It’s a veteran East Tennessee State team that Kentucky will face Friday night, one that features three fifth-year seniors. But one of those veterans is probably going to be watching from the sidelines.
ETSU radio play-by-play man Jay Sandos said on Thursday’s “Leach Report” show on WKJK-AM that last year’s leading scorer, Tommy Hubbard, is recovering from a knee injury. He said it’s similar to the one that sidelined Alabama running back Mark Ingram for the Tide’s opener back in August.
“The bad news is they lose, probably for this game, their leading scorer and rebounder from last year, Tommy Hubbard,” Sandos said. “Without (him), it could be a really tough task.”
The Buccaneers make their living off their press, with a goal of trying to force more than 20 turnovers per game by the opponent.
“It’s really what got them to the (NCAA) tournament (last season),” he said, adding “the press kept them in the game against Pittsburgh (in a one seed versus a 16 matchup in 2009). The Bucs were tied going into the last media timeout and had the basketball.”
ETSU does get forward Mike Smith, perhaps its best defender, back on the court after he missed last season with an injury.
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Of the 100 points Kentucky scored in its 29-point NCAA tourney win over East Tennessee State in March, 89 were produced by players no longer on the UK squad.
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Sophomore Jon Hood gave the Wildcats a spark off the bench in last week’s exhibition rout of Dillard, mainly by knocking down perimeter shots.
Coach John Calipari is no doubt hoping that helps Hood’s confidence.
“I need more confidence after I miss a shot,” Hood said. “I have gotten a lot better. When you miss a shot you get down on yourself and that is what it is. When you miss a shot, you can’t get down on yourself. You start doubting yourself with whether you will miss the next shot or next two or if I start making turnovers or something like that.
“Coach Cal says you have got to forget it. He always yells ‘Next.’ Just move onto the next play and that has helped a little bit.”
Hood said it’s not a new issue for him.
“It has been an ongoing thing, but in high school it was never this bad,” Hood said. “In high school, I could bully my way to the rim and make up for it. Out here, if you start 0-for-3, it is hard to get going and get hot if you miss that first 3, whether it is starting with a layup, then going to midrange and then 3, you have got to work your way up. That is what it is — hustle and rebounding to get your mind off the shooting thing. It’s all help and you get so much better at that, that it is still a long way to go.”
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Without Enes Kanter, Kentucky will rely even more heavily on its perimeter players this season and its point guard in particular. Brandon Knight will need to score big, but Calipari also wants him to balance that mission with being the quarterback of the offense.
“It’s a tough position to play in this offense,” Calipari said on a recent Big Blue Sports Network pregame show. “It’s like being a quarterback in the West Coast offense and you’ve got five reads and you’re used to just going back and winging it. But he’s playing well. I would like him to lead the nation in assists and yet still score.”
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This senior class has accomplished a great deal for Kentucky football to move this program forward, but one thing only the fifth-year guys know is what it feels like to win on Senior Day.
Kentucky’s last victory in the final home game of the season came in the 2006 campaign, a hard-fought 42-40 win over Louisiana-Monroe.
