This sucks.
What sucks, you ask? This: Kentucky is really good.
Why does that suck? Because I like complaining, and I can’t find anything to complain about.
When I started writing for Nation of Blue back in August, we were getting ready to start football season. With the notable exception of beating Tennessee, there was really nothing positive to come out of football this past fall.
Which was good for me, because I find it much easier to write articles complaining about and making fun of sub-par performances. And there were plenty of those to be found between the end zones.
But now, I’m in a bit of a pickle. The basketball team is so good, I can’t find anything to be negative about.
Mind you, I’m not [I]trying[/I] to be negative, because I’m loving what I’m seeing out of Coach Cal’s bunch so far, and I think they can get even better.
But, happy articles aren’t my strong point. For that matter, my negative ones aren’t terribly wonderful. They’ll let anybody do this, apparently. I just walked in off the street to use the bathroom, and next thing I knew, I had two articles a week and coupon for $1 off a combo meal at Chik-Fil-A.
So now I can’t help but wonder- is there anything we can look at on this year’s basketball team and say “man, they are awful at that”?
No. No there’s not.
This team is so good, so talented, and so efficient that I honestly can’t find anything to gripe about. And that sucks for me. And for you as well, because now you’re halfway through this diatribe wondering if I have a point.
Probably not.
But since we’re on the subject, what are some areas of mild concern for the Can’t Cover Cats? (Who, by the way, appear to be in the process of losing that moniker, which they never really had).
The only thing that really jumps out at me is how the team responds to physical play. We saw Auburn do it, and Kentucky struggled pretty much the entire game before putting it away in the last couple minutes. We also saw it in the first Tennessee game, and against Alabama as well. The opponent would punch the Cats in the mouth, and they were sluggish to respond, often getting outrebounded in the process.
But, in the LSU game, things started turning. We remember the goofy, indefensible foul Malcolm White thrust upon the wiry shoulders of Anthony Davis. To his credit, Davis got up and kept going. I love his demeanor. We also saw it again against Tennessee on Tuesday. Kentucky came out, put their feet on the throat of the Volunteers, and never let up. And it’s only going to get better from here.
So maybe we shouldn’t even worry about physical play. But what about free throws?
Not the lack of them, but rather the disparity between how many Kentucky attempts compared to the opposition. In the last three games, Kentucky’s opponents have attempted only 21free throws. Kentucky had 26 attempts in one game. In another, they had 27. All told, the Cats have shot 65 free throws in three games, three times as many as the other teams.
Now, I love that stat, but I worry that the team is going to get too dependent on free throws as part of the offense, only to see the attempts drop off in the tournament. I mentioned this on the post-game Tuesday, and Mack Perkins made a great point. This team has won in style, and has won ugly. They’ve won big, and they’ve won small. They’ve won physical games. They’ve won games where they attempt less free throws. They very nearly won a game on the road, in front of a crazed crowd, playing horribly. They lost that game by a point, on a last-second shot.
I’ve heard a few people say outside shooting is a weakness, but I disagree. It isn’t so much the shooting as it is the lack of attempts. This team goes in spurts with how much they shoot from outside, and the free throw numbers from the last couple of games show they aren’t too concerned with it right now. That’s fine with me.
Basically, I can’t think of a scenario Kentucky isn’t prepared for. There will be no road games in the tournament, so that isn’t even a factor. I think it would take three starters getting in serious foul trouble to put Kentucky in a hole, and it would take a top opponent for that to matter. Even then, you’ve got Darius Miller and Kyle Wiltjer on the bench, and if Eloy Vargas gives a few quality minutes, foul trouble isn’t necessarily a problem. Besides, MKG is the only player who tends to get early fouls.
To make a long story short, this team has no glaring weaknesses. They have an arsenal of ways to hurt you, so it’s basically “pick your poison” when it comes to playing them. And if the Cats should win out and hang banner #8?
I wouldn’t complain.
