The postseason has arrived. On Friday, the Kentucky men’s basketball team will begin its Southeastern Conference Tournament run at 3:30 p.m. ET in Atlanta against the winner of the first-round matchup between South Carolina and Ole Miss.Fresh off a win over Tennessee, on the eve of the annual SEC basketball awards and with the postseason here, there is plenty to empty out of the notebook. Here’s my best attempt at running through some of the UK headlines entering this week.
– Junior guard DeAndre Liggins received a ton of praise Sunday from both his teammates and head coach for keeping the Cats in the first half of the Tennessee win. Liggins scored six first-half points, recorded five first-half rebounds and provided an energizing two-hand dunk when Kentucky was struggling to find energy. “DeAndre was the only guy that showed up in the first half,” Calipari said Sunday. “He was by himself.” Tennessee leading scorer Scotty Hopson wasn’t willing to give Liggins the credit he deserved, but Liggins held Hopson in check for most of the day, limiting the UT guard to 2-of-10 shooting. “I loved his play, I loved his energy, I love his defense,” UT coach Bruce Pearl said on Monday’s SEC coaches’ teleconference. “I didn’t like the trash talking but that is part of the game. He really was excited about trying to guard Scotty Hopson and was physical and was aggressive and I just absolutely loved his play.” Liggins appeared to be given a warning by an official in the first half of the game for jawing with Hopson. Interview permitting, I’m hoping to do a more detailed story on Liggins and his return to last year’s form in a story later this week.
– Eloy Vargas would be the first to tell you he’s endured a tough year in his return to Division I basketball, but he put together his best minute of the season against Tennessee late in the first half. With the Cats trailing by eight, Vargas re-entered the game and came up multiple key plays. First, Vargas grabbed an offensive rebound and got fouled on the follow attempt. After making 1-of-2 free throws, Vargas stuffed Steven Pearl, ran the floor and received a pass from Brandon Knight for a two-hand dunk. “He hasn’t made those now,” Calipari said of Vargas’ dunk. “That’s the one he gets blocked by the 4-8 guard. He hasn’t made those type of dunks.” Asked Monday if he was seeing improvement out of Vargas, Calipari said yes. “He’s getting better and more confident,” Calipari said. “He’s trying. He’s really listening.” Having said that, Calipari said he doesn’t know if Vargas will get more minutes because his playing time depends on Josh Harrellson, who has played well this season. Calipari said the transition from junior college back to Division I ball has been tough for Vargas, but he expects Vargas to make a bigger impact next season.
– A lot of chatter on the SEC teleconference on who should win the SEC Player of the Year award. Florida’s Chandler Parsons, Alabama’s JaMychal Green, Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins, Georgia’s Trey Thompkins and Kentucky’s Brandon Knight appear to be frontrunners for the award. Calipari praised Knight for his development and said he’s a legitimate player of the year candidate, but Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings may have offered the most ringing endorsement Knight has received all season. “Brandon Knight is, I think, as good of a freshman as maybe I’ve seen in this league since I’ve been in it, especially as good of a point guard,” Stallings said. “People will be quick to say John Wall and etc. etc., (but) I think Brandon Knight is as good of a freshman, at least at the point guard spot, as I’ve seen in this league since I’ve been in it.”
– Speaking of awards, Yahoo! Sports released its All-American Team on Monday, with several Wildcats receiving honors. Freshman Terrence Jones was named a third-team All-American, Knight was named honorable mention and freshman Doron Lamb was tabbed the Sixth Man of the Year. Gary Parrish from CBS Sports named Knight the SEC Freshman of the Year and has Jones and Knight on the all-conference team. With the postseason here, expect a ton of awards this week.
– More awards? Yes, Knight reeled in yet another SEC Freshman of the Week award. It’s Knight second straight Freshman of the Week honor and sixth overall. The six awards tie Alabama’s James Robinson for the SEC record. He earned six Rookie of the Week honors in 1991. For the year, Kentucky has won 11 of the 17 SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Dating back to last season, it’s 22 of 34 overall.
– Calipari still believes the SEC could get six teams into the NCAA Tournament, which would likely include Alabama and Georgia. It wouldn’t take an SEC championship for Alabama and Georgia to secure bids, Calipari believes, but he said both of them may need to help their cause by winning a game or two. If Georgia defeats Auburn in the first round, the Bulldogs would face Alabama in the quarterfinals in what may be an NCAA Tournament play-in game of sorts.
– For what it’s worth, Calipari endorsed Auburn coach Tony Barbee for SEC Coach of the Year again. “You’ve got some haters out there that have got the personal problems that will make jokes about it, but then again, they don’t know what coaching is,” Calipari said. “I think he should be considered.” Calipari mentioned Florida’s Billy Donovan, Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings and Alabama’s Anthony Grant as the other candidates.
– The Cats checked in at No. 15 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 and No. 16 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll. Joe Lundari of ESPN has UK as a four seed in his latest Bracketology projections.
