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  • Things to watch for: Cleveland State Edition

    By: Tyler Adkins



    After a week off from action, UK is back on the floor tonight to take on a Cleveland State team that has the ability to cause some problems if Kentucky takes the night off. During Cal's tenure, we usually see drastic improvement during the off-weeks and especially during the break for Christmas so I am expecting to see a better team take the floor tonight that we have previously watched. With that, let's get to the things to watch for:

    *Elite Point Guard

    Andrew Harrison was billed as the #1 point guard recruit in America last year and was looked at to bring back the eilte level point guard play of UK. He has been good, but not brilliant in his first few games this season. He seems to be a step slow on defense and doesn't always give the effort that other guards have in the past. However, it is early, and I was saying the same things about Marquis Teague a few years ago in the beginning of the year. The fact is it takes point guards a little time to adjust to all of the responsibility Calipari places on them and some pick it up quicker than others. I am looking to see Harrison make quicker decisions tonight on where to pass the ball and start breaking opponents down more off the dribble and getting to the basket.

    *Free throw shooting

    I am going to put this up every game because having watched a lot of basketball throughout this season, it is apparent that you must shoot free throws well to win games. This has always been the case, but with teams going to the line 30-40 times per game, it is taking possessions away from teams and instead of getting shots up, they are now walking to the line. Kentucky needs to be able to hit 70% consistently to reach their potential this season I feel like, and if they do that, then it will go a long way to winning that 9th national title.

    *Consistency

    It seems as though one player has been spectacular each game for UK, whether it is Young, Harrison, or Randle, someone has went off. However, it hasn't been the case yet that multiple wing players have played well in the same night. When Aaron Harrison is on, Young has been off and vice versa. There will be a game soon where Young and both Harrisons are shooting it well and when it happens that game will be a bloodbath. After it happens once I feel like they will feed off of that energy and start to be more consistent. Hopefully it starts tonight.

    That's all for tonight.
    Comments 6 Comments
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Thanks, Tyler!
    1. dan_bgblue's Avatar
      dan_bgblue -
      Thanks Tyler. Those are all things to watch for without a doubt. The one thing I will be watching more than any other, is defensive stance by the players. It has to change, and the sooner the better.
    1. KMSBball's Avatar
      KMSBball -
      Thanks Tyler. I especially agree with you on free throw shooting. In order to win a championship a team must be able to make free throws. That will be more true this year due to the proper enforcement of the rules.
    1. ShoesSwayedBlue's Avatar
      ShoesSwayedBlue -
      Very much agree about the consistency point. Once the twins and Young get their heads on straight they'll be much better shooters night in and night out IMO. Right now I think all three are kind of paralyzed with having to learn so much and are kind of stunned to realize that they'll have to play hard every second to win and keep Cal off their asses.

      When the collective light comes on they'll make UK nearly impossible to defend.
    1. cattails's Avatar
      cattails -
      Quote Originally Posted by dan_bgblue View Post
      Thanks Tyler. Those are all things to watch for without a doubt. The one thing I will be watching more than any other, is defensive stance by the players. It has to change, and the sooner the better.
      Dan, that and position have to come together for this team to play defense like it can.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Didn't answer the bell the whole game on these, but interesting to see how UK started to manage the named factors.

      Sent using Forum Runner
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