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CHARLOTTE — He had watched Kentucky’s exhibition games in the Bahamas in August and saw the NBA combine earlier this month. However, SEC Network analyst Sean Farnhan, a former player at UCLA, got a “whole different perspective” of UK during his three days in Lexington for Big Blue Madness.
“What blew me away — and we all know the length, talent and depth — but I saw the team chemistry. It is a team that is very cohesive but very competitive,” said Farnham during the SEC Media Days last week. “They get after each other in practice. They attack each other in practice. I think it will be harder to score in practice than it is games, especially because of the length they have around the rim.
“I think this team has all the pieces you look for not only to accomplish the goals that Kentucky fans look for, but do so in maybe even a dominant fashion. I really like this group a lot.”
He believes UK freshmen Trey Lyles, Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker not only are talented, but also fit well with the “pieces” already at Kentucky.
“You have experience and guys that have gone through the battles not just from trying to win a national championship but from the pressures of trying to play basketball at Kentucky,” Farnhan said. “When you put on that uniform, you represent more than yourself and your team.
“You represent the most passionate fan base in college basketball and the greatest tradition in college basketball, so you are carrying a lot of weight on your shoulders. How do you handle that? The guys who have experienced that will help out the freshmen.”
Farnham also likes Calipari’s creativity and proposed platoon system.
“Calipari is ahead of the curve at all time sand that is what makes him so great. He is a natural born recruiter. He walks into a house and wows parents immediately because his track record speaks for itself,” the analyst said. “As far as preparing kids for the next level and giving them an opportunity to win, he is as good as anybody in the country.
“He is an excellent communicator, and it is not just about building trust and that relationship. That is always a key cog getting players not just to listen, but to buy in and believe and that will be very important this year. He has always been able to adapt to the lineup he has and even last year he did. He puts it all out there for his guys. He makes it simpler and let that team last year just take off.
“The adaptation he has to who he is as a coach and how he uses players and how many players he uses and this platoon system he is starting the year with ... I don’t know if it will work but it is good starting with it because it tells kids this is what I am holding your accountable for. You have to dive on the floor for loose balls. If you don’t do these things I will sub you out. Guys will get in foul trouble, may turn an ankle and miss time. That will change the whole platoon thing, but he is adapting to what he is and he has a mindset for what to do. As the season progresses, that may change but he’s great at changing and that is wh he competes for national championships each year.”
Fernhan said it was “tough” to pick a best player on UK’s team, but he voted for sophomore guard Aaron Harrison for preseason SEC player of the year.
“I think he is so smooth. I think he has gotten in better shape than he was last year. He is poised to have a great year,” Fernhan said. “But I think there are other players that are vital to the success. I think Alex (Poythress) is going to be vital to the success of the team this year because of that experience factor. He is a guy that can quitely lead this team. He is a guy that understands coach Cal’s system and when they need a bucket or somebody to be in the right position, he should be that guy that is there on a consistent basis.
“Now obviously consistency has been an issue for him in Lexington but all the talk is that has changed and from what I saw when I was there, it looked like it has. That is a snapshot, not a full portrait, so we will see.”
He also thinks freshman guard Tyler Ulis wil be a “very important cog” for UK.
“He will be big, especially in the NCAA Tournament when the game becomes a half-court game,”Fernhan said. “There is just a calming factor when he has the ball in his hands. When he crosses the time line and has the ball, even if he turns it over or there is a bad shot, there is just a calming factor. That is the feeling you get now, so as the season progresses and he gets more comfortable I think that is only going to improve.
“I had high expectations for him coming out of high school. I saw him play on the AAU circuit, so it was not like it was something I hadn’t seen before. He has been so good defensively, too. He is smooth offensively, but defensively his ability to move his feet and pick up full court and make you go laterally is amazing. It is very rare that you see Tyler get beat in a north-south drive. He is going to make you go sideways and if you do that, you start taking things away and that really helps back line of the defense as well even though Kentucky is so big they don’t need a lot of help any way.”
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