Kentucky Wildcatstag:www.ukathletics.com,2009-06-29:/blog//132012-02-10T17:03:33ZMovable Type 4.261Live blog: Men's basketball at Vanderbilttag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412172012-02-11T17:02:41Z2012-02-10T17:03:33ZMen's basketball at Vanderbilt...Guy RamseyMen's basketball at Vanderbilt
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From the Pressbox: Jim Master remembers Memorialtag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412512012-02-11T15:56:27Z2012-02-10T23:01:47Z"I thought it was a great place to play and I even tell some of my buddies that it was one of my favorite places to play to shoot in."So says one of UK's all-time best sharpshooters of Vanderbilt's Memorial...Tom Leach So says one of UK's all-time best sharpshooters of Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium, Jim Master.
"It is a great shooting gym with the way it is lit," Master said. "Of course the benches are a little different but that didn't faze us much. It is a really, really good shooting gym for most players.
"I think it is the lighting," Master continued. "It feels to me to be more confined as opposed to Rupp Arena which is a big space if you will. The way its lit and way it is formed, it is more like a high school gym the way you are shooting the basketball. Some people may say that Coach Hall or Coach Calipari are on the other side of court so you can't hear them screaming at you. But it is really a comfortable gymnasium to shoot the basketball in. I think you can even look at how Vanderbilt shoots the ball not only at home but how they have shot their free throws over the years. They have always been a really, really good free-throw shooting team."
This figures to be the most hostile crowd Kentucky will have faced since its trip to Bloomington, Ind., back in December but Master says players usually feed off that energy and passion directed against them.
"I think you have to go out and play. I enjoyed playing on the road as a player and having a feeling like it is us against the world," Master said. "Also, we had some good players during my four years at Kentucky. But again, I think you put it out of your mind. Coach Hall always talked about it and I think Coach Calipari does certainly talk about where the benches are and that it is a little different. But when you are playing hard, it is still basketball and I enjoyed the lighting of it and the atmosphere of it. And Vanderbilt has improved over the years. They have had some good players and Coach Stallings does a heck of a job. So, they make it an even tougher place to play."
Bilas praises Cats
With a win at Vanderbilt, Kentucky may well become the media's definitive favorite to win the national title. Already, ESPN's Jay Bilas has them in elite company.
"I would put them on the top shelf along with Syracuse, Ohio State and perhaps North Carolina," Bilas said on ESPN radio's "Scott Van Pelt Show." "They've got something that nobody has in Anthony Davis. He's the best big guy to come along in a period of years. He absolutely covers the basket up. He's an extraordinary talent and he's just scratching the surface of how good he's going to be. And they've got in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the single hardest-playing player out there. They're well-coached and they guard you every possession and they're going to be really hard to beat," Bilas added.
Van Pelt raised the issue of trust for a team as young as Kentucky, wondering if the inexperienced Wildcats can be counted on in March to string together the kinds of performances it takes to win a title.
"I don't trust even older teams," Bilas said. "This is the third year in a row that we don't have any historically great teams. The last great team we've had was North Carolina in '09 and I don't think anybody can hold a candle to them. I think college basketball has taken a step down from last year (in overall quality). I think they're all vulnerable to getting beat on the second weekend (of the tournament)."
Bilas will see the Cats play in person, as part of ESPN's College GameDay show tomorrow at Vandy's Memorial Gymnasium.
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Newness of Vandy test exactly what Calipari wants for his teamtag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412502012-02-10T22:25:29Z2012-02-10T22:29:19Z Terrence Jones averaged 20 points and nine rebounds in two games against Vanderbilt as a freshman. (Robert Burge, UK Athletics) It seems a little crazy to say it, but even the life of a Kentucky basketball player can begin...Guy RamseyTerrence Jones averaged 20 points and nine rebounds in two games against Vanderbilt as a freshman. (Robert Burge, UK Athletics)
It seems a little crazy to say it, but even the life of a Kentucky basketball player can begin to feel repetitive.
