Behind the Scenes: Inside Report from the Student Only Practice

OK, first of all let me apologize for going so long between posts. Second, let me say that this post would have been more relevant if it had gone up last Friday instead of waiting till today, but if you wanted promptness and coherent writings then you've got the wrong guy. But if you want random ramblings going up at an inconsistent schedule then I'm your man.

My post now is about the Student's only Men's Basketball Practice I was able to attend. I got this by going to a soccer game and procuring a Big Blue Nation Arm Band (which I think you can buy, so that's kind of dumb), but I did get to see the women's soccer team getting owned by Ole Miss. It was also cold and the stands were filled with kids that looked like they were in middle school. I found out they were freshman and wanted to throw myself off the top of the bleachers because I felt incredibly old. I wanted to do this again when I found out Orton and company were just handing the bracelets out at the library when I checked my Twitter. But at least most of the girls soccer team was hot, so a win in the end.

Enough of that unnecessary backstory; on to the meat of the issue. I got to watch the way Cal coaches a practice. This was actually very cool. Here are some of the highlights for each player and other people involved.

1.) Scott Padgett and Tony Delk (on the coaching staff) got a huge ovation when they walked out. I loved those guys, my sister had a huge crush on Padgett and I had/have an uncomfortably strong man-crush on Delk. He is my favorite UK player ever, and he was 15 feet away. This was my first time seeing him up close and I was surprised at how short he was. He seemed tiny and looked fairly old. Anyway he's still my number 1, followed by Rondo and then possibly Patterson after seeing the practice.

(on a related UK alum note--I was up at the snack stand talking to a buddy when none other than Wayne Turner rolled by; best former UK pg that was also a Harlem Globetrotter, so that was fun also)

2.) We got free shirts for going. Sponsored by COAL. Like from mines. It was really nice but I'll never understand why all free shirts have to be XL's. Do people that love free stuff tend to be fat? Id love for once to get a free shirt from something and possibly be able to wear it, cause its not a bad shirt (although I will wear anything with UK on it, as shown by any 3rd grade picture of me since I wore a UK shirt every day of that year)

3.) Coach Cal. It took like 30 seconds for me to see why everybody says he commands a room and is a great recruiter. He just has an aura about him. Maybe its because I think he can lead us back to great things, who knows. But he is definitely the coolest guy in the room. He controls the crowd by being funny, approachable but authoritative. He said you can cheer till practice starts, then you have to be quiet, and the crowd of 3000 did just that. Not a peep for nearly an hour (other than a little bit of cheering for a monstrous alley oop dunk thrown down by Cousins I believe). Anyway the Coach is legit. I temper this by saying Please do everything on the up and up. I want a banner extremely bad but I think giving one back (as he has had to do w/ 2 final fours) would be something I couldn't handle. But for now I'm happy with everything he has done.

4.) On to the players

Patrick Patterson--Can't say enough good things about him. He is totally focused and the consummate leader. He leads by example and is the hardest working guy out there, which is huge. When your best player also works that hard good things happen and it rubs off on everybody. He was constantly pointed out by Cal as the guy to watch for the rest of the team. He goes full speed in practice and that's what is needed. He is also going to be strictly a 4 man, which is good for him. He can branch out and that will help him for the NBA and also help the team b/c he's so athletic. He didn't take any reps as a center the whole practice.

John Wall--WOW; this guy is for real. He also works incredibly hard and encourages everybody which was great to see. He looks great on the defensive end as well and has great speed and finish. He is taller than I expected. Some people find him cocky but I see same quality about him that Lebron has, he knows he's better than everybody else but he is there to have fun. He doesn't seem like a ME-1st guy he just seems to really enjoy what he is doing and has a ton of personality and charisma. Which is outstanding in a point guard. The one thing I am worried about (besides lack of a consistent outside shot) is the news that had broken that day about him possibly being ineligible for a few games, its not final as far as I know, something about his AAU coach being an agent, but those fears were tempered by the next guy.

Eric Bledsoe--aka the lightening bug. He is Darren Sproles-esque. Crazy speed and hops. He is shorter than Wall but can get to the rim just as hard. He looks better than I imagined (just b/c he was in the shadow of Wall I was not as high on him) but he is very good. Might make some mistakes but he is fun to watch

Daniel Orton--He is a MAN. I think this is the starting center over Cousins. He seems just seems like a smarter basketball player, he just gets it. And his defense looks great. He is a strong finisher and just a huge mountain of a player. He surprised me with just how big he was and how hard he worked to run the court.

Darius Miller--Looks like he is ready to take a bit of a step up. He still looks great but with all the talent around him (and me mostly focusing on new guys b/c I wanted to see how they played) he will still be a very good player and possibly great. It is falling to him to get more consistent with 3 pointers (at times he looked ok last year and other times he looked like he had been shot when he released the ball). He still needs to work on his release. But the tools are there and his defense is great

Darnell Dodson--He does have a pretty shot, I didn't really see it at Midnight Madness. I worry about relying on his as our only great option outside (other than Harrelson who has a sweet stroke more on that later). But I was worried about his shot and some of those fears were put to rest. I would like to see him take a few more before I feel confident though.

