[WizardofOzParticipant]

 On ESPN3.

It’s an exhibtion, and Morehouse lacks talent, but this is crazy. UK is playing the most tenacious D I’ve ever seen them play.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 63-6!!!

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 Before MC scored to make it 63-8, UK was on a 26-0 run.

[McDunkin]

Im watching this now…and i thought Jay Cutler would be he first murder on live tv

[omphalosParticipant]

Yeah this game is ridiculous, there was that stretch where Teague, Jones were dropping 3s. Will be interesting to see how UK goes against a quality opponent though.

[OrangeJuiceJonesParticipant]

 If I was playing for Morehouse right now, I’d cry on the court.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 74-13. Morehouse committing a bunch of turnovers and just can’t get in the lane. They just can’t match up with UK physically. 

Davis was impressive. He’s extremely fast in the open court and had some nice alley-oops, and he’s bothered many shots on D. Even Kyle Wiltjer has been playing well. He made a nice left-handed hook, and has made some 3s, but he’s still painfully slow and runs like his feet hurt lol.

And UK started the game with a different lineup. The first game, they started Lamb, but Kidd-Gilchrist was inserted today, with Lamb as the 6th man, and it looks like it worked out. MKG plays with a bunch of tenacity.

[McDunkin]

Jarrod Polson is the greatest 3rd string pg in the Lexington area

[sammybuckeye13Participant]

Where can I track the score?

[ProudGrandpaParticipant]

I thought that Kentucky had a terrible football team this year.

[ProudGrandpaParticipant]

That was a joke, by the way…

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 Davis’ handle is actually better than I originally thought. He led the break a few times, and looked fast with the ball and made a few plays. He doesn’t use his handle a lot in the half-court though, but he doesn’t really need to right now because of UK’s other talented players.

[McDunkin]

Brian Long looks like Jesse from Breaking bad

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 lol UK’s undersized scrubs are even beasting right now.

[uknationParticipant]

lol@the even wiltjer playing well. He’s a top 25 talent and the most skilled big in his class of course he is playing well. There aren’t many bigs who can hit the three easily but also have skills in the post and a jump hook.  I’m not getting too excited because its a bad team but the defense looks great and just like they would have problems with two good strong bigs(how many college teams have those…….NONE). the bigs on the other teams have to deal with our two bigs who run the floor like guards and who can bring the ball up the court.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 ^^Didn’t mean to make it seem like an insult. I worded it worng, but I was just stunned at how mnay players on UK were playing well. I know Wiltjer is skilled.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 And what really makes Marquis a better prospect than his bro Jeff? All of the draft and scouting sites say that Marquis was better than Jeff at the same stage, but from what I’ve seen, Jeff looks quicker and more explosive. I’ve heard that Marquis is a purer-PG though. I have to see more.

[rileymcshea3Participant]

UKnation im pretty sure UCON has has 2 good strong bigs unless you dont consider Alex Oriaki and Andre Drummond good and big and I’d say they have the best front court with those 2 down low

[iguapops420Participant]

 I’ve actually questioned the same the Wiz. Honestly I think it has to do with the fact that he has a tighter handle and has actually been played at pg from a younger age as teague wasn’t really a pg, save for half a season at WF. Personally I think Marquis is a little overrated.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

Marquis is definitely more physically advanced. I also think he’s slightly better at running a team than Jeff at the same stage.

To be honest… He’s very similar to Jeff though. Just a little more advanced, which is expected considering he’s been training with pro players, etc which is something Jeff didn’t get to do at a young age.

I mean, Marquis trains with Jeff, George Hill, Eric Gordon, Courtney Lee and a few other pro guards from our area.

[uknationParticipant]

Alex Oriaki isn’t much of a scorer and Drummond is a face up big but UCONN is the closest as far as having to bigs who can provide some offense. IF Drummond uses his size and goes hard Davis is is ALOT of trouble. The good thing is Drummond doesn’t.he rather face up for the most part but i work Calhoun will make him bang more. Oriaki on Jones would be a problem for UCONN though.

 

Teague hasn’t had to show how good he is with Uk but the kid is good. He is a more advanced PG then his brother. Physical,very fast,good handles, explosive and able to get in the lane at will but a very good passer.

 

My bad @wiz, so many people dog Wiltjer because he’s not a great athlete but anyone who has watched him always comes away impressed.

[iguapops420Participant]

 @ Indy, yeah that’s pretty much it. I suppose working with pros will do that for yah. Still, like you said, there isn’t much difference. Jeff has better D IMO, but while Marquis is more advanced, he still has a ways to go. He really has to work on his pick & roll abilities.

[JNixonParticipant]

 "The good thing is Drummond doesn’t.he rather face up for the most part but i work Calhoun will make him bang more. Oriaki on Jones would be a problem for UCONN though."

Drummond will play with his back to the basket at UConn the vast majority of the time. 

 

And as much as people like to mention Oriakhi and Drummond, people forget the other guy who is super versatile on D for UConn: Roscoe Smith. Smith would likely match up with Terrence Jones most of the time in the event they play each other.

[DoubleNickelsDurr55Participant]

I once played in a game d3 vs semi pro team we lost by 100. Aba rules w the 3 pt plays, we scored the first basket and then it was over, I feel for you mc! Haha

[uknationParticipant]

Smith is no match for T.Jones and if he checks Jones that means Alex checks Micheal Kidd Gilchrist. Those match up’s make no sense since Alex and Drummond are gonna start and Deandre Daniels is gonna take Smiths spot easily(the past 2 scrimmages it hasn’t even been close as far as who is the better player).  So far Calhoun has been letting Drummond face up.