Even with all the glamour associated with (and perceived to be associated with) playing for the most tradition-rich program in college basketball, daily routines can become just that: routine.
"We handle every game the same way," head coach John Calipari said. "The format of our practice is exactly the same even though some of the drills are different. We go on the road. We do exactly the same things when we go into town and when we meet and what we do on game day."
Far be it from Calipari and the Wildcats to complain about their situation, because any such complaints would most certainly fall on the deaf, uncomprehending ears of the Big Blue Nation. UK fans would likely jump at the chance to spend one day living that routine, no matter the cost.
Nonetheless, guarding against the complacency that can grow from the tedium of a long season is an important part of Calipari's job.
"Today I just spent the day thinking; I like adding things, tweaking the offense, tweaking the defense, because it makes them think," Calipari said. "I don't want them to walk into practice, because it is monotonous in that we do the same things throughout the year in some cases. I like changing things up to just make them really focus and concentrate."
For the very same reason, Calipari loves the next challenge awaiting top-ranked Kentucky (24-1, 10-0 Southeastern Conference). At 9 p.m. on Saturday, the Wildcats hit the road to face Vanderbilt (17-7, 6-3 SEC).
"Every one of these teams gives us something different," Calipari said. "Now we've never played Vandy with this team, so just like Tennessee, who is totally different than Vandy, who is totally different than Florida, who is totally different than Mississippi State, you've got teams for us that it's just important to see how we respond. Every experience for us is new."
Darius Miller, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb have each faced the Commodores at least twice, but this collective group of Wildcats that includes four freshmen has never done it together. Meanwhile, Kevin Stallings' Vanderbilt team is among the most experienced teams in the country, featuring five seniors and a junior among its top six in terms of minutes per game.
"They're a team that has played us three years now," Calipari said. "It's the same guys that have played us for three years minus one or two guys. I imagine they're ready for this, their fans are ready for this, Nashville's ready for this, the administration's ready for this, their parents are ready for this and they've probably been ready for two weeks."
As if the Commodores needed any additional reason to focus, Vanderbilt will play host to ESPN's College GameDay for the first time in school history. Memorial Gymnasium is already among the nation's toughest and most unique venues and the national stage and late tip time should only add an extra edge to the Black and Gold-clad fans in attendance.
For Marquis Teague, the raucous environment and bizarre bench configuration will be particularly demanding.
"It's the first time I've ever heard of that," Teague said. "I heard about it plenty of times from different people. They said it's a crazy place to play in."
Considering the infrequency with which he'll be able to communicate with his point guard, Calipari will change up the way he calls plays, giving Teague a couple at a time for a handful of possessions and handing the reins over to him. A month ago, that proposition would have been much more worrisome for both, but the strides Teague has made during UK's ongoing five-game stretch of dominance (25 assists, nine turnovers during the run) makes the arrangement much more palatable.
"I'm more comfortable with it," Teague said. "I'm able to read and see what we need to call."
However, unlike some other opponents this season, Vanderbilt has the kind of talent that could allow them to send UK to its first SEC loss even if the Cats play well. The Commodores, in spite of some early losses, were ranked in the top 10 to open the year for a reason. They are experienced, but more importantly, extremely talented.
"They're a great team and a great program," Jones said. "They got a lot of great players but hopefully we can execute like we've been doing on the road and just stay successful."
Junior guard John Jenkins is Vanderbilt's leading scorer and joins Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist among top Player of the Year candidates. UK has faced some exceptional shooters this season, but none quite like Jenkins.
"We're going to have to look to contain him," Miller said of his Team USA teammate from last summer's World University Games. "He's probably the main part of their team. He does a great job of getting looks and getting his shot off and knocking them down. We've got to try to contain him."
Last season, Jenkins poured in 32 points as Vanderbilt defeated Kentucky for the fifth in the teams' last six Memorial matchups.
