--Staff Report
Well, I feel a whole lot better about this game today than I did two weeks ago. Kentucky has been playing inspired basketball in the last two weeks, despite two of the games being losses. Ramel Bradley and Patrick Patterson have emerged as the most dominant duo in the conference. Perry Stevenson has put on consecutive breakthrough performances to help out Patterson in the frontcourt. Three important cogs in the machine are injured. Derrick Jasper and Jodie Meeks have played through pain to log huge minutes and make significant contributions. Both are getting healthier, and according to the ever-so-popular rumor mill, Jasper is becoming more assertive on offense when he drives to the rack. Unfortunately, it looks as though Kentucky will probably be without the services of Joe Crawford once again, as only a cyborg would be able to play through an ankle injury and plantar fascitis.
With Crawford’s absence potentially coming into play, winning against a depleted Georgia squad suddenly loses a great deal of certainty. In order for the team to win, they will need to get the same kind of performances from Meeks, Jasper and Stevenson that they got against South Carolina. Georgia does not have a player like Devan Downey, an absolute blur who can blow by anybody in America off the dribble. Their guards are tough and aggressive, but none are as good at shooting as last year’s Bulldog guards, Levi Stukes and Mike Mercer. Billy Humphrey has had good games against UK in the past, but Sundiata Gaines has been a Kentucky killer throughout his 28-year career as the Georgia point guard. If I were Coach Gillispie, I would look back at the job Derrick Jasper did on Downey in the last game, and put him on Gaines on Saturday. Of course, that might be a horrible idea and go against everything the coaches want to do, and that’s why I’m just a guy on the internet who writes columns.
Inside, Georgia would scare me a lot more if they had the awesome Takais Brown, but Dennis Felton kicked him off the team, which means that the Bulldogs aren’t left with much inside. They don’t have a dominant interior defender like a Jarvis Varnado. I am hoping that this leads to another consistently awesome game from Patterson, and another similar effort from Stevenson. Besides Brown, I am also relieved to see that UK killer Steve Newman has finally graduated. Georgia relies on physical play to win ballgames. This level of physicality was often something that Tubby Smith’s teams (even the good ones like 2004) did not combat well. I believe that the team has responded well to physical defense for the most part this season. It’s an SEC road game, so free throws will be critical. Kentucky shoots a much higher percentage from the free throw line than Georgia, an especially important factor if the game is close down the stretch.
--Seth Stogsdill
The excitement level for basketball is returning at a rapid pace across the Bluegrass. The Cats are on a multi-game win streak for the first time since November (3 game streak prior to UNC loss) and look to move that number up a ways with a trip to Athens, Georgia tomorrow. The Bulldogs are undefeated at home and are two wins shy of the longest home game win streak posted during the Jim Harrick era at 13. So what does it normally mean when a team that has yet to win a road game travels to play a group that is undefeated at home? I’ll not bore you with that answer, but I contend it all changes Saturday.
Georgia is a tough, defensive-minded team. Where the Dogs lack offensive consistency (11th in SEC in scoring, field goal percentage, and assists) they’re game starts on the defensive side of the court where the Dogs have been holding opponents to 65.5 points per game. They will also kill you with steals, where senior guard Sundiata Gaines leads the charge. To be more assertive though, Gaines leads the charge in just about all facets of the game. Gaines recently became the only UGA player in history to amass 1’000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists in his career. He is also the school’s all-time leader in steals with 234 and counting. Needless to say, the focus is on that guy. But Kentucky’s guards, mainly Bradley and Jasper have stepped up the intensity in all areas since the Louisville game, so that is less of a concern than it would have been just a month ago.
The biggest concern is depth. Though Seth is convinced UGA is depleted, Felton has had recent returns of Albert Jackson (6-10 F/C boosts inside play) and Billy Humphrey (leads team in scoring), while freshman forward Chris Barnes has provided an increase in production. Don’t be surprised to see the Dogs play 10 different men in the game. Kentucky may be without Joe Crawford AND Jodie Meeks (did not practice today) for the game. But the Cats may just be the most conditioned team in the country as Bradley, Patterson, and Crawford sit comfortably at 1-2-3 on the SEC minutes per game list. Meeks and Jasper are both averaging around 25 per even with the ongoing injury struggles. Not once have I noticed this team huffing, puffing, and grabbing their shorts. Kentucky wins tomorrow, and after that happens I’m writing a story before or after the win at Auburn about how this team has a chance to do some special things and be remembered for years to come. It’s all about confidence, maturity, and chemistry. Those are all things that have rapidly improved over the course of this month. Add some health…and the “sky is the limit.” – Billy G.