Jon Hood--A hustler if there ever was one. He is working hard to get the offense down early. He did get stripped every time he put the ball on the floor vs. Bledsoe or Wall which raises some eyebrows. But he has some ups and will make a ton of hustle plays that all teams need. He needs to protect the ball better and use his size and knock down the jumpers he will be given with the focus of defenses on other players.

Ramon Harris--working hard in his senior year. Defense is there. He is another guy that they are using as an outside shooter who seems streaky. When I watched him I saw him using his experience as an advantage. He's played for 3 head coaches now but he looks ready to help this team win. All the seniors (I'm including Patterson since he will graduate in 3 years) look like they want to leave their mark as one of the great UK teams and they know they are getting that opportunity and trying to make the most of it.

Perry Stevenson--Cal was working him hard in practice but he not because he was loafing, he just hasn't had to run with this type of offense and I think he is planning on making Perry a really big part of the team. Perry has always been the guy with tons of tools (great at shot blocking, rebounding and can explode to the rim at times--remember the thunder dunk on UNLV?) but he either gets tired quickly or doesn't have the energy to sustain that level for long, or just gets complacent or lazy. I see Cal pushing him because he knows he has an asset in Perry and just wants him to reach his full potential and play above himself.

Demarcus Cousins--quite possibly the most frustrating Cat on the team. He shows flashes on brilliance and uber-athleticism but loafs a ton. He just doesn't seem to get it yet. He got called out for not going hard quite a bit and never seemed to reach full speed (at least I hope not). I found myself comparing him to Derek Coleman or Eddy Curry or Michael Beasley (all not necessarily a good thing). The talent is there and he shows it off in short burst. I hope he eventually puts it all together because he could control games. The good thing here is that Cal seems to only want to play the guys that are the best BUT that work hard. And this team is so deep at every position that he can pull somebody out if they are loafing and not be hurt. Maybe it will take a bit of that for him to get it but hopefully he will. I also guarantee he takes alot of bad 3 pointers and bad times and you will get extremely frustrated, hopefully all the good things he does will overcome any of the bad. That is entirely possible b/c he a huge amount of assets. If he puts it all together I retract everything I said (he could have just been nervous b/c 3000 people were watching him get called out a few times; but that needs to motivate him) I'm hoping it will

Deandre Liggins--Getting much better. Offense looks good and he is finishing strong and I have always loved his defense, where he busts his butt. He showed a bit more range with his shot than I remember him having last year. He looks to have taken a big step up under Cal and likes the way they are playing now. He still needs work but look for him to surprise you and fulfill some of the promise of being such a high recruit last year.

Mark Krebs--Works really hard. He is probably the last man on the bench but they have him running in for anybody not going hard at any position. He could be a source of 3 pointers if no one else is hitting them. He will remain a huge fan favorite and has a chance to get some decent playing time and production (since he is probably going to be left open at ton) if others can't capitalize on opportunities. I see him being a coach after his playing days are done. He understand every position and it looks like Cal is grooming him that way.

Josh Harrelson--Great teammate, great attitude and getting alot of time at the 5. He also has a sweet stroke. Why can't he be a poor man's Kevin Love. That's my bold prediction. He is running hard and will get rewarded w/ extra playing time and will knock down some good long rangers. With the way this offense is always running big men will tire down easily (except maybe Patterson whose motor seems to be hooked up to Kevin Garnett's) But I see him playing more than people think.

5.) Over all thoughts: I'm excited about the team. They don't all seem to grasp everything about the offense yet. It is new to everyone so the older guys are learning at the same time and can't really teach the younger guys much. Cal is right in tempering our expectations. Its gonna be a little rougher out of the gate than I had hoped. Lots of turnovers and missed shots. But the talent level is incredible. Hopefully they will be figuring things out by a month or so in and be rounded into form by the SEC. They look good, but the could be fantastic.

I don't feel like I am giving away any secrets in this. Our players are good, Cal likes to run, there weren't really any plays they went over (although I wouldn't expect him to show this off to us) BUT there might not really be that many plays, he says he wants them to just play basketball. He gives them a little structure and a few things they need to do, like when and where to pass the ball and when to shoot.

Also this is just after one practice (not even a full one, really just their warm up stuff) but that was my initial reaction to the team.

Let me know what everybody thinks in the comment sections. Also put up your Regular Season win total in the comments (which is possibly another prediction article I can write when I should be paying attention in class)

I say best possible thing is 4 losses in the regular season but I feel like we are in the top 10 before SEC tourney starts and after hopefully winning that are a 1-2 seed in the tourney.

Well that was way too long but hopefully interesting. Again let me know what ya think.