Feeling a bit under the weather so I'm going to keep this brief (tough for me to do) but in a blowout win it'll be more manageable.
1. Hawkins: Hoping for the best but glad to see it wasn't his knee, at least it didn't appear to be his knee. We'll learn more from Calipari but ankle could still keep him out the year, but still better for him than a knee injury. Hoping for the best. After such an emotional win against Louisville I thought he had turned the corner with his confidence. Never wish an injury on a kid, but especially not a Kentucky kid.
2. Ulis: Only so much I can continue to say about Ulis, but as I've been saying, enjoy him. This will likely be his last season for Kentucky and he's going to be a player you'll never forget. He'll be in the Chuck Hayes, John Wall and Anthony Davis company. He's a stud that cares about the front of his jersey as much as anyone. Love how he continues to get everyone involved despite his improvements offensively. Solid double-double for the sophomore.
3. Defense: I continue to enjoy seeing this team lock in on an elite scorer. Moody may be the best scorer in the SEC, probably Ben Simmons but maybe Moody. When this game was close Moody had NOTHING come easy. Yes, he's going to finish above his average, but UK made sure to key in on him and make him work for all his buckets.
Funny moment was seeing him score right over Briscoe (good defense) and Briscoe just looked back at the bench and laughed. Nothing he could do.
Same effort UK had against Grayson Allen but Allen couldn't hit like Moody did.
4. Willis/Matthews: These guys are clearly going to be seventh or eighth men off the bench and I'm not sure UK or Cal will ever be able to shorten the rotation because these guys can do so much and aren't liabilities. Willis is a GREAT shooter and Matthews continues to grow.
5. Skal: Nice to finally see him have some offensive success. Still not a great game for the freshman, but he's figuring it out. Had some solid rebounds and even found some contact. I've made it clear what the expectations should be for Labissiere, just a role player that may be able to do some good things here and there, but forget about him as the No. 1 player in the class.
6. Domination: Probably should have gotten to this earlier, but really impressed with the way UK put this game away. Something we haven't seen much of this season. UK will receive the best shot from every team they play this season, but the Cats will always have more talent. Let that talent shine and take away any hope should be the mindset of the UK players. They did this tonight. Maybe Camp Cal is paying off?
7. Humphries: We didn't see much of Isaac, as had been the case for a while now, but I think you all saw why. He's just has such a long way to go. Yes, he's a bigger body but his offensive game has a ways to go and he doesn't really know how to use his big body yet, on defense or offense.
8. Rebounding: Ole Miss is a small team but I think the Cats dominating Ole Miss on the boards will be huge for Kentucky's confidence moving forward. They attacked the ball on the glass and went after it like it was their ball. We'll see if that springs into two tougher games on the schedule but if the answer is yes this UK team becomes incredibly dangerous.
Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday.
1. Hawkins: Hoping for the best but glad to see it wasn't his knee, at least it didn't appear to be his knee. We'll learn more from Calipari but ankle could still keep him out the year, but still better for him than a knee injury. Hoping for the best. After such an emotional win against Louisville I thought he had turned the corner with his confidence. Never wish an injury on a kid, but especially not a Kentucky kid.
2. Ulis: Only so much I can continue to say about Ulis, but as I've been saying, enjoy him. This will likely be his last season for Kentucky and he's going to be a player you'll never forget. He'll be in the Chuck Hayes, John Wall and Anthony Davis company. He's a stud that cares about the front of his jersey as much as anyone. Love how he continues to get everyone involved despite his improvements offensively. Solid double-double for the sophomore.
3. Defense: I continue to enjoy seeing this team lock in on an elite scorer. Moody may be the best scorer in the SEC, probably Ben Simmons but maybe Moody. When this game was close Moody had NOTHING come easy. Yes, he's going to finish above his average, but UK made sure to key in on him and make him work for all his buckets.
Funny moment was seeing him score right over Briscoe (good defense) and Briscoe just looked back at the bench and laughed. Nothing he could do.
Same effort UK had against Grayson Allen but Allen couldn't hit like Moody did.
4. Willis/Matthews: These guys are clearly going to be seventh or eighth men off the bench and I'm not sure UK or Cal will ever be able to shorten the rotation because these guys can do so much and aren't liabilities. Willis is a GREAT shooter and Matthews continues to grow.
5. Skal: Nice to finally see him have some offensive success. Still not a great game for the freshman, but he's figuring it out. Had some solid rebounds and even found some contact. I've made it clear what the expectations should be for Labissiere, just a role player that may be able to do some good things here and there, but forget about him as the No. 1 player in the class.
6. Domination: Probably should have gotten to this earlier, but really impressed with the way UK put this game away. Something we haven't seen much of this season. UK will receive the best shot from every team they play this season, but the Cats will always have more talent. Let that talent shine and take away any hope should be the mindset of the UK players. They did this tonight. Maybe Camp Cal is paying off?
7. Humphries: We didn't see much of Isaac, as had been the case for a while now, but I think you all saw why. He's just has such a long way to go. Yes, he's a bigger body but his offensive game has a ways to go and he doesn't really know how to use his big body yet, on defense or offense.
8. Rebounding: Ole Miss is a small team but I think the Cats dominating Ole Miss on the boards will be huge for Kentucky's confidence moving forward. They attacked the ball on the glass and went after it like it was their ball. We'll see if that springs into two tougher games on the schedule but if the answer is yes this UK team becomes incredibly dangerous.
Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday.
