Lee was huge

[MdWIldcat55]

Those three baskets he got in the paint were really important.

He has spurts, then seems to float along for a game or two. I know he is giving effort all the time. I can't figure out how it is he can get loose inside to stick back a rebound or catch a lob for a few series, as he did last night, and most notably against Michigan, but then he's out of the offense for long stretches.

I hope Cal figures it out because his baskets energize the team.

 

[Bank Cat]

Agreed. He is one of my favorite players on the team - maybe my overall 'favorite among favorites'. He seems like a great teammate and even when he looks lost he does it with energy!

 

[Graves51]

Just when you think Lee is hurting us on offense, THERE HE IS!! Looked good when we needed him last night.

 

[SloopJohnBee]

I'm not sure "huge" is a good description of his game last night. He had a very nice flurry and some timely baskets, though.

I did wonder why Lee didn't get more floor time later in the game, however. Kinda runs counter to the argument that "effort earns more minutes".

 

[dmpatp]

Marcus Lee had a good game and brings a lot of energy. He reminds me of the hyper kid that everyone had on their rec league team growing up (minus the talent obviously) who would drink mountain dew to hydrate and would eat starburst on the bench until he's called to go in. Once he's in there he's always bouncing around on the balls of his feet and is all over the place, which is good for bringing energy and hustle plays.

It will be interesting to see what type of player he can be once he settles down a bit and establishes a post game and jump shot. a lot of upside.

 

[reignof cats]

Originally posted by SloopJohnBee:
I'm not sure "huge" is a good description of his game last night. He had a very nice flurry and some timely baskets, though.

I did wonder why Lee didn't get more floor time later in the game, however. Kinda runs counter to the argument that "effort earns more minutes".

Lee is my favorite player on this years team. The reasons why he did not play more are WCS is better and Lee has trouble shooting FT's. Stallings would have hacked Lee down the stretch. Lee is a glue guy with tremendous upside. He does a lot of things well but will never be the superstar on this team. Lee is a role player and a damn good one. A Jr. or Sr. Lee = potential AA. (next WCS type player) We need more air guitar. GBB

 

[wkycatfan]

I would like to see somebody teach Lee a jump hook. Would be affective IMO.

 

[IL Wildcat]

Agreed. Lee's contributions last night were timely and showed a bit of what he can do when given the opportunity. He will be needed many more times this season to do the same.

Lee will be huge next season for UK. Of this I have no doubt. I expect he will come back and will get even more minutes- may even start.

 

[reignof cats]

I wonder if Lee got a standing ovation in class today like he did last year against Michigan? GBB

 

[SloopJohnBee]

MdWIldcat55 posted on 1/21/2015...

"I'm not sure 'huge' was a good description of his game last night..."

Really? He stemmed Vandy's second half push to, at a time the rest of the team had started the half 1-10, and gave the Cats a working margin for when Vandy got hot later. It isn't splitting the atom, but within the context of a basketball game, it's pretty critical.

Here's the Catspause headline, which strikes me as accurate:

Marcus Lee rescues Kentucky against Vandy
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Don't get me wrong; I'm not bagging on Lee. He made a solid contribution in the 12 minutes he played. As I said in my first post, I thought he should have seen more floor time based on his performance early in the second half.

Whether he "rescued" KY is up for question. One might argue that Aaron's late baskets when the margin you referred to was frittered away were the difference in the game. It's always a better headline, though, when someone unexpected makes a key contribution in a close game. All due respect to Catspause, and no disrespect to your opinion or anyone else who sees it differently.

 

[BoulderCat]

I'd guess Lee's biggest issue from Cal's point of view is consistency. His minutes are lagging a bit behind the other 8, and he's kind of quiet for a few games, and then like last night he comes on and makes key plays. To me he's just still more of a work in progress than the other big's, but there's a lot of potential there. I'm figuring him to come back next year and be more of a consistent contributor. There's no question of this athletic ability, but I think he's still learning a lot of the basketball skills he's going to need to stick in the NBA.

 

[jrm693]

Lee was named player of game last night, and my granddaughter was one of the lucky ones to get his autograph on ball, which I found ironic because I took her to the Michigan game last year where he went off.

 

[Kycatspaws]

Aaron Harrison throws lob to Marcus Lee for the jam .

 

[wildcatdonf]

He had a busy 12 minutes. 3/4 FGs, 1/2 FTs, 3/ORBs, 3/DRBs, 1/PF, 1/TO, 2/Blocks, 1/Steal, 7/Points. He definitely picked us up. Hellava 12 minutes by the kid from California.

 

[Orange Soda King]

He's also working on his jump shot like Cauley Stein and Dakari, but WCS seems to have refined it the most so far. Hopefully if Lee can hit shots next year an have some more muscle, he'll really take his game to the next level. But he's already a high caliber player and very good defender.

 

[W2R]

Originally posted by wildcatdonf:
He had a busy 12 minutes. 3/4 FGs, 1/2 FTs, 3/ORBs, 3/DRBs, 1/PF, 1/TO, 2/Blocks, 1/Steal, 7/Points. He definitely picked us up. Hellava 12 minutes by the kid from California.

Damn right Don