From the day he arrived at Kentucky, DeAndre Liggins has been one of my favorite players. He definitely struggled his freshman year with Billy Clyde at the helm and I was actually surprised he even stayed at UK. And if it wasn’t for DeAndre’s grandmother, he may have left the Wildcats.
The old saying is “what doesn’t kill you, will make you stronger”. After a year with Coach Gillispie, I’d say DeAndre is the toughest player on the team.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Thankfully, DeAndre decided to stay, but the new coaching change didn’t come easy for him. Calipari and Liggins definitely butted heads at the start. In fact, DeAndre started last season with his “Where’s Waldo?” impersonation, as the biggest question at the beginning of the season was “Wheres’ Deandre”?
I’m glad he’s at UK and with the disappearance of Darius Miller during games, Liggins experience will be needed as we get into conference play after the new year.
Larry Vaught gives us some insight in how Liggins made it through that difficult time a few years ago…
[QUOTE=Vaughtsviews.com]Liggins readily admits he was ready to leave after his freshman season under then coach Billy Gillispie. He never clicked with Gillispie’s style or demeanor and even once refused to go back into a game. It seemed he might have conflicts with Calipari, too, when he didn’t get to play the first 10 games last year for still unspecified reasons.
“It was very tough. I wanted to leave after my freshman year. With the coaching change, I felt it was like a new beginning for me even though it was still kind of difficult because I had to make a new impression. I am glad it worked out and glad I am here,” he said.
“I got a lot of advice from my grandma. She told me to stick with it. She told me whatever decision I made, she was there for me. She told me to pray every night, and that’s what I did. I am glad this turned out good for me. It took a while for me to understand my role with coach Cal, but I knew we were a great team last year. Whatever he wanted me to do, I did it. I am happy right now and satisfied. I am trying to get better and do the right things.”[/QUOTE]
You can [URL=”http://vaughtsviews.com/?p=7776″]read the entire article here..[/URL]
