Balanced Attack Leads Cats on Senior Day

Five players (Patterson, Wall, Miller, Dodson, and Bledsoe) scored in double figures for the Cats as they took an 18 point lead over the Florida Gators, witheld a 2nd half rally, and closed out a win on an emmotional Senior Day at Rupp Arena. For the second straight game, the Cats nailed down eight three pointers- an area that has plagued them throughout conference play. The improved three point shooting and bench play has given Big Blue Nation little to worry about heading into tournament play. With Vanderbilt's loss to South Carolina on Saturday, Kentucky had already stood alone as the outright SEC Champion and today's win gave the Cats an 18-0 perfect record at Rupp this season and solidified themselves as a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

(Photo courtesy of UKathletics.com)

Mark Krebs, Perry Stevenson, Ramon Harris, and Patrick Patterson were honored in Senior Day festivities. Patterson, a junior, is on track to graduate this spring in only three years and could come back for another year if he chooses an M.BA (Masters of Business Administration Degree)at UK over the NBA next season, as a sign pointed out today in Rupp (MBA>NBA...One more year, Pat!).

I would like to personally thank each of the seniors for all that they have done. They've gone through so much playing for three different coaches and they deserve every bit of success that they are enjoying this season. Patrick has been one of the most significant players to ever put on the Kentucky uniform, Perry and Ramon were starters a year ago and have now accepted and embraced their roles on a Championship contending team, and I especially admire Mark as a hard working Kentucky kid with an unbelievable passion and appreciation for being able to suit up for the Blue and White. Krebs has also worked extremely hard to survive as a walk on under three head coaches and eventually earning a scholarship under Calipari. It's also been a pleasure of mine to personally meet and talk with Perry Stevenson on several occasions in his freshman and sophomore seasons at UK.

Be sure to check out Larry Vaught's video of Senior Day, these fabulous articles written on Mark Krebs and Patrick Patterson, and media day interviews with each of the four seniors on their experiences at Kentucky on John Clay's blog.

Cats silence critics, clinch 44th SEC Title.

After an abysmal 2-22 from 3 point range Saturday at Tennessee, the Cats spent extra time in the gym this week working on outside shooting and apparently it paid off. The Cats hit 8 threes tonight, and silenced the doubters that they didn't have the shooters to make a deep run in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Leading the way for the Cats behind the arc was John Wall (3-5) and Darnell Dodson (3-6). Wall also led the team it total scoring with 24 points while Patrick Patterson added another double double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Another weak spot of Saturday's performance was bench scoring. The Cats only had 5 points off the bench against the Vols, today they had 24. Dodson scored 11, Liggins was once again his usual scrappy self with 5 gritty points off the bench along with a steal. Orton added 4 points and a block, and even Perry Stevenson and Ramon Harris each added 2 points. Harris was awarded 11 minutes of play and contributed with 2 offensive rebounds and three assists as well as his 2 points- talk about a guy who knows his role and thrives with it. Tonight was, perhaps, the best overall TEAM win of the entire season. In a night that DeMarcus Cousins had only 6 points and 4 rebounds, everyone else stepped up and played brilliantly TOGETHER.


It was also a great team defensive effort. The Cats suffocating defense totaled up 8 steals and 14 blocks and created plenty of offense as they put on a clinic in points off turnovers with one of the most fast-paced highlight packed games of the season. Defense, transition offense, bench scoring, and three point shooting all were bright spots for the Cats tonight as they ended Georgia's 4 game conference home winning streak and clinched at least a share for the school's 44th SEC Championship.

On Sunday, Seniors' Mark Krebs, Perry Stevenson, and Ramon Harris will be honored on Senior Day against Florida. With a win, the Cats win the SEC Title outright. It will also likely be the last game for three of the most talented players to ever wear the blue and white, and it is rumored that Patrick Patterson (who is academically a senior and graduating this semester) will also be honored. Get your tissue's ready, it's going to be a sad but surely memorable afternoon in Rupp as 24,000 will sing "My Old Kentucky Home" one last time in this storybook season.

Before I go to bed...

I just have to show some love and much deserved credit to a few more guys on the team and also make a few comments to end the day on. We've talked all about Patterson, Cousins, and Wall....but how about DeAndre Liggins?

When everybody talks about the tremendous job John Calipari has done this season, everyone brings up how well he has handled this superstar freshman class and has kept everyone happy and playing well together. It is very under appreciated how good of a job he has done with the returning players that were already on the team under Billy Gillispie and the amazing improvements they've made under their new coach.

As I have stated before, Patrick Patterson's numbers aren't as high, but he is an overall better and more versatile player under Calipari and has discovered an outside shot. Darius Miller was not much of a factor at all last season and has been a contributor and starter for much of this season. Ramon Harris no longer hurts us, but helps us with his rebounding when he comes into games this year and has also improved his outside shot, and I can even bet you that Josh Harrelson and Perry Stevenson are better players than they were a year ago, but they just happen to play on a much better team and don't get the same minutes and opportunities. However, the most pleasant surprise has definitely been DeAndre Liggins.

Liggins' success this season did not come easily. In fact, he did not even appear in a single minute this season until the Indiana game likely because of disciplinary reasons. However, he and Daniel Orton are now the first two guys off of the bench, almost every game. In the last four games, DeAndre has scored 9, 5, 7, and 8 points respectively in each game coming off of the bench. He also has the team's highest three point shooting-percentage at 10 of 17 on the season. Last year, Liggins' biggest problems were his shooting and attitude- now, they're two of his biggest assets and I guarantee you the difference is the way that John Calipari has positively handled him as opposed to the tactics of his old coach. Under Calipari, practices are all about skills. Under Gillispie, it was all about "toughness". Being tough was more important than developing skilled players under the old regime.

Liggins has not only improved his shot, but he's accepted his new role as a scrappy player off the bench. He gives the Cats a burst of energy every time he comes into the game. He dives for loose ball's and retrieves almost all of them. He doesn't resemble the selfish player he was a year ago in any way, shape, or form and his hard work will pay off next year when he will have a much bigger role on the team. Liggins, perhaps, is the most clear example of why John Calipari is the no-brainer choice for National Coach of the Year. He not only brought quite possibly the best recruiting class in the history of the game to Lexington in his first season, but he has coached them up very well, both the freshman and the returning players.

P.S.- It's absolutely incredible that Pat Forde did not pick Calipari as one of his Top 4 choices for National Coach of the Year, but should we really be surprised? His opinion is worthless. Be sure to check back tomorrow as I will preview the ESPN College Gameday appearance at Rupp!