Even EJ, Nick, Khalil, and Brooks we’re constantly bouncing, changing their stance, and ready to shift wherever they needed to block off the drive. I made a post after the first game talking about how many of the wings and bigs just looked out of place and stagnant, and in last nights game, I saw none of that. Even when Nick and EJ had to guard out on the perimeter they stayed solid, and didn’t fall for pump fakes, which if you remember, have been a huge problem for a lot of our players the past two years.

Neither Nick nor EJ showed up too much on the stat sheet, but they played solid and filled their roles extremely well. EJ has made a much bigger leap than most people give him credit for. He doesn’t do anything flashy and still misses easy little bunnies, but he’s not making the same mental mistakes he would make all last year. Can’t wait to see how the team progresses as the year goes along! Especially since we’ve yet to see much upside from Brooks/Juzang/Whitney on the offensive end.

Nick got spun on one time late that made him look bad but otherwise I agree with your bigger point.

For a big, handling the pump fake and staying disciplined defensively is the single most overlooked factor in basketball IMO and can make a HUGE difference if taught right. Guys like Nick and EJ can be game changers if they can only learn to stay on their feet defensivley. The rule is whoever jumps first loses.

I've harped on this before but in todays game the natural tendancy is to overreact and jump at every shown ball, driver, or shooter. The reality is for every 100 times you leave your feet, less than 10% of the time anything good happens. The other 90% you give up an easy shot, dump off, commit a foul, or take yourself completely out of rebouding position. The best shot blockers touch less than 3 balls a game.

Good defensive teams dont overreact and stay in position and on the floor so they can like you said move their feet and thats when what we did a lot against MSU and why you saw them go late in the shot clock a lot and look frustrated.

 

[Roxamora]

I watched the game again as well, what I picked up on was how incredibly frustrated MSU was. We totally took them out of their gameplan, and the reffing was just icing on the cake. Winston spent most of the game looking around in disbelief. What is happening?

 

[KentuckyStout]

The first thing I thought after watching a few minutes of the game - "this is a really well coached, motivated team."

 

[anon1763419335]

nick has been better than fans give him credit for. his issue is mostly staying out of foul trouble. last year he would just push and shove in the post and pick up bad fouls. thats why you hear cal talk about toughness being about getting into position.

no reason nick cant be an 8-10 ppg, 5-7 board guy for us with great defense

 

[Dablueman]

nick has been better than fans give him credit for. his issue is mostly staying out of foul trouble. last year he would just push and shove in the post and pick up bad fouls. thats why you hear cal talk about toughness being about getting into position.

no reason nick cant be an 8-10 ppg, 5-7 board guy for us with great defense

Nick last year blocked shots at an elite level. He just couldn't stay on the floor cause of foul trouble. If he stays on the floor this season he is an elite rim protector who can hit free throws how rare is that?

 

[Dablueman]

Nick last year blocked shots at an elite level. He just couldn't stay on the floor cause of foul trouble. If he stays on the floor this season he is an elite rim protector who can hit free throws how rare is that?

In fact those that rewatched the game how did Richards not record any blocks when I pretty sure I saw him block one 2 handed

 

[AllBall]

Nick looked like a poor man's Junior year Willie Cauley-Stein, and that's a big compliment to Nick. WCS was the best defensive player in the country that year and he hid a lot of the deficiencies we had with Ulis, the Harrison twins, Booker and Lyles.

How'd WCS great defense do against Frank Kaminsky? I'll never get over that defensive performance.

 

[Cobb4uk_rivals287622]

The wing defense was really good, made MSU start their offense a step or so further than they liked. Liked the way Nick was going out totop of the key causing problems for their guards, he also showed really good feet and quickness getting back in to the paint. Of course everyone noticed the quality D our guards played. Very encouraging how well the new guys have bought into the defense portion Of the game. This could be a very tough team to beat after Cal implements the offense.

 

[Rush2112 UK]

nick has been better than fans give him credit for. his issue is mostly staying out of foul trouble. last year he would just push and shove in the post and pick up bad fouls. thats why you hear cal talk about toughness being about getting into position.

no reason nick cant be an 8-10 ppg, 5-7 board guy for us with great defense

I'm still skeptical, but if he does put up numbers like that, we're gonna go a long, long way in March.

 

[derG-punkt]

Winston is a guard.

