Jones does it all as Cats beat ETSU, 88-65.

It's been awhile since I've last posted, and a lot has happened.

• UK won their two exhibition games easily as expected
• This Wednesday, Marquis Teague, Michael Gilchrist, and Kyle Wiltjer all signed their national letter of intents to play for the Cats on the first day of the signing period.
• On Thursday, there was bad news. Enes wasn't freed, and was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA for receiving $33,000 more than "necessary expenses".
• This afternoon, we have found out that $20,000 of that was used for education, which could be a major implication in the appeal process later this month, leaving only $13,000 to be re-paid or accounted for.
• And tonight, without Enes Kanter, the Cats took care of business and beat ETSU 88-65.
  

East Tennessee State isn't one of the best teams the Cats will play this year, but they were a veteran team that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago and a major upgrade in talent from Pikeville, Dillard, and the Canadian teams that they have played this summer. They were a very good test for a young team in their opening game. I expected the young Cats to fall behind early in this one, but eventually come back to win rather easily. I thought the new guys would be overwhelmed by the difference in talent compared to what they've faced in the preseason. I expected a similar sloppy performance as what we were accustomed to early on last season with a young team. I was wrong.

It was an all around excellent opener, and I must say, they're ahead of where they were a year ago. They're also a much better shooting team than a year ago as they shot 50%, 13 of 26, from the field. Brandon Knight made 4 0f 7 from behind the arc, Doron Lamb made 3 of 5, DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller each made three, and even big man Terrence Jones, the star of the game, made 2 out of 3 three point attempts. It's safe to say that this team probably won't shoot like this every game, but they probably won't ever go 0-25 from 3 ever again, either. Jones finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 steals. There didn't seem to be anything that he couldn't do. The other scoring leaders for the Cats were Lamb (20), Knight (17), and Liggins (14).

Darius Miller also had 8 points and Josh Harrelson played well in limited playing time. Harrelson started the game and grabbed the first rebound and scored the first basket for the Cats but was called for 2 quick fouls which put him on the bench the rest of the 2nd half (one of those fouls seemed questionable). Harrelson also picked up a third foul early in the 2nd half and finished with 2 points and 7 rebounds in just 16 minutes to play. With the absence of Kanter and Harrelson on the bench, Eloy Vargas had to fill the void but was unable to get into the scoring books. It didn't really matter because Terrence Jones did just about everything, inside and out. Jon Hood, who came off a 17 point performance in the previous exhibition game, only got into the game for 6 minutes and scored 2 points.

With or without Enes Kanter, this is going to be a very good team. It's not life or death on this decision. He'd be a huge addition, but they've been preparing all off season to play without him and they will be just fine without him. Kentucky fans need to have perspective. Remember Billy Ball? This team will be, at worst, the 2nd best team we've had in 5 years. Then, next year, we'll be even better and perhaps even better than last year. I don't expect this team to accomplish everything that happened a year ago; but they are a better shooting team, they are playing better early on than they did last year, and I do believe they could go further into the tournament. "Enjoy the path", as Calipari says, it's going to be another great year!

The Cats take the football field tomorrow in a must win game against Vanderbilt. Bowl eligibilty and momentum going into Knoxville are on the line. It's been reported that, finally, Derrick Locke will play.

(Photo Courtesy of UKathletics.com)

Canada Trip Concludes with Most Consistent and Complete Effort Yet

(Darius Miller pictured above, Courtesy of the Cats Pause)

On Tuesday morning, all 8 of the undermanned Wildcats scored. All 3 nights of the trip, Darius Miller and Brandon Knight performed exceptionally well. Doron Lamb had a sluggish outing in his opener, but followed that up with 2 straight 20 point performances. Miller, Knight, and Lamb combined for 74 points on Tuesday. Hood, Liggins, and Harrelson delivered with strikingly consistent numbers all 3 nights. But Tuesday was the most complete effort of the trip, as the Cats led big the entire duration of the game. They went into halftime with a 22 point lead and never gave in on route to a 104-75 victory over Windsor.

The most impressive statistic of the 3 day trip, especially after only having 10 practices previously, was that Kentucky only turned over the ball 14 times each game. It shows an incredible consistency and focus, especially given the fast paced offense that they run. The same consistency and focus wasn't always present last season in early November games. This is a different team than we will see at Big Blue Madness on October 15th, but the additions of Enes Kanter, Terrence Jones, and Eloy Vargas will only make the Cats' a more complete and balanced team from an already pretty good team that we saw in these 3 days.

Here's a recap of everyone's numbers:

Darius Miller 24 pts, 3 reb, 3 assts
Stacey Poole 2 pts, 1 steal
Jon Hood 8 pts, 8 rebs, 4 assts
Brandon Knight 27 pts, 5 rbs, 9 assts
Doron Lamb 23 pts, 3 rbs
Jarrod Polson 2 pts
Deandre Liggins 10 pts, 2 rbs, 6 assts
Josh Harrellson 8 pts, 19 rbs, 4 steals

And yes, that is correct...Josh Harrelson really had 19 rebounds.

