Cats finally click in victory over Providence
December 2, 2013
By David Schuh | Men’s basketball columnist
UK men’s basketball started fast, hustled hard and played 40 minutes of aggressive offense. They did the things head coach John Calipari has been begging them to do.
It took eight games, but the Cats finally put it all together.
The result? The Cats comfortably dusted Providence College, 79-65, a team that easily gave its best outside shooting performance of the season.
UK withstood 7-0 and 10-2 runs by the Friars in the first half. When tested, the Cats answered. Whether it was with tight interior defense or aggressive, attacking offense, they always had an answer.
Providence played zone defense all night, something UK has learned to expect every time they play.
And for the first time, the Cats looked like they knew how to operate it. They rotated the ball quickly. Guards penetrated to create mismatches. And most importantly, they didn’t settle for contested perimeter jump shots.
They still turned the ball over too many times (14). And Providence’s hot shooting can partially be attributed to a healthy amount of open looks.
But when those are your only two weaknesses, you’ll win a lot of games.
Sophomore forward Willie Cauley-Stein had another do-it-all performance. Starting for the first time since Nov. 12, he was all over the court, blocking shots, securing rebounds and finishing in transition. A season-high 36 minutes led to 15 points, eight rebounds and a career-high nine blocks that left many with memories of UK’s recently dominant shot-blockers.
In his last four games, he’s averaged 13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.3 blocks.
Freshman guard James Young led the Cats in scoring with 18 points, another sign of the team’s diversity in that column of the box score.
Calipari has reiterated his team’s consistent lack of effort all year. It’s rarely, if ever, been for a lack of desire. They’re simply a group of young kids who don’t yet know how to play hard for 40 minutes at this level.
On Sunday, if they took any plays off, it was hard to tell. UK only led by four at halftime, but if not for the Friars’ hot shooting, the Cats would have coasted from the opening tip.
Providence was the second-best team UK played this season. From here, the schedule only gets progressively tougher.
The Cats have four days to prepare for a game Friday night against an athletic Baylor University team at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
But they showed Sunday that everyone’s highest expectations are accurate. They turned in a complete team effort like we haven’t yet seen this season.