"What if Jenkins goes 12-for-12 from the 3?" Calipari said. "It's been a nice start to our season. When's the next game? And you could be all over him and he could still do that."
As good as Jenkins is, he's far from the Commodores' only dynamic threat. Senior center Festus Ezeli had 22 points and 13 rebounds in a loss last season in Rupp Arena, while swingman Jeffery Taylor has evolved from an exceptional athlete and shutdown defender into an offensive stalwart. He's averaging 17.8 points this season, making 44-of-92 3-pointers after converting just 49-of-165 (29.7 percent) his first three seasons.
"He's a tough matchup for anybody," Miller said. "He's big, he's quick, he's strong, he's a very athletic player and he's been shooting the ball pretty well recently so we got to look to contain him. He's another key part of their team and hopefully he doesn't go off on us tomorrow."
If Taylor and his teammates turn in the kind of effort that has carried the Commodores to four straight victories over top-ranked opponents on their home floor dating back to 1987, Calipari isn't going to lose the same perspective he's had all season.
"We could go to Vandy and they play 40 minutes of great basketball and we go back to the hotel and figure out when the next game is and regroup and go," Calipari said. "This is not a football season. For this team it's about getting better and learning our players. And I don't know, because they're so young, how they're going to respond."
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Video: Calipari on Vanderbilt matchuptag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412392012-02-10T20:13:45Z2012-02-10T20:14:25Z Click here to download the latest version of the Flash plugin to view this content'; //-->...Guy Ramsey
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Video: Mitchell on preparing for Tennessee triptag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412412012-02-10T20:10:17Z2012-02-10T20:16:56Z Click here to download the latest version of the Flash plugin to view this content'; //-->...Guy Ramsey
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Video: Miller, Jones, Teague before Vanderbilt triptag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412362012-02-10T19:54:14Z2012-02-10T20:01:41ZDarius Miller Click here to download the latest version of the Flash plugin to view this content'; //--> Terrence Jones Click here to download the latest version of the Flash plugin to view this content'; //--> Marquis Teague Click here...Guy Ramsey
Darius Miller
Terrence Jones
Marquis Teague
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Link: Sean Woods making Unforgettable run as coachtag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412212012-02-10T17:49:48Z2012-02-10T18:06:13Z Former UK great Sean Woods is in his fourth season as coach of Mississippi Valley State. (UK Athletics) Sean Woods, famous for helping resurrect Kentucky basketball as part of the Unforgettables team, is in his fourth year as head...Guy RamseyFormer UK great Sean Woods is in his fourth season as coach of Mississippi Valley State. (UK Athletics)
Sean Woods, famous for helping resurrect Kentucky basketball as part of the Unforgettables team, is in his fourth year as head coach at Mississippi Valley State.
The job, due to scant funding, is one of the toughest in Division I basketball, but Woods has plugged along. Annually the Delta Devils play a murderer's row of nonconference opponents on the road to help the entire athletic program, resulting in a string of nearly guaranteed losses before beginning play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
This year, MVSU was 1-11 on Jan. 1, but since then, Woods' bunch has reeled of 11 consecutive victories in conference. The Delta Devils will need to win their conference tournament to make the NCAA's, but with a top seed in the SWAC Tournament looking more and more likely, there stands a good chance Woods could be roaming the sidelines at March Madness.
On the 20-year anniversary of his shot that almost decided the greatest college basketball game ever, Woods and the Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball team he coaches are creating a story that may produce an even more improbable ending.
Would you believe Woods has a team that started the season 1-11 but now has a winning record (12-11) and viable hopes to make the NCAA Tournament?
It is so.
Woods is in his fourth season as head man at Mississippi Valley State. There may be no tougher head coaching job in all of NCAA Division I basketball than leading the school best known as the alma mater of NFL great Jerry Rice.