Day 2 in Canada: Lamb Steps Up, Others Continue Consistent Play.

(Brandon Knight Pictured Above, Courtesy of the Cats Pause)

Brandon Knight and Darius Miller each followed up their impressive opening night performances on Monday night against Western Ontario. This time Knight only scored 17 points, but was more of a distributor with 12 assists. Meanwhile, Miller improved on his 18 point performance with 20 points tonight and also had 8 steals and 5 blocks. Miller has shown a post presence in Canada that was unfamiliar for him last season.

Miller and Josh Harrelson have both helped fill the void of UK's absent big men Enes Kanter, Eloy Vargas, and now Terrence Jones- who made the trip to Canada but was sidelined after an injury from last night's game. Harrelson scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. DeAndre Liggins has also been consistent in shooting 9 of 11 from the field in both games combined, scoring 10 points Sunday night and 11 tonight. Jon Hood was also very consistent with 9 points Sunday and 8 points on Monday.

Although it's only been 2 games- 2 games in August against questionable competition, we still have not seen the complete product and what we have seen has been strikingly consistent performances each night by nearly ever contributor. It's this kind of consistency that they'll need each night to even attempt to match the 35-3 season that transpired in Lexington a year ago. The one player who hasn't been consistent is Doron Lamb. Lamb only put up 6 points on Sunday night but put up 24 in tonight's 96-68 win. Hopefully Lamb can follow up his second performance with another good one tomorrow morning when the Cats conclude their Summer exhibition tour, facing Windsor again at 11am.

Basketball in August: Cats invade Canada.

Never has August been more fun around these parts. The Cincinnati Reds are tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for 1st place in a very wild and incredibly tight NL Central race, Terrell Owens has joined fellow endzone diva Chad Ochocinco with the Bengals, and Sports Illustrated has picked Joker's first UK football team to finish 2nd place in the SEC East, tied with Georgia and just behind Florida.

If all of that wasn't enough to excite local sports fans, John Calipari has brought his Kentucky basketball squad to Canada for Big Blue basketball...in August! In the middle of all of this madness of football season approaching and the Reds fighting for their first playoff birth in 15 years, we will get to see a very early summer's glimpse of the Cats' upcoming basketball team for 3 straight days this Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. The games can be seen on FSN South and FSN Ohio in 14 states, or online anywhere in the world at http://www.ukathletics.com/. They can also be heard on the radio on any of the flagship stations of the Big Blue Network. Basketball in August. This is fun, isn't it?

Unfortunately, freshman Center Enes Kanter will not make the trip as UK is still waiting for a word back from the NCAA regarding his amateur eligibility status after his participation with "Club teams" in his home-nation of Turkey. But fans will get to see a good look at returning players Josh Harrelson and DeAndre Liggins. Harrelson and Liggins have shown a marked improvement according to Calipari and he looks for the two to step up in starting roles, along with fellow returnee Darius Miller. Besides Kanter, the other freshman who will play big roles this year that WILL be making the trip to Canada are Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb, and Terrence Jones.

I appologize for a slow summer here on the site, but I'm ready for football season to begin and I'm equally excited for these summer basketball games in Canada. The site will pick things up right where we left off last March and will grow to be even bigger with more features than ever before.

Tomorrow will be a fun day. The Reds look to sweep the Marlins tomorrow afternoon and the Bengals will be playing their home preseason opener. But, of course, I won't be watching the Bengals because at 7:00 the Cats will tip it off vs. Windsor University and we'll wrap up all the action right here at Wildcat Wrap!

Comparing the '09 and '10 Classes, and looking forward to 2011.

2009 Class (Rivals.com National rank and # of stars)

PG John Wall (1)*****
PF DeMarcus Cousins (2)*****
C Daniel Orton (22)*****
PG Eric Bledsoe (23)*****
SG Jon Hood (40)****
SF Darnell Dodson (JUCO)****

2010 Class:

Overall rankings

2009: Wall (1), Cousins (2), Orton (22), Bledsoe (23), Jon Hood (40), and a top JUCO transfer in Dodson

2009 AVERAGE RANK PER PLAYER: 17.6

2010: Kanter (3), Knight (6), Jones (13), Lamb (21), Poole (33), and a top JUCO transfer in Vargas (and possibly one more addition).

2010 AVERAGE RANK PER PLAYER: 15.2

The 2009 class may have had the 2 best players with the most NBA superstar potential, but the 2010 class looks to be more deep and a better overall class, and Cal might not even be finished yet! This class features three top 15 recruits as opposed to two last season, and depending on who you ask, Knight is ranked as high as #1 by some experts and Jones is thought to be in the top 10 by many as well. Hood and Dodson return from last year's class and Poole and Vargas are expected to return as well for the 2011/2012 season. All four of these guys should join would-be Seniors Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins in 2012, while Josh Harrelson stands alone as the only Senior in 2010/2011.

