Now, you may have noticed there is a slight difference between that team and this year’s. For starters, the coach is sober. And the exact opposite of what Billy “Don’t Call Me Surly, I’m Just An Asshole” Gillispie was. The only problem with John Calipari is that he recruits players the NBA actually wants, so it looks like we are gonna have a rather large amount of personnel turnover every season. Nothing wrong with signing blue chippers all day long, but by doing that you sacrifice the family aspect of having tenured players. This will eventually be an issue, if for no other reason than a sizable group of nostalgic old-timers will get together and bitch about how, back in the day, players stayed more than one or two years. Makes no difference to me, but I do like seeing at least one or two upperclassmen to show the young guys how it’s done.
In my opinion, that is the biggest downfall for this edition of Wildcat basketball. Sure, there is less size, less depth, probably less talent, but more than anything, less of a veteran presence. Nothing against the older guys, but Patrick Patterson carried this team for two seasons (with help from Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley for one of them), under very difficult circumstances. Last year’s freshmen knew they had to bring it, or the old man was gonna crack some skulls. This year? I’m not sure Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins can bring out that sense of “have to” that Patterson did. Nothing against them, that’s just how I see it.
On the flip side, when it comes to postseason play, apparently the veteran presence isn’t necessary for a big run in the NCAA tournament. After all, as good as Patterson was, he had played in just as many tournament games as John Wall and Co. (And the NIT doesn’t count. Stick the NIT in your ass if you think it does.) Even with a severe lack of postseason experience on last year’s team, they made a nice Elite Eight run, before picking the worst time of the season to forget how to play basketball. Here’s the caveat: a grizzled veteran calms that team down and makes them play within themselves, instead of jacking up 3’s all night. Patterson wasn’t able to do that, because he hadn’t been there before.
Which gets me back to this year: even though Miller and Liggins don’t appear (to me) to be able to bring out the best in their teammates, they will have a few tournament games under their belts come NCAA time. In other words, I don’t see them being as dominant in the regular season, but I think they have a better chance for a Final Four. Ah, the hell with it. I don’t know what is going to happen, and neither do you. And yes, I’m aware that I contradicted myself numerous times in the preceding paragraphs. Get over it.
Something else I wonder about with Calipari: since he recruits studs, is there a chance that, in the near future, Kentucky won’t have anyone to honor on Senior Night? There is only one sophomore this year, Jon Hood, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he transferred. He just seems like a moody bastard to me.
But back to my original point, if I even got there to begin with: nobody knows anyone who plays for Kentucky this year. That’s where I come in. Instead of some gutless prediction of scores and final standings, I’m gonna give you an inkling of who the hell these guys are. Because I’m nothing if not here to provide a service, let’s get to it.
*NOTE: MAY OR MAY NOT ACTUALLY CONTAIN PERTINENT INFORMATION
THE FRESHMEN
Enes Kanter, #0, 6’11” C. By far the biggest question mark this year, Kanter takes this team from solid contender to one of several legitimate favorites. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A lot of people expect him to miss a few games before gaining eligibility, a la Randolph Morris. The problem with that is Morris had a year of NCAA experience before he missed time, so it was just a matter of getting back in game shape. For all of Kanter’s upside and Turkish pro experience, the American game is a different animal. I can’t confidently say he can just come in and clean house. I’m sure he will; just don’t be surprised if he doesn’t. Trivia: The anagram for “Enes Kanter” is “enter snake”, which is several different kinds of awesome. I really hope he gets to play.
UPDATE: Well, shit. Since I finished this entry, Enes Kanter was denied eligibility by the NCAA, who are a bunch of flaming bastard assholes. Unless UK wins its appeal, nothing I just wrote about him is relevant. Not that it was anyway.
Stacey Poole, #2, 6’4” G. Poole was the first one of the 2010 class to commit, and has been overlooked ever since. Kind of understandable, I guess, since he only has four stars. The guy obviously sucks. If Calipari truly goes with a 7-man rotation, I don’t see Poole getting guaranteed minutes.
