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By KEITH TAYLOR, Kentucky Today
Kentucky has yet to beat a ranked opponent this season, but it can change the narrative against No. 18 North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.
The 19th-ranked Wildcats (5-2) are coming off a 104-54 rout of Tennessee Tech and carry a two-game winning streak into the contest. Kentucky’s two losses this season were at No. 6 Louisville and 17th-ranked Michigan State.
“I think we’re hungry and excited for it,” Wildcats guard Collin Chandler said. “We’re not shy about it. We’re not shying away from North Carolina. We’re coming in there ready to win. We’ve prepared a lot for it, and we’re doing everything we can to be ready for that game.”
Guard Otega Oweh doesn’t want to experience the losing feeling and said the Wildcats have learned from the two setbacks last month.
“That’s the biggest thing for us. We’ve been waiting for these types of games since we’ve lost both of them,” Oweh said. “So, for us, just going out there knowing that we’re one of those teams, one of the better teams, we have to compete as such.”
Kentucky has won the last two games against the Tar Heels and Oweh said playing at home will provide a boost for the Wildcats, who are undefeated (5-0) at home this season.
“Anytime we get to play these types of games on the home court, it’s huge,” he said. “I feel like it’s definitely going to factor in, and then on top of that, no better place to play these types of games. We’re really just excited to get back out there, and it’s another opportunity for us to change the script.”
The Tar Heels (6-1) opened with six straight wins, including 87-74 over Kansas before dropping a 74-58 decision to Michigan State in the Fort Myers Tipoff Classic last Thursday.
In preparing for North Carolina, Kentucky guard Otega Oweh said the Tar Heels are similar to the Spartans.
“We just saw how physical they were (on film),” Oweh said Monday. “That’s really gonna be every team now, and everyone’s being physical, everyone’s really crashing the board.
“That’s something we’ve got to really prepare for. And on top of that, the speed that they’re playing with, and then they like getting to the free-throw line a lot. We’ve just got to play honest and not foul.”
Since the two losses to the Cardinals and Spartans, forward Trent Noah says the Wildcats have made strides on and off the court.
“I feel like we’ve grown a lot in terms of being connected,” Noah said. “I feel like these past couple of games, we’ve been playing one on five instead of one on one. Having each other’s backs, our rotations are more crisp, and we’ve just got to continue to carry that to the next game.”
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Gametracker: North Carolina at Kentucky, 9:30 p.m., Tuesday. TV/Radio: ESPN, UK Radio Network. Coverage: www.kentuckytoday.com
9 Responses
This team lacks an identity of who they are. Pope has rotated players in and out so much trying to keep everyone happy that no roles have been defined. Pope needs to pick the 5 he thinks he can win with and play them 30 minutes, with brief breathers, unless foul trouble or injury prevents this. This starting 5 needs to up their game and take the fight to every team, not just the ranked or unranked ones however you view this season so far. If JQ doesn't play tonight, then he must accept a role coming off of the bench when he is ready to play..if he ever plays. 4 other guys must also accept their role as support players coming off the bench. That means the remaining 5 kids will only see mop-up duty unless an injury changes that. Tow and Horn are ok with that; Potter redshirted…2 of the other 3 thought they were going to play major minutes.
I would go with Johnson at the point, Chandler at the 2, Oweh at the 3, Jelavic at the 4, and Moreno at the 5. This will result in some hurt feelings that hopefully will not become a distraction for the team, but these 5 have shown the most grit and "want to" so far…and have remained healthy. Earlier, I told Larry that I thought this team would win No. 9 with only one loss. At this point, I have no idea of what to expect. By the end of December we will all know if we are contenders or pretenders. Either outcome will be earned. How do Pope and this team want to be remembered?
Jelavic does need to get more playing time bc of his experience and needs to take more shots. My 2 biggest concerns at this time are 1. Will Garrison ever show consistent production and 2. Will J.Q. ever see the floor.
Garrison has to slow of a mind to ever improve. If he hasn't got it by now he never will. He's 7 games into his junior season. He was actually better as a freshman. He has gotten worse. He's a victim of getting money to early. When you transfer and get alot of money it kills players motivation. They either want more or they settle for what they have especially because they never had money. It's different when you've never had and stumble upon compared to always having it. We need to focus on the players that will be here and them improving as much as they can. JQ will play here for probably 20-25 games and then his Kentucky career will be over. I don't even think he will start when comes back. They need to start Moreno and Jelavic at the 4. If they are in a big lineup. I would run 4 guards and Moreno. Aberdeen would be my 6th man like he was for Florida last year. He has so much energy and when he comes in off the bench and the other teamis getting tired he provides a spark plug. I don't know why Pope don't see this. I would start Johnson/Chandler/Oweh/Noah/Moreno. Hear me out. Johnson and Aberdeen are the best point guards on the team. I would start out with Johnson and whoever is playing the worst between Johnson Chandler and Oweh I would sub in Aberdeen for them. Whoever is playing bad between Noah and Moreno I would sub in Jelavic and Mo-D. I wouldn't start Mo-D he's another spark plug. Garrison can kick rocks at the end of the year.
