JwgreDeux

He has issues dribbling the length of the floor, I think he has shown he's capable of taking two or three from the wing/high-post and making a move. I'd like to see more of it, at least show it occasionally to get the defense to give you a bit more room.

Here is the look we want when running the high pick and roll. Wen on the ball, Kessler comes to screen, Caimbridge runs the baseline to clear the action side out and Smith on the opposite wing. Here, Smith's man stays connected to him so it is an easy lob to Kessler who slipped the screen. Here is a few trips latter: Wen at the point with Kessler coming to set the high screen. Smith is running the baseline to clear out with Flannigan on the ball side wing. As Wen attacks Flannigan's man sags to stop the lob and Flannigan stays on the wing instead of sliding down to the corner. This leave Wen with no kick out options. If he slides to the corner, Wen doesn't have to force a shot, he can drive all the way down and kick out along the baseline. But instead he forces a tough shot in traffic. Its the little things like that we need to continue to improve on.

Or don't miss the front end of five 1 and 1 free throw trips. That's ten points left at the free throw line alone right there. I actually think the "play" wasn't that bad. We had a awful shooting night, on pretty decent shots. I would like to see Smith drive the ball more when they are going to get up on him the way they did and he has to do better moving without the ball on the Wen/Kessler pick and rolls. Jabari's man was leaving him to cover Kessler's roll and he stayed in his spot on the wing making a kick out near impossible to make. He (and other wings at times) needed to slide down to the corner and he would have been wide open.

Did not mean to convey that. Smith is clearly the better 4 and I agree the 5 is close, but I would take Kessler for sure.

Just looking at some raw stats (starters only): Conference rankings: Scoring- UK 2 players in the top 15 (5,12) AU 2 players in top 15 (7,14) (Green is 15) Assists- UK 2 players in the top 15 (1,5) AU 0 players in the top 15 (Green is 3rd Zep is 18) Rebounds- UK 1 player in the top 15 (1) AU 2 players in the top 15 (6,9) Blocks- UK 1 players in top 15 (4,) AU 2 players in the top 15 (1, 9) Steals- UK 1 player in top 15 (14) AU 1 player in top 15 (2) (Green tied at 14) This is without efficiency modifications, just raw totals and our starters who play less minutes hold up nicely compared to UK's. It would be lopsided in our favor is we started counting the bench.

I agree it is debateable, but I think what is being lost in the comparison of their starters vs our is the unit as a whole. So man for man, I think Tyty is better than our 2. I think Smith is better than their 4. I think the point guards offset each other for different reasons and the same for Flannigan and their 3. I would take Kessler over Tshiebwe every time. But as a unit, I think our starters fit together better than their five do. There is a reason that UK doesn't have more championships and final fours under Calipari, despite having arguably the most talented roster year in and year out.

I don't think their starting 5 are better than ours as a unit. I think they played better in the early part of the game, but games eb and flow that way. I think UK played a very good game. I think they played well without Tyty and unless he goes off for 25 the outcome isn't much different. Guys get banged up, get into foul trouble, and miss time, that's just ball. Kessler played 12 minutes vs Bama and we still won. Flannigan missed games, we still won. The fact is, they pressured the ball very high early on and kept posts low to stop back cuts and we struggled with that early. We adjusted by bringing our posts away from the rim and opening back doors so their guards couldn't pressure the same way. Then we got into some good offensive movement and lit them up from the 10:00 mark on. Depth and adjustments, part of what makes this team dangerous on top of the starting top shelf tallent.

I think he needs to improve his handle, but I think is issues with it are more related to being to timid when he puts the ball on the floor. He's too eager to pull up because it is his comfort zone. I'd like to see him get more aggressive when he decides to put the ball on the floor and attack the double team to create contact rather than try and slip it. He's shown the willingness to bang down low on defense, now let's do it with the ball in his hands. Please know one take this as being down on Jabari at all. Just this is the area of his game that is not at an elite level, or he hasn't shown it yet. I think it is better than we have seen, and I also think he has shown a pattern of getting more and more assertive on offense. Expect that to continue.

Significantly, No. More, Yes. Pearl is alreadying showing shortening of the bench in these bigger games. I think you will continue to seem him get 30+ in these type games.

