Knight Comes Up Aces Vs. Cards

It was certainly a team win, UK's 78-63 victory over Louisville in the Yum(!/?) Center on Friday. And while Josh Harrellson is getting the lion's share of credit for putting together a career game against U of L, it was the quiet assassin Brandon Knight that was the straw stirring the Big Blue drink.

Knight had 25 points, and he put them up on the board in a particularly efficient manner. You probably remember the three-pointers. He was 4 for 6--and certainly Clark and Gus would love to remind you of Mr. Knight's "beautiful form"-- but I was probably more impressed by his free throw shooting (7 for 8) and above all, the way he simply managed the pace of the game.

Yes, points are nice. You gotta have 'em. But as Harrellson's emergence showed yesterday, points can occasionally come from some very surprising quarters. More than a few of Josh's buckets came off exquisitely run half-court sets that produced either lobs or back doors from Knight, or passes out of double-teams by Terrence Jones. Those points were a direct result of the Cats controlling tempo, and not settling for quick jumpers or forcing the issue in fast break scenarios.

It was brilliant coaching by John Calipari, and it was Brandon Knight at the control switch, runnin' thangs. He was credited with 4 assists on the day, and the 5 turnovers we will put off partly as freshman jitters early, and also give some slight credit to the Louisville defense for occasionally making a play. Overall, Knight did a wonderful job of keeping UK settled and focused on sharing the ball, and he looked far more like an upperclassman than an 18 year old.

This is not to diminish what Josh accomplished in scoring 23 points and cleaning off 14 boards, but most fans would recognize that it was a conscious decision by Louisville to make someone other than Jones (or Knight) beat them. UK shared the ball just like a veteran team should, and I see a whole lot of potential for these games where a "non-scorer" comes up big in the conference schedule. That would mainly be Josh or DeAndre (both of whom would flinch at the tag), but that's why it's so important for Knight to continue to develop his point guard instincts throughout the next couple of months.

And Kentucky absolutely looked like a team that could make a deep run this season... a very uplifting way to enter 2011. Happy New Year.