Winning a national championship in college basketball isn’t like running for president in that it is not votes that determine the title. But as the national political focus turns to the Iowa caucuses this week, we can see one key similarity—a candidate doesn’t emerge with the nomination by hiding weaknesses. He or she does it by having those weaknesses exposed and then best showing the ability to improve upon them.
Games like the one against Louisville help show Kentucky where it needs to improve—point guard play, attacking a press, attacking zones. But what we have also seen is a young team that plays hardest when it matters most.
Teague’s second half against Indiana was the high water mark of the season to date and he’s regressed a bit in recent games, but we must remember how the previous two seasons went. Brandon Knight, last season at this time, wasn’t anywhere close to the player we saw in March. And it was mid-January in 2010 when John Wall publicly voiced frustration of not understanding what Calipari wanted from him. If Teague still has the same issues in March that he has now, then you can be concerned, but now, you can trust Calipari’s track record.
As for attacking the press, a big part of it for Kentucky is becoming more willing to play through contact. Kentucky had players trying to run away from traps instead of getting into the bodies of Louisville players, muscling through those traps and making a strong pass.
As for zones, I’m surprised the Cats have not seen more of it. Kentucky matched its season-high of 21 turnovers against U of L, the only team to play much zone since Old Dominion, which was UK’s other 21-turnover game. Against North Carolina, Indiana and Louisville combined, the Cats have made nine three-point baskets total.
Kentucky doesn’t have the kind of low-post game that is going to generate a classic inside-out approach to attacking a 2-3 zone. In Davis, the Cats have a player that teams don’t want to leave, to prevent lobs, so the sweet spot is going to be where Jack Givens killed Duke in 1978—just inside the free throw line. Doron Lamb and Darius Miller have the mid-range game that could exploit that area and Kyle Wiltjer, who made a shot there on Saturday, could potentially be a nice weapon against zones if he develops enough to warrant more minutes.
Nine weeks from today, Kentucky will be preparing for the SEC Tournament. Let’s see how the Wildcats’ questions get answered by that time.
You can follow Tom’s daily coverage of the Cats at www.tomleach.com and listen to his “Leach Report” radio show on WLAP, AM-630 from 9:05-10am each Monday-Friday.
–Tom Leach
