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  • Perfection not expected--in November

    By: LARRY VAUGHT

    Kentucky associate coach John Robic said despite UK’s 32-point win over No. 5 Kansas Tuesday, no one is expecting the Wildcats to be perfect in November.

    “We’re not expecting to be perfect right now. We don’t expect to be at our peak right now. Obviously we’re happy where we are, but we want to peak in February,” Robic said. “We’re striving for that. It’s a thing where these kinds got to understand where we are now and what they have to do individually and what we have to do as a team to keep coming together as a unit to perform.”

    He said he was “happy with our defense” against Kansas when UK allowed just 40 total points, including 12 in the second half. However, the offense was not as good.

    “We made them take a lot of tough shots. We blocked 11 shots,” Robic said Thursday. “We need to get better offensively for sure. We have to get out in transition a little bit more. The message for these guys is just, each and every day we have to get better at what we need to do as a team, whether it’s defensively or offensively.

    “And if we do that, we know that we’re going to give our best effort when we go out there, and hopefully tomorrow it shows improvement for us. And that’s why I said earlier the score may not be indicative of did we get better. But in our eyes, did we see it. We’ll see tomorrow (against Boston University).”

    He said with UK’s length and athleticism, there is “no reason not to be a really good defensive team” as UK has shown at times already this year.

    “We’re doing a much better job of guarding the dribble. It’s a little bit easier for us with bigger teams,” the UK assistant coach said. “You get into the exhibition games and some of your other nonconference games where you have small lineups (and it can be tougher). It’s pretty tough for a 6-10, 7-footer to keep in front of a 5-11, 6 feet, but we still have a game plan, and the guys are doing really well with it.”

    Robic said if UK does not put teams on the foul line or give up easy points from 3-point range, teams should have trouble scoring against Kentucky.

    “I mean, we are so big, that if we can keep them off the foul line and keep them off the 3-point line it is going to be tough to score. Teams are going to come in with a theory that we have to beat them from the 3-point line,” Robic said. “If we can do a good job of that and make them drive into our bigs, we like what our bigs do defensively. And it is an important stat. We just can’t give away free points away from the 3-point line.

    “Each game we have gotten better of defending straight line drives and that was the best we have done in three games. So from the first game with Grand Canyon until the Kansas game we have gotten better each and every game.”

    Sophomore guard Aaron Harrison said Thursday that “we try to run teams off the 3-point line and make them take tough 2’s” this year.

    “I don’t know think we emphasized running them off the 3-point line as much last year, so that’s a big factor in our game plan and every game we play,” Aaron Harrison, who caled Boston “a pretty good shooting team,” said.

    Kentucky has three home games in a five-day span against competition not nearly as strong as No. 5 Kansas.

    “I think you have to keep building on what we did. I thought our communication was really, really good in the Kansas game,” Robic said. “They followed the game plan perfectly and they paid attention to detail in a quick turnaround time. That is like a NCAA Tournament time turnaround, so I was pleased with that.

    “And I just think getting better. The score might not be indicative of getting better, but we can see it as coaches. But the first step to that is today’s practice and just carrying on the things we think we need improvement in.”

    Sophomore guard Andrew Harrison says the team understands that point.

    “We just have to keep working. We played really hard (against Kansas),” Andrew Harrison said. “A lot of their shots didn’t fall and stuff like that, so we know we still have a lot to improve on. It’s just the third game of the season. It really doesn’t mean anything.

    “You just have to play D (defense) and listen to what Coach is saying and be unselfish and I think everybody on this team is like that. Everyone wants to win.”
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