With it being a relatively weak overall class nationwide (there's at least no superstars of the calibur of Wall or Cousins this year), there isn't really a definitive "one and done" player in this class, either. Kanter, Knight, and Jones are likely "one and done", but are not currently guarenteed lottery picks as Wall and Cousins were. Doron Lamb finds him in the same situation as Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton a year ago. He is not expected to be ready after a year and does not expect to leave, but we'll just have to wait and see how he progresses under Cal. I believe that Stacey Poole and Eloy Vargas are ultimately what will make this class better than last year's. I see both of these players contributing much more than Jon Hood did, and maybe more than Dodson did as well as a Freshman, and they'll be very important returnees along with Liggins, Miller, Dodson, and Hood on the 2012 team.

Not only will the 2012 team feature veterans Liggins, Miller, Dodson, and Hood, along with Sophomores Poole, Vargas, and maybe more...but Cal will be bringing in an EVEN Better recruiting class than his first two classes at UK.

Here's how the 2011 Class is stacking up:

Rivals.com National Rank and # of stars

F Mike Gilchrist (1) ***** (committed)

G Marquis Teague (2) *****(committed)

F Lebryan Nash (4) *****(considering KY)

F Quincy Miller (8)*****(KY at top of his list)

That's potentially FOUR top 10 recruits, with 3 of the top 4 overall. Also, keep in mind that Teague will be complemented by senior guards Miller and Liggins. They should also have enough experienced returning players for Calipari to not have to go after an additional two or three guys. Depending on how Lamb develops as a Freshman, Calipari might actually already be done with this class. I certainly think that UK is a viable National Championship contender in 2011, but in 2012 it's hard to imagine them not being the unanimous pre-season favorite.

Lamb signs with Cats, who's next?

Doron Lamb is the newest Wildcat, joining Stacey Poole, Enes Kanter, and Brandon Knight in John Calipari's 2010 recruiting class. Lamb made his decision during a timeout of the Jordan Brand All-Star game Saturday night in Madison Square Garden. Lamb, a shooting guard, joins Brandon Knight in a backcourt that will try to live up to the show that John Wall and Eric Bledsoe put on this past year.

I actually believe that Knight and Lamb could possibly be a better combination that Wall and Bledose were. Instead of two point guards playing with each other next year, the Cats will have Knight running the point, and they will have a traditional spot-up, "catch and shoot" Shooting Guard in Doron Lamb, something that had been missing since the loss of Jodie Meeks. Lamb, a good outside shooter with a fantastic mid range shot, can also put the ball on the floor and is a tremendous defender. He seems to fit every quality of a player that excels in Calipari's system.

Knight is also a much better outside shooter than Wall, and displayed his clutch ability a few weeks ago when he nailed down the winning shot in the McDonald's All American game. Neither player may be quite as flashy as Wall or Bledsoe, and neither may be a "one and done" player, either. It's actually probable that one of them, along with Stacey Poole and Enes Kanter, will return for another year. These are very good college players, but not freakishly as good as what we had last season.

However, this class looks to actually be better in some aspects than last season's class, which was probably the best recruiting class in the history of college basketball. They probably won't guide this team to a 35-3 record, but they may bring some strengths to the table that could make this team more suitable to reach the Final Four. Two of three losses last season were because of horrendous three point shooting. Those kinds of shooting performances will likely not occur from this bunch next season. The likelihood that every one of them will most probably not be leaving after a year is what could ultimately make this year's class more successful.

If just a few of them come back for their sophomore seasons (which is expected to happen), this class could certainly be more productive if they join would-be Seniors' Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins in 2012, as well as top 2011 recruit Michael Gilchrist and possibly Marquis Teague. Teague is choosing between UK and UofL and will make that choice on Wednesday. If Teague picks the Cats, it would almost certainly make Kentucky the pre-season favorite to win the 2012 National Championship and would be a MAJOR letdown for Rick Pitino and the Cardinals.

After Teague makes a decision on Wednesday, the next two players to look at in the next few weeks are Terrence Jones and C.J. Leslie, both of this year's class. Leslie looks to be choosing between N.C. State and Kentucky, but Terrence Jones seems to be a lean towards the Cats. He recently spoke very highly on the fans and excitement around the UK program, his chance of winning a National Championship here in Lexington, and the ability of John Calipari to develop NBA talent. If all the domino's fall, Calipari will bring in another #1 recruiting class to Lexington. Stay tuned.

And also don't forget about Spring Football. Mike Hartline seems to be leading the way this spring and we'll let you know how all three quarterbacks look in the inaugural Blue/White Scrimmage of the Joker Phillips' era this Saturday.