A New Season, but Vintiage Kentucky?

There seems to be a buzz around Lexington this year, one that is a little different than last year's. This time 365 days ago we were waiting for the coaching of Billy G and the play of Patrick Patterson.

Fast forward a year and we are still watching those things, but there is much more to be excited about. New faces and more depth. Will we see vintage Kentucky this year. The team that dominates opponents and wins SEC championships. The Kentucky that gets  seeded well and makes a run in the tournament.

Most People are going to say this is not possible and will be lucky to get in the tournament. The Cats, who went 12-4 in the SEC but 18-13 overall, will be written off by many people. A lot of this overlooking will be done because of the great losses to graduation and transfer.

First you have the departure of Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford who put up over 30 points a game on average. Then, to make things worse, point guard Derrick Jasper's transfer to UNLV and all of the point guards with real experience were gone. This looks very bad on paper, but in the end I don't think it will have as much impact on the cats as predicted.

This new team has something the others didn't have. These Wildcats have depth. There will be people that can come in and give Patterson a blow. Josh Harrelson looked very good in the scrimmage and the exhibition. The post play will need to pick up after being second to last in SEC total rebounding last season.

You have two very capable newcomers in Kevin Galloway and DeAndre Liggins to take up the point guard position that has been vacated. Finally Jodie Meeks will pick up a big part of the scoring load that was left behind after having been out for a year with multiple injuries.

This is a season of great hope for Kentucky Basketball fans. The progress can be seen, a long fast team that should win 22 games in my opinion.

Will it be the vintage Kentucky ripping teams limb from limb? Probably not, but it is well on its way. The return to prominence is on. When it does happen the buzz will grow to a roar and Big Blue Nation will be back and vintage Kentucky will be the new Kentucky!

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