UK / AL report card

By: RONALD "DOC" BALL



General Impressions Obviously a big game, and a big win. The first 10 minutes were a bit of an issue with me. I watched an AL team that was playing like UK played last summer, and was envious. However UK stayed composed and out lasted them. I was not as impress with the defense as I suspect many are. This was simply a game where we out offensed them. UK did have some good defensive spurts but also some that left lots to be desired. Overall, the offense was enjoyable but still need some defensive improvements are needed. We can’t expect 28 points from Edwards nightly, or 18 from Ivisic. Cal worked the rotation well. Before scanning the boxscore, I will say that I was impressed with how much and when players were used. On the flip side, it did appear as if there was more than the normal number of empty seats in Rupp. I found that discouraging although the crowd sounded great. Was likely the silent blue hairs who stayed home.

Tre Mitchell

Justin Edwards A+ Seldom do I give “perfect” grades but when you go 10-10 from the field, and put in 28 points, it is a perfect game. Add 2 assists, 2 steals, no turnovers and 5 rebounds in 29 plus minutes, it was one of the best overall games for any player in a long long time. Hope this is a breakout game. I did like his defense and toughness on the glass.

DJ Wagner C+ Sears seemed to get in his head a bit but I also believe he did well on Sears. DJ had a lot to do with the 6 turnovers that Sears committed. DJ looked a bit more aggressive but still not making shots. He only logged just under 24 minutes, went 1-7 with a couple FT for 4 points. Its not that he took bad shots, but he did force it down the lane a time or two. Had 4 assists to just 2 turnovers. UK neither lost or gained points with him on the floor (+/- of 0)

Aaron Bradshaw C Needed much more from our bigs, especially on the glass. His 1 rebound and 1 basket in 5 minutes won’t cut it. He along with Ugonna and Ivisic played 40 min and grabbed a grand total of 7 rebounds. Was the only player with more turnovers than assists

Antonio Reeves A Started hot and leveled off to have a great overall game. His 24 points was great, his 5 assists to 0 turnovers better. Has a couple steals and a couple rebounds. Had a team high 32 on the +/- which suggests the team functioned best when he was on the floor. His defense seems much improved over the last few game. He certainly did not “disappear” in this big game…..although I am not one that believes he routinely disappear when the lights come on in big games.

Zvonimir Ivisic B+ Only negative was the rebounding, or lack there of, and some suspect defense. But of the three centers, he was the most effective. 5 rebounds is OK, and he was toasted a couple times on defense but he did protect the rim with 4 blocks. His 18 points on 7-11 including a trey was a huge bonus. Played just under 20 minutes. Was a nice outing.

Robert Dillingham A- Nice outing for Rob. Stoked some nice long range bombs. 16 points, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 2 rebound and 1 steal is a great line in 20 minutes. Instant offense, instant excitement.

Reed Sheppard A- His 8 points on 3-6 shooting might support he needs to get more selfish. I’m not so sure of that anymore. His instincts are so good that he is just as good at helping others get theirs as he is getting his. He shoots when he needs to, and I am fine with that. Had a team high in minutes with 31:49, team high 6 rebounds, team high 6 assists, and a team high 4 steals, but also a team high 3 turnovers. We focus on points, he doesn’t. He focuses on doing when helps the team most.

Ugonna Onyenso C Showed ineffective play so got benched. It happens. 15 minutes, took 2 shots and got a rebound. That’s tough to do, and I don’t mean that in a good way.

Adou Thiero B+ Was going hard to the rim today which is what we needs. He is that physical guy. Needs to not just get there but also needs to finish. 16 points on 5-7 shooting before fouling out in just 16 minutes. Needs to take the get to the rim mentality to the rebounding aspect, as he only got 1 board. But he kicked up the defense as much as anybody. He has the speed and length to be an outstanding defender, he just needs to buy into it.

Jordan Burks C

Joey Hart

Coaching B Could go many different ways but give him credit for good player rotation, identifying who was playing well, and using them. Had a game plan that wasn’t effective early but evolved. Was sort of a bend but don’t break defense and it worked. Lets be honest, you are not going to stop AL’s offense. We all knew it was who outscores who, not who stops who.

Officials D They sucked, plain and simple. Glad the replays showed how bad they were. Between the out bounds that wasn’t, to the missed AL out of bounds, to the nontouch off UK that was given to AL, to the goal tending review, could thay have been worse?

Commentators B+ I always like Iron Eagle, I can do without “Tourettes” Rafftery. But they didn’t drivel on about women’s basketball or ice cream so its all good for me.

Other Our weakness tonight was the centers. Ivisic saved it for us. He wasn’t great overall but he was way better than both Aaron or Ugonna. Guard play and Edwards were over the top. Lost the battle of the glass 28-26 but that was the only negative stat. And it should be noted that so few rebounds for such a high scored, fast paced game shows the incredibly efficient offense of both sides. We outblocked them 7-1, we had 24 assists to their 14 and 10 turnovers to their 16. We also managed 11 steals to their 5. We shot an outstanding 63% overall, 54% from long range and 84% from the line. Folks, as Al Parnell would say, “that’s GOOOOOOD”. AL went 56%, 35% and 78%, respectively, which if just good. Overall, it is another quality win, something that UK has not always gone into selection Sunday with an abundance of. This years wins over UNC-CH, FL, AL and AU are all impressive.