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  • Things to watch for: Vanderbilt Edition

    by
    tyleradkins
    Published on 02-20-2013 06:42 PM
    2 Comments Comments
    By: Tyler Adkins

    Coming off of the worst loss in the Calipari era, UK will return to the comfortable confines of Rupp Arena tonight for a match-up against Vanderbilt. UK beat Vanderbilt by two down in Nashville and will be looking for some kind of kick-start tonight to get them back on track for the NCAA Tournament. Tonight is probably the first, real, must win game for the Wildcats because if they lose tonight, then nothing short of winning the SEC Tournament will get them into the Big Dance. I believe there is one major thing these Cats need to get back on track to end this season strong, and with that, let’s get to the things to watch for:

    *Confidence is contagious

    The problem is, no one other than Mays or Wiltjer seem to have any confidence right now. There are four guys who absolutely have to play well in order for the Cats to make the tournament and last game none of them did anything other than frustrate John Calipari. Ryan Harrow, Archie Goodwin, Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein are the four guys that have to be, and at least the first three should be, the stars of this team. Last game they all looked overcome by the moment and Harrow has been struggling for the past few games. I am looking for one, just one, of these guys to through the chains tonight and play up to their potential. It really doesn’t matter who it is, and it would be nice if all four did, but at this point I just want one of them to get their confidence back. I want to see a breakthrough game from one of them where he just takes the game over at some point and leads the team to victory. I am a firm believer that confidence is contagious and once one of your teammates gets it; it changes everything.

    * Wiltjer and Mays leadership

    It has become pretty clear that Wiltjer and Mays, the two elder statesmen of the team, have emerged as the leaders of this team. Mays has been the vocal leader by calling out his teammates and himself saying they were not ready to play and they had to start working harder. Wiltjer has been the leader by example on the court, playing hard and trying to push this team’s impotent offense into another gear. That must continue throughout the rest of this season. With the team no doubt still shell-shocked after the blowout loss to Tennessee last week, the rest of the team is undoubtedly struggling with confidence issues. That is why I am looking for Wiltjer and Mays to start out this game with “their hair on fire.” I am looking for Wiltjer and Mays to hit some early shots and Mays to be scrapping on defense for every loose ball and inject some much needed life into these young cats.

    *Just Win Baby

    As Al Davis famously said while coaching the Raiders, “just win baby.” The Cats need a win, any win, and tonight is the perfect opportunity to get that win against a Vanderbilt team that is struggling even more than the Cats. The game is at Rupp and honestly, there couldn’t have been a better scenario coming off of the lopsided loss than to have a bad team coming to Rupp. It doesn’t matter if it is a 30 point blowout or a last second tip in, the Cats just need to find a way to get their first win after Nerlens’ injury to get some confidence.

    If you can’t tell, I am a believer that all of the strategy in the world can be thrown out the window when your team is as lacking in confidence as this team is right now. If the team can get some confidence by winning this game and seeing some indication of life, then it could be a different team we see take the court on Saturday. If they can’t manage to beat Vanderbilt, then it could be a long Saturday in Lexington.

    That’s all for today, go big blue.
    1. Categories:
    2. Basketball
    Comments 2 Comments
    1. KSRBEvans's Avatar
      KSRBEvans - 02-20-2013, 11:02 AM
      Vandy takes the highest % of 3s in the SEC. In SEC games, 44% of Vandy's FGAs are 3s, and they're 3rd in SEC in 3-pt FG%. Otherwise, they're horrible offensively: 11th in the SEC in Offensive Rebound%, 12th in Turnover%, 13th in 2-pt FG% and last in FT%.

      So Vandy will be shooting the 3 early and often. If they hit like UT hit Saturday, it's going to be tough. Every time Vandy takes a 2-pt FGA, it's a good possession for UK.
    1. UKHistory's Avatar
      UKHistory - 02-20-2013, 11:06 AM
      Archie seems to have lost his confidence--save for a second half rally against Louisville against Eastern Michigan.

      Harrow was up and down and lost it at Bama.

      Poythress has struggled all year.

      It is their lives and careers but they have not responded well to Cal. A lot if not all of it is on them.

      As the head coach Cal has to also look at himself and ask how, if at all, could he have better communicated with his players to get them to play hard and together.

      Communication is a two wat street. I got on Tubby for not better relating to his players. I came to the late conclusion that Clyde was Captain Blye. Cal has been superb in his ability to relate to players. Is this year the blip on the radar? I hope so. Only time will tell.

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