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UK Hoops regains two-game lead in SEC racetag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.412082012-02-10T14:48:17Z2012-02-10T15:05:14Z via Yahoo! Sports The Kentucky women's basketball team hasn't had a game since Sunday, but the Wildcats got some good news in the Southeastern Conference race anyway.Vanderbilt hosted second-place Tennessee in Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday night, defeating the Lady...Guy Ramseyvia Yahoo! Sports
The Kentucky women's basketball team hasn't had a game since Sunday, but the Wildcats got some good news in the Southeastern Conference race anyway.
Vanderbilt hosted second-place Tennessee in Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday night, defeating the Lady Volunteers 93-79. The loss by Pat Summitt's team drops their record to 8-3 in SEC play, increasing UK Hoops' lead in conference to two full games (see standings at right).
The Cats (21-3, 10-1 SEC), since the beginning of the season, have set out to win the school's first conference championship since the 1981-82. Owning a two-game cushion with just five games left in the regular season, UK is very much in control of its own destiny.
Monday night will afford the Wildcats a chance to put a stranglehold on the conference crown, as they travel to Knoxville, Tenn., looking for a two-game sweep of the Lady Volunteers for the first time in school history. A win would give UK a three-game lead over Tennessee with four games to play. A loss and Tennessee is just a game back.
Kentucky-Tennessee will be televised at 7 p.m. on Monday on ESPN2.
Here are the remaining schedules for the two teams: Kentucky at Tennessee at Alabama Vanderbilt South Carolina at Mississippi State
Tennessee Kentucky at Mississippi State at Ole Miss Arkansas Florida
NOTE: Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, LSU and Florida have not been eliminated from contention for the SEC title.
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Gymnastics balancing present, future in Garrison's first seasontag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.411912012-02-10T12:35:37Z2012-02-09T23:44:23Z Under Tim Garrison, the Wildcats have posted a season-high score of 195.05 in their last two meets ahead of a matchup with No. 1 Alabama. (Chet White, UK Athletics) Tim Garrison can't help but look ahead.In the future, he...Guy RamseyUnder Tim Garrison, the Wildcats have posted a season-high score of 195.05 in their last two meets ahead of a matchup with No. 1 Alabama. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
Tim Garrison can't help but look ahead.
In the future, he sees the Kentucky gymnastics program he was chosen to lead in April 2011 consistently attracting the nation's best athletes. He sees UK going routine for routine with the elite in the Southeastern Conference, the nation's premier league.
Nearly 10 months into his tenure, Garrison sees the program moving in the right direction, but he's not forgetting about the small steps it's taking along the way.
"We're laying a foundation, but we haven't written this season off," Garrison said. "We want to continue to get better."
Improving is exactly what the Wildcats have done a month into the 2012 season. UK is fresh off a back-to-back meets in which the Cats posted season-best scores of 195.05, rebounding from a disappointing 191.975 in their first SEC meet against Arkansas.
UK relies on an unusually young roster, using 18 or more routines from freshmen or sophomores in all five meets so far this season, so Garrison has opted to institute a simpler approach to competition. The Wildcats willfully undertake routines with a lower level of difficulty than many of their opponents, focusing on consistent execution.
"I think the higher level of difficulty you have, the less consistent you'll be," Garrison said. "With athletes like we have right now, which are athletes that need to be doing more simplistic routines because they need to be more comfortable with what they're doing."
Garrison is refreshingly forthright in evaluating his team, whether he's talking to a reporter, an assistant coach or an athlete. His honesty lends him credibility when he lays out his expectations. That's crucial, because setting standards and living up to them is at the center of his philosophy for rebuilding this program.
"We're changing the culture, there's no doubt about it, just the expectation level," Garrison said. "We go out there and get a 195, we're not satisfied."
He was characteristically frank with the Wildcats after their effort in Fayetteville, Ark., making it abundantly clear he was unwilling to accept that kind of performance. The way they have responded with progressively higher scores since is encouraging for the rest of this season and beyond.
