Leading up to the 2009 NIT Season Tip Off on November 16th, Pickin’ Splinters will be counting down the top 25 of the college hardwood nation.
’08 – ’09 Results: 22 – 14 (8 – 8 SEC) Lost in the third round of the NIT Tournament to Notre Dame, 77 – 67.
Coach: John Calipari (first season) 444 – 140 17 seasons
Key Returners:
Patrick Patterson – 17.9ppg, 9.3rpg
Darius Miller – 5.3ppg, 3.1rpg
Perry Stevenson – 7.8ppg, 5.9rpg
Ramon Harris – 5.5ppg, 3.8rpg
Notable Non-Conference Tilts: 11/24 vs. Cleveland State, 11/25 vs. Stanford or Virginia, 12/5 vs. North Carolina, 12/9 vs. UConn, 12/12 at Indiana, 1/2 vs. Louisville
Stat of Identity: 77.3% from the free throw line – 6th in the nation.
By Paul Gotham
Kentucky’s Wildcats have made grabbing headlines a major pre-occupation this off-season – not always to their liking. New head coach, John Calipari, found himself having to answer questions about his former place of employment. Recruit, John Wall, recently found his eligibility called into question.
Calipari and his Wildcats will need to cast aside any and all distractions and focus on the task of grabbing positive headlines.
Veterans, Patrick Patterson and Darius Miller will lead the way, but this Wildcat squad might be more about its freshman than its experience.
DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, and Wall come with plenty of fanfare. The three freshmen are immediately expected to jump into the Kentucky and make an impact. Calipari is experienced with helping freshmen make a quick adjustment into the college. The Calipari has done well in the past using freshmen, but he has never done it at Kentucky where every move will be scrutinized.
Not only will Calipari need to bring along his freshmen quickly, but the upper-classmen will need to adapt to Calipari’s ‘dribble drive’ offense. While the set is not overly complicated, it will still take some getting used to.
An area of concern for Calipari has to be success from the three-point arc. Kentucky converted 202 trifectas last year – 117 came from the fingertips of the now departed Jodie Meeks. Without a deep threat, defense will easily collapse on Patterson in the post.
At 6’7″, Miller will present match up problems for opponents. The guard should get good looks at the basket.
Sophomores, Darnell Dodson and DeAndre Liggins will see time off the bench.
Considering the free throw woes of his Memphis teams, it will be interesting to see how Calipari’s Wildcats do from the charity stripe. Kentucky ranked high in this category last year.
Ramon Harris is from West Anchorage H.S. It will be interesting to see if his college career even comes close to matching those of fellow Alaskans: Chalmers, Boozer, Landon.