Hardwood Fanatic...

#1
zjcvols

zjcvols

"On a Tennessee Saturday night."
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#1
Can you give us a scouting report of Kentucky. Doesn't have to be a coaching-like scouting report, but just what you guys do best, what you struggle, how do you rebound, etc.
 
#2
#2
zjcvols said:
Can you give us a scouting report of Kentucky. Doesn't have to be a coaching-like scouting report, but just what you guys do best, what you struggle, how do you rebound, etc.
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They are young, all five-stars (even some six stars if the basketball gods would allow it), will be in the NBA soon, have cool headphones, tweet using a language that only they can understand, and are annoyed that teams actually play them given how ridiculous it is for someone to think that they have a chance against such talent.
 
#3
#3
yeah like how to possibly beat your 6 or 7 pros??? I just finished a stomach virus maybe I could give to all those guys like saturday morning.
 
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#4
#4
zjcvols said:
Can you give us a scouting report of Kentucky. Doesn't have to be a coaching-like scouting report, but just what you guys do best, what you struggle, how do you rebound, etc.
Click to expand...

they are taller, stronger, jump higher, run faster, dribble better, look cooler and pretty much do everything better!

*we may be smarter and that may be our only hope, and that includes our coach. if we play smart fundamental basketball and VERY FEW turnovers we may be able to pull out the david vs goliath upset.
 
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#6
#6
zjcvols said:
Can you give us a scouting report of Kentucky. Doesn't have to be a coaching-like scouting report, but just what you guys do best, what you struggle, how do you rebound, etc.
Click to expand...

Where we struggle:

We just got out rebounded by Auburn. Lamar had 10 offensive boards in the first half against us a few games ago. Davis and Gilchrist are our best rebounders, the rest are suspect. (Jones, when he wants, can be a beast on the boards) Davis although long is very thin, and just can't establish position very well, he gets rooted out of the way by bigger bodies. Also, due to the fact that he blocks so many shots, that leaves a live ball to battle over.

Gilchrist wouldn't back down from the Third Reich, he is a monster. He isn't the best at any one thing, but is our overall best player and the driving force for this squad in terms of momentum. Whenever he lands in foul trouble, we tend to be a bit stagnant with the ball and don't play with as much urgency.

Teague is a wildcard, he is scoring about 12 per game right now, but his assist/turnover ratio isn't great, and he can make some poor decisions. Sometimes takes the ball too deep without the intention of passing, which results in the transition turnover.

For the most part this season, we have struggled against the Zone.

So far this teams biggest issue IMO is that they tend to play down to their competition in the 1st half of games, and try to turn it on late. Other than Gilchrist, there just isn't a "killer instinct" to bury a team early and keep them down.

Where we excel:

Defense, defense, and more defense. Our D creates a ton of transition baskets, a lot of them on the secondary break. Davis will break the single season UK blocks record with 7 more blocks, and we are only 2 games into conference season.

Lamb, Miller and Wiltjer shoot the eyes out of it when they can catch and shoot. Lamb is shooting right at 50% behind the arc, and is one of the most efficient scorers in the country in terms of points vs # of shots.

Gilchrist is shooting more free throws than almost anyone in the country. Surprisingly, the Cats are also shooting the Free throws at a decent percentage this year, with some games outstanding. As a team they have more often than not made more than opponents have attempted.

X factor for the game (and almost every game) is Terrence Jones. If he plays well offensively, then all other factors considered most teams just can't hang around.

The best recipe so far for competing and hanging with this team is to defensively play a zone or a triangle and two, only send 3 to the offensive boards and release 2 defenders to stop the break, and begin running your offense with around 15 seconds left on the shot clock. If you let this team even get a whiff of a fast break, it's like ringing the bell at the Kentucky Derby, and you get left in the dust.
 
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#8
#8
while you're waiting for Hardwood to weigh in:
Kentucky (16-1, 2-0 SEC)

RPI: 8

SOS: 89

vs. Top-25: 3-1

Best wins: vs. Kansas, vs. North Carolina

Bad losses: None

FG% - 48.6
OPP FG% - 35.3
Rebound Margin - +8
Blocks per game - 9.1
Assists and Turnovers per game almost identical to UT.
You guys commit 2 fouls per game more than your opponents. UK commits about 4 per game fewer.

Uh-oh - he beat me to it...
 
#9
#9
Let me clarify one thing on the rebounding. It's not that we are a bad rebounding team, we are #6 in the country. It's just from time to time we give up way to many offensive rebounds, enough that it keeps teams in games with 2nd chance points.
 
#10
#10
this is what i was saying we really have to have about 5 turnovers the whole game. we cant go on the stretch were we turn it over 2 or 3 times, jack up a quick 3 and then a fade away jumper. to have a chance they have to be very disciplined, get the ball inside so our guards have a chance to get back on misses, and TAKE CARE OF THE BALL.
 
#11
#11
Hardwood_fanatic said:
Let me clarify one thing on the rebounding. It's not that we are a bad rebounding team, we are #6 in the country. It's just from time to time we give up way to many offensive rebounds, enough that it keeps teams in games with 2nd chance points.
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I agree and think for the most part this is due to our frontline falling in love with blocked shots or the attempt thereof and fail to block out.
 
#14
#14
Excellent breakdown Hardwood. As soon as I seen ZJ's post, I knew you'd mention "playing down to competition" and seems somewhat true. A lot of teams get up for Kentucky though so you get everyones best shot. One thing that sucks about Kentucky is they always seem to finish strong. With that much firepower, being up 15 can go away in a matter of a couple of minutes.
 
#23
#23
are you on here? It's kind of a personalish question. can I email you about it? I can post my email and then take it down so you can email me first and don't have to post yours
 
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