Patience is a Virtue

Tuesday I told you that I liked to keep things positive and that I looked at the bright side of life. Thought I would elaborate a little bit on my early season thoughts going into the game tonight.

If you are going to talk about this team, you have to start with Patterson and Wall. These two should both find All American accolades at seasons end. I am still thinking First Team for Wall and Second Team for Patterson.Patterson is simply on a mission. Wall will remind you that he is still just a freshman from time to time, but I think it has everything to do with this being a completely new team and not so much his inexperience. The whole team has to make huge adjustments, and as Calipari put it, surrender to how he wants them to play. Once Wall and the rest of the team get in tune with each other and what Cal wants from them they will be really good. Rome wasn't built in a day.


The scariest thing about this team is that the next two players on our depth chart are Freshman, and they both show that in their inconsistency. I am talking about the Alabama Slamma's, Cousins and Bledsoe. I prefer for the veterans to be in a position to carry the load, but their talent is too great to deny. It is going to be difficult for them to display the consistency needed from your third and fourth options given their tendency to play off emotion and simply be Freshman. For this team to be special, these two are going to have to not only produce consistently, but also be leaders. It is a lot to ask from Freshman, and is my single greatest source of trepidation for this year.

Darius Miller and Darnell Dodson have to produce. Dodson has shown a willingness to shoot that is endearing himself to the fans, and Miller is showing a willingness to blend into the background that has frustrated those that feel he could do so much more. For those that watched Miller in high school, you saw the same player. He was willing to let his teammates do the heavy lifting until crunch time, which became Miller Time. We don't even need Miller to average double digit points, but he does need to be a consistent play maker. Hopefully Miller, as well as the rest of the team, can figure out how to make each other better sooner than later. It simply takes time to forge that kind relationship, and hopefully Miller can find his niche soon. He should easily average 9 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds a game.



If he can't live up to that promise, Dodson has shown a willingness to shoot Miller to the bench. If our poll is any indication, Dodson has already won the trust of the Big Blue Nation. I think Miller will be able to do enough with his all-around-play to keep Dodson on the bench, but there is no doubt he has to continue to step up his game.

What a luxury it is to have Orton off the bench. He is lucky enough to be in the perfect situation. Coming back from a serious knee injury, he didn't need to be anything more than the energy guy off the bench while finding his comfort level on the court. We don't really lose a lot in terms of physicality when Cousins has to go to the bench because Orton is simply a beast. All Orton has to do is play his game and run hard in the transition game. We don't really have to have huge production from him, but he is more than capable of leaving a large imprint on the game on both ends of the court. As our play makers get used to the system, look for more easy opportunities for Orton and our other big guys.

Right now we only have 7 established players. Like Mike told you earlier, Dodson may be in the doghouse due to practice habits. If he were unavailable, that would leave us with only 6 guys that I feel like we can trust. The depth and versatility of the roster hasn't developed early in the year. That just means there are still opportunities for guys to step up. Hood and Liggins haven't been available for different reasons, but both could still contribute this year. It is easy to forget about two top 50 guys coming out of high school, but Hood and Liggins could still play an important role on this team down the road.

I am not going to worry about this team until the New Year starts. If we haven't shown significant progress over that time frame, it will be time for concern. Until then, I am going to continue to enjoy watching this team and the race to 2000 wins.