"We don't come in and get scared," freshman Alexis Gross said. "We went into the first meet scared and he said that's not what we do anymore. Now we expect more of ourselves so the younger generations are going to carry that on so we'll have a fearless team."
Gross is nothing if not fearless. Although just a freshman, the Pasadena, Md., native has stepped in as an all-around performer because she is unfazed no matter the opponent or surroundings, a desirable attribute in the daunting SEC.
"I have no fear to be honest," Gross said. "Obviously I get scared of skills and stuff like that, but when it comes to meet day, I don't think that anyone else is any better than I am even if I know they are."
With No. 2 Alabama coming to Memorial Coliseum to face the Cats on Friday at 7 p.m., that kind of mentality will come in handy.
"The biggest thing I look for in an athlete, especially in this kind of environment, is for them to be unflappable," Garrison said. "Nothing's going to get them out of their comfort zone. Nothing's going to intimidate them. She's that athlete for us. It doesn't matter who's performing, it doesn't matter what performance was just done on the other rotation, she's not going to look at that and say, 'Wow, they are really good. Maybe I'm not so good.' She's going to look at that and say, 'Really? Here I go.'"
In more ways than one, Gross is exactly the kind of athlete Garrison loves coaching. Not only does she steadfastly refuse to accept anything but her best effort, but she also matches her coach in honesty. Because of that, it should come as no surprise that she has already established herself as a vocal presence on the team in spite of her youth.
"I've always been very vocal," Gross said. "I guess I would say I'm pretty blunt, and that's just the way that I am. My club coaches raised me very well to be that way. In the beginning, I was a little timid, but as I saw there was a vocal role that needed to be filled, I filled it. I think the girls trust me too, so that helps."
Both before and during the dual meet with the defending national champion Crimson Tide, Gross will be helping deliver Garrison's message that the Cats are competing with themselves more than anyone else. His goal is to get to the point where UK is on a level playing field with a team like Alabama but for now, he wants to be the one with an eye on Alabama's routines, not his student-athletes.
"If they never look up and see another performance by anybody else on Alabama's team, I'd be happy as I could be," Garrison said. "I look around and I see what's going on because I want to know what's out there. I'm pretty versed on what's out there but I want to see what they're doing and how far we need to go to get to that level."
Garrison is demanding tunnel vision out of his gymnasts because the team's goals are more about scores than wins and losses, at least at this point.
"Even though we're competing with those teams on the floor at the same time, that's not really who we're competing against," Garrison said. "We're competing against teams who are ranked between 16th and 26th, where we are. We want to try to get in the top 18 to qualify for regionals as a three seed. That's really our goal."
The Cats are currently ranked No. 26 with an eye on moving up incrementally in the short term. In the more distant future, Garrison envisions more drastic jumps.
"We have a very clear understanding of where we are," Garrison said. "These guys know where we are. We intend to get better as the weeks go on. But as the years go on, we're going to recruit and we're going to train and we're going to get better."
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Men's, women's signing classes represented in McDonald's gametag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.411882012-02-09T22:46:40Z2012-02-10T00:59:41Z John Calipari and Matthew Mitchell will both have good reason to tune in to the McDonald's All-American Game.A trio of 2012 Kentucky signees were named McDonald's All-Americans, two future members of the men's team and one for UK Hoops....Guy Ramsey
John Calipari and Matthew Mitchell will both have good reason to tune in to the McDonald's All-American Game.
A trio of 2012 Kentucky signees were named McDonald's All-Americans, two future members of the men's team and one for UK Hoops. Forward Alex Poythress and guard Archie Goodwin will each play in the boys' game, while point guard Janee Thompson will play in the girls' game in her hometown of Chicago.
Poythress and Goodwin, each consensus five-star prospects in this year's class, become the ninth and 10th of Calipari's signees to earn spot in the prestigious game in what will be his fourth recruiting class as head coach at UK. Of players on Kentucky's current roster, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer each played in the game.
