“We’re still not finding each other.”
That was head coach John Calipari’s lament in our pregame interview Monday night. After the Cats beat Pikeville 97-66, he sat down for the postgame interview and said he didn’t see much improvement as Kentucky recorded just seven assists on 26 made baskets.
How does a coach get that quality to improve in his team?
“You get them out and floor and let them play with each other a lot. If I’m not playing a lot of guys, they’ll be a great ‘team,’ ” Calipari said, referring to how a shorter rotation will breed more familiarity. “As the season goes along, they’ll find each other.”
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We get one more look at the Kentucky men’s basketball team in exhibition play Friday night against Dillard, one week ahead of the official opener.
Rookie point guard Brandon Knight is continuing what he displayed in Canada, but fellow freshman Terrence Jones gives the Wildcats’ an interesting dimension with his ability to go inside and out at 6-foot-8.
Knight is a hard-to-guard guy given his mix of slashing ability plus a smooth outside shot, but the rookie point guard said Jones presents the greatest challenge to a defender.
“There’s really no way to defend him,” Knight said. “If he has a guy the same size on him, he’s going to blow right by him. If he has a guy that’s smaller, he can go into the post. He creates mismatches all across the board. He can rebound the basketball, he can push it, he can play as a point guard.”
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It was Clint Eastwood as “Dirty Harry” who said “a man’s got to know his limitations.” Coach John Calipari considers that trait an asset when it comes to freshman Jarrod Polson, who joined the Wildcats as a walk-on and is now on scholarship. At media day, Calipari said Polson “knows what he can’t do,” meaning the young man understands what his role is for this team.
“Just learn the offense,” Polson said. “Pretty much doing whatever Calipari tells me to do. Guarding Brandon every day in practice.”
And guarding Knight is quite a challenge.
“His quickness and strength,” Polson said are the two hardest things to guard. “He’s really strong. And I didn’t realize he was such a good shooter.”
Polson had a much different role at West Jessamine High School last season. In the final two regional tournament games, he scored 71 of his team’s 111 points and the Colts advanced to the second round of the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena. Polson finished as his school’s all-time leading scorer.
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Former UK quarterback Dusty Bonner has been impressed with how Mike Hartline has handled himself during his time at Kentucky.
“He caught a lot of heat that I thought was undeserved and he’s managed to come through that and not listen to any of the negativity,” Bonner said.
Hartline did not have his best game in the loss at Mississippi State but still made some tough throws. Nevertheless, his critics will no doubt resurface without giving much consideration to the absence of Derrick Locke, which has enabled opponents to unleash more pressure on the Kentucky passing game.
Bonner sees a more confident quarterback out there now and one who is making throws he didn’t make before.
“The South Carolina game in particular, there are some throws he made — out routes across the field — I’d have to think opened some eyes in the NFL as a guy that can potentially play at the next level,” Bonner said in an interview with www.tomleachky.com.
And said Hartline is particularly good when the protection breaks down and he has to move out of the comfort zone of the pocket.
“When some guys get forced out of the pocket, they’re in panic mode,” Bonner said. “Mike’s not like that. He scans the field and he delivers a nice ball.”
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Sophomore linebacker Ridge Wilson made his first start of the season at Mississippi State last week and said the key to moving up the depth chart was understanding what he didn’t know.
“In high school, you could just play on talent,” Wilson said. “In college, you’ve got to read your keys. Coach (Steve) Brown constantly tells me, ‘Read your keys.’ I’d say, ‘I’m making a play.’ but then I started believing what he was saying was right and I could make the play faster. I just continue just to hush my mouth and try to take it day by day and try to have a short memory (when I make a mistake).”