[FastAndFuriousParticipant]

 Yea, I wouldnt go as far as saying he’s overrated, BUT i do think Jeff is better than him, Marquis is just 20 pounds heavier coming out of highschool than Jeff was, But when Jeff got to Wake specially that 2nd year, he turned college basketball out, I think he’s quicker and more explosive, he’s the better shooter as well.

But depending on how hard Marquis works he PROBABLY can pass Jeff, up but as far as RIGHT NOW Jeff is better.

[McDunkin]

`Thank you for mentioning Roscoe "Not Top Ten" Smith. I think his D is enough to get him that starting 3 spot over DD.

 

Out of respect im not even going to post the video…of him throwing the pass….with so much time left…inot the freaking ban….but anyway he can turn into a  special lockdown defender by his senior year

[JNixonParticipant]

 "Smith is no match for T.Jones and if he checks Jones that means Alex checks Micheal Kidd Gilchrist. Those match up’s make no sense since Alex and Drummond are gonna start and Deandre Daniels is gonna take Smiths spot easily(the past 2 scrimmages it hasn’t even been close as far as who is the better player)."

They could just use Oriakhi selectively and limit his minutes in a game like that. Oriakhi doesn’t have to be ridden 40 minutes on a stretch PF just because of his name on paper. Not ideally at least. He is experienced, but that doesn’t mean he Jones won’t play all his minutes at PF as it is. Just like Smith won’t play all his minutes at SF, even though Oriakhi would have to defend Jones sometimes. Daniels could take Smith’s starting spot, possibly, but it just gives UConn another body that could match up with Jones if he does.

[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

I think UConn would be a really tough match-up for UK. They have a total beast in the middle in Drummond, and even if he gets into foul trouble, they do have some big bodies to compete with UK. Kentucky has a lot of talent, but they are not by any means unbeatable, and I think UConn would probably win the battle of the boards and provide a tough low post. Terrence Jones would not be going one on one against Roscoe Smith, and if he did, than he would have a Drummond or Oriakhi with their eyes on him. Not to mention that UConn has some really quick guards, wings who can apply defensive presence and pressure.

The 4 teams I think are likely the best in the NCAA are UNC, Ohio State, Kentucky and UConn. Not that I am going out on a limb, as those are most peoples consensus top 4, but I think they have size and talent that sets them apart from other schools. I would be fairly surprised if they do not win their respective conferences and I think anything less than a 2-3 seed in the tournament means they had a pretty disappointing regular season. As much as I love Kentucky’s talent and speed, their lack of bulk could definitely be a factor in competing with these teams. I figure that while Kentucky may have a difficult time defending interior based teams, they will more than likely also have an incredibly difficult time defending Kentucky. These teams, on the other hand, have some pieces and bodies that could give UK fits.

I think Kentucky has no answer for Jared Sullinger (well, most of college basketball is in the same boat there). Ohio State also has some more big bodies this year, plus a backcourt that has another year of experience under their belt. DeShaun Thomas is a big body who should also score in bunches, think that Kentucky’s wings could have a handful with him as well. UNC is just stacked, seemingly everywhere other than a "true" back-up PG for Kendall Marshall. Obviously if Tyler Zeller goes down, they could be in trouble, but I think that John Henson and James McAdoo make them incredibly solid up front. They return three All-ACC Second Team players, and have even more depth on the wing than a year ago assuming Reggie Bullock is healthy and PJ Hairston is ready.

UConn is a wild card obviously, they lost an incredible leader and a scoring threat they relied upon. But, they bring in a C/PF who has remarkable athleticism and will be a complete size mismatch for Kentucky in Drummond. Terrence Jones did alright against them in the tourney last year, with 11 points (5-8 FG including a trey, but 0-5 FT) and 15 boards in 38 minutes, but I remember UConn doing a pretty solid job of shutting everyone else down. Not to mention Jones was pretty limited in his offensive output over that many minutes. UConn still had 38 rebounds to Kentucky’s 37, and held them to 33.9% shooting. They have a lot of that defensive intensity back, not to mention that Alex Oriakhi looks to have the Center next to him he was missing last season. Charles Okwandu and Tyler Olander provided for 2 boards in that game last year, while Jeremy Lamb, Roscoe Smith and Alex Oriakhi combined for 27.

They are different teams this season, but while Kentucky may have more talent and depth than last season, UConn looked to address a need in Drummond that could make them a very dangerous team to deal with. Will be an interesting match-up, but I do not necessarily think Terrence Jones destroys that front line, and even if he does, than it is possible it might not be enough. Will be interesting to see how things play out, but as talented as Kentucky is, they are not indestructible and while I think they will be a very solid team, these teams definitely could give them trouble.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

 But I still think Wiltjer at best is Shavlik Randolph at the next level.

[iguapops420Participant]

 Shavlik could have been a decent player had he actually cared about basketball. He actually reminds me of Slava Mdvedenko with his ability to play inside and out and spot up shooting. He’s a little short for the position and needs a little more weight, but I could see him as becoming a serviceable player in the NBA. Ryan Anderson made it after all.

[Author]

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