I'm pretty sure that was the point!

If only a guard had double digits, logic would indicate that no post player did, which would then indicate that the post was likely defended well.

 

[Poetax]

Nick looked like a poor man's Junior year Willie Cauley-Stein, and that's a big compliment to Nick. WCS was the best defensive player in the country that year and he hid a lot of the deficiencies we had with Ulis, the Harrison twins, Booker and Lyles.

Yep when he was injured for the NC game against UConn we saw how much his presence meant when their guards just kept beating us to the basket.

 

[Poetax]

This is a pretty significant point. We are still riding high off the win over the #1 ranked team. But outside of Winston they really lack elite talent. They beat teams with cohesive play and relentless energy.

We will find out real soon how good MSU is. They play Seton Hall, Maui Classic, and Duke coming up.

Kentucky won’t be fully tested again for quite some time.

Yeah we will see but there’s always ups and downs early with new teams that have as many freshmen as we play.

 

[ScrooDook92]

If we can continue to play defense like that, it won't matter as much whether Maxey scores a ton of not. The other guys are going to step up. I don't remember the last time I say a defense this good out on top. Like someone mentioned the other day, once the inside-out game gets going, LOOK OUT!!

 

[StormCruzzer]

In fact those that rewatched the game how did Richards not record any blocks when I pretty sure I saw him block one 2 handed

He blocked the **** out of Winston on one drive.. Volleyball spike.

 

[Crawfords Corner]

Remember that Mid-Major we played in the NCAAT that had those 2 really great 3 point shooters. Go watch EJ and NR in that game. They played tremendous in that game. You don't have to score the ball at a high rate to have an effect on the game. EJ for all the crap he gets, and don't get me wrong he doesn't play perfect defense, but he keeps rebounds alive and plays pretty good defense most of the time. It just doesn't get noticed because of the scoring struggles. Defense is not a weakness for this team.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

We have a really good team. I've thought all along that this year's team would be better than last year's team. What I watched against MSU makes me believe it even more. Don't get me wrong, we had a very good squad last year, but this team's ceiling is much, much higher IMO.

Our defense will be better and we have some legit rim protectors. I also don't see our go to guy, Maxey, disappearing in crucial games, either. With IQ in the game with Maxey, that's just lethal. With these guards, I think we are Final Four bound, with a great shot at winning the whole damn thing. GBB!

I wish we had Washington on this years squad, Herro too, but a forward that can score like PJ would make us so lights out it would be scary.

 

[StormCruzzer]

I wish we had Washington on this years squad, Herro too, but a forward that can score like PJ would make us so lights out it would be scary.

I think you’ll see by mid year Brooks will fill that roll. 1st year PJ in the tournament type player. With a better 3pt shot and ft%

 

[Dablueman]

He blocked the **** out of Winston on one drive.. Volleyball spike.

Credited with zero blocks lol

 

[Bratkartoffeln]

Good points. I only watched the replay until the score was 11-7 and noticed many of the same things, especially noting Khalil's help-side move defensively from one side of the lane to the other, effectively cutting off a baseline drive. That kind of defensive focus and understanding this early does not bode well for the opposition in the future! Not all games will feature that kind of intensity and ability to move to the right spots, but if it does, while the offense rounds into form, we will be a very, very good team. EJ's game will be fine if he tweaks his shooting form and as long as he rebounds and defends.

 

[carolinacat]

Nick got spun on one time late that made him look bad but otherwise I agree with your bigger point.

For a big, handling the pump fake and staying disciplined defensively is the single most overlooked factor in basketball IMO and can make a HUGE difference if taught right. Guys like Nick and EJ can be game changers if they can only learn to stay on their feet defensivley. The rule is whoever jumps first loses.

I've harped on this before but in todays game the natural tendancy is to overreact and jump at every shown ball, driver, or shooter. The reality is for every 100 times you leave your feet, less than 10% of the time anything good happens. The other 90% you give up an easy shot, dump off, commit a foul, or take yourself completely out of rebouding position. The best shot blockers touch less than 3 balls a game.

Good defensive teams dont overreact and stay in position and on the floor so they can like you said move their feet and thats when what we did a lot against MSU and why you saw them go late in the shot clock a lot and look frustrated.

Agree...with Nick's size and length, he just needs to be solid. He can alter shots without trying to block every shot.