In a game where John Calipari said’ “I’m scared to death. They have the best 3-point shooter in the country,” referring to Portland’s Jared Stohl, at least one Pilot thinks they can upset the young Cats!!
When told about Calipari’s shout-out, Stohl might have blushed [if blushing can be detected through a voice on the phone].
“I’m pretty honored,” he said. “A legendary coach like him taking note of my shooting. Shooting is something I pride myself in.”
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
For Stohl, he doesn’t only take pride in his shooting, but he takes pride in his predictions. He’s made more 3s than he’s missed this season, and now it appears Stohl is taking aim at Kentucky with a prediction from out of left field.
Stohl, [URL=”http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1427617341295″]in a 10 second video on facebook[/URL] said, “Hey guys, thanks for your support this last weekend. You guys really helped us win. Hope to see you out there Friday. Were going to need you guys when [B]we beat Kentuck[/B]y. So we’ll see you there.”
To top it all off, Portland’s Coach Reveno played the video and prediction up in a tweet where he said, “[URL=”http://twitter.com/CoachReveno/status/5321995067592704″]Does Jared Stohl sneak in a Kentucky game prediction in his thank you message to the students?[/URL]”
Calipari has said he expects a tough game tonight. Portland comes into tonight’s game with a 3-0 record, defeating U C Davis, Florida Atlantic and the Milwaukee Panthers.
The Pilots were 21-11 last year and was knocked out in the first round of the CIT Tournament by Northern Colorado.
Portland had tremendous success early in the 2010-11 season as they knocked off Oregon, UCLA and the then #16 team in the country, Minnesota. The tables turned over the next three games as they lost 3 in a row to the eventual Final Four West Virginia, Portland State and Idaho.
Stohl is the leading scorer, averaging 16.7 per game while Luke Sikma, son of former Sonic’s great Jack Sikma, is the double-double man for Portland averaging 11.3 points and 13 rebounds per game.
The Pilots are averaging 53% from the field, including 50% from 3-point range, fueled by Stohl’s 12-21 for 57%. Each of the top three scorers for Portland are shooting better then 50% from behind the arc.
This should be a super match up as the young Cats attempt to win their first game away from the friendly confines of Rupp Arena. Only time will tell if Stohl can back up his prediction. I’m pretty sure John Calipari and his Wildcats will have something to say about the end result.
The game tips off at 10:30 PM Eastern and can be seen on ESPNU or heard on radio on the BBSN.
Go Cats!!!
[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]
