Today was supposed to be the day where the seniors had the spotlight. Krebs, Purry and Razor all started and played through the first TV time out. The Cats even built a lead during that stretch. Yet, when the starters came out, it was Darius Miller who had his own little coming out party. Miller scored a game high 14 points and hit 3-5 from beyond the arc.
This game may have been just what the doctor ordered for the Cats. Calipari has searched all season for consistency at the 3 spot. Miller started the season only to be replaced by Dodson in the line up early on in conference play. Then with the emergence of Dre off the bench, it has become crowded at 3, but again, no consistency.
Miller earned his starting position back last month, but it was mainly based upon his defense and hustle plays, not necessarily his scoring potential. Yet today Miller looked to get involved in the offense and did not defer to the "big 3". Miller was joined today with a great effort by Dodson who scored 10, including two treys.
For Coach Cal he may now have a new problem, how to get Dodson, Miller and Liggins time on the court. There is no doubt that this team is at it's best when Miller and Dodson give them more scoring options and when Dre is making effort plays on both sides of the court. Still, out of the three, I like Darius' game the most. He has great defensive instincts and has worked on his foul troubles from earlier in the season. He also has the ability to be a scorer. He can put the ball on the deck and drop his tear drop on command and when his outside shot is working, the Cats look like an entirely different team.
The rotation has been in place for a while now, but playing time will be fluid as we get into tournament play. Guys like Bledsoe may see his minutes go down until he shows that he can make key decisions late in the game. Today, with the Gators charging back, Bledsoe made two critical turnovers. Miller has shown that he can be a steady hand at the wheel and I think that will only help his chances of staying on the court for longer periods of time.
Time will tell whether today was Darius' coming out party or just another glimmer of the young Kentucky native's potential, but I am willing to bet my SEC Tournament tickets that we haven't heard the last of him either way.
I hope we see less Bledsoe and MORE Miller.
ReplyDeleteBledsoe is in over his head at times it seems... and his shooting stroke has gone the way of the birds (South).
He's still an electric player at times, but this time of year, that's not what we need. We need consistency first and foremost. With two Freshmen starters in the backcourt, it's imperative that they both be under control at all times.
I was more impressed with John W today... he didn't force things nearly as much as he has in the past. He let the game and his opportunities come to him... and finally had a good assist to turnover ratio, which is another key factor into how much success the Cats can have in the postseason.
good post Jlee... Miller has been stepping up lately, but hadn't necessarily had the stats to back it up.. He is never going to be a pure deadeye shooter, but has shown he can keep the defense honest. You can see his confidence level rising recently, which is going to be key for us down the stretch. He is starting to get a feeling for how he fits into this team, and just in time too.
ReplyDeleteAs for Bledsoe, he played really well until the latter part of the first half. He looked to be under control. I wish we started Miller and Dodson and brought Bledsoe off the bench. If you noticed, we made our biggest run of the game with Wall on the bench. Bledsoe is a key player for us, but he can definitely get out of control at times. I don't think we have to have him play out of his mind to win a Championship, but we can't afford to play him 35 out of control minutes either.