UK vs. Miami OH Run Down

Written by Ian | 17 November 2009

Full disclosure here, I missed all but 15 minutes of the UK game last night.  An important engagement kept me from watching all but the first 5 and last 10 minutes of the game.  What I did see was great though.

Most UK fans today are probably scared to death that UK only beat Miami OH by 2 last night, but they shouldn't be.  Last night's game was a great lesson for the new team.  It taught all those top 100 recruits what it means to play at Kentucky.  That is everyone will give you their best shot every night.

UK's freshmen also learned last night that they are not infallible.  Everyone has talked about how they are one of the best recruiting classes ever.  Coach Calipari has noted that they think they "poop ice cream."  It must have been sobering for them to look up and see themselves down 18 points in the first half last night.  All this is great.

What I did see last night made me very excited.  Specifically, Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, Darius Miller, and John Wall impressed while I was watching.  Patterson did his normal thing and dropped a double double while controlling the paint.  Cousins also had a double double with all his 10 points and 10 rebounds coming in the second half.  Apparently Cal challenged him at half time and the results were fantastic.

Miller showed some aggressiveness toward the end of the game that has been lacking lately.  It seems he plays better with his back against the wall when he has no choice but to be aggressive.  What else can you say about Wall?  He was playing too fast in the first half and calmed in the second.  The final play was amazing too.  Yes he made the shot, but the way he made it was flat out impressive.  He drove the floor at full speed, crossed over, and pulled up vertically for the game winning jumper.  For those who've never played competitive basketball you can't understand how hard it is to drive full speed, stop, pull straight up, release at the top, and come back down in the spot you left.  Wall's game winner wasn't a fade away and he didn't run down his defender.  He pulled straight up and came straight down.  It was just another example of his rare athleticism.

In all, the Miami game was a huge success for UK.  They got down, were tested, but won the game in the end.  The only severe disappointment I had in the night was the lack of a foul on Miami's last possession.  I would have though Calipari would have learned to foul when up 3.  You can't allow that tying shot to go in the air.  Those are things that can be changed later in the year, but it is a small thing that is worrisome.

Two more games this week will allow UK fans to see how much their team grew up.  If they come out and dominate the next two games everyone will know they learned their lesson. If they play 40 minutes like they did the final 25 last night then they will start getting better.  That's all any coach can ask of their team at this point in the season.