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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 08-19-2014, 08:45 AM:

There is no doubt the whole college basketball community saw just how talented the Cats are and every team we play will be out to knock us off.

The whole thing ended Sunday with a turnover that prevented Kentucky from returning to the continental United States with a perfect record during what, for television purposes, became known as the Big Blue Bahamas trip. So that wasn't ideal. But the shorthanded Wildcats were still impressive while compiling a 5-1 record over a span of eight days against mostly grown and reputable professionals, and it's now hard to imagine any reasonable person voting anybody other than John Calipari's team as the preseason No. 1.

Did you watch the games?

If so, you recognized the overwhelming talent Kentucky displayed even without the services of Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles, both of whom missed the exhibitions while recovering from injuries. If not, no worries. Because I watched them for you. Every minute that was televised, I saw. And my main takeaway is that something I previously thought might be true now seems absolutely true -- specifically that the Wildcats are better when freshman point guard Tyler Ulis is on the court.

"Kentucky has tied it up, and Tyler Ulis is the primary reason," ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said during the first half of Sunday's telecast. Later, after Ulis sank a runner just before halftime, Dave Neal, the play-by-play man, asked a simple question: "What hasn't he done?"

Ulis averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 20 minutes per game on the trip while shooting 60.0 percent from 3-point range, meaning his per-40-minute averages were 15.4 points, 8.0 assists and 2.6 steals. Even more notable is that the staff had Ulis on the court in crunch time of both close games, which suggests he could be one of UK's most important pieces even though he's hardly the most heralded member of this freshman class.

"He was good," Calipari told reporters afterward. "He was good."

"I still say the 1996 team was the most talented I've seen," said John Clay, who works with Tipton at the Herald-Leader. "But [this team] has so much depth it's ridiculous."

Bottom line, the Wildcats, dead-tired by the end, didn't escape the Bahamas without a loss, but they still managed to enhance their reputation as the favorites to win the 2015 national championship. To that point, folks are yet again starting to talk about the odds of Kentucky finishing 40-0, which has always been among Calipari's dreams, and it's important to note that the odds remain stacked against it. But after watching 240 minutes of August basketball, I wouldn't completely rule it out.

Am I predicting it?

No.

Absolutely not.

Link

[ 08-19-2014, 08:45 AM: Message edited by: catmandoo ]