No identity. Just a collection of players
Oweh need to turn it up a notch. What made him a good player last year was his hustle. He has lost his hustle. If you remember he would jump into the passing lane get a still and fast break bucket. Now he's trying to score by creating a offense for himself. That's not going to work. I said before the year I think he would average less points than he did last year and that's exactly what's happening. Last year he played on a team full of seniors who just wanted to win. Even if that meant Oweh taking over the game. This year we have 10 Owehs on the team. What I mean by that is Mo-D and Aberdeen play similar to Oweh. Good defense that leads to offense. Instead Mo-D pulls 3 after 3 and isn't a good three point shooter. He only took 31 3s all year at Alabama last year. In 7 games this year I'm pretty sure he's already close to that mark. That is not his game. He only shot 3s at Alabama when he was wide open and could set his feet and shoot the shot. Him dribbling around the three line and launching a contested three isn't his game. Pope needs to do a better job telling these guys if your not helping the team you wont play. Idc if your Otega Oweh. You have to play good defense and hustle. I seen Oweh go for a ball on the ground. Instead of diving for it, it's like he watched it and then slowly fell on it. Thats not getting it done. Grab the damn ball. I would only play Garrison if Moreno or Jelavic was in foul trouble. He trash. I dont think he will ever even be a good college player. I remember last year he was thinking about going pro. He better move to Europe or Israel or china if he wants to play pro. I don't even know if he would make it there. His mind is to slow. Thats what separates the good from the great. He looks like a robot running down the court all uncoordinated. It's almost like he is watches his shoes as he runs. Idk but I think he looked better last year and even better as a freshman. I think he's extremely lazy. It's called the Kentucky effect. These guys get to pampered. At Kentucky the players get pampered by everyone. So we need a strong firm coach. To balance all of that out. Pope isn't it. I hate saying it because I really like the guy. I just don't think he has the back bone to get it done sometimes. Chandler is who we need to run the offense through. I would start Johnson/Chandler/Oweh/Jelavic/Moreno. My sixth man would be Aberdeen. I would have Noah come in for Oweh. Garrison come in for Moreno and Williams come in for Jelavic. Noah and Chandler play great together. Also Johnson and Moreno play great together. It would almost be worth it to try those 4 together Johnson/Chandler/Oweh/Noah/Moreno is the best starting 5. They play great together and you dont need two bigs play 4 big guards and Moreno who eats up the rebounds. I guarantee these 5 would play great together. They all pass the ball.
A lot of this stuff is very obvious to many of us armchair QB's but why has Pope not been able to affect change? Tonight will be another big test for Pope and the program.
Pope's mistake is that of trying to be everybody's buddy; he needs to be their coach. They will start tuning him out if he doesn't develop a bit of a mean streak.
Agree Barry. Got to cut playing time for some
Where do I start? TOO MUCH HERO BALL! Aberdeen goes 4-13 and 0-3 from the arc and half of those shots were just wild throws at the basket. Aberdeen is not a point guard; he needs to play the 2 or 3 spot as a reserve. We had more turnovers (9) than assists (8)! We went almost 12 minutes in the second half without a basket. We shoot 1-13 from the arc and that was a lucky shot from Garrison. Carolina had 20 offensive rebounds and out rebounded us 41 to 30. As bad as we are offensively, we cannot afford to miss any free throws. Again, Pope is playing too many players in platoon fashion and its no wonder we don't have a group of 5 that has any offensive chemistry.
I am not sure if JQ is ever going to play. Dioubate is a liability on offense and Lowe is a liability on defense. It won't make any difference if they keep playing this F'ing hero ball shit! Williams hasn't done anything since the Michigan State game. Start Jelavic, get the ball to him on the left side of the lane, clear out the middle and let him do his thing. If JQ doesn't play soon, this season will be lost. We will have 6 losses by the start of SEC play.
My starting 5 at Bama would be JQ, Jelavic, Oweh, Chandler, and Johnson. If JQ isn't going to play, then Moreno takes his place.
Coach Pope, you are looking at ANOTHER double digit loss season. We will struggle with Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Arkansas, and possibly Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma. If we end up with a losing SEC record, Pope will get one more season to get his act together…maybe. You say you understand the assignment, but you just flunked your midterm. Get better or get packed!