Joe C. and the Pussycats ... smooth!
Dear reader, I take you back a whole month ago (nearly so, anyway), to a piece I did on December 11, 2005, before news of Randolph Morris was as ubiquitous as it is now. That day, fresh off the Cats' pummeling at the hands of Indiana, I posed the question of what a healthy and productive Joe Crawford might mean to the Wildcats' season? At the time, said season looked perilously close to being a nightmare, as two big losses on consecutive Saturdays against quality opponents sent the Big Blue Nation back to the shrink's chair questioning everything from fans' faith to coach Tubby Smith's (theoretical) poor recruiting decisions.
In the month since, a healthy plateful of stuffed bird (of the Cardinal variety) and cupcakes have things looking up in the Bluegrass. Nevermind that Pat Sparks looks more like Bubba Sparxx while playing like Pat Summerall, and that Shagari Alleyne's more likely to play Playstation than he is basketball it seems, the imminent return of prodigal son Morris and the ever-salving win over a hated rival have changed moods tremendously heading into the final few non-conference games.
And that question I asked, in lieu of rehashing all that went wrong against the Hoosiers, about Crawford's role and his ability to affect the year's results, suddenly seems quite apt indeed. Witness Kentucky's steady second-half comeback win over the Ohio Bobcats on Friday, in which the combination of an electric Crawford and energized Ramel Bradley turned a potential midmajor upset into an RPI-helping victory.
The gritty sophomore's shooting touch from deep kept the Wildcats close in a tense first half that showcased some of the favorite's worst defensive pressure of the year. Were it not for Joe C.'s four threes in five attempts in the opening frame, who knows what the deficit might have been. As Ohio caged Rajon Rondo into a season-low four shot attempts (6 points total) and seemingly scored at will in shooting an eye-popping 65.0% from the floor, Crawford showed his best shooting touch as a Wildcat. That he was both looking for the ball and receiving it was extremely promising.
Not being prone to Tubby doubting myself, it's nevertheless clear that few could argue that Tubby Smith's stellar recruiting haul in 2004 (Crawford, Rondo, Morris and Bradley) is quite simply the difference between a Final Four team and a mere SEC contender. The pieces remaining without them (yes, purely hypothetical) are fine peices, even all SEC-capable pieces with seasoning and more minutes. However, the talent level rises so high with that group of talented sophomores that it's no wonder Smith & Co. had such a hard time convincing top 5 players to come in November. Rondo is a star, Ramel waiting in the wings, Morris on the verge and Crawford possessing the skills to start and play 30 minutes a game, with Tubby acknowledging as much.
With each game, the Detroit native seems to gain confidence, and it's worth noting that while his former prep teammate Malik Hairston enjoyed a stronger freshman campaign for an Oregon team mostly without other stars, Crawford may now have the brighter NCAA future ahead of him. Hairston hasn't scored as many as Joe's career-high 23 points Friday since Nov. 30 (vs. Vandy), while his team is just 7-6 and recently lost to both Portland and Portland State. Not sure Crawford would trade shoes with his Nike-clad brother-in-arms now, are you?
Bradley, for his part, is in a tough spot. Trapped behind the All-American Rondo at point guard and the senior returning starter Sparks at shooting guard, 'Smooth' must continue to put up solid numbers as a reserve. He's averaging just 19.7 minutes (7th, behind both Ravi Moss and Sheray Thomas) but is the team's third leading scorer (9.2 PPG). Despite shooting just 29% from three thus far this season, Bradley is unafraid to take the big shot -- as evidenced by his clutch banked-in threepointer Friday. With Sparks shooting mostly blanks lately (6 of his last 23, 2-of-7 3s), someone has to step up and hit a deep ball from time to time. Bradley never seems afraid, and on Friday he also tallied his career high, with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-for-3 from deep. Like the F-train arriving Just in time.
It should also be noted that Crawford and Bradley combined to go 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while their teammates limped to a 2-of-9 night. Such brutal shooting from the line can and will kill your season, and while Rondo has been better of late, players such as Moss and Thomas cannot afford to miss easy ones in limited minutes, especially as the UK offense at its best relies on attacking the rim for easy points.
Finally, a note. No one seems to want to talk about the fact that Kentucky's December preconference slate includes "cupcakes" that are 22-15, with Iona and Ohio (13-4 combined) among the nation's midmajors to watch. Good training for NCAA play, in fact, as both of those teams stand a good chance to hear their name called come March.
