UK Basketball: This Weekend Practices!

UK is fast, very fast! As always Wall is who we thought he was but a much better shooter than people think. Liggins actually looked much more comfortable and you could tell it feels much better in this style then last years. Hood needs a few years before he will be the star he will be become. He needs to get stronger and faster. However, he can do things that nobody else can do at his size. Dodson needs game experience, other than that he can shot really well, a much better ball handler than I would have thought, and much taller than I thought he was.

Bledsoe is the real deal and you really can't tell who is faster between him and Wall. He needs to work on his shooting and he is. He has an incredible work ethic and if he can get a decent shot he will be a dangerous weapon next to Wall. Orton looks in great shape. He is Daniel Orton, that's all there is too it. He isn't doing anything flashy but again that isn't his job. He is a big boy who blocks shots, gets every rebound, and can't be stopped offensively around the rim. Stevenson looks a lot better than anyone would think but he still gets pushed around by the other big men we have.

Miller is going to be very good once he becomes more aggressive. When he was aggressive and assertive he looked very good.

Cousins is something else. We all knew he was a stud but there were some concerns by fans. You have no reason to be concerned. Something has clicked in Cousins head and he is unbelievable. He can do it all. He can push anyone, including Patterson, around in the paint and get around guys like Miller on the perimeter. He can shot, rebound, block shots, basically if he wants to dominate a game he can.

Patterson is in amazing shape. He is faster, stronger, more explosive, and really looks like a different players. He will be an All-American this year, if he isn't I be shocked.

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but the team is much further along than I would have thought but Calipari doesn't seem to think so.

I see Liggins playing a lot this year and if he works hard enough it wouldn't surprise me to see him starting at wing with Wall, Bledsoe, Cousins, and Patterson. I can see Cal pressing a lot this year, this team is very athletic, fast, quick, and is going to be fun to watch. I can't imagine what they will look like when the season starts.

From what I am hearing Payne had a great time this weekend. He seemed to be enjoying himself and hopefully we can get him to come back to attend Madness.

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Comment by Joseph Drury on September 27, 2009 at 9:32pm: Liggins has all the talent in the world, having all these athletes around him now will settle him and help him play to his strengths.

Comment by SaveUK on September 27, 2009 at 9:19pm: They ran a form of the DDMO but not a real pure DDMO but I agree he fits the DDMO really well.

Comment by Don Stewart on September 27, 2009 at 9:18pm: Liggins high school coach ran the Dribbble Drive offense ... he will be much improved in this style of play.

Comment by SaveUK on September 27, 2009 at 8:51pm: Liggins has a long ways to go before he will start over Miller but he is at least moving in that direction. He still has a lot of catching up to do but when I say don't be surprised if he does start, I'm saying he has the talent and skills to do so. He just needs to improve in other areas (mental/bball IQ)

Comment by HeGetsIt on September 27, 2009 at 8:44pm: Save, you think Liggins starts over Miller?? He must've improved a lot. I do think that this offense better suits his game. I think we all are in agreement that OCTOBER 16TH can't get here soon enough.

Comment by SaveUK on September 27, 2009 at 8:00pm: I really didn't pay attention on that particular thing but from what i remember he was doing a lot better in that area. With how fast the team is moving he is kind of force to bend down, bend his knees, and attack verses standing straight up

Comment by phantompain on September 27, 2009 at 7:56pm: Save, is Liggins still dribbling the ball at eye level? That was one thing that stood out to me this past year is how high he stands when dribbling and how high he actually dribbles the ball. I would imagine that Wall and Bledsoe will take it from him more than a few times in practice so maybe that will teach him to dribble lower?

Comment by SaveUK on September 27, 2009 at 7:31pm: Great thing about Miller is that he doesn't make mistakes and he is a good passer. I think once they start full practice he will see that he has to be aggressive to play in this style. He can do it, he for sure has the skills, he just needs to be aggressive.

Liggins will play PG and both wing positions. He provides a lot of versatility

Comment by phantompain on September 27, 2009 at 7:28pm: Thanks for the info once again Save. Oct 16 can't get here fast enough!!!!

Comment by BostonCat2001 on September 27, 2009 at 7:27pm: its pretty important that uk find another wing off the bench other then dodson to perform at a high level and give uk what it needs for that particular game. whether its points, defense, assists...uk is going to need someone else to step up.

this sounds like the perfect role for liggins to me. at times last year he would fill the stat sheet in a lot of different categories. he has the first year under his belt and is in that position where most freshman with his ranking coming out of HS make a big step forward. in this system i think it can be done. good to hear that he has come around.

miller concerns me a bit. just because i want him to be aggressive every play. i dont know if he has it in him. he has the talent to be very productive. but with guys like patterson, cousins, wall out there i am a bit worried that he will defer to them like he did last year with meeks/patterson. teams will concentrate on guarding those other guys and he will have to step up and make plays as the floor opens for him.

i may have been under estimating cousins. i was happy just to get minimal stuff from him this season. but everybody that sees this kid comes away thinking he is a monster on the court. if just half of this is true....then WOW. sounds like the only thing that can slow him down is foul trouble. i said it before and i'll say it again....outside of unc and msu....i dont think there is a team on our schedule that can guard patterson and coursins straight up. huge advantage to uk

payne....come on back to UK for the greatest show on a basketball court!!!!