Thompson, a 5-foot-7 high school senior, is the latest in a recent run of Mitchell recruits to become McDonald's All-Americans. Current Cats DeNesha Stallworth, Samarie Walker, Jennifer O'Neill and Bria Goss all received the same honor.
Both the boys' and girls' games will be played on March 28 in Chicago's United Center.
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Kentucky basketball, men's and women's, taking center stage beginning on Saturdaytag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.411662012-02-09T18:10:07Z2012-02-09T23:37:12Z Matthew Mitchell has led UK Hoops to a school record-tying 21-3 start to the 2011-12 season. (Britney McIntosh, UK Athletics) Even for a program boasting a storied basketball history, the 2011-12 season has been a banner one for University...Guy RamseyMatthew Mitchell has led UK Hoops to a school record-tying 21-3 start to the 2011-12 season. (Britney McIntosh, UK Athletics)
Even for a program boasting a storied basketball history, the 2011-12 season has been a banner one for University of Kentucky basketball.
The men's team sits at 24-1 and is a nearly unanimous choice as the nation's No. 1. UK Hoops, led by Matthew Mitchell, has tied a school record with a 21-3 start. Combining the two, UK is one of just two schools in the NCAA with both its men's and women's team ranked in the top seven of both major polls.
Neither team has lost a home game all season, helping both teams to reach the top of the standings in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky is one of just five schools, along with Wichita State, San Diego State, Mississippi Valley State and Middle Tennessee State, that can claim sole possession of first place in its conference in both men's and women's basketball.
The two teams have been showered with attention in light of their success, but the spotlight is about to shine just a little brighter beginning this weekend.
Both teams will take the floor in featured games over a three-day period beginning with the men's team's trip to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt. The game will be featured this week on ESPN's College Gameday, with the broadcast going from 10 a.m. to noon.
On Saturday night at 9 p.m., the Cats and Commodores will hit the floor in Memorial Gymnasium as Vanderbilt tries to win its fifth straight home game against a No. 1 ranked opponent. ESPN's biggest names and personalities will be on hard for the festivities, including Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews.
The Gameday crew won't be in attendance on Monday when the UK women take on No. 11 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., but the stakes will be even higher. Kentucky, up a game over the Lady Volunteers in the loss column, will look to solidify its top spot in the SEC race with a win and pull off a rare regular-season sweep of Pat Summitt's team. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 at 7 p.m.
The two games will be on the road, but the Wildcats' primetime placement is proof that nobody does basketball quite like the Bluegrass State.
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Video: UK Rewind - Feb. 8tag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.411292012-02-09T12:47:43Z2012-02-08T22:49:20Z Click here to download the latest version of the Flash plugin to view this content'; //-->...Guy Ramsey
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2012 class shows Lipsitz, women's soccer going nowhere but uptag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.411282012-02-08T22:41:19Z2012-02-08T22:44:51Z Jon Lipsitz's 2012 recruiting class is ranked in the top five nationally by allwhitekit.com. (Steve Harp, UK Athletics) Since coming to Lexington in December 2008, Jon Lipsitz has worked to make the Kentucky women's soccer program relevant on a...Guy RamseyJon Lipsitz's 2012 recruiting class is ranked in the top five nationally by allwhitekit.com. (Steve Harp, UK Athletics)
Since coming to Lexington in December 2008, Jon Lipsitz has worked to make the Kentucky women's soccer program relevant on a national level.
He's presided over three progressively more successful seasons in that time, culminating in last year's berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"To be honored as one of the top five classes in the country is pretty special to say the least," Lipsitz said. "You sort of read the top five teams on the list and you see 'Kentucky? How'd they get in there?'
Parallel to his on-field work with the Wildcats, he has toiled just as tirelessly to cobble together UK's 2012 signing class. Beginning the moment he set foot on campus, Lipsitz had his eye on Feb. 1, 2012. Along with a staff of Michelle Rayner, Aaron Rodgers and Courtney Wiesler, Lipsitz made National Signing Day one to remember for UK.
