Hope everyone has had a good evening. Busy day with Hamidou Diallo committing and the Cats rocking.
1. The win: I had a feeling the Cats wouldn't come out as sharp as they did against Ole Miss or Texas A&M but fear not. My line of thinking was more the law of averages versus UK being inconsistent or Arkansas being a tough match up. Kentucky won't be perfect every night but it's nice to have a team that can be a bit off and still dominate a quality opponent. Most figured this game would be a bit chippy and UK fans should be proud the Cats didn't back down. If these two teams play in the SEC Tournament there's probably going to be a fight.
2. Fox: He was fantastic for Kentucky and is an example of how dangerous this Kentucky team is this season. Monk didn't have his best game, more on that later, but even if Monk is a bit off there's just too many weapons, including Fox. We all know he can score, but it seems like he's quietly just been labeled as a facilitator. That's not false, but he's still a very good scorer. It was discussed on social media but he wasn't too far off from another triple-double, too. Great game from the point guard and he's only going to get better.
3. Fox's shooting: His outside shooting has been bad. He's been great and will only get better, but it's OK to point out that his outside shooting has been underwhelming. At no point last year or during his AAU was his shooting listed as a strength, but he would hit the occasional three. Not this year. The good news is it's not hurting or killing Kentucky, but the bad news is this UK team would be truly unguardable if he hit an occasional outside shot. I don't think at any point this year will he be a consistent outsider shooter, but maybe he will get hot in March. Good news is it can't get worse.
4. Chippy, chippy: It seems like every time Kentucky and Arkansas play one another it's chippy. An Arkansas fan nearly fought Aaron Harrison. The 2015 SEC Championship game seemed like a fight was going to break out at any moment. More of the same tonight and you know that Arkansas was pumped up with an anti-Malik Monk pep talk. Funny how the majority of the players on this team went and watched Monk play in high school last year. I could see why that would steam them. But UK fans should be proud that the Cats didn't back down. Anytime something dirty happened there was a UK player sticking up for his teammate. That's a sign of team that's together.
5. Willis: He was huge tonight. Nice to see him show a sign of life and another remainder of how deep and dangerous this Kentucky team is this season. With the SEC being so bad I can't help but loko ahead to the Kansas game and March Madness. It's a stupid thing to do because it's pretty far away, but hey, I can't help it. I could definitely see Willis having a random good game in a big game like Kansas or maybe during the Round of 32 or Sweet 16. That's good news for UK but hopefully this helps his confidence and he can be a bit more consistent. No reason he shouldn't be able to do this on a consistent basis. He's a good shooter and there's no reason he shouldn't be able to fight for some rebounds.
6. Monk: Calipari always mentions how his kids don't play well when they go home, but since the Cats won't travel to Arkansas this was his home coming game. There's been maybe one or two games that are the exception but one concerning thing about Monk is that when he starts the game slow it's usually an indication that he's going to have a slow night. I can recall him turning it on late against UCLA after a slow start but it's not the norm. Again, I throw tonight out because of the circumstances but it would be nice to see moving forward Monk maybe missing a few shots to start but having a big second half.
7. Bam and Briscoe: Running out of time on the notes but I thought these two guys were really good tonight. Bam continues to impress me physically and may be one of the stronger dudes in college basketball. When Briscoe plays within himself he's so good. The games he's struggled he's tried to do too much. He let the game come to him tonight. Man, his spin move is so impressive. He's had some bad luck getting blocked after his spin lately, but he's also growing. Good stuff from Bam and Briscoe.
8. Moving forward: I'll be curious to see how the Cats do down in Nashville. Vandy students will be back on campus (I believe) and Memorial Magic is that cute little thing they say down there. It should be a pretty rowdy atmosphere but the talent isn't even close. Will this UK team dominate on the road like they did at Mississippi or was that just a good game? We'll find out on Tuesday. UK continues to roll.
1. The win: I had a feeling the Cats wouldn't come out as sharp as they did against Ole Miss or Texas A&M but fear not. My line of thinking was more the law of averages versus UK being inconsistent or Arkansas being a tough match up. Kentucky won't be perfect every night but it's nice to have a team that can be a bit off and still dominate a quality opponent. Most figured this game would be a bit chippy and UK fans should be proud the Cats didn't back down. If these two teams play in the SEC Tournament there's probably going to be a fight.
2. Fox: He was fantastic for Kentucky and is an example of how dangerous this Kentucky team is this season. Monk didn't have his best game, more on that later, but even if Monk is a bit off there's just too many weapons, including Fox. We all know he can score, but it seems like he's quietly just been labeled as a facilitator. That's not false, but he's still a very good scorer. It was discussed on social media but he wasn't too far off from another triple-double, too. Great game from the point guard and he's only going to get better.
3. Fox's shooting: His outside shooting has been bad. He's been great and will only get better, but it's OK to point out that his outside shooting has been underwhelming. At no point last year or during his AAU was his shooting listed as a strength, but he would hit the occasional three. Not this year. The good news is it's not hurting or killing Kentucky, but the bad news is this UK team would be truly unguardable if he hit an occasional outside shot. I don't think at any point this year will he be a consistent outsider shooter, but maybe he will get hot in March. Good news is it can't get worse.
4. Chippy, chippy: It seems like every time Kentucky and Arkansas play one another it's chippy. An Arkansas fan nearly fought Aaron Harrison. The 2015 SEC Championship game seemed like a fight was going to break out at any moment. More of the same tonight and you know that Arkansas was pumped up with an anti-Malik Monk pep talk. Funny how the majority of the players on this team went and watched Monk play in high school last year. I could see why that would steam them. But UK fans should be proud that the Cats didn't back down. Anytime something dirty happened there was a UK player sticking up for his teammate. That's a sign of team that's together.
5. Willis: He was huge tonight. Nice to see him show a sign of life and another remainder of how deep and dangerous this Kentucky team is this season. With the SEC being so bad I can't help but loko ahead to the Kansas game and March Madness. It's a stupid thing to do because it's pretty far away, but hey, I can't help it. I could definitely see Willis having a random good game in a big game like Kansas or maybe during the Round of 32 or Sweet 16. That's good news for UK but hopefully this helps his confidence and he can be a bit more consistent. No reason he shouldn't be able to do this on a consistent basis. He's a good shooter and there's no reason he shouldn't be able to fight for some rebounds.
6. Monk: Calipari always mentions how his kids don't play well when they go home, but since the Cats won't travel to Arkansas this was his home coming game. There's been maybe one or two games that are the exception but one concerning thing about Monk is that when he starts the game slow it's usually an indication that he's going to have a slow night. I can recall him turning it on late against UCLA after a slow start but it's not the norm. Again, I throw tonight out because of the circumstances but it would be nice to see moving forward Monk maybe missing a few shots to start but having a big second half.
7. Bam and Briscoe: Running out of time on the notes but I thought these two guys were really good tonight. Bam continues to impress me physically and may be one of the stronger dudes in college basketball. When Briscoe plays within himself he's so good. The games he's struggled he's tried to do too much. He let the game come to him tonight. Man, his spin move is so impressive. He's had some bad luck getting blocked after his spin lately, but he's also growing. Good stuff from Bam and Briscoe.
8. Moving forward: I'll be curious to see how the Cats do down in Nashville. Vandy students will be back on campus (I believe) and Memorial Magic is that cute little thing they say down there. It should be a pretty rowdy atmosphere but the talent isn't even close. Will this UK team dominate on the road like they did at Mississippi or was that just a good game? We'll find out on Tuesday. UK continues to roll.
