As the inaugural season opened for Calipari and his new cast, there was the obvious kid in the blue jumpsuit that didn’t have a jersey on underneath. This was Kentucky without John Wall and it was a very intriguing match up with an experienced and talented Morehead State team. A lot of the small pains to be expected from those guys who have never played in the league they call NCAA. My inaugural season in the backs began with taking a good friend to the game that had nothing but sheer joy watching this team and coach in action. Steve had been with his father to a game when he was a child and he was able to relive a lot of his childhood memories up close and personal. It was obvious it meant a lot to him and I hope it was obvious that it meant a lot for me to be able to make sure he got in on the goods this season. 
Without John Wall there were questions abound about how the other freshman point guard would handle the load. And what a load he delivered! Lets talk some more about Eric Bledsoe. The first thing I noticed last night was what kind of condition this young man (who is technically still a teenager but in stature is an incredible example of a man) is in. His arms and legs are beyond being “in shape” but instead superiorly conditioned, of course he would need that conditioning with 36 minutes of PT and a still sore ankle from last weeks sprain. As he effortlessly got to the front of the drive each time, passing not only the MSU players but his own teammates, it made it look like he was playing against kids a lower level than him. He certainly had poise as the floor leader and he let his presence be known early scoring in many unique ways including a spinning, fouled hard, no look shooting behind his head, NBA - no universally impossible, shot that did nothing but hit the square and fall the basket. I don’t think we have seen many players in many years that could perform tasks quite as difficult as he was making them look effortless. As the second half was underway I felt that I was watching him take the reigns of the team and make it happen. His effort led to Patterson to get open shots, including another 3, and good looks at the basket. He was getting other folks involved again as the floor leader with 4 assists and should have had a couple more but there were some fumbles happening as should be expected this time of the season. You cant get on to a kid for not getting you 6-7 assists, I imagine, if he scores a third of the total offensive output. His defense was solid including when he took flight as a human imitating a rocket ship and rejected an MSU drive. Oh yeah, his 24 point debut (the best of any UK freshman ever!) was exactly on the high side of the average that #23 put up last year with 23.7. I am gonna keep saying that he may be Jodie Meeks reincarnated without the whole carrying the team on his back deal to worry about. Wow, great game Bledsoe. What I look for with him now that he and Wall will be playing together is as they spread the floor, will be more involvement from the bigs keeping the lanes open so they can dig, drive & dish or deliver. The traffic jams down low disappearing will open up new things to these two young men as they show the world that the two best point guards CAN play together on the same team. I can basically see both Eric and John doing a dual in your face matchup that cant be defended on the floor. They are simply too fast and its apparent now, too good. With all this optimism there has to be something negative right? Well he did have a band aid on his right forearm…
Apparently the kryptonite came out and affected Superman DeMarcus Cousins as three quick (and mostly cheap) fouls cost him some PT in both halves. 7 points and 4 rebounds should be a great debut for a freshman at KY. However for this class at this time in the program the play was not up to the hype. His 2 blocks were promising but when only playing 18 minutes its hard to establish yourself as a threat to the other team. I felt his anger after the game, his anger at himself for taking himself out of the game for stupid little fouls that could have been easily avoided. I expect a big game out of him on Monday night as the little guys from Miami of Ohio come in for some anger management and stress relief.
Darius Miller should be beyond uncomfortable games where he turns it over as much as he dishes it, misses more than than he hits. Actually he never hit a basket creating a genuine surprise among the wildcat faithful that he was still in the game and in the end playing a total of 32 minutes in this system where nobody is supposed to play that much. Our silent partner in this firm has to be Darnell Dodson as he once again scored in double digits with 15 but only 6 of that was from 3 where once again he didn’t stand up to his reputation as a scorer. Like Miller & Harris, Darnell had a negative turnover to assist ratio and we cant help but hear Cals warning about “balls flying all over the place” early in the season.
What cant you say about Patrick “p-square” Patterson? His talent, experience and leadership shone through as MSU never let up in intensity through the game. He had the difficult task of sharing Faried with the other bigs. A great field goal %, including his first 3 pointer of his college career, drove the game changing performance that saw him put the smack down on the post with 12 rebounds including 1 monstrous block on Faried who was going for one of his many dunks of the night. Without the finger wagging, that block was exactly the style of denial put down by the great Akeem Olajiwan and it was a truly barnstorming rendition of “not in my house”. Faried is a legit player who moves well around the basket and can jump very high, very fast. He put several dunks down on our bigs and it was a joy to watch such a great player who too represents KY with his college choice.
We also got a great glimpse of the on court demeanor that Coach Call will be bringing each night. While active he did very little directing as his team is supposed to drible and drive, right? I think Bledsoe excelled in taking a little direction and turning it into results. However Cal’s devil voice will motivate any person not doing what he wants them to do to realize they are going to do it right from now on. There was an inbound play in which Darius Miller missed an easy take away and he instantly was taken out of the game. As he walked by us at half-court Cal berated him in the most evil, meaner than your father ever thought about voice, “ Why didn’t YOU get the BALL?!, Why didn’t YOU get the BALL! ? “. Another time after a couple of consecutive turnovers he turned to his bench and said, “ Why are you playing like this?” God even the guys on the pine cant get a break. Thankfully…
Well Monday night we get the great experience of seeing this incredibly hyped and talented team in its entirety throw down. The scouting report on Miami doesn’t appear that they will give us great challenges but still are a worthy enough opponent that hopefully we wont be VMI’d. I am hoping the rumors that DeAndre Liggins will be seen tonight are true. I am so pulling for that young man its hard to describe. He deserves to have it all turned around. I hope to report after the game “Welcome to John Walls world, we only live in it.”
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