The 15 new players came from eight different states, and most committed well before the team had hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1999 this past November."
"You have to realize that the players decided to come here when we were coming off of my first season," Lipsitz said. "We won five games (in 2009). So, it is really quite a leap of faith that people said it was a special place, the relationship that we can have with the current players and the coaches is important enough that we are going to do something special."
With 12 of the 14 players who scored a goal for last year's team that spent most of the season ranked in the RPI top 25 returning, the Cats might not have long to wait before doing something special. Included in that group of returners are rising junior forward Caitlin Landis, who was second on the team behind Kelsey Hunyadi with six goals, and Arin Gilliland, who lived up to her billing as one of the nation's top recruits with a strong freshman season.
The group of newcomers adds a much-needed measure of depth to a UK team that fielded just 21 players a season ago. The Wildcats embraced their short-handed roster, adopting "21 Strong" as their motto for the season, but having significantly more players on next season's roster will add a competitive dynamic to practice.
"Last year, '21 Strong' was special," Lipsitz said. "Every player had to be ready. I think this year it will be a little bit different because every player will have to be ready, otherwise it will be exposed on the practice field."
Just as importantly, a bigger roster will allow Lipsitz a training tool he sorely missed in 2011.
"Think about a basketball team not being able to play five on five for an entire season in practice," Lipsitz said. "It's difficult. We didn't play 11 vs. 11. We didn't have enough players. There will be a great excitement to be able to do that every day, and I think that we will develop a lot more competitively because of that."
As a coach, Lipsitz is all about development, whether he's talking about his team or the program as a whole. It all begins, though, with the student-athletes.
"That comes first," Lipsitz said. "Who they are academically, and getting a fantastic degree, and doing well in school, and obviously development as a student-athlete involves soccer. They came here to play soccer. They care about everything else, but some of that package is soccer."
If Lipsitz is able to help his players as both athletes and people as he sets out to do, he expects success in other areas to follow, including recruiting.
He expects classes like this one to continue to arrive on UK's campus. Others around women's soccer at the college level may have been taken aback by the talent headed to the Bluegrass, but Lipsitz and his staff weren't. They believe in what Kentucky has to offer and think others will follow suit by the time their work is through.
"Our hope is in the long run that no one is surprised anymore," Lipsitz said.
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Notebook: Cats slowing pace, racing past SEC foestag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.410992012-02-08T17:09:21Z2012-02-08T17:13:59Z Marquis Teague had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Florida. (Chet White, UK Athletics) Thinking about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's split-second drives to the rim and Anthony Davis' above-the-rim finishes in the open floor, Kentucky doesn't...Guy RamseyMarquis Teague had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Florida. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
Thinking about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's split-second drives to the rim and Anthony Davis' above-the-rim finishes in the open floor, Kentucky doesn't seem like a half-court-oriented team on the face of things.
The numbers, especially during the Wildcats' ongoing blitz through Southeastern Conference play over the past two-plus weeks, suggest otherwise.
Beginning with a road win over Georgia, UK has won five games in a row by an average margin of 23.2 points, cementing the Wildcats as a team on the shortlist among NCAA Tournament favorites.
Kentucky, with its balance and versatility, has won those games in a variety of different ways. Four different players have led UK in scoring over those five dominant performances and the Cats have gotten the job done with hot 3-point shooting, overwhelming rebounding or killing opponents slowly at the free-throw line, depending on the game.
The one constant over the five games, other than smothering defense, has been the pace of play.
The Wildcats began the season in the top half of the nation in possessions per game, averaging 69.4 through the first 20 games of 2011-12 (that number would place them in the 50s nationally as of Feb. 8). Since then, UK has averaged just 58.6 possessions per game, playing its best basketball of the season in the process. For a little perspective, Wisconsin is the nation's slowest paced team on the year, playing an average of 59.0 per game.
