A Good Knight in Windsor

Kentucky's opener of their Canadian exhibition tour started out shaky. The young Cats' were still trying to find their groove as they struggled to pull away from Windsor in the early going and went into the locker rooms with only an eight point lead. Freshman phenom Terrence Jones exited the game early with shoulder problems while Enes Kanter and Eloy Vargas didn't even make the trip. This allowed Senior Josh Harrelson and Sophomore Jon Hood to break into the starting lineup and both players showed a marked improvement with 9 points a piece. Hood even broke away for three fast break dunks and picked away four steals from the Lancers.

In addition, Harrelson added 11 rebounds and five blocks. He was only a point away from a double-double in the absence of Kanter and Jones down low. Leading the way for the returning players was Darius Miller with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Darius knocked down 4 out of 5 three point shots and also had a presence down low that was not seen a year ago on a team with an abundance of superior post players. DeAndre Liggins also has seemed to find a new level of confidence in his game this season as he scored 10 points and shot 5 of 6 from the field.

Returnees Harrelson, Hood, and Liggins pleasantly surprised us tonight and Darius Miller came out and performed like many had expected. The majority of the Freshman that made the trip didn't perform as well, except Brandon Knight, who was phenomenal. Knight was the prime time player tonight and his 31 points was the biggest difference in the 95-62 win for the Cats. Calipari has asked people not to compare him with John Wall, but such comparisons are inevitable and will surely come up throughout the season. Both are very, very special talents. Wall may be a half step quicker, but that doesn't necessarily mean Brandon Knight still isn't the fastest player in college basketball this season. On top of that, his jump shot is unquestionably better than Wall's and he was automatic from the free throw line tonight, going 8 for 8 from the line.

Another freshman that impressed was walk-on Jarrod Polson from Jessamine County who scored a couple of nice buckets, including a break away layup against two defenders (goaltending was called, but the ball would have gone in). Calipari has said that Polson could be the best walk-on he's ever coached and he will surely be a fan favorite in Rupp for the next four years. When this kid is a senior, look for him to be a contributor, especially if Cal's team's remain young on a consistent basis.

Basketball season is upon us in the Bluegrass, even if it will only be for 3 days. We knew we had talent coming in, but it's so much more refreshing to see it produce on the court. There were times that were hard to watch in the first 15 minutes of the game, but after that, the Cats rolled and played very comfortably together as if it were in the middle of conference play. They in fact looked better than last year's team did in early games against Miami (OH) and Sam Houston State. It's only August and the competition wasn't great, but the Cats exceeded my overall expectations, especially Knight and the returning players. It will be another fun season!

The Cats will be right back at it tomorrow night at 7 against Western Ontario University and then again at 11am Tuesday morning against Windsor once again.