Liggins Back in The Doghouse?

Yesterday, Coach Calipari stated that Ramon Harris would start seeing more playing time, and that he was disappointed with the play of Darnell Dodson and Deandre Liggins. I can see how you might have to think about taking away some of Dodson's minutes, (a shooter who isn't making shots, and doesn't greatly impact the game otherwise is better left on the bench) but I have to wonder if Calipari is playing some kind of head game with Liggins. Dre hasn't played quite as well last week as he had been, but the player who many believe has dropped off the most in recent weeks is Eric Bledsoe. The first meeting with Bledsoe was one of his best games of the season, but since then he has been in a mini-slump. I agree that Ramon deserves more minutes, but I believe they should be cutting more in to Dodson and slightly into Bledsoe's minutes, not Deandre's.

It is possible that Coach Cal is simply trying to light a fire under Liggins for the stretch run, but I am not sure if I agree with his tactics. Bledsoe is definitely one of our five most talented players, but I am not sure his play warrants the same treatment given to our Big Three. He deserves big minutes, and when he is on his game and playing under control he is hard to take out of the game, but Cal treats him like John Wall junior. I wonder if he has earned that kind of trust, or if Cal shows Bledsoe preferential treatment at times.

Calipari has been unhappy with the play of Liggins after the past two games, but I must have missed something. I admit that Liggins has won me over with his comeback effort, and it is possible that Cal wants to make sure his recent exposure doesn't affect his ferocious playing style. I know there are things a coach might see that we might not understand, but I don't get this one. Liggins has gotten 16 and 10 minutes the past two games, after averaging 26 minutes over the previous four games. On the other hand, it appeared to me that Bledsoe's man was running a layup drill on defense in Knoxville, all the while taking a couple of ill-timed three point shots, yet he plays 36 minutes.

Cal has pretty much nailed everything during his time here, and this is pretty much the first thing I have even thought to question. What do you think? Talk about it in the comments section.