Jabari showed a few things in the UK game that you have to love. Despite struggling at times with his handle, he asserted himself as the best player on the floor multiple times. He was still too passive at times for my taste (didn't take his first shot until 5 minutes into the game), but took big ones when we needed them. The first time was when he took an iso on the wing and drove to the foul line, pump faked and drained a shot to end UK's early game run. It was his first basket of the game (second shot attempt) and sent a clear signal that he can get a bucket when we need it most. The next one was a few moments later as we started trading baskets with UK, he came off a ball screen from Kessler and UK trapped off the screen with Tshiebwe and Smith rose above both guys and buried a jumper from just inside the three point line. I think on the next possession he caught the ball on the wing jab stepped and drained a three and just like that he had 7 points in three trips down the court after our offenses struggled early on. The last time that jumps out is what you expect from the best player on the floor. We had controlled much of the second half, built a 10 point lead and kept UK at a distance. But with a little over two minutes to go they had cut the lead to four, Kessler was on the beach catching a breather, and you could feel the game tightening. We come down and give it to Jabari on an iso at the elbow, he's being guarded by Topin and on the pass the point defender comes to double Smith. Smith takes a single dribble away from the double team and raises up and shoots right over the top of it as smooth as you will ever see, good for two and pushes our lead back out to six. It isn't a highlight type play, not a huge dunk, etc...but it is a dagger to the other team that our best guy is better than anything you can throw at him in these big moments. The last one came with under a minute, as he drove from the right wing to the left block, got doubled, pump faked and gave a dish to Kessler for an uncontested dunk. He also had key defensive stops and rebounds, but we saw a flash today of a guy who knows how to make the big shots in the big moments. Enjoy the show while we have him.

They have some players for sure. It is UK. Grady is the only one who is a volume guy. Only guy averaging more than 2 makes from three per game because they just don’t shoot that many. Smith and Flan (all 3s and 4s) will have to help out in the big fella if Kessler leaves him to get a block. He will test our front line for sure. The thing about UK is their a bit inconsistent. Guards can be great but also very average at times. Will be on our guys to bring the determination to win this one.

Saw this on the web: A 10th victory over Kentucky would put Pearl on a short list of coaches with double-digit victories over the Wildcats. The coaches who have beaten Kentucky at least 10 times (in order of wins): 1. Dale Brown 18; 2. Billy Donovan 17; 3. Bob Knight, Ray Mears 15; 5. Roy Skinner 14; 6, Dean Smith 13; 7. Kevin Stallkings 12; 8. Don DeVoe, Wimp Sanderson 11; 10. C.M. Newton, Roy Williams 10. Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mark-story/article257518074.html#storylink=cpy

Probably. I remember in 2000 we played UK at home and we were top five and I think they were like top 10 or so.

Been a while since I took a shot at one of these, so let's see if I remember how to do it. UK is a talented group, but this is a different AU team than in years past. Different even from the recent years where we were good. The primary reason is the quality and depth of our bigs. Kessler, Smith, Williams, Cardwell, Cambridge and Flanigan is as good a group of 3,4 & 5 that I remember at AU. Kentucky reminds me of Alabama but with much better bigs. They score from 2 with dribble drive and rebound well. They don’t shoot it that well but they do a good job of moving the ball and getting good looks. Wheeler is a solid point who looks to pass first and score second averaging nearly 8 assists per game. They have balanced scoring with 5 guys averaging double figures, and three more averaging more than 5. Their depth is good but not great. Only 7 players averaging double digit minutes, but 4 other guys average 6+ minutes. Our bench has a significant advantage in production tough, as I would estimate UK gets 90%+ of their overall production from their first 7 guys. Their team is obviously talented, but the only one I'm truely concerned about us being able to handle is their center Tshiebwe. He is a beast. He is what a classic 5 look like. He isn't going to step out and hit shots, but he will hit you in the mouth. He leads them in points and rebounds averaging 16 and 15 respectively. Kessler is going to get his toughness tested in a way we haven't seen yet. We saw the kid from Florida and Carolina give him trouble, but this dude here is different. Kessler CANNOT just hang out and play behind him all night. He will have to do a better job of establishing himself outside the block and/or fronting some in the post. We will also see how much he has learned from this foul troubles as UK will attack the rim. Matchup-wise, it looks pretty even, with us have an advantage at the 4 and them having the advantage at the 2. KD will be in for a touch challenge offensively and defensively. Smith will be guarded by some size and some quickness, and UK has multiple guys they can throw at him. I've already discussed Kessler, so the other interesting thing will be who does Zep guard. Tyty is their primary shot taker, and Zep may spend time on him and Wheeler. Texas AM had some success pressuring the guards out high and trapping so we may try to simulate that a bit as well. They have the advantage rebounding. They are elite at it and they are led by the best in the game Tshiebwe. We have to dig deep and avoid getting killed on the boards. I've posted in other places about my concerns with our rebounding habits and this is where I fear it rears its ugly head. We get hammered, they get out in transition and we lose. We have the advantage in blocks/steals. We are getting a block or steal on nearly 25% of teams possessions. That may help us on the rebounding front if we can have similar success against UK. This leads us out into transition and off we go. We are also a better outside shooting team. In part because we take more, but mainly because we have more guys that can and will shoot it. One other positive is UK has not played well on the road. Actually, the look pretty bad on the road. They are 2-2 averaging around only 66 points. The atmosphere looks like it may play a role in this one, and obviously in our favor. We do not need our best game to win this one, but we can't hurt ourselves either. I personally think if both teams play to their averages it is a coin flip . I like our chances at home obviously, but I think we need someone to step up. Smith and Kessler are the big names, but I think the guy who has a chance to steal the show is Flannigan. His mix of power and shooting is under appreciated, probably by me as well . With the defensive attention others will get, I would like to see Flannigan be extra aggressive in this one. This is a big game. A lot of eyes will be on AU after all the talk about getting snubbed for the #1 spot in the AP poll. Additionally, no matter what, you're not the favorite to win this league until you beat UK. They have earned that place and that's where they still sit. Will post more in this thread as the game approaches hopefully ... War Eagle!!!!

