The Most Surprising Thing About Kentucky
March 4th, 2010 ║ Posted By: John Pennington ║ Permalink ║ Tags: Kentucky
I’ll admit that I did not expect John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats to steamroll through the SEC the way his Memphis clubs used to slice through Conference USA.
Currently they sit at 13-2 in league play… not an undefeated season by any means, but still a little better record-wise than I would have predicted.
I’m not surprised by the Cats’ talent. We knew going into the season that Calipari had put together a recruiting class for the ages.
I’m also not surprised that Coach Cal has been able to keep all of the egos in check. He’s done that at previous stops, effectively mixing one-and-done youth with veterans.
No, what surprises me most about this Kentucky team has been its willingness to play defense. Look around the SEC each year and you’ll find that the youngest teams normally are the worst in the league defensively.
Players make their names in high school by scoring. Most aren’t ready to exert as much energy on the defensive end as they are on the offensive end when they arrive at college.
To me, that’s what makes Calipari a Coach of the Year candidate even though he’s been coaching the most talented team in the SEC. He’s still done a great job getting all that young talent to buy into his defensive desires.
Before the season, all the talk surrounded John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and the dribble-drive offense. Now, with another championship in their pockets, the talk is all about defense.
That’s the most surprising thing about this Kentucky club. And that’s what I believe Calipari deserves the most credit for. (Never end a sentence in a preposition, kids.)
