Freshman Malachi Moreno impressed Purdue coach Matt Painter Friday. (Vicky Graff Photo)
So why did Kentucky once lead by 17 points against No. 1 Purdue Friday night before eventually winning the exhibition game 78-65?
“More than anything, I just thought they embraced the physicality of the game. I liked how they use )Brandon])Garrison; I like their five-out there,” said Purdue coach Matt Painter. “Malachi (Moreno) is a guy that we recruited, put a lot of time into; he’s got a promising future.”
Garrison had seven points on 3-for-4 shooting and four rebounds in 18 minutes while Moreno, a freshman, had eight points on 4-for-5 shooting, four rebounds, one block and one steal in 22 minutes in his UK debut.
“They have a good mix of athletes and guys that can shoot. Those guys that came off the bench…I thought Jasper Johnson could have been the difference in the game. He made some big shots and made some big plays,” Painter said.
Johnson was spectacular at times. He led UK with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and also had three assists, one steal and one rebound in 19 minutes
“I like what they do offensively. I think they are very similar to us,” Painter said. “I do not think there is a lot of defense out there. I don’t think either team is going to get compared to ‘85 (Chicago) Bears right now. You cannot outscore people all the time; you got to have a good balance. And I think that’s going to be an issue for both teams.
“I think both teams are pretty good offensively, but who can be better defensively? Who can be better at rebounding? Tonight, it was (Kentucky), especially rebounding. I thought we did a good job of taking care of the ball. We did a good job of getting good shots; we just didn’t knock it down.
“I thought the tougher team won and that normally happens early in the year with this. I think they got a chance to have a good team.”
Painter thought Kentucky did a much better job getting the ball in the paint compared to his team.
“My thing is, it is not too much of a physical issue for me; it is more of a mental concentration. You have to concentrate and keep the ball in front of you. And sure, good players with quickness [and] with ball skills, are going to beat you at times, but they cannot beat you all the time,” Painter said. “That is what you search out. We have to get that combination of balance on both ends.”
9 Responses
Some are already calling this team the Bluegrass Boys.
I love that. We have 4 Kentucky boys in the rotation. 3 that will probably play in the NBA. If Perry would have came back we could have had a 5 man rotation of Kentucky boys. Maybe next year?! I do think Perry comes back maybe after his junior season.
Sky is the limit for this team. They looked to me to be beyond exhibition form. I thought they sped up Purdue into some tough shots. Its going to be a good year. Considering the Purdue team has played together for years that was impressive.
It's hard to be a good defensive team and a good rebounding team without being tough. The Cats brought toughness to both aspects of the game.
Great teams hit the ground running and never look back.
This is one of those teams that can do it. Will it.
Stay tuned, and buckle up.
I disagree with Painter on UK not being good defensively last night. The more aggressive team usually wins the rebounding battle and UK cleaned their clock on the boards. I though UK did really good at getting back and being in position most of the night. One thing that really helped is UK looked a lot more athletic than Purdue. I think Purdue will have to play a little more deliberate style this year to allow their bigs to impact the games. UK can put 12 or 13 players on the floor that can run.
I also liked how Pope was getting players in and out of the game often. This keeps the legs fresh and just wears down most opponents.
Painter said not a lot of defense out there??
I thought our defense was vastly improved compared to last season!!
Painter's number 1 ranked team got bitchslapped! Luckily for him this was an exhibition game.
Ya they did.