If anyone at the start of the season said Kugel and Richard would go for 6-20 and we'd still win at Rupp I would have said no way...but here we are. We got some talent on this team.
Kugel had an ok game, but wasn’t a fan of his last 3. Early on, Parsons liked to Jack 3’s and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn for 2 years. But then… it all clicked. Not sure of this comparison though. Different styles of play, even though size wise they are probably similar and Haugh has some elite level athleticism. Haugh isn’t as aggressive looking for his shot as I remember Parsoms (frustratingly) being at first. Haugh thrown up some bricks recently, but he rarely shoots. He does have good form though. Hopefully Haugh sees a similar evolution and gains confidence on offense as he goes. It’s tough because he’s a tweener 3/4, seems like maybe he’s hit a bit of a freshmen wall against SEC bigs and is content just trying to do the hustle plays for now. Maybe eventually he’ll slide over to the 3, not sure he’ll do the “point-forward” thing like Parsons.
For some reason Kenpom.com has our SoS ranked #34 in the country. Can anyone honestly tell me there are 33 teams out there that have had a harder schedule than us? Between our OOC and the SEC...San Diego St at #11? USC at #16? No wonder we're at 32
It's that non-conference schedule. On paper the names stick out. But in reality Baylor is the only one having a legitimate very good season, although Virginia is starting to put it together. Wake Forest and Pitt sort of middling. FSU and Michigan both have been bad, although FSU has performed a bit better in ACC play. We also played Grambling, FAMU and Loyola-Maryland who will drag your metrics to the bottom of the ocean with them.
Perhaps the refs were unhappy that Bilas got all the ice cream cones and they didn't. Thus the fairly called game. HA
But one of the best things after it seems like forever….we have multiple bigs! All solid and growing at the right time.
Gonna have a hard time replacing Pullin and Samuels We sure they don’t have a Covid year they can take?
Upon Further Review, Well, a review of a limited order. I don't want to watch night games live, I prefer to see them via "on-demand" on the Watch ESPN app. I get up early with a cup of coffee and an open mind. And it also keeps me from getting too dicey with posts during live action. But I digress. The damn replay was buggy. I saw some of the beginning (about the first 12-15 minutes) and then I had to watch it in a small screen at double speed. I could follow the score but not the flow and who was doing what. But then I saw the game was on re-air "live" and so I got to see the last 3 minutes of regulation and the entire OT. First and foremost, this team appears to be getting things meshed. Not a finished product by any means but it feels as if everyone knows themselves on the team and their roles. The mental toughness looked GOOD. Mistakes? sure but they did not seem to affect them as it has before. I have posted a couple of times that I thought Samuel showed his ceiling against Kentucky the first time. I thought the additional size was a bit too much for him. I did not say he wasn't a good player, just that the bigger guys guarding him sped him up and got into his head. Boy, was I wrong! What I saw, along with the game stats, was a true force inside. No one intimidated him and the rebounding was awesome. He HAS to be considered for All-SEC if he continues to do it. Pullin was Pullin. THAT is how you take a game over in shooting free throws and whatnot. I am SO glad the great Clayton showed up more than the bad Clayton. His 3s, besides Samuel's play in the paint, was the story of the game. Overall, I saw...again...two pretty evenly matched teams and Kentucky lost the game less than us in Gainesville whereas their free throw shooting probably lost it in Lexington. Man, if this team can tighten up things more, the freshmen can get a bit better, and either Kugel or Aberdeen give us some productive (scoring and strong defense) minutes, I can see this team being in the Sweet 16. Sweet win guys!
I'm a bit of a weenie. I had a couple glasses of Amaretto with oat milk to celebrate. I've never tried that combination before but it was quite tasty.
Agree, there are good fans for every team. I think he meant “most” of the Kentucky basketball fans. Kinda like “most of the Bama football fans”.
I agree with most of what you said, except I don’t think there’s been a “bad Clayton”. There’s “Ok Clayton”, “Good Clayton” and “Great Clayton”.
I know people get tired of his personality, but I kinda miss Dickie V doing what seemed like every UK vs UF game for what felt like 20 years straight. Had to get in a couple Ashely Judd references on top of it all. I assume she still goes to games; but that was like a staple of our "rivalry" with them for years.
When Clayton is in rhythm I feel like every shot he takes is going in. Pullin is just something else, idk if we have ever had a PG at his level of probing a defense and getting his shot or setting someone else up. Chiozza, Wilbekin, loved those guys and they both had crazy skills, but his ability to get to the rim against anyone and just run an offense is something else.