What option do you have as a defender other than to try and rough him up? You can't give him space or not get into him or he will just shoot right over you. I would like to see a handful more of dedicated get him the ball possessions. He's too good not to. He also creates for others besides himself from the high post. I mind, because it just continues the tone/expectations of the team of who gets what shots. If he only gets 10 attempts vs UK we lose, if he has the fourth most attempts we lose. Why wait for UK to make sure he gets more shots. No matter what happens with the UK game alone, he needs more shots going forward. There is that "silly" word again. Is anyone disagreeing that TOs are bad and bad shots are bad? No. I'm simply saying that generally our current level of turnovers is not concerning. But yes a few trips in a row with TOs can get you beat in the tourney, of course. I agree with your observations that our guards are not doing a good job creating for others, and that can be exploited by defenses which would lead to higher rates of turnovers than we have now.

Currently we are averaging 11.6 TOs a game (only about 9 in SEC play). That put us 60th in the country in fewest TOs a game. When you adjust for pace, we move up to top 30 in turnovers per possession. Obviously, you always want fewer TOs, but the team already appears to be improving in this area during SEC play. Combined with our defensive turnover numbers and I think we are on solid footing in this area. The area I think we need the most work in is making that one extra pass. Our guards continue to improve, but are missing opportunities for an assist here or there by forcing shots. We currently are getting 15.5 assist per game, good for 38th in the country, if we could get two more per game we would be top 10. We have to get Smith more touches. I’m not suggesting he shoots the ball every time down the court, but the best player shouldn’t take the 4th most shots as happened last night.

I think the starting line up is just a method of setting rotations. With Kessler, Smith, Flannigan, and KD on the floor, Zep doesn't need to score much. By bringing Wen off the bench, you have instant offense when any of the other four starters are sitting with Zep. It is one of the factors that makes the depth so good, that we have a player that could start coming off the bench.

On the TOs, you take the good with the bad. His offensive aggression, unpredictability and freedom is what makes him effective and loose with the ball at times. I'm always for fewer TOs, but I don't think it is a problem at this point. I would like him to defer a bit more to Smith on some shot selection issues.

Oh and how did I forget to mention we only turned it over 6 times? Great ball security by our ball handlers.

Our offense was as good as I've seen AU in the half court vs Kermit defenses. Wen had 7 assists (one shy of his season best) and we had 8 players record at least one assist. As expected the lobs were there and Kessler reaped the rewards. I expected Caimbridge to get in more, but CBP when with a different offensive alignment and it worked. Smith did some damage in the short corner and KD spotted up in the corner a few times to take advantage of the baseline and we got the W. What was strange was our zone defense we used in the first half. It was not executed well at all. Once we switched back to our man it was over. Interesting to see what CBP does with that zone going forward.

Our depth is obviously a hue asset of this team. Being able to run guys in off the bench who can contribute is a luxury. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see CBP start shrinking the rotation a bit (unless we have foul trouble). We've seen hints of it already, in the Ole Miss game only 7 guys got double digit minutes, and only 9 checked into the game. It is really a double edged sword, play 10-11 for depth purposes or play your top guys as much as you can. Interested to see how CBP manages it going forward.

We had 32 stops in the Ole Miss game (possessions that didn't end in an Ole Miss basket). Kessler had 16 of those stops, 5 defensive rebounds, 4 steals, and 7 blocks. That's half of our stops! How crazy is that?

The top spot in the AP poll would be nice, historic, and a great achievement. That said, no reason to think it is out of reach for the rest of the season. Huge opportunity to make a statement this week. That being said, I worry more about seeding and bracketology/matchups as the tourney approaches.

I mean if he’s making them it always helps. I think our best way to attack it will be from the baseline (turn the zone around). Use corner dribble drives to hit cutters or get the ball to our 3 (Flannigan) and 4 (Smith) in the short corner and let them create.

Thanks. I actually played in a version of this zone in school. It tests a teams ball handling/passing abilities. It frustrates isolation offenses so be prepared for our guys that can create to be frustrated if they don’t dish the ball when they should.