Interestingly enough, before Cal joined the Cats, I always thought of him as more of a guard oriented coach, though we've seen he is perfectly capable of preparing a big man just as well. On offense, I don't expect much change. I think he'll have the team ready to do whatever works best against the competition. That may not translate to a faster offense, but likely translates to a very well balanced offense based on perimeter play. I think expectations that Skal does not have to keep his back to the basket will play as big a role as guard depth.
Where I do think we will see a difference is defense. Regardless of what folks want to think, Calipari is 'Defense, First, Last and Always'. I'm hoping we see more pressure on the ball on the perimeter attributable to depth and quickness at the two guard positions. If this leads to turnovers, we may see transition offense generated by the defense. Hopefully that will appease some of our more one dimensional fans that believe the only good basketball is fast basketball.
I also believe that this will be a good year to watch the growth of the team through the year. We should improve considerably as the year progresses. Poythress will have to settle in and lose the ring rust which invariably develops after a year off. Also, we'll have something of a learning curve with a fairly youthful backcourt. That said, I'm very thankful to have a returning point guard again this year.
I think some of our biggest challenges early on will be turnovers, though experience will correct this. Posting up our guards may also be an issue, but I expect Poythress and Lee will have something to say about that.
![[banana]](https://ct.yimg.com/mr/uploads/891/1682178.gif "banana [banana]")
