Cats' achilles 'Heel'? Rebounding.
Q. What is 21 feet, 5 inches tall has three college scholarships and had no rebounds against North Carolina?
A. Kentucky's centers.
Brutal. Far be it from me to add to the collective tension headache in the Bluegrass Saturday evening, but I offer a big, fat mea culpa on something I've been spouting for the last few weeks.
We need some rebounders.
Last week, perhaps enamored of Rajon Rondo's double-digit rebounding average, I posited that maybe it didn't matter who was getting the rebounds so long as someone was getting them. Well, an ugly 83-79 loss at home to a rebuilding (but talented) North Carolina team proved that no one is getting them, and that's unacceptable for a supposed top-10 team.
And the Cats will not be so any longer, after forgetting to play defense in what may have been the worst single half for a Kentucky team in two-plus years. Beyond the 44 points the UK defense allowed a young, inexperienced Tarheels, beyond the fact that the Cats forced a paltry 3 turnovers in the first half, beyond that Kentucky surrendered a mind-blowing 9 offensive rebounds in the first frame, the Cats looked lost.
Maybe even more frustrating was that Tubby Smith's troops folded under the pressure, something that UNC's kids were supposed to be prone to do. After coming out on fire in the second half and pulling to within two points at 46-44, Kentucky wasn't able to stop Reyshawn Terry, who hit a layup, and Perry got caught in the corner and ended up launching a poor three-pointer that had no chance. Carolina's Bobby Frasor then nailed a back-breaker three on the other end, effectively ending the threat at 51-44.
A few minutes later, a last gasp run -- fueled by Ravi Moss -- brought the Cats within 6 at 71-65. On the ensuing posession, Moss was called for hooking his man. After looking at the replay, it was the correct call, probably, but a tough one in the waning minutes of the game and not on the block. After a Marcus Ginyard jumper, Rondo and Moss miscommunicated and the ball went into the stands, ending the threat again, and putting the game out of reach.
There were bright spots, sure. Rondo had a career-high 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting, but too many of those (eight) were in the final 23 seconds, when North Carolina was content to let him score and hit an unending supply of free throws. Bobby Perry had a career-high 11 boards, but they barely offset his four missed three-pointers, two of which barely touched the backboard.
Moss had 17 points and was one of the few players who looked fired up and into the game. Rondo was strangely quiet, had no steals for the first time as a Cat, and was not the disruptive force Cats fans have become accustomed to.
But, truthfully, I won't pile on. I just don't like to see a loss, any loss. But I absolutely hate to see an uncompetitive Kentucky team anytime. It's frustrating. There are lots of factors that contribute to a loss; in this case, no Joe Crawford (injury), the Randolph Morris distraction, etc. ad nauseum.
But excuses are ridiculous. Mostly I will agree with Moss, who summed it up best after the game:
"This is unacceptable. Unacceptable."
A. Kentucky's centers.
Brutal. Far be it from me to add to the collective tension headache in the Bluegrass Saturday evening, but I offer a big, fat mea culpa on something I've been spouting for the last few weeks.
We need some rebounders.
Last week, perhaps enamored of Rajon Rondo's double-digit rebounding average, I posited that maybe it didn't matter who was getting the rebounds so long as someone was getting them. Well, an ugly 83-79 loss at home to a rebuilding (but talented) North Carolina team proved that no one is getting them, and that's unacceptable for a supposed top-10 team.
And the Cats will not be so any longer, after forgetting to play defense in what may have been the worst single half for a Kentucky team in two-plus years. Beyond the 44 points the UK defense allowed a young, inexperienced Tarheels, beyond the fact that the Cats forced a paltry 3 turnovers in the first half, beyond that Kentucky surrendered a mind-blowing 9 offensive rebounds in the first frame, the Cats looked lost.
Maybe even more frustrating was that Tubby Smith's troops folded under the pressure, something that UNC's kids were supposed to be prone to do. After coming out on fire in the second half and pulling to within two points at 46-44, Kentucky wasn't able to stop Reyshawn Terry, who hit a layup, and Perry got caught in the corner and ended up launching a poor three-pointer that had no chance. Carolina's Bobby Frasor then nailed a back-breaker three on the other end, effectively ending the threat at 51-44.
A few minutes later, a last gasp run -- fueled by Ravi Moss -- brought the Cats within 6 at 71-65. On the ensuing posession, Moss was called for hooking his man. After looking at the replay, it was the correct call, probably, but a tough one in the waning minutes of the game and not on the block. After a Marcus Ginyard jumper, Rondo and Moss miscommunicated and the ball went into the stands, ending the threat again, and putting the game out of reach.
There were bright spots, sure. Rondo had a career-high 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting, but too many of those (eight) were in the final 23 seconds, when North Carolina was content to let him score and hit an unending supply of free throws. Bobby Perry had a career-high 11 boards, but they barely offset his four missed three-pointers, two of which barely touched the backboard.
Moss had 17 points and was one of the few players who looked fired up and into the game. Rondo was strangely quiet, had no steals for the first time as a Cat, and was not the disruptive force Cats fans have become accustomed to.
But, truthfully, I won't pile on. I just don't like to see a loss, any loss. But I absolutely hate to see an uncompetitive Kentucky team anytime. It's frustrating. There are lots of factors that contribute to a loss; in this case, no Joe Crawford (injury), the Randolph Morris distraction, etc. ad nauseum.
But excuses are ridiculous. Mostly I will agree with Moss, who summed it up best after the game:
"This is unacceptable. Unacceptable."
1 Comments:
At 8:11 PM, Genay said…
Just found your blog...
Will bookmark.
G/F forces me to watch UK basketball when GT Football is not on.
Tough Loss to UNC. Bobby Perry has to produce points for UK to be good.
Don't relaly think they need Morris, though.
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