Just Another Brick in The Wall

Wow. That is the word Dicky V used to describe John Wall, and that pretty much sums it up. What else is there to say?

I'd like to leave it at that, but we have to keep up appearances. Not only is Wall the most talented player in the country, but he has that ability to take over late in the game that you want from your superstar. He deserves every exclamatory remark directed his way. His incendiary play (Ashley Judd's word, not mine) is the reason we are the biggest sports story of the day that doesn't involve Tiger Woods. To quote Demarcus Cousins... HE IS LEGIT!

It is a little bit silly to talk about anything other than John Wall tonight, but that is what I am going to do. First off, Cousins played big in the second half. His rebounding and ability to stay on the court tilted the front court advantage decidedly in our favor. He played with a lot more composure, and it was good to see him produce against a quality opponent... Albeit for just one half.

Dodson stepped up in the absence of Bledsoe, who was sitting due to foul trouble. He didn't necessarily stuff the stat sheets, but he left a positive imprint on the game. The last two games he has helped out just enough on defense and the boards to help us squeek out the win. Dodson has shown that he belongs on this level, and at times looks better than Bledsoe at the two guard position. Hopefully he can stay focused and continue his solid play.

We limited our turnovers to 13. When you consider a couple of those were really bad turnovers from our best player Wall, it is an encouraging development of a young team that hasn't valued every possession. On top of that, we forced UConn into 19 turnovers, accumulating 13 steals and 8 blocked shots. These were two of the top three teams in terms of blocked shots, and we showed that UConn has nothing on us in that department. We still have a ways to go in terms of defending as a team, but we have steadily gotten better in this department. You have to think that this will only improve over Christmas break.

Patterson didn't look to score much after he went out with a calf injury, but he carried us in the first half after Wall went out with two fouls. We are never going to be out manned in the post because of his presence. Kansas and Texas are the only two teams that should be able to match up with us down low, and we likely won't see them until Indianapolis. Patterson can get lost in the shuffle a little bit in Wall's shadow, but he is likely a top ten pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. When we look disheveled, he is the one that is directing traffic. Wall has the Big Blue Nation in awe, and with good reason... but Patterson coming back when he could have taken the money and ran will make him one of the All-Time beloved Cats.

This team will ultimately be the team that Cal can point to in the future as the one that put UK back on the map, and that doesn't happen without Pat. Great win for the Cats, and another great winning experience for this young team. Like Cal said, it is a lot better to learn these lessons while we are winning. We can still improve drastically, which is really exciting. Just about time to get our hate on for the Hoosiers, but its nice to go to bed tonight with another big win to sleep on.