Up Where We Belong

So the Cats have jumped to #1 (with a bullet!?) in the latest polls.

This comes on the heels of a loss.... by the Heels.... to UNLV.

I'm in the camp that says UK definitely has top-rated talent on its roster this season. And we may in fact be the best team in the country, sitting here in late November. It's arguable since Kentucky is young.

As far as where we truly should rank at this early stage, yeah, somewhere in the top 5 seems about right, with the other usual suspects in the mix. I'd rather not get too carried away about it, and of course the team needs to work on its weaknesses and obviously gain some more experience.

Despite the loss, UNC should be up there, Ohio State for sure, and Syracuse yes.....Duke looks decent.

But historically the Cats belong towards the top, and as the program moves forward, we should always be in that region of the polls. Kentucky needs to be situated in that lofty basketball perch just like the sky itself needs to be BLUE.

So cue up that Joe Cocker duet, "Mayo-nnaise". And get out the big foam finger. UK probably won't be spotless this year, but the nation recognizes that this team does have a legit shot at a title, and they have deemed us "top of the pops" before the calendar has hit December.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Wow. You go away for a little vacation and holiday time and stuff really starts shaking on the Kentucky athletics front. I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day. I know I enjoyed being with Brother JC, Miss, and the Jettster.... and I certainly ate way too much great food up in Olathe.

Just a few thoughts, since I did catch UK's win over Portland last night, courtesy of "the tres"...

• Anthony Davis double-doubles should become rather commonplace this season. He's bound to get 10 points on putbacks and breakways without having a single play called for him in the DDMO, but Cal seems to run at least one designed backdoor lob for him per half. Result = dunk, 80% of the time. One can only hope that he puts on the "freshman 15" (lbs.) throughout this winter... in the form of muscles. While that's not very likely since these college basketballers get more cardio than Kelly Ripa training for a marathon. But if Mr. Davis continues to strengthen his slender frame, while continuing to develop that little drop-step and spin move on the block, he's going to be a handful for anybody, Tyler Zeller included. (Yeah, I'm looking forward a little bit).
• Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has a nasty side to him, and I mean that as a compliment. I'd like to come up with a better word to describe that dunk that he threw down in the second half, but I think I will just settle for..."vicious".
• How in the world Marquis Teague missed those bunnies, we'll never know. I would agree that the first one had quite a lofty degree of difficulty, but once you go through all those gyrations to get to the rim, you'd think that the lay-up would be the easy part. But hey, 8 assists and 0 turnovers is okay with me anytime.
• Darius Miller coming off the bench is still strange. That may not be set in stone, and I'm sure it seems more bizarre to Mr. Miller than it does to anybody, but as long as the minutes are there and the wins keep coming, then it must be all good. He's going to wind up with a ton of points in his Kentucky career and it just seems more fitting that he would be a senior starter, but team success is the ultimate goal and I'm sure that's all Darius wants.
• It pains me to say it, but I don't think Kyle Macy is much of a color commentator. Great Big Blue player, probably my all-time favorite, in fact. All-around UK legend and nice guy by all accounts. But on these UK IMG television broadcasts, he just doesn't bring enough... well.... color. His voice is okay, and I think he has a sense of humor-- somewhere, buried beneath all of the coach-speak and cliches. But for whatever reason, it seems that he and Buzz Baker don't really click. There's no chemistry, to my ears, and Mace just comes across as far too vanilla. I'm not asking him to invent some ridiculous catchphrase or turn in to a weak Dick Vitale imitator, but I would like to hear a little more passion coming through the speakers. A little more insight. Something. (Still love the guy). Maybe it was those years coaching Morehead...
  
• Getting out-rebounded at any point in the game by a crew like Portland is not a good indicator. UK's next two opponents (St. John's / UNC) will make that hurt for certain. Cats will have to focus on crashing the boards with a renewed frenzy against the more talented competition, and I'd like to see the guards pick up a few more rebounds rather than releasing too early for breaks.
  

Win Over Kansas Shows Importance of Teague

It's no lightning bolt of revelation, but UK's 10-point victory over the Jayhawks last night demonstrates just how vital the play of Marquis Teague will be to Kentucky's chances this season.

Whenever the freshman point is under control and distributing the ball properly, the Cats look like world beaters. Conversely, when Mr. Teague is dribbling into traps, forcing the run of play, or even worse--firing up his own bad shots, Kentucky looks mortal. It really is that simple, and it was all on display last night.

Perhaps it was the Garden environment, the gaggle of basketball celebrities that were present, or the Coach K love-fest going on (excuse me while I barf)-- but young Teague was not on top of his game in the opening 20. Putting it kindly, right? And so Kentucky found itself in a tie game at the break, with Kansas looking eminently beatable.

Marquis was a walking turnover and looked seriously out of sorts. I don't want to say it was strictly the spotlight, but that had to be a factor. And granted, Kansas is probably overrated, but they aren't exactly Morehouse. It was a step up into the real world of D-1 hoops last night for the entire freshman class.

So credit Cal for settling things in the locker room, in whatever manner you prefer to describe such halftime chats, and bringing UK's floor general back to earth in the second frame. UK got out quickly with a much more efficient offensive attack, and Teague in particular seemed far more comfortable, finding open teammates (goggles, anyone?) and pushing the break only when appropriate.

I can't wait to observe Mr. Teague's development, and we all know Calipari's track record with point guards. He's truly a vital cog...yeah I said it....a COG! That's what Marguis Teague is...for this uber-talented Kentucky squad. Watch 'im go.

Anthony Davis Can Run

I'm not sure what you can say about an exhibition game where the talent gap is wider than the mighty Mississippi, but I will give you one of my more astute observations.

The kid with the unibrow: he can fly.

And I don't mean vertically, although Mr. Davis most certainly can jump. No question he's got some hops. And some really, really long arms. He most definitely flies UP through the air, "with the greatest of ease". But what struck me most about UK's thrashing of a seriously outclassed Morehouse team was just how seriously quick Anthony Davis is from baseline to baseline.

That blocked shot early in the game, where the "blockee" quickly reversed and sprinted downcourt to try to catch AD? I felt sorry for that dude. Davis was already dunking by the time he made it to the top of the key.

What does it take? Two steps for Anthony to get to the other end? Three?

He covers 94 feet like Jesse Owens in Berlin.

I'm an old enough UK fan to remember Dwight Anderson. (Any "Blur" fans out there?) And John Wall isn't a distant memory for anyone. But Anthony Davis is listed at what? 6'11"? And he can flat get up and down the court like nobody's business.

If the Cats play a real running game this season, he's gonna have so many follow-up dunks and trailing jams this year that he could probably average double figures off of those baskets alone.

I understand the Kentucky trainers and coaches have been working to bulk him up, and with good reason. The college schedule will be a grind on the freshman at times, and he will definitely have some tough nights banging in the post with some SEC bigs, but Mr. Davis sure won't have any difficulty playing the press and getting into transition.

As for the rest of the evening, I'll just say that the Morehouse team really had no chance at being competitive, and it was such a huge mismatch that it's hard to fault them for the performance. When you hear that UK's starters didn't even miss a shot in the entire first half, you know something quite bizarre is going on.

So I'm not going to get too crazy with the Cheese Whiz over the final score, or UK's dominance over a vastly inferior opponent, but I did get a kick out of watching #23 zooming all over Rupp.

Wasn't that Dwight Anderson's number?