In the month since, a healthy plateful of stuffed bird (of the Cardinal variety) and cupcakes have things looking up in the Bluegrass. Nevermind that Pat Sparks looks more like Bubba Sparxx while playing like Pat Summerall, and that Shagari Alleyne's more likely to play Playstation than he is basketball it seems, the imminent return of prodigal son Morris and the ever-salving win over a hated rival have changed moods tremendously heading into the final few non-conference games.
And that question I asked, in lieu of rehashing all that went wrong against the Hoosiers, about Crawford's role and his ability to affect the year's results, suddenly seems quite apt indeed. Witness Kentucky's steady second-half comeback win over the Ohio Bobcats on Friday, in which the combination of an electric Crawford and energized Ramel Bradley turned a potential midmajor upset into an RPI-helping victory.
The gritty sophomore's shooting touch from deep kept the Wildcats close in a tense first half that showcased some of the favorite's worst defensive pressure of the year. Were it not for Joe C.'s four threes in five attempts in the opening frame, who knows what the deficit might have been. As Ohio caged Rajon Rondo into a season-low four shot attempts (6 points total) and seemingly scored at will in shooting an eye-popping 65.0% from the floor, Crawford showed his best shooting touch as a Wildcat. That he was both looking for the ball and receiving it was extremely promising.
Not being prone to Tubby doubting myself, it's nevertheless clear that few could argue that Tubby Smith's stellar recruiting haul in 2004 (Crawford, Rondo, Morris and Bradley) is quite simply the difference between a Final Four team and a mere SEC contender. The pieces remaining without them (yes, purely hypothetical) are fine peices, even all SEC-capable pieces with seasoning and more minutes. However, the talent level rises so high with that group of talented sophomores that it's no wonder Smith & Co. had such a hard time convincing top 5 players to come in November. Rondo is a star, Ramel waiting in the wings, Morris on the verge and Crawford possessing the skills to start and play 30 minutes a game, with Tubby acknowledging as much.
With each game, the Detroit native seems to gain confidence, and it's worth noting that while his former prep teammate Malik Hairston enjoyed a stronger freshman campaign for an Oregon team mostly without other stars, Crawford may now have the brighter NCAA future ahead of him. Hairston hasn't scored as many as Joe's career-high 23 points Friday since Nov. 30 (vs. Vandy), while his team is just 7-6 and recently lost to both Portland and Portland State. Not sure Crawford would trade shoes with his Nike-clad brother-in-arms now, are you?
Bradley, for his part, is in a tough spot. Trapped behind the All-American Rondo at point guard and the senior returning starter Sparks at shooting guard, 'Smooth' must continue to put up solid numbers as a reserve. He's averaging just 19.7 minutes (7th, behind both Ravi Moss and Sheray Thomas) but is the team's third leading scorer (9.2 PPG). Despite shooting just 29% from three thus far this season, Bradley is unafraid to take the big shot -- as evidenced by his clutch banked-in threepointer Friday. With Sparks shooting mostly blanks lately (6 of his last 23, 2-of-7 3s), someone has to step up and hit a deep ball from time to time. Bradley never seems afraid, and on Friday he also tallied his career high, with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-for-3 from deep. Like the F-train arriving Just in time.
It should also be noted that Crawford and Bradley combined to go 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while their teammates limped to a 2-of-9 night. Such brutal shooting from the line can and will kill your season, and while Rondo has been better of late, players such as Moss and Thomas cannot afford to miss easy ones in limited minutes, especially as the UK offense at its best relies on attacking the rim for easy points.
Finally, a note. No one seems to want to talk about the fact that Kentucky's December preconference slate includes "cupcakes" that are 22-15, with Iona and Ohio (13-4 combined) among the nation's midmajors to watch. Good training for NCAA play, in fact, as both of those teams stand a good chance to hear their name called come March.
1 Comments:
At 9:35 AM, dgags said…
... and then came Central Florida.
Is there any reason to keep Patrick in the starting lineup and Ramel out at this point? Especially if the starting lineup insists on waiting several minutes into the game to actually start playing? Bupkus from the starters last night before all were summarily yanked with the score 7-0.
30 mins for Smooth, 14 for Chunky last night -- that seems to me an indication of their respective futures.
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