Kentucky Basketball

Sensory Bonanza? Uk Crammed Many Memories Into 2016-17

... a three-seed. “I said put it in permanent marker,” he said, “because, you know, there are times in the season I’d say we deserve it. There are times maybe we were a little bit better than that. But there have been times, I’d say, really?”. The pace of play was so fast in the first two months that Kentucky began citing “Ken Pom’s Adjusted Tempo Ranking.” Going into last weekend, UK averaged 15.3 seconds per possession before shooting. Calipari described the desired offensive style as “pass-pass-pass-pass, in, out, drive, kick, go!”. Former Auburn Coach Sonny Smith said, “If you’re not back on defense, you might as well sack your bats. The game is over.”. Opponents concentrated more and more on getting back on defense and forcing Kentucky to play a half-court game. Any doubts about the need to improve in a possession-by-possession style surely faded when UK lost three times in four games in late January-early ...

Time To *end* The Calipari Underachieving Narrative

... mean he hasn’t been incredible. Jeez. __link__/z EWWHt 53 UG. — Gary Parrish (@Gary Parrish CBS) March 27, 2017. With credit to Jason Anderson, he tweeted the below, showing that Calipari actually has outperformed everyone based on that metric, including Duke and Kansas. Since 2009-2010 top 4 preseason to make F 4. Cal/UK: 3-7 = 43%. — Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@The Herd) March 27, 2017. While I doubt you can find anyone in America that considers them a trio of valid journalists, they are voices with a large audience, so I thought it was time to put pen to paper and really find out if there was anything to this underachieving. I decided to take the very narrative that is used against Calipari by Smith, Cowherd, Travis, and pretty much any fan of any other program and see if it holds water. What I found is that Calipari not underachieving… in fact, he is overachieving. I used 24/7 sports composite rankings tool and went back as far as I could (2003) to start my research. The 24/7 sports composite tool brings in all of the major services rankings to get one composite ranking for each program that recruiting year. The argument is that Calipari gets a top class each year, but he ...

North Carolina’s Last-second Jumper Sends Kentucky Into March Sadness

... University of North Carolina celebrated winning the 2017 NCAA D 1 Men's South Regional Championship by defeating Kentucky 75-73, Sunday, March 26, 2017 at Fed Ex Forum in Memphis. Jonathan Palmer. Kentucky guard Malik Monk talks with reporters about his future after Kentucky's loss to North Carolina, 75-73. He said he was focusing on this loss and not ready to say wether he would entertain the possibility of declaring for the NBA Draft this year. The University of Kentucky hosted the University of North Carolina in a 2017 NCAA D 1 Men's South Regional Championship, Sunday, March 26, 2017 at Fed Ex Forum in Memphis. Jonathan Palmer. Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari was upset with his team as the University of Kentucky played the University of North Carolina in the championship game of the NCAA South Region at Fed Ex ...

Kentucky Basketball Postseason Musings

... has been good at North Carolina but he can't hold a candle to Cal since he's been at UK. So enough with all the talk. Calipari is the best there is when it comes to March. He's been to at least an Elite Eight every season but two since he has been at UK and there isn't another coach in America that come close to what he does. Who Stays and Who Goes. It's pretty much a given that Fox, Monk, Bam, and Briscoe will all be headed towards pro careers of one form or another in the coming weeks. Monk and Fox are looking at lottery picks while Bam must certainly be in the first round of the draft. There have been some rumblings of his return to UK (fingers crossed) but I think there's an 85% chance he is gone. Kentucky is also losing three seniors in Hawkins , Willis , and Mychal Mulder. And then there is the case of Isaac Humphries who left the door open. Here is what I'm thinking. Fox- 100% gone. Bam- 85% gone. Humphries - 60% he returns. The front court will be loaded with some elite guys next season and Hump may have been a little worried about that. But with the way he played in the Elite Eight may ...

This Was A Team To Be Proud Of

... twenty-two turnovers during that time. However, Briscoe became a tough defender down the stretch, and shot fifty-percent from the floor and from downtown in the tournament, committing just seven turnovers while contributing sixteen assists. He became a player that personified the way this team rebounded from the rough stretch, and changed the minds of many UK fans with his play. De’Aaron Fox did everything but wear a cape at times during the tournament, as he nearly iced the win against Wichita State by himself, and then carried the team on his back against UCLA, embarrassing Lonzo Ball all night as he went for thirty-nine points, an NCAA tournament freshman record. His improvement on the defensive end was quite obvious over the last few weeks as well, which was a key reason Kentucky advanced past the Bruins. Rarely do ...

Three Kentucky Signees Named All-usa All-americans

... and 4.0 assists per game. He will suit up in the Nike Hoop Summit for the U 19 World Team on April 7 in Portland. Fellow signees, Green and Nick Richards will also be a part of the 20 th annual event. Green is considered a five-star point guard prospect by Rivals, ESPN and Scout. ESPN ranks him as high as the No. 22 overall prospect in the class, while Rivals has him at No. 23, Scout tabs him at No. 25 and 247 Sports list him at No. 31. Green just closed out a prolific high school career that saw him capture four state championships, including a 22-point, eight-assist and two-steal performance on March 23 to lift Neumann-Goretti to the title. He capped his senior year averaging 20.8 points and 8.0 assists per game. Green, who was named the 2016 Pennsylvania Class 3 A Player of the Year as a junior, was a part of the 2016 FIBA Americas U 18 Championship team that won a gold medal in ...