-- Jared Powell
Well, I feel a whole lot better about this game today than I did two weeks ago. Kentucky has been playing inspired basketball in the last two weeks, despite two of the games being losses. Ramel Bradley and Patrick Patterson have emerged as the most dominant duo in the conference. Perry Stevenson has put on consecutive breakthrough performances to help out Patterson in the frontcourt. Three important cogs in the machine are injured. Derrick Jasper and Jodie Meeks have played through pain to log huge minutes and make significant contributions. Both are getting healthier, and according to the ever-so-popular rumor mill, Jasper is becoming more assertive on offense when he drives to the rack. Unfortunately, it looks as though Kentucky will probably be without the services of Joe Crawford once again, as only a cyborg would be able to play through an ankle injury and plantar fascitis.
With Crawford’s absence potentially coming into play, winning against a depleted Georgia squad suddenly loses a great deal of certainty. In order for the team to win, they will need to get the same kind of performances from Meeks, Jasper and Stevenson that they got against South Carolina. Georgia does not have a player like Devan Downey, an absolute blur who can blow by anybody in America off the dribble. Their guards are tough and aggressive, but none are as good at shooting as last year’s Bulldog guards, Levi Stukes and Mike Mercer. Billy Humphrey has had good games against UK in the past, but Sundiata Gaines has been a Kentucky killer throughout his 28-year career as the Georgia point guard. If I were Coach Gillispie, I would look back at the job Derrick Jasper did on Downey in the last game, and put him on Gaines on Saturday. Of course, that might be a horrible idea and go against everything the coaches want to do, and that’s why I’m just a guy on the internet who writes columns.
Inside, Georgia would scare me a lot more if they had the awesome Takais Brown, but Dennis Felton kicked him off the team, which means that the Bulldogs aren’t left with much inside. They don’t have a dominant interior defender like a Jarvis Varnado. I am hoping that this leads to another consistently awesome game from Patterson, and another similar effort from Stevenson. Besides Brown, I am also relieved to see that UK killer Steve Newman has finally graduated. Georgia relies on physical play to win ballgames. This level of physicality was often something that Tubby Smith’s teams (even the good ones like 2004) did not combat well. I believe that the team has responded well to physical defense for the most part this season. It’s an SEC road game, so free throws will be critical. Kentucky shoots a much higher percentage from the free throw line than Georgia, an especially important factor if the game is close down the stretch.
--Seth Stogsdill
The excitement level for basketball is returning at a rapid pace across the Bluegrass. The Cats are on a multi-game win streak for the first time since November (3 game streak prior to UNC loss) and look to move that number up a ways with a trip to Athens, Georgia tomorrow. The Bulldogs are undefeated at home and are two wins shy of the longest home game win streak posted during the Jim Harrick era at 13. So what does it normally mean when a team that has yet to win a road game travels to play a group that is undefeated at home? I’ll not bore you with that answer, but I contend it all changes Saturday.
Georgia is a tough, defensive-minded team. Where the Dogs lack offensive consistency (11th in SEC in scoring, field goal percentage, and assists) they’re game starts on the defensive side of the court where the Dogs have been holding opponents to 65.5 points per game. They will also kill you with steals, where senior guard Sundiata Gaines leads the charge. To be more assertive though, Gaines leads the charge in just about all facets of the game. Gaines recently became the only UGA player in history to amass 1’000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists in his career. He is also the school’s all-time leader in steals with 234 and counting. Needless to say, the focus is on that guy. But Kentucky’s guards, mainly Bradley and Jasper have stepped up the intensity in all areas since the Louisville game, so that is less of a concern than it would have been just a month ago.
The biggest concern is depth. Though Seth is convinced UGA is depleted, Felton has had recent returns of Albert Jackson (6-10 F/C boosts inside play) and Billy Humphrey (leads team in scoring), while freshman forward Chris Barnes has provided an increase in production. Don’t be surprised to see the Dogs play 10 different men in the game. Kentucky may be without Joe Crawford AND Jodie Meeks (did not practice today) for the game. But the Cats may just be the most conditioned team in the country as Bradley, Patterson, and Crawford sit comfortably at 1-2-3 on the SEC minutes per game list. Meeks and Jasper are both averaging around 25 per even with the ongoing injury struggles. Not once have I noticed this team huffing, puffing, and grabbing their shorts. Kentucky wins tomorrow, and after that happens I’m writing a story before or after the win at Auburn about how this team has a chance to do some special things and be remembered for years to come. It’s all about confidence, maturity, and chemistry. Those are all things that have rapidly improved over the course of this month. Add some health…and the “sky is the limit.” – Billy G.
-- Jared Powell
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