Meltdown
A meltdown isn’t just about technicals or ejections, is also about running away from your game plan and start doing the only thing that you’re actually bad at once things start to get hard. That’s what Kentucky did and the top seed on the East corner of the bracket, one of the best recruiting classes of all time, the Wildcats lost to West Virginia, 73-66, Saturday, March the 27th, and were eliminated at the Elite 8 stage of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky shot themselves on the foot on this one. The Wildcats were once again the superior team coming in and had the size advantage inside the paint with All American DeMarcus Cousins however the young team couldn’t take the pressure of the big moment and oddly started to do what they do worst, hijack 3 pointers. Kentucky, a 34% 3FG shooting team the entire season, shot 12.5% from beyond the arc (4-32). Also, Kentucky’s inability to shoot FTs in order to keep themselves alive on the second half was almost grotesque.
Kentucky’s great defense wasn’t a factor after the first few minutes of the game because as the Wildcats failed to get anything done on the halfcourt offense, that led to many fastbreaks by West Virginia, mostly pushed by De’Sean Butler & Joe Mazzulla, and Kentucky’s transition defense wasn’t as affective which led to a) less TOs by the Mountaineers and b) less 1 man fastbreaks by John Wall. Kentucky’s inability to play offense, killed their defense which also hurt the way they play offense. Get it?
Now the future is unclear for the Wildcats. John Wall is set to be the top overall pick on the next draft, DeMarcus will be a lottery pick and Patrick Patterson will go on the top 15, so it’s safe to say that those three are gone. Eric Bledsoe could benefit from a sophomore season because once Wall is not there, he would be the main ball handler and could become much more than just the shooter he was forced to be this year. Daniel Orton is a phenomenal prospect with size, ability to work on the low post and shot block instincts, he would dominate the paint once Cousins and Patterson are gone but there are rumors lately that he could go as early as the bottom of the first round because NBA teams look desperately and like to pay for backup Centers. Another factor with those two is the fact that the lockout is coming. It’s harmful to declare for the draft on a season when they won’t play basketball and if they declare a year later, they would be paid under the new labor agreement, so less money. For Bledsoe & Orton, now could not be the right time to leave but the necessary time to leave, which could mean that Kentucky could lose as many as five important players.
Calipari is an awesome recruiter and guys like Darnell Dodson, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins could have been diminished by the big shot draft picks around them and can actually have game to accept a bigger role next season but fact is that Kentucky had one of the most talented teams of all time and blew a real chance to win the national title because they couldn’t hold their shit together.
