Guest columnist Brendan Wilson
Is there any question to who the best team in college basketball is right now? Following a 64-61 win over #12 Connecticut, Kentucky is now 9-0 and look better than they have in years. Did I mention this win came five days after they downed #11 North Carolina? Maybe we should rewind a few weeks. Kentucky beat Miami-Ohio by two, Sam Houston State by 10, and Stanford by eight in overtime. Having second thoughts? Don’t. This team is for real. Freshman John Wall dropped 25 on UConn last night, and seems to be getting better by the game. Freshman DeMarcus Cousins is a phenom as well averaging almost 15 per game. What about freshman Patrick Patterson, who is averaging over 16 per game. Yes, their three best players are three freshmen who do not shadow away in the spotlight.
John Calipari has this team running on all cylinders. No, they have not faced big size down low like Kansas or as an athletic of a team as Texas, but these past two wins have shown a lot in the character of this team. This is a team who is going to win the SEC easily. Florida and Mississippi are off to good starts but one can only ask how long it will last. Tennessee seems to figure as the Wildcats biggest task within conference play. Next up is a young Indiana team who is playing with a lot of heart, but simply will not contend with this team. After that, Kentucky does not leave their home floor for 30 days. Jan. 2 figures as their next challenge against Louisville. Inexperience seems to be the one question about this team, and I don’t see it being an issue. Kentucky may have finally found its way with one of the best recruiting classes of all time, and in sequence, could be heading to their first final four since 1998. Until then, there is a lot of basketball to be played!
Good write up Brendan. UK’s game over UConn was actually a mild disappointment in my eyes. I expected them to crush an extremely overrated Husky team after the game I saw against UNC (that was set for blowout central if Wall didn’t start cramping up). At this point in the season, I don’t think Kentucky matches up well with Texas and I just don’t think they are as good as Kansas. Like Kansas and Texas did at the beginning of the season, Kentucky seems to play to the level of their competition. I believe all three teams have turned this corner and that problem will start to go away.
You have to go way back a long time to find any teams that have both the collection of talent and depth (less so Kentucky in that aspect) that these three teams have. Dare I say the 2001 Arizona team that lost to Duke in the national championship and sported the likes of Gilbert Arenas, Jason Gardner, Richard Jefferson, and even had Luke Walton coming off the bench. None of them have near the cohesion of UNC last year, but they are far deeper and also more talented than that collection. The Kansas team that defeated Memphis was excellent as well and had playmakers at every single position, perhaps that is a better comparison.
Can’t believe I forgot to mention Cuse!
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