Why is this happening?
Well, I think it begins with the fact that UK, led by Marquis Teague, has a much better idea of what it wants to do in the half-court. Early in the season, the youthful Cats would often revert to high school/AAU tendencies and "break off plays," as John Calipari often says, resulting in quick shots and turnovers. Now, the Wildcats are much more confident in their sets and patient enough to wait for a good look at the basket, whether it comes with 25 seconds on the shot clock or five.
Another key factor is the simple fact that UK has had big leads late in games. By taking the air out of the ball over the final eight to 10 minutes, Calipari estimates the Cats take away "six or seven" precious possessions from their opponents, thereby shortening the game. A shorter game makes it that much more difficult to overcome a double-digit deficit.
Finally, and most simply, it's about the opponents the Cats are facing. Of the last five teams UK has faced, none is ranked higher than 180th nationally in adjusted tempo and two are in the 300s.
Not only that, but the scouting report is out on the Cats. Right or wrong, one of the first items on that list is likely to cut out transition opportunities. Thunderous dunks and back-breaking "and-ones" on fast breaks tend to stick in the mind of opposing coaches when watching tape and the sheer athleticism of this team makes the Cats look like the kind of team that would much prefer to fly up and down the floor.
UK hasn't turned its back on the open-floor game (they scored 16 fast-break points against Florida), but teams that think they can best the Cats by forcing them into the half-court do so at their own peril.
Donovan a UK believer
Billy Donovan knows what he's talking about when it comes to evaluating top teams.
Not only has he coached two national championship teams and another that advanced to the title game, but he's also now coached against the teams rated first, second and third nationally already this season.
Before visiting Rupp Arena on Tuesday night, Florida lost by four at No. 3 Ohio State and by seven at No. 2 Syracuse, so his evaluation of Kentucky against those other two carries some weight.
Donovan called Ohio State a "three-headed monster" with Jared Sullinger, William Buford and Aaron Craft, while pointing out that Syracuse matches Kentucky in length and surpasses the Cats in depth.
"I don't know necessarily who would be better because I think Syracuse will play them all zone and their zone is a little bit unique," Donovan said. "If you're looking at talent, I think Kentucky's got it. They have, clearly, six guys that are going to be first-round draft picks on their team."
The Wildcats talent makes them dangerous, but it's their makeup that could potentially make them special, particularly that of Kidd-Gilchrist, who went for 13 points and 13 rebounds in 39 minutes against the Gators.
"The one thing that I like about their team is I love their disposition on the floor," Donovan said. "I got a lot of respect and admiration for Gilchrist, just his disposition out there."
There's still another month until tournament time, but the mentality that Kidd-Gilchrist and UK bring to the floor reminds Donovan of the kinds of teams he's seen win at a high level in March and April
"In 2000 for us and '06 and '07 having a chance," Donovan said, "there's a certain disposition you have to have, and I'm not talking about an arrogance or a cockiness, but there's a focus level in terms of what really goes into winning at that level. There's a mentality there that's just different."
The NCAA Tournament bears the moniker of "March Madness" for a reason, so Donovan can't predict the future, but the idea of Calipari cutting down the nets at the Final Four is by no means far-fetched this season.
"When you get into the tournament, it's a one shot deal and anything can happen in one game," Donovan said. "But clearly, I think that if they went all the way, it wouldn't be surprising."
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Video: Highlights from UK's 78-58 win over Floridatag:www.ukathletics.com,2012:/blog//13.410902012-02-08T14:58:26Z2012-02-08T14:59:16Z Click here to download the latest version of the Flash plugin to view this content'; //-->...Guy Ramsey
Terrence Jones averaged 20 points and nine rebounds in two games against Vanderbilt as a freshman. (Robert Burge, UK Athletics)
It seems a little crazy to say it, but even the life of a Kentucky basketball player can begin to feel repetitive.
