So, can Kentucky shoot it’s way to a Final Four? True, this team appears to be a better shooting team then the 2009-10 team. But shooting doesn’t always win out over defense. The game against Louisville seems to give some credit to that very statement.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Louisville came into the match against UK shooting 47% and 53% from behind the arc, over the last two games. Stats that created some concern going into Fridays game. But even with 40% shooting from behind the arc and 46% from the field, Louisville was never really in the game against Kentucky.
On the other side of the coin, Kentucky’s tremendous shooting against Louisville played a large part of the success of the team. UK shot 50.9% from the field, 37.5% from 3-point range and 87.5% from the line, giving some credit to the theory that shooting could carry a team.
But can shooting carry a team to the Final Four? One National media member, Gary Parrish, believes it can, combined with a couple of other elements that UK does quite well.
Here are some excerpts from Gary’s article:
[QUOTE]So by that measuring stick this season’s Kentucky team isn’t nearly as talented as last season’s Kentucky team, and yet I won’t be surprised if this season’s Kentucky team goes farther than last season’s Kentucky team, which is to say all the way to the Final Four. They’re young, sure, but they play with a unique level of maturity. Also:
[LIST=1]
[*]They’re really athletic.
[*]They can really guard.
[*]They can really shoot.
[/LIST]
(I like No. 3 the most.) [/QUOTE]
Gary goes on to talk about Calipari’s four number 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. The 95-96 UMASS team, the 05-06 Memphis team, the 06-07 Memphis team and the 09-10 Kentucky team.
[QUOTE]Two of those teams made the Final Four and two did not, and the two that didn’t lost in similar fashion, i.e., as favorites who couldn’t make a gosh darn jumpshot. The 2005-06 Tigers shot 35 percent from 3-point range on the season and lost 50-45 to UCLA in the Elite Eight because they finished 2-of-17 from beyond the arc. The 2009-10 Wildcats shot 33 percent from 3-point range on the season and lost 73-66 to West Virginia in the Elite Eight because they finished 4-of-32 from beyond the arc.
In other words, Calipari’s two No. 1 seeds that lost in the Elite Eight lost because they shot just 12 percent on 3-pointers in Elite Eight games, which is both an astounding statistic and something I can’t see happening to his latest dynamic team that looked great in Friday’s 78-63 win at Louisville.[/QUOTE]
Kentucky is currently shooting 40% from behind the arc and has three players shooting 36% or better, Lamb at 54.9%, Miller at 47.4%, Knight at 38.3% and Liggins at 36.1%.
[QUOTE]So is this the type of team that’s going to miss 88 percent of its 3-point attempts in an important game? No, I don’t think it is. And that’s why it might be wise to call the Wildcats the SEC favorite and add them to the list of serious Final Four candidates.
They won’t have five first first-round draft picks like last season’s team.
I assure you of that.
But the less-talented Wildcats might be good enough to play for a national title, regardless.[/QUOTE]
As the Wildcats get prepared to start their SEC Season, John Calipari will continue his same plan, on-going development of what might turn out to be his most disciplined and best shooting team yet.
Go Cats!!!
[URL=”http://gary-parrish.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/26752219″]
Full article from Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com[/URL]
[SIZE=2]Contact Chip Miller with your Kentucky questions or comments at [EMAIL=”[email protected]”][email protected][/EMAIL], via twitter at [URL=”http://twitter.com/ukbigbluenation”]@ukbigbluenation[/URL] or here at N of B, at his NofB Profile, by [URL=”http://www.nationofblue.com/members/chip-miller/”]clicking here[/URL]. [/SIZE]