Terrence Jones, #3, 6’8’ F/C. I’m looking forward to seeing how this guy does this season. He is one of the many players on this year’s team who was pilfered from U-Dub. A lot of hell was raised over Jones’ initial commitment to Washington, but he waffled and decided to join the winning team. I’m sure Cam Newton is responsible. Jones is a lefty, and tall and quick, just like me (one out of three ain’t bad), and he has potential to be an exciting player, if he could just quit with those damn water bottles.
Jarrod Polson, #5, 6’1” G. Polson is a walk-on cum scholarship from Jessamine County, so he already has a place as a fan favorite. The fact he is a scrawny little white guy helps; just ask Colin Cowherd. Not sure what Polson’s dad does, but I’m sure he doesn’t make plans to rob banks. Colin Cowherd is also an asshole.
Brandon Knight, #12, 6’3” G. Brandon Knight is the stud of this year’s recruiting class. He graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA, can recite Shakespeare, and isn’t quite as quick as John Wall, which means he is still quicker than everyone else. He has played great in every game so far, from the Canadian trip to both exhibitions, and the team will ebb and flow with him.
Doron Lamb, #20, 6’4” G. Lamb is the sharpshooter for this year’s team, and he will be oft-needed. He has drawn a few comparisons to Jodie Meeks for his style and shooting ability, and is considered a mentor for 2015 stud Jarius Docile, who is rumored to be a UK lean. Lamb’s anagram is “Bold Roman”, which would be more fitting for Brandon Knight, what with the Shakespeare recitation and whatnot.
SOPHOMORE
Jon Hood, #4, 6’7” G. I’m not sure how much of a contributor Hood will be this year. If he can show consistent touch shooting the ball early on, he has a good shot of getting serious minutes. If he struggles out of the gate, he may be fighting for minutes with Stacey Poole.
JUNIORS
Darius Miller, #1, 6’7” F/G. Darius Miller is officially the veteran leader of this team, and I’m not sure that’s a good sign. He doesn’t show much vocal leadership, but I’ll be the first to admit good leaders don’t have to be vocal. What worries me about Miller is his inconsistent intensity; can he make his teammates want to be better? As far as his ability, Darius can be a 20-point scorer if he wants to be.
Eloy Vargas, #30, 6’11” F/C. Vargas is another player who has been overlooked all year, but I don’t see that being the case for long. A transfer from Florida, he is the team’s main inside presence after Enes Kanter. Eloy is sort of a question mark; he certainly has the size to be a factor, but whether or not he is will have a lot to do with Kentucky’s success this season.
DeAndre Liggins, #34, 6’6” G. After a very up-and-down first couple seasons, I look for Liggins to be the vocal leader of this team. He has found a nice little niche as an energy/dirty work guy, and with a team full of freshmen, that is a nice option to have. Liggins appears to be a little quicker than last year, and he will almost certainly get more minutes. He could end up being this year’s X-factor.
SENIOR
Josh Harrellson, #55, 6’10” F/C. Harrellson is a guy who normally wouldn’t see much action, but with a thin front line, Calipari may call his number quite often, especially given his veteran status. Not the most athletic of the big tall slow white guys you’ll see, but he may be a big help in the rebounding department this year. It will be interesting to see how Josh is utilized with a short bench.
So there it is. Eleven guys (10 if Kanter doesn’t play) who will carry the torch this season. I look for Knight, Miller, Jones, Liggins, and Kanter to start, with Vargas/Harrellson, Lamb, and Poole/Hood being the key reserves. And yes, that is pretty much the entire team, save Polson, who may get good minutes if the starters see early foul trouble. As for the schedule, it’s a bit tricky, with several BCS teams in the non-conference portion. An early trip to Maui will be a great test for a young team; they also have to go to Chapel Hill. I see 5-6 losses regular season, another SEC title, a 1-2 seed in the NCAA, and another Elite Eight. If Enes plays, they are a favorite to win it all.
This has been another installment of “Vaguely Worded Analysis That Offers No Insight Whatsoever”. I hope you enjoyed it, and remember: Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.
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