catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 01-07-2021 07:25 PM
1.Let Dontaie Allen cook---Yeah, it’s no secret that the season changed – and may have been saved – with Allen’s performance Saturday night in Starkville. It’s also no secret that he is, by far, the team’s best three-point shooter, hitting nine of 16 three-point attempts in the last two games.The guy is a game-changer in every sense of the word.
2. Keep feeding Olivier Sarr down low-
Look, I know it’s been an up-and-down season for Olivier Sarr (like everyone on this team) but there is no doubt that we’ve seen flashes of just how talented this guy is. It also isn’t surprising that arguably his two best games have come in these two recent, back-to-back wins.
Because of it, it feels important to reiterate something that should be pretty obvious: Kentucky needs to keep establishing Sarr, especially close to the basket.
First off, if you don’t get Sarr touches in the paint, then he starts floating away from the basket. And while he has a nice touch for a guy his size, you want a guy that big, as close to the rim as possible. Two, when you establish him in the post, it leads to a lot of rebounds, including on Tuesday night, when he finished with a season-high 12. Those rebounds often lead to second chance points, or trips to the foul line. And for a guy his size, Sarr is incredibly effective from the stripe. He hit 14 of 17 attempts on Tuesday, as Sarr made as many free throws as Vandy attempted all game (14).
3.Only turn the ball over two times every game going forward!
Ok, this is obviously an exaggeration, as no team – not even in the best in NBA or college – go entire games with two or fewer turnovers.
But isn’t it amazing how many points you score, and how often you keep the other team from scoring, when you take care of the basketball?
The Wildcats need to keep valuing the basketball the way they did Tuesday night. It almost certainly won’t ever again result in just two turnovers in a game. But the fewer, the better.
4.Find minutes for Jacob Toppin
So I don’t currently reside in Kentucky, but in observing things from a distance, it seems as though the entire fan-base is starting to fall for Jacob Toppin. You’ve heard of a “man crush.” We’ve got a full fledged “fan(base) crush” going on with the kid here.
5.Start building BJ Boston’s confidence
It’s no secret that Boston is a polarizing player in Lexington right now. And honestly, I get all sides of everyone’s frustration. On the one hand, he’s an 18-year-old kid, finding himself. On the other, he did say “I want to be the greatest player of all-time” in the preseason. On the other, other hand, it feels as though he gets a leash longer than anyone else on the team.
Without being critical of player, coach or program, all three of those things can be true. It can also be true that when a team is on a losing streak, the player who takes the most shots (by far) will get the brunt of everyone’s frustration. Especially when Boston is making as few as he currently is.
Still, now that Kentucky is winning again, it’s time to sit back and try to build Boston’s confidence back up. One, because he’s an 18-year-old kid, who is probably struggling for the first time in his young basketball career (with no where to go, and nothing to think about other than basketball). And two, because if Boston ever does start hitting shots (which I believe he will) can you imagine how much more dangerous he could make this team, if he could ever get going, and do so efficiently?
And to be clear, I’m not asking the guy to score 35 points in a game. If anything, it’s the opposite. Kentucky scored 77 points last night, with him scoring just six points on nine shots. Now, can you imagine if you can get Boston – in theory, one of your best scorers – say, 12 points on 10 shots from the field? It isn’t hard. That’s just two three-pointers, two two pointers and a couple of free throws. Then all of a sudden, that three point win Tuesday night becomes a nine-point victory, without really changing all that much of anything.
6.Keep the positive vibes
Again, I’m not around the program every day, so I can only speak to what I see on TV. But anyone notice how much the energy around the team has changed?
Part of that is obviously thanks to winning. But part of it might just be that maybe the team is maturing as a group as well?
Just looking around, Cam Fletcher is back in Lexington and has seemingly been a model citizen since. We’ve seen Terrence Clarke cheering on the sidelines, and even saying “I’ve never been so happy for one person” following Dontaie Allen’s heroics the other night. I’ve also noticed that, even as BJ Boston and Isaiah Jackson play fewer minutes, they seem to be just as locked in and engaged on the sidelines, cheering on their teammates.
7.Keep playing the guys who help you win games
I’m not sure if I’m the only one who noticed this or not, but here goes: There are four guys on Kentucky’s roster who had at least one year of experience in college prior to this season: Oliver Sarr, Davion Mintz and Jacob Toppin who are all transfers, and Dontaie Allen, who didn’t play last season, but was on campus as a redshirt.
Well, did you notice who was on the floor late in crunch time on Tuesday night: Until Sarr fouled out, it was those four guys and Devin Askew.
To John Calipari’s credit, for at least one night, he stopped worrying about recruiting rankings and mock drafts and just played the guys who helped him that game.
Those players may change throughout the season, and we obviously all can hope that guys like Boston and Jackson gain the confidence and on-court wherewithal to contribute late in games going forward.
Link
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
Posts: 186362 | From: st. augustine florida 32092 | Registered: Mar 2001
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