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.

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.