2009 UK Basketball Thread - Part III

[WVRed]

For when the other thread gets closed.

[WMR]

Good way to start off the new thread. BTW: That last UK thread has gotta be close to a record to 1000 posts... at least for the Non-Baseball Side.

Cat Scratches

The Wildcats’ first practice under John Calipari

Posted at 1:13 a.m. EDT – Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Not even 36 hours after John Calipari was hired to become the 22nd head coach in program history, Calipari held his first practice Thursday night at the Joe Craft Center. Cat Scratches had an exclusive look at Kentucky’s first practice under Calipari. Here are some observations from the Wildcats’ first workout:

*Practice started at 8:30 p.m. and lasted about an hour and a half. Per NCAA regulations, teams are allowed two hours of drill instruction per week until April 15.

*The entire 2008-09 roster was there, including senior Jared Carter.

*The practice was extremely instructional. Calipari’s demeanor was pretty intense, but he doesn’t teach by yelling, calling out players, stomping his feet or any of that. He was very hands on and very talkative. Calipari would stop drills if he didn’t see what he liked, but he also didn’t hesitate to stop practice and single out a player if he was doing something right.

*Dribble, dribble, dribble. Calipari mentioned his love and philosophy for the Dribble Drive Motion Offense in his introductory news conference, and he wasted no time implementing it in his first practice. The first hour was dedicated solely to dribbling and driving the ball to the bucket. Calipari started the players off with different dribble-drive layup drills, and then increased the number of defenders as practice wore on until they finished with a three-on-two drill.

*Of course, the main component of the Dribble Drive Motion Offense is dribbling. The only negative I drew from the practice was the Wildcats’ sloppiness in handling the ball. I heard Calipari say a couple of times that they were going to have to get much better handling the ball.

*Calipari wants them to play extremely fast. He doesn’t want any hesitation when they have the ball and he even stopped a few players a couple of times for slowing up. No matter who has it – Calipari said he’s going to teach everybody, post players included, to drive it like they were guards – he wants them taking it straight to the basket as fast as they can for a layup or lob pass.

*One of the biggest things I took out of practice was Calipari’s message of simplicity. He said he’s not running the And 1 team and wants to make the game as simple as possible for them.

*Calipari likes the ball in the air. The only bounce he likes is when it comes to dribbling. He’s not against bounce passes all together, but he doesn’t like wrap-around passes or bounce passes underneath the basket because guards can come in and pick them off.

*As much as the practice was about the dribble drive, it was also about layups. Calipari said the point of the offense was to get easy layups. Part of that, he said, is they have to make all of them. UK missed quite a few in practice, and Calipari said they’ll eventually chart every single shot in practice, from layups to 3-pointers to half-court shots. He said if you can’t make them in practice, you won’t be able to make them in the game.

*Just an observation, but I believe Darius Miller is going to flourish in Calipari’s system. I thought he had a phenomenal first practice under Calipari, and the coach even praised him one time for his ability to drive the ball to the basket. Calipari told Miller he was going to “drive his brain out” playing for him.

*Kyle Macy came by practice and watched the entire session. Calipari came over during and after practice to shake Macy’s hand and talk with him for a few minutes.

*And finally, practice was extremely upbeat. The guys were constantly clapping, very attentive and looked like they were just having a good time.

[cumberlandreds]

You gotta like that. He's not been the coach for two days and he out teaching them already. I would imagine every player is going to have to improve his ball handling in this system. Last years team was one of the worst I had ever seen at UK in that aspect of the game. Miller has been one people haven't talked about much after Calipari was hired. I would think he would be great in his system. I thought Miller improved quite a bit last season despite Gillispie.

[Cyclone792]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Good way to start off the new thread. BTW: That last UK thread has gotta be close to a record to 1000 posts... at least for the Non-Baseball Side.

That's some serious posting right there. I'm probably the last person in the world who would root for Kentucky, but I've got to hand it to you guys for your dedication.

Now that you guys have Calapari, UC and UK need to hook up for an annual non-conference meeting and rotate the home floor each year. That'd be a damn fun series to partake in, I know that.

[BRM]

Originally Posted by Cyclone792

That's some serious posting right there. I'm probably the last person in the world who would root for Kentucky, but I've got to hand it to you guys for your dedication.

Don't give 'em too much credit. Half of those posts were from non-UK fans taking jabs at them.

[cumberlandreds]

Originally Posted by BRM

Don't give 'em too much credit. Half of those posts were from non-UK fans taking jabs at them.

Ah but we still matter to you. That says a lot in itself.

[BRM]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

Ah but we still matter to you. That says a lot in itself.

Who else are we supposed to talk hoops with around here? This place is dominated by Cats fans. Either way, you guys are definitely a lot of fun to hoop talk with. No denying that. Well, except for that WilyMoRocks guy. :

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Good way to start off the new thread. BTW: That last UK thread has gotta be close to a record to 1000 posts... at least for the Non-Baseball Side.

Cat Scratches

The Wildcats’ first practice under John Calipari

Posted at 1:13 a.m. EDT – Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Not even 36 hours after John Calipari was hired to become the 22nd head coach in program history, Calipari held his first practice Thursday night at the Joe Craft Center. Cat Scratches had an exclusive look at Kentucky’s first practice under Calipari. Here are some observations from the Wildcats’ first workout:

*Practice started at 8:30 p.m. and lasted about an hour and a half. Per NCAA regulations, teams are allowed two hours of drill instruction per week until April 15.

