Are all the pistons firing for a deep run?

[blugrazz]

Ulis - hasn't cooled all season
Murray - hasn't cooled all season
Briscoe - warm, keying in on his opportunities a little better
Poythress - warm, needs to have a big SEC tourney, go out and get the MOP
Skal - heating and toughening up now with a better focused role
Lee - warm, just needs to be aware and opportunistic
Willis - cooled since the injury, needs to have a big SEC tourney and get the game feel back
Humphries - hot, ready to go when called on
Hawkins - warm, needs to be opportunistic

Cal has done a fantastic job getting roles and skillsets honed leading into the SEC tourney. I love when our teams have so many different looks; it makes it hard to prepare to beat us leaving fate in our own hands. Hard to see anyone else playing beyond this nine. I think Humphries and Hawkins only see a 1-2 substitutions per game from here on out trimming the minutes down to a core seven.

I can't fault Cal where we stand. Not sure how much more developing could have been done this season other than Briscoe becoming a reliable mid-range shooter and finding a solid substituion for Ulis but we can weather the 2-3 minutes he is out per game. That's about it. Its a matter of energy, execution and a little luck from here on out.

 

[bigc45157]

One can hope!

We have a good shot. That's all we can ask for.

 

[GOING FOR #9]

The answer is no. Our front court is physically weak. Our defense is not great. I just don't think we got it this year to make the run

 

[hotelblue]

willis hit a couple nice threes, one of them big in terms of momentum, he had a couple go in and out that would have brought the house down, but i thought he looked fine overall in terms of shooting. lee is steadily improving. two weeks ago he'd get maybe one block and one alley oop, and 5 fouls, and get to the line once. now he is getting more like two blocks a game and two alley oops (or more) every game. and actually getting DEFENSIVE rebounds. skal is following suit in that regard, and that makes me happy.

 

[JC for 3]

Good guards make the difference in March and UK has the best tandem out there. Our front court being 'physically weak' isn't that big of an issue when you consider what has developed into some depth in that area with Poythress (healthy), Skal ('getting it' at just the right time) Lee (Fouling less and still able to make plays at the rim) and Humphries (more assertive & confident).

Willis does need to get back to his pre-injury self, no doubt about that. Briscoe.... less 18 footers would probably help our offense immensely. Ulis & Murray just need to be Ulis and Murray.

Hawkins and Matthews simply need to go all out, especially on defensive side of things when they are called upon.

 

[DraftCat]

We will know by how Skal plays in this SEC Tourney. Lets see if he has really turned the corner or not.

 

[KWilt43atbuzz]

Why yes....yes they are....

 

[BluffaloSlim]

If skal can continue to play like he did this past week we could very well win #9

 

[CatDaddy4daWin]

we're gonna need a little bit of luck this year but I like where our team is at heading into tournament time. Literally every player is coming on and playing with maximum effort

 

[JerseyCat84]

The answer is no. Our front court is physically weak. Our defense is not great. I just don't think we got it this year to make the run

Didn't you say yesterday how we had a great road ahead? pick one.

 

[CatsIndy2010]

I honestly think that the sec tourney will be rougher on us than the actual ncaa tournament....I believe our conference has got some good teams that could beat anybody in the country. It all boils down to how much you want to win. We got 2 players who can put up combined 50 points on any given night. Thats half or more the games points. If we can play defense extremely well, get rebounds.. and get some fair refs! we will prevail...

 

[kyh00ps]

I can't answer this Question till sometime Sunday.

 

[AGEE11]

Yes, because now guards become even more important.

And we have the two best in the nation

 

[JerseyCat84]

As last year proved, luck plays a MAJOR role.

 

[ZenCatFan73]

Looking that way, but the SECT will speak volumes. Go Big Blue!!

 

[StubbornPenny]

90% of the years, we just wouldn't have enough. But this is the grand year of ultimate chaos, there's no reason we can't.

Ulis and Murray just have to keep being themselves (if Ulis wants to get hot from 3, all the better).

Skal is the real key. If he can put up 12 pts/7 reb/3 blocks a game, that TOTALLY changes our outlook. The way Murray can shoot, all we need is that extra advantage on rebounding and shot altering.

Briscoe needs to hit a few open jumpers. Willis needs to step right back in and do what he was doing.

Alex and Marcus just have to be ready and contribute positively.

It'll take some luck, but so does every title run. This team is no worse or no better than UConn's last TWO title teams. I feel like it's time for us to catch a break and sneak one out with a team that wasn't optimal, but was in the right place at the right time.

 

[joe710]

I wasn't posting early in the year, but I remember a lot of people saying that this Kentucky team was as good as it was going to get, same with Skal.

I just think it's funny when people freak out at the beginning of the year, and think that the team they see in January is the one you'll see in March. There is so much development that goes on, especially with these younger guys, and teams as a whole. Kentucky's developed a lot since early in the year, credit to Calipari.

 

[Icecoldbrewdoggy]

Keep Briscoe's only shots being layups and stay out of early foul trouble from our big men and we make a run. Every posession is critical.