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  • Pearl Post Mortem on Kentucky

    By: LARRY VAUGHT

    Auburn coach Bruce Pearl knew that Kentucky was good. He’s just not sure there is any way to still prepare for what facing No. 1 UK is really like.

    “Sixty-two points in the paint, their centers dominated. We would try and front the post and they would go in deep anytime they wanted to. They are very physical defensively. And its nothing like anything we’ve seen all year long,” said Pearl afterthe Wildcats beat his team 110-75. “What they do offensively as far as pounding it inside, there’s nobody in the league who’s even close to that.

    “It's the biggest team in the country against a team that’s very small. We’re probably the smallest team in the league. But I didn’t think we competed or represented very well. And they had 15 defensive rebounds and they had 12 offensive rebounds. So pretty much they just had their way.”

    Pearl has coached against Calipari when he was at Memphis as well as Kentucky. Pearl’s Tennessee Volunteers was the only team to beat Memphis during the regular season in 2008 when Memphis was national runner-up. Tennessee also beat UK in Knoxville in 2010 when the Cats had John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Patterson.

    He called it a “great question” when asked where this Calipari team ranks among others he has faced.

    “They’re better at shooting the ball from the perimeter. They hunt shots. They want them. If anybody goes zone now, their eyes get big, you know? That’s a good thing,” Pearl said.

    “They throw it down in the post. They hardly wait for it to get kicked back out. And the deal is, they’re so much more dominant on the inside, because those guys can score down there. Dakari Johnson and (Karl-Anthony) Towns and Try Lyles, all those guys can score down there. They have a good inside/outside combination.”

    Kentucky’s defense has been praised all season, but Pearl said he wasn’t sure this was Calipari’s best defensive team.

    “They play hard, they play unselfishly. I think they’re great kids. This is a team that Coach is enjoying coaching. But they’re physically overwhelming,” Pearl said. “I’ve never seen freshmen that strong, that physical.

    “I didn’t play against (Michael) Kidd-Gilchrist and that group (that won the 2012 national title). That was my favorite team to ever watch as long as I’ve been in basketball. That team was my favorite team because I knew those kids in recruiting and that was my first year out (of coaching). And that was a great team. I don’t know that this team is that good yet. They can be.”

    Because of UK’s “physical” offense, Pearl could see the Cats finishing the season 40-0. One reason is because of UK’s interior depth.

    “Obviously, you can withstand foul trouble. But one of the biggest things for me is this — I can’t imagine what their practices are like. I just can’t,” Pearl said. “These guys are getting better because they’re banging each other in practice all the time. Depth is a great thing. Twenty-five assists (against Auburn), they’re sharing the ball, you guys just gotta keep listening to Coach and take it one at a time and stay unselfish.”
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    Harlow

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