Evan Daniels Like Uk For Mohamed Bamba, Not So Much Kevin Knox

... "I need to preface this by saying, I don't think Mohamed Bamba has made his college choice, but my vibe in the recruitment is that it's trending towards Kentucky," he said. "So if I was going to make a prediction right now, and I usually don't do that this far out, I would say Kentucky.". This is looking more and more like the likeliest outcome for Kentucky is another player is added to the 2017 class. Bamba feels a major need down low with Derek Willis graduating and Bam Adebayo likely entering the NBA Draft. And while Knox would be a huge get, Kentucky may be fine without him if Wenyen Gabriel returns and make big strides this offseason. He should flashes of being a great player before falling off late in the season. He’s probably better off being the wing in Kentucky’s starting lineup with Bamba (if he commits) at the 4 and either Nick Richards, Isaac Humphries or Sacha Killeya-Jones at the 5. Regardless, Kentucky must add Knox and/or Bamba to this class if the Wildcats are to be a Final Four contender next season. In this ...

Kentucky Fans Offer Insight For Mu Into Potential One-and-done Players Like Porter

... agrees. “I think it’s better for the majority of the kids to go to college for a year. They’re more mature,” Williams said. “It’s better for the kids, but it’s also better for the NBA. They don’t screw it up as much. If it’s the second year, it would probably be the same thing, but still, some guys — I’ll just use Le Bron (James) as an example. Le Bron didn’t need it, and he did pretty doggone well the way it went with him.”. Regardless, Blanton, who said he always wants to see better basketball in the Southeastern Conference, added that he hopes it goes well for Missouri and he hopes fans “enjoy the ride.”. With a glimmer in his eye on the oh-so-vibrant street, Slavey had some advice, too. “Whether you bleed blue or you bleed black and gold, you support your team,” Slavey said. “That’s all you ...

Quade Green’s Job? Be The Leader Of The Kentucky Wildcats Next Season

... on his shoulder,” said Bamba, the top uncommitted recruit in the country and one of Green’s teammates on the Nike circuit last summer. “It’s beyond him being the smallest guy on the court. It’s just where he’s from. He’s from the mean streets of Philly. This is kind of why we bond so much. I’m from Harlem. He’s from Philly. And basketball is our way out. And that’s how we play on the court.”. Green, who is also close friends with UK freshman Hamidou Diallo, has clearly endeared himself to his future teammates, and he has the skills and demeanor to step up as the team leader next season, depending on who leaves the current UK squad for early entry to the NBA. Bamba — the No. 2 recruit in the country — is still weighing his own college decision. The opportunity to team up again with a guy like Green might be too good to pass up. “You definitely want to go somewhere where people ...

Monk Marvelous, Fox Fantastic As Kentucky Reaches Elite Eight

... the south region. Charles Bertram __link__. Kentucky Wildcats guard Malik Monk (5) shot a jumper on UCLA Bruins guard Isaac Hamilton (10) as the University of Kentucky played UCLA in the NCAA South Region semifinals at Fed Ex Forum in Memphis, Tn., Friday, March 24, 2017. This is first half action. Charles Bertram __link__. Kentucky Wildcats guard De'Aaron Fox (0) scored on UCLA Bruins guard Bryce Alford (20) as the University of Kentucky played UCLA in the NCAA South Region semifinals at Fed Ex Forum in Memphis, Tn., Friday, March 24, 2017. This is second half action. UK won 86-75 to advance to the championship game of the south region. Charles Bertram __link__. Kentucky Wildcats guard Isaiah Briscoe (13) passed to a teammate as he drove past UCLA Bruins forward TJ Leaf (22) as the University of Kentucky played UCLA in the NCAA South Region semifinals at Fed Ex Forum in Memphis, Tn., Friday, March 24, 2017. This is second half action. UK won 86-75 to advance to the championship game of the south region. Charles Bertram __link__. Kentucky Wildcats forward Derek Willis (35) hit a 3-pointer as ...

Kentucky’s Malik Monk A Second-team Ap All-american

... lead the Tar Heels to a second straight Final Four. The junior averaged 18.1 points and 4.6 rebounds this season. “He’s a better player overall,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “He’s better defensively, better rebounder, he can score the basket and he’s just had a year for us. “He’s been the leader of our team on the court, on the stat sheet. I couldn’t be happier for him because he’s really got it the old-fashioned way,” Williams said. “He’s worked, he’s put in the sweat.”. Associated Press All-Americans. First Team. ▪  Frank Mason III, Kansas, 5-11, 190, senior, Petersburg, Va., 20.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 5.1 apg, 48.7 3-pt fg pct, 36.2 minutes (65 first-place votes, 325 points). ▪  Josh Hart, Villanova, 6-5½, 215, senior, Silver Spring, Md., 18.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.1 apg, 50.8 fg pct, 40.7 3-pt fg pct, 1.6 steals (62, 319). ▪  Caleb Swanigan, Purdue, 6-9, 250, sophomore, Fort Wayne, Ind., 18.5 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, 53.4 fg pct, 43.1 3-pt fg pct (61, 308). ▪  Lonzo Ball, UCLA, 6-6, ...