Yes, it can be done. Obviously, one would argue that it’s a stretch to point out any positives from a 77-58 loss that featured 28 turnovers, but if anybody can do it, it’s me.
Most of these positives come from the interviews that Coach Gillispie did after the game, both with BBSN and ESPN. He had a great talk about the play of DeAndre Liggins in the second half, and it definitely warrants praise. Liggins played the final 13 or so minutes of the half, had five assists (seven assists total) and only one turnover. When Liggins was running the show in the second half, Patrick Patterson got touches and scored against anybody who guarded him. When Liggins was on the floor in the second half, he put a body on Ty Lawson and did a much more effective job at keeping him out of the lane than Mike Porter did. Coach Gillispie noticed these things, and was very complimentary of the freshman. Hopefully this means the Mike Porter experiment is on its last legs.
Patterson was another positive from last night. He was much more active in the post and on the glass in both halves. Only difference was that nobody could get him the ball in the first half because they were too busy turning it over. In the second half, he got it in position to score, and he did just that. I attribute that to both the play of DeAndre Liggins and the ability of the Kentucky halfcourt defense to slow down the pace and take a lot of time off the shot clock when Carolina had the ball. That created the flow that Pat needs to be successful, and he had a great second half.
I also enjoyed the play of Ramon Harris in the second half. He’s still shaky and looks flat uncomfortable on the drive, but I loved that he was aggressive. His attitude is in the right place. I’m happy he chased down Tyler Zeller on that breakaway and didn’t allow the dunk. It sucks that Zeller broke his wrist on the fall and he’s out for the rest of the season, but it was a clean play. It wasn’t like Kevin McHale unleashing a Stan Hansen Lariat on Kurt Rambis in the ’84 Finals. In fact, here’s a side-by-side for anybody who thinks it was a dirty play.
You can find the BBSN interview on either Yahoo or ukathletics.com. The interview Gillispie did with my boy Andy Katz is on the ESPN college basketball page.
I’m Seth Stogsdill, reminding everybody that IT ISN’T EVEN THANKSGIVING.
Yes, it can be done. Obviously, one would argue that it’s a stretch to point out any positives from a 77-58 loss that featured 28 turnovers, but if anybody can do it, it’s me.
Most of these positives come from the interviews that Coach Gillispie did after the game, both with BBSN and ESPN. He had a great talk about the play of DeAndre Liggins in the second half, and it definitely warrants praise. Liggins played the final 13 or so minutes of the half, had five assists (seven assists total) and only one turnover. When Liggins was running the show in the second half, Patrick Patterson got touches and scored against anybody who guarded him. When Liggins was on the floor in the second half, he put a body on Ty Lawson and did a much more effective job at keeping him out of the lane than Mike Porter did. Coach Gillispie noticed these things, and was very complimentary of the freshman. Hopefully this means the Mike Porter experiment is on its last legs.
Patterson was another positive from last night. He was much more active in the post and on the glass in both halves. Only difference was that nobody could get him the ball in the first half because they were too busy turning it over. In the second half, he got it in position to score, and he did just that. I attribute that to both the play of DeAndre Liggins and the ability of the Kentucky halfcourt defense to slow down the pace and take a lot of time off the shot clock when Carolina had the ball. That created the flow that Pat needs to be successful, and he had a great second half.
I also enjoyed the play of Ramon Harris in the second half. He’s still shaky and looks flat uncomfortable on the drive, but I loved that he was aggressive. His attitude is in the right place. I’m happy he chased down Tyler Zeller on that breakaway and didn’t allow the dunk. It sucks that Zeller broke his wrist on the fall and he’s out for the rest of the season, but it was a clean play. It wasn’t like Kevin McHale unleashing a Stan Hansen Lariat on Kurt Rambis in the ’84 Finals. In fact, here’s a side-by-side for anybody who thinks it was a dirty play.
You can find the BBSN interview on either Yahoo or ukathletics.com. The interview Gillispie did with my boy Andy Katz is on the ESPN college basketball page.
I’m Seth Stogsdill, reminding everybody that IT ISN’T EVEN THANKSGIVING.