Here are eight takeaways from Kentucky's win over Wright State.
1. Win: A win is a win. It wasn't as pretty as it was against Duke, but the Cats remain perfect. UK isn't the first team to do this, but I think Kentucky will play to the level of its competition at times. But as long as UK has its stretches, the Cats will be fine.
2. Time: And on that note, Kentucky's ability to wear teams down is impressive, even if it was Wright State. We didn't give UK's depth enough credit tonight, and I know Kentucky was without Humphries and Hawkins tonight, but anybody the Cats bring in will be competitive and play hard. Other teams can't Do that, or keep up.
3. Ulis: Seems like talking about him may be an every game thing. He's such a great college basketball player. He just knows where to be, what to do and when to do it. Watching him attack on offense is a treat because we didn't get to see it last season. Also, his steal on the end of the game was typical Ulis. Never gives up on a play.
4. Rebounding: Not having Humphries clearly didn't help, but the Cats have to be on the glass. And I don't care what the numbers say, UK misses on rebounds it should grab.
5. Lee: He was one of the main culprits on the poor rebounding. Just not a great for Lee altogether, which is a bummer after the way he played against Duke. He can impact games and make a difference, but he needs to do it regularly.
6. Briscoe: May be talking about this often but he has to get better at free throws. In close games he won't be able to be on the floor is this continues.
7. Defense: There were some mistakes on this end, but this team is much better defensively than I thought they would be at the start of the year. And while Briscoe needs to get better at free throws, he's such a solid defender. Moves his feet as well as any defender in the country and will be Kentucky's lockdown defender this year. All the guards defend well but Briscoe is the defensive leader.
8. Murray: I liked the way he played. Outside shot wasn't falling but he was able to get to the line (who didn't?) and knockdown his freebies. He had some early turnovers but was able to clean those up as the game went on and will only continue to get better. Remember, he should be in high school.
Bonus note: Great game from Poythress. A double-double. If he can do that every night for UK, the Cats will be fine.
1. Win: A win is a win. It wasn't as pretty as it was against Duke, but the Cats remain perfect. UK isn't the first team to do this, but I think Kentucky will play to the level of its competition at times. But as long as UK has its stretches, the Cats will be fine.
2. Time: And on that note, Kentucky's ability to wear teams down is impressive, even if it was Wright State. We didn't give UK's depth enough credit tonight, and I know Kentucky was without Humphries and Hawkins tonight, but anybody the Cats bring in will be competitive and play hard. Other teams can't Do that, or keep up.
3. Ulis: Seems like talking about him may be an every game thing. He's such a great college basketball player. He just knows where to be, what to do and when to do it. Watching him attack on offense is a treat because we didn't get to see it last season. Also, his steal on the end of the game was typical Ulis. Never gives up on a play.
4. Rebounding: Not having Humphries clearly didn't help, but the Cats have to be on the glass. And I don't care what the numbers say, UK misses on rebounds it should grab.
5. Lee: He was one of the main culprits on the poor rebounding. Just not a great for Lee altogether, which is a bummer after the way he played against Duke. He can impact games and make a difference, but he needs to do it regularly.
6. Briscoe: May be talking about this often but he has to get better at free throws. In close games he won't be able to be on the floor is this continues.
7. Defense: There were some mistakes on this end, but this team is much better defensively than I thought they would be at the start of the year. And while Briscoe needs to get better at free throws, he's such a solid defender. Moves his feet as well as any defender in the country and will be Kentucky's lockdown defender this year. All the guards defend well but Briscoe is the defensive leader.
8. Murray: I liked the way he played. Outside shot wasn't falling but he was able to get to the line (who didn't?) and knockdown his freebies. He had some early turnovers but was able to clean those up as the game went on and will only continue to get better. Remember, he should be in high school.
Bonus note: Great game from Poythress. A double-double. If he can do that every night for UK, the Cats will be fine.
