With Big Blue Madness less than a month away, Coach Calipari had his first team practice this past Saturday. Here is a quick summary of what’s going on.
New Wildcats: Jamal Murray, Mychal Mulder, Skal Labissiere, Charles Matthews, Isaiah Briscoe, and Isaac Humphries.
Veterans: Tyler Ulis, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, Derek Willis, Dominique Hawkins, and E.J. Floreal
- Alex Poythress is practicing but not full speed or in scrimmages yet. He is on track to be 100% once season begins so nothing to worry about. This is great news, because he will be a match up nightmare for teams this season.
- Calipari is pushing this team to be FAST! Big men are being coached to dribble less especially in fast breaks. This will allow Skal, Lee, and Humphries to take full advantage of their height and bring down the hammer in the low post.
- Tyler Ulis is becoming the floor general that everyone was expecting after his past spectacular season. His leadership and court vision will make Kentucky unstoppable this season.
- This teams athleticism is outstanding. Running teams until they can’t keep up will be the game plan. Charles Matthews will be an x-factor. He has the potential to be a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist type player being a hustler and finisher at the rim.
- Skal Labissiere is a freak and has the ability to be a shot blocking machine! His offensive skill is more refined than Nerlens Noel or Willie Cauley-Stein when they were freshmen. He isn’t afraid to slam the ball and isn’t timid in the paint either, as well as making jump shots with accuracy. I can see Skal being a monster this season, everyone will know him and what he can do but will have no answers on how to defeat him.
I’m getting fired up for this season. This past year was a blast and the team took us on a fun ride. The majority of the team has changed but this season should be just as fun and exciting as the last was.
Read more about the practice over at at CoachCal.com.
