Vicky Graff Photo
Maybe it was only an exhibition game but the message from coach Mark Pope to his team when Kentucky played preseason No. 1 Purdue last week was extremely clear.
“Coach just tells us to go out there and do what we know. Even though it is an exhibition game, we wanted to come out and win like we did,” said Kentucky junior Brandon Garrison after the win. “We do not want to go too low or too high. Coach preaches that to us every day. We went out there and did our stuff.”
Kentucky beat Purdue 78-66 even with two starters not playing and last year’s leading scorer, Otega Oweh, limited to 17 minutes due to a foot injury.
The Cats still had 10 players play 16 or more minutes and all 10 had at least one assist.
“We have a very deep team with the young guys who are very talented. I feel like we have a deep roster and we can fatigue teams out like we did today. I feel like it will be a special year if we keep doing us,” Garrison, who had seven points and four rebounds in 18 minutes, said.
Sophomore Trent Noah had 10 points, two rebounds and one assist and hit two 3-pointers.
“I just think that, if we can solidify, we can be really, really good. We are super deep, and we just have to all buy into that and come together and play together,” Noah said. “Some nights it will not be our night, some nights it will. That is the beauty of it. That is what it’s all about.”
Kentucky managed to outbound the bigger, more experienced Boilermakers. It did not surprise Noah that his teammates handled Purdue’s size.
“I was expecting that because of the way that I watched them go about this whole week and go about the scout. It goes all the way to our 16th man, and then our GAs because they gave us great looks,” Noah said. “Whenever we get out there, we know what is coming. Malachi [Moreno], Brandon (Garrison], Mouhamed (Dioubate], Andrija (Jelavic] — they did an exceptional job against a really good team.”
Kentucky hosts Georgetown in another exhibition game Thursday night before starting regular season play with two games next week.
Noah made his first start at Rupp Arena against Purdue and could be in the starting lineup again against Georgetown.
“It’s every little boy’s dream in Kentucky growing up. It really was super surreal. But there is nothing like Big Blue Nation either. You come in, in October, and play in front of a sold out crowd with Rupp Arena jumping — it is incredible,” Noah said. “There is nothing like the fans that we have here. It is a real honor to be able to play for the state of Kentucky.”
4 Responses
That assumption is based upon everyone playing at a 100% energy level for the 4 to 5 minutes stretches that they are on the floor. Offensively, they need to fast break every trip down the floor looking for an open 3 or a drive to the basket. Defensively, they need to press full court switching between man to man and zone trap presses. Arkansas under Nolan Smith did this better than anyone calling it 40 minutes of hell. It brought them a national title. It can do the same for us if everyone will commit to playing this way, but pacing themselves playing 3/4 speed won't have the same effect, but it will allow them to be on the floor for longer periods of time before subbing out. That raises the question…. Do they want to play or do they want to win?
I agree about the pace. I believe teams with great talent can make decisions on the floor faster than teams with players of lesser talent.
I want this team to be among the fastest-paced teams in the nation to force opponents to make their offensive decisions faster than their comfort level. More forced turnovers, and more points off turnovers are the result. That fast pace starts on the defensive end.
I like a fast pace and like BP above, I loved that 40 minutes of hell from Richardson but I also liked how Pitino sprinkled in that press at just the right times. I do like a good press.
All 3 posts are terrific. The 100% energy and the intense defense are a winning combination.
Pitino developed UK players into such a powerful defensive unit that High Durham @ UGA called it a shark-eating frenzy. I was able to attend some UK games with that shark-eating frenzy on display at UGA and it was overwhelming! As the Professor pointed out, it forces team to play faster than their comfort level.
A lot comments were made before last season about the intense defense because of the number of players who could be used to keep fresh legs on the court. I was surprised & disappointed that UK did not utilize a deeper bench to enforce a full court press at least for some stretches of several minutes each game. Mixing up D can make the press more effective because the opponent as to keep adjusting their plan of attack.
The bench is the best reprimand and best message that can be sent to any player who is selfish, who is not giving 100% or is not playing TEAM 1st ball at both ends of the floor.