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  • Close calls have helped prepare Kentucky

    By: LARRY VAUGHT

    The more Kentucky was pushed, the more ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg thinks it helped prepare them to complete the 40-0 season that he predicted before the season started that UK would do.

    “I picked them at the beginning of the season to run the table. I have stuck with it this long, so I may as well keep sticking,” said Greenberg. “I like who they are as a team. I am big on trust and the way they carry themselves, the way they handle it when they face adversity. I just like things they are doing even though the pressure they are under is crazy.”

    Greenberg thinks tests like the one UK got at Georgia last week helped the Cats as they start Southeastern Conference Tournament play and then NCAA Tournament play.

    “To me, I if am John (Calipari) and Big Blue Nation, I am so encouraged about this team because when they have been put in situations like that, they have defended, played for the good of the group and shown unbelievable discipline and toughness. That is impressive for such a young group,” Greenberg said.

    “Against Georgia there was one point where I thought things were going south for them. I did not like the body language. They did not all seem on the same page. But becasue they are coached hard daily, they continued to grind and then the light bulb goes on. They expect to make plays and big stops. I know people talk about missed free throws (by Georgia), but no one plays perfect and when you give UK a chance, they take it.”

    Greenberg says it has been difficult for him to tell which Kentucky player has made the most progress the last few months because every player has improved.

    “It’s kind of funny. At different times, different guys just do it. Karl-Anthony Towns has been phenomenal at times and now they can play through him,” Greenberg said. “Trey Lyles at the four (power forward) is a really tough matchup. Devin Booker has grown, but he looks lately like he might be putting a little pressure on himself.

    “The two that have played the best are the (Harrison) twins. At Tennessee, John challenged Andrew and he really played. Since that point, he has been really aggressive, playing downhill and attacking with confidence.”

    Greenberg remembers last year at this time when UK was “still trying to find themselves” after the South Carolina debacle when Calipari was ejected during a road loss.

    “Now they play so with so much more sense of purpose and they are so unselfish. They really play for the good of the group,” he said. “It’s very rare, and that is almost mind boggling, that you see them take a bad shot. You rarely see them make a selfish play.”

    That’s why he couldn’t pick a most valuable player on this team.

    “I think the team is the most valuable player. Willie (Cauley-Stein) impacts the game a lot, guards multiple positions and runs the court great, but it is their collective talent that is the most valuable part of their team,” Greenberg said. “Depending on what you need, they have it. If they need a score in the block, Karl scores. If they need a big shot, Aaron (Harrison) hits it. That’s what makes them so difficult to defend.”

    Greenberg said he sensed “intangibles” in this team when he watched how unselfish they played during the six-game exhibition trip in August to the Bahamas.

    “Even then they shared the ball and made the extra pass. The question then was could they maintain it with all the static around Kentucky basketball,” Greenberg said. “You wondered when they went home for Christmas and everybody asked how you could be averaging eight points a game if you were going to be a lottery pick.

    “But they just continued to ball and trust each other. That is the magic of Cal. As hard as he coaches and as crazy as he is, they believe in him. You know the team believes in the coach when you listen to postgame press interviews and they spout out the same things he says each day.

    “Cal is the best coach for this. Big Blue Nation is nuts, but he’s the ringleader of the circus. He loves and embraces it. He is the perfect coach for Kentucky because he is so passionate to coaching but also committed to the business of college basketball probably better than anybody else.”

    So Kentucky is a gimme for the national title?

    “I would say probably the one concern would be even though they have maintained a historic defensive pace is going against teams that can tempo the game and run an efficient, inverted offense like Georgia did,” Greenberg said. “They tend to get caught in backscreens and not communicate. Teams like Wisconsin, Virginia, Gonzaga run offenses that could be a problem.

    “But as I said, I picked them in August to run the table, so I am staying with that even though we all know it won’t be easy and there will likely be some scary games even for Kentucky.”
    Comments 2 Comments
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      Very good read. Thanks.
    1. dan_bgblue's Avatar
      dan_bgblue -
      Greenberg is turning into a pretty good commentator, and Larry V managed to get the best out of him.

      Thanks very much for the read!