*The entire 2008-09 roster was there, including senior Jared Carter.

*The practice was extremely instructional. Calipari’s demeanor was pretty intense, but he doesn’t teach by yelling, calling out players, stomping his feet or any of that. He was very hands on and very talkative. Calipari would stop drills if he didn’t see what he liked, but he also didn’t hesitate to stop practice and single out a player if he was doing something right.

*Dribble, dribble, dribble. Calipari mentioned his love and philosophy for the Dribble Drive Motion Offense in his introductory news conference, and he wasted no time implementing it in his first practice. The first hour was dedicated solely to dribbling and driving the ball to the bucket. Calipari started the players off with different dribble-drive layup drills, and then increased the number of defenders as practice wore on until they finished with a three-on-two drill.

*Of course, the main component of the Dribble Drive Motion Offense is dribbling. The only negative I drew from the practice was the Wildcats’ sloppiness in handling the ball. I heard Calipari say a couple of times that they were going to have to get much better handling the ball.

*Calipari wants them to play extremely fast. He doesn’t want any hesitation when they have the ball and he even stopped a few players a couple of times for slowing up. No matter who has it – Calipari said he’s going to teach everybody, post players included, to drive it like they were guards – he wants them taking it straight to the basket as fast as they can for a layup or lob pass.

*One of the biggest things I took out of practice was Calipari’s message of simplicity. He said he’s not running the And 1 team and wants to make the game as simple as possible for them.

*Calipari likes the ball in the air. The only bounce he likes is when it comes to dribbling. He’s not against bounce passes all together, but he doesn’t like wrap-around passes or bounce passes underneath the basket because guards can come in and pick them off.

*As much as the practice was about the dribble drive, it was also about layups. Calipari said the point of the offense was to get easy layups. Part of that, he said, is they have to make all of them. UK missed quite a few in practice, and Calipari said they’ll eventually chart every single shot in practice, from layups to 3-pointers to half-court shots. He said if you can’t make them in practice, you won’t be able to make them in the game.

*Just an observation, but I believe Darius Miller is going to flourish in Calipari’s system. I thought he had a phenomenal first practice under Calipari, and the coach even praised him one time for his ability to drive the ball to the basket. Calipari told Miller he was going to “drive his brain out” playing for him.

*Kyle Macy came by practice and watched the entire session. Calipari came over during and after practice to shake Macy’s hand and talk with him for a few minutes.

*And finally, practice was extremely upbeat. The guys were constantly clapping, very attentive and looked like they were just having a good time.

Don't know how legit this is, but anything by SaveUK seems to coincide with this article:

http://new.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=16732#comments

Seems that Matt Pilgrim was the most impressive player on the floor. Also echoed the same statement about Darius Miller. The ballhandling is going to have to get better and the one player singled out was Jodie Meeks.

[Blimpie]

Originally Posted by Cyclone792

That's some serious posting right there. I'm probably the last person in the world who would root for Kentucky, but I've got to hand it to you guys for your dedication.

It bears repeating... The nearly 1,000 post thread (998 last count) was started after the previous Kentucky basketball thread exceeded 1,000 posts (about a month ago).

So, for all intents and purposes, this is now the third UK basketball thread of the spring season. Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it...

[BRM]

Originally Posted by Blimpie

It bears repeating... The nearly 1,000 post thread (998 last count) was started after the previous Kentucky basketball thread exceeded 1,000 posts (about a month ago).

So, for all intents and purposes, this is now the third UK basketball thread of the spring season. Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it...

And I believe we managed to get one or two locked last spring as well. You are probably up to UK thread 4 or 5 actually.

[Blimpie]

All that--with Gillispie manning the helm. I guess we can consider this the first thread since the new captain took over.

With all of the nautical references, WVRed should just re-name this the "Caliparty Boat" thread...

[BRM]

MemphisRoar has learned that Xavier Henry and his brother CJ could possibly stay at the University of Memphis next year. Adam Zagoria reported the following in his blog:

Xavier and C.J. Henry will spend Friday talking on the phone about their futures and could elect to remain at Memphis under a new coach.
That’s what their father, Carl Henry, said in a morning interview.
“We’re going to wait,” Carl said. “We’re just going to wait and see who Memphis hires.”
Asked if both brothers could remain at Memphis instead of going to Kansas or Kentucky, Carl said, “Yes, it’s a chance. I’ve been told [by sources at Memphis] either Reggie Theus or Avery Johnson [could be the new coach]. That’s what I hear.”

One of then issues with the Henry brothers going to another school like Kentucky or Kansas is that CJ Henry would have to sit out a year. The Henry’s really want to be able to play together in Xavier’s one and only year in college.

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by Blimpie

All that--with Gillispie manning the helm. I guess we can consider this the first thread since the new captain took over.

With all of the nautical references, WVRed should just re-name this the "Caliparty Boat" thread...

That would work if I could do it.

Any chance a mod could rename it the Caliparty Boat UK Thread?

[dabvu2498]

Avery Johnson!? Sweet mama!

[BRM]

From what I've read this morning about Billy's former 09 recruits, it sounds like Vilarino is out, Hood is in and Orton is supposed to decide over the weekend. Is that about right?