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  • Mike Pratt: Keys to a national title contender for Kentucky next season

    by
    Darrell KSR
    Published on 07-21-2015 04:45 AM
    6 Comments Comments
    By: LARRY VAUGHT

    Former Kentucky All-American Mike Pratt thinks four players will be key to how successful the Wildcats are next season — but it’s not the four players many might expect.

    Pratt, the color analyst on the UK Radio Network, feels Alex Poythress, Derek Willis, Marcus Lee and Dominique Hawkins are the keys to having another team capable of challenging for a national title.

    They are four of UK’s five returning players along with point guard Tyler Ulis.

    “Ulis is tough and will get you six assists, 10 points, couple of rebounds and be solid,” said Pratt during his apperanace at the Ohio UK Convention in Franklin, Ohio, Saturday. “The other four returning guys are the keys.”

    He says Poythress, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, is “critical” to UK’s success.

    “We have got to see the Alex we have heard about,” Pratt said. “It’s critical for him to be that player.

    “But we need to see Derek and Marcus blossom. They have got to get minutes and be productive. Little Hawkins is a tough bird. He can defend. He’s got to make practice tough for the young guards. Maybe he’ll be better than one of those guys they are bringing in.”

    Pratt said the four have to be valuable leaders as well.

    “They have to show leadership in practice by communicating the effort it takes and all the things the general public cannot see that is important,” Pratt said. “Last year the guys returning knew what Calipari wanted. You saw in the Bahamas there had been communication between the old guys and new guys.

    “When you see somebody practice at a certain level and doing things the coach wants, you figure out pretty quickly you better pick up the pace. That’s why I think those four guys are the most important players going into the season for different reasons than most others would think.”
    1. Categories:
    2. Basketball
    Comments 6 Comments
    1. Dokker's Avatar
      Dokker - 07-22-2015, 08:02 AM
      I agree about Alex. He's got to bring it all season, and in particular the tournament. We need him to be a monster. I'm not sold on needing Willis for this team to be successful. It would be nice for him to have a breakout season, but I'm not sure it's a must.
    1. dan_bgblue's Avatar
      dan_bgblue - 07-22-2015, 08:31 AM
      Mike is spot on imo.
    1. LakeCat's Avatar
      LakeCat - 07-22-2015, 08:39 AM
      Will AP be 100 per cent and when are my concerns.
    1. Philly Cat's Avatar
      Philly Cat - 07-22-2015, 09:26 AM
      I think the judgment and unselfishness of our freshmen will be the #1 key. I don't want to see Briscoe, Skal, and Murray making bad decisions and trying to "get theirs" at the expense of the kind of team ball we saw last year. I have full faith that Cal will squelch that, but perhaps seeing Archie Goodwin in Summer League has re-ignited that doubt...

      To the extent Pratt was saying that upperclass leadership is important in encouraging that sort of play -- and discouraging any selfishness -- then I wholeheartedly agree.

      LakeCat nailed my #2 concern-- just a question of how strong and athletic Alex can be. We're going to need to lean hard on him for rebounding and post defense.
    1. blueboss's Avatar
      blueboss - 07-22-2015, 11:29 AM
      AP will start up where he left off last year as the leader of this team. Last year even after he was injured the players still regarded him as the team leader.

      Hopefully he his play on the court will back up his locker room leadership. Don't want to see him come back from the injury with that popping sound in the back of his mind. We also don't want to see him reckless either..

      He's a very smart guy, and I'm sure Cal has groomed him for his expectations and AP will step up.

      I've been an AP fan from his first minutes and I can't wait to finally see what he can do. He was poised last year to be "that" guy, so this is his team/year.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1. UKFlounder's Avatar
      UKFlounder - 07-22-2015, 11:53 AM
      If Alex is healthy, he will need to play much better than last year, at least offensively. He needs to be a true PF and play like it.Let others shoot from outside and Alex can concentrate on offensive rebounding and scoring in transition.

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