Bleacher Report - Articles by Kevin Welch

Kentucky Wildcats: Trying To Prove Critics Wrong with Win Over UNC

Kevin Welch — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:45:35 -0500

December 5th 12:30 pm, college basketball fans will tune in on CBS to see two of the most storied programs, No. 4 Kentucky and No. 11 North Carolina. The game will be played at Rupp Arena.

Coach Cal has got his 7-0 Wildcats off to their best start since 2004 when they were 7-0 before falling to Louisville. Led by a talented freshmen class, this Kentucky team wants to prove they rightfully deserve their No. 4 ranking by beating a good Roy Williams squad.

Kentucky fans can only wonder as this team struggled against the likes of Stanford and Miami, Ohio. Has there been enough time to get ready for a UNC team that's likely out for redemption?

The big man for Kentucky, DeMarcus Cousins, had this to say about UNC: “I’m not impressed,” Cousins said with a shrug of his shoulders. It's one thing to not be impressed, but another thing to let the media know. Count on Roy to give this quote to his team.

John Wall has so far dominated the college landscape early on, but doubters still point out he hasn't played an elite team. That stops this Saturday, but Wall isn't about stats. "My mindset is to get a win. I’m a competitor,” Wall said.

Questions will be answered soon. Is this Kentucky team one of the best in the nation? Can Wall continue being impressive? Will Cousins still not be impressed after the game? We will all know come Saturday!

North Carolina is 6-1 only losing to a surprising Syracuse team in the 2k Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

It's a New Year Tennessee Fans, but Still the Same Ol' Story

Kevin Welch — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:07:44 -0400

To me Tennessee fans have became insane.

Why?

Well I love to roam on message boards, I like to see what the other SEC fans are thinking on how their team will be next year. What I saw shocked me, especially from Tennessee fans.

Tennessee fans think they have a legitimate shot of beating Kentucky, of course miracles happen and I believe in miracles, but come on! They got blown out last year by 20 points, even with a more talented team.

Kentucky has three lottery picks in next year's draft and will absolutely slaughter the majority of the SEC teams this year.

To just be on the real, Tennessee you're good enough to come in second in the standings, but you are far far from being first.

Stephen Curry Held Scoreless, but Davidson Routs Loyola Anyway

Kevin Welch — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:18:30 -0500

Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos made a bold move against the Davidson Wildcats: He double-teamed college basketball superstar Stephen Curry.

78-48 was the final score without the help of Curry. Andrew Lovedale picked Curry up by posting a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.

"Anybody else ever hold him scoreless?" Patsos asked. "I'm a history major. (Are people) going to remember that we held him scoreless or (that) we lost by 30?"

Well, you held Curry to three shots, coach, and zero points, but you also lost by 30 since you basically had your team play 3-on-4 the whole game.

Tell me if I am wrong. Playing 3-on-4 is not really fair, so why put your team into that situation? Just play them 5-on-5 with your best defender face-guarding Curry.

"It seemed to me they were willing to risk the game at the expense of locking Steph up," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. "When you put two people on somebody and you do it for 30 minutes and at the end of the game, you have to wonder what the reasons for that are."

That I do indeed wonder.

"If Oklahoma can't stop him, how is Loyola College going to stop him?" Patsos asked.

You're right coach. There is no way your team was going to stop Curry, but then again, you still got embarrassed by 30 points.

So I have to ask, was it a smart or dumb move by Patsos to play the triangle and two defense on Curry?

I personally think it was dumb. It took away the excitement from the fans who mostly likely just showed up to watch Curry play. Not only that, but it was really cheap at least in my opinion.

Breaking Down The Wildcats

Kevin Welch — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 06:29:19 -0500

Kentucky Wildcats are embarking on their 106th season as one of the most storied teams in all of College basketball. Second year coach Billy Gillispie will lead a very talented, inexperienced ball club through a treacherous non-conference schedule: with perennial teams such as North Carolina, Indiana and Louisville.

The Sec is down this year says the so called "experts". Even if they are correct, there is no mistake the SEC will be very competitive within the conference. Tennessee is the favorite to take home the East while being closely followed by Florida and Kentucky

Dick Vitale has called out the media, "This Kentucky team is underrated" Well Mr. Vitale I couldn't agree more.

Kentucky loses its two leading scorers Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley, but returning a healthy Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson. Gillispie brought in Kentucky Mr.Basketball Darius Miller and five star point guard Deandre Liggins to provide immediate help for the Wildcats.

Can this Kentucky team compete with the likes of Florida and Tennessee? Yes they can, and here is why; preseason 1st team All-SEC Patrick Patterson will not be stopped by any of the SEC teams. Patterson will continue to impress the NBA coaches while striving to be what cannot be denied a future lottery pick.

Jodie Meeks is one of the leagues best three-point shooters, with the extension of the three-point line which makes him even more dangerous. He has a quick shot which gives him a good advantage over the defenders. Meeks has also improved on driving to the basket, which should make the three-pointer even more open.

A few bold predictions I have for this team

Crack the top 10
No.3 seed in the NCAA Tournament
Knocking off No.1 UNC and No.3 UL
Winning the SEC and the SEC tournament
14-2 conference play
Undefeated at Rupp
Elite Eight
Patterson wins SEC player of the year
Patterson 1st team All American
Meeks and Patterson 1st team All-SEC

Kentucky Newcomers Harrellson, Miller Shine in Exhibition for Wildcats

Kevin Welch — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:32:56 -0500

An exhibition against Missouri-St. Louis was by far the most one-sided score in recent memory, even if it didn't mean a whole lot in the record book. The Kentucky Wildcats blew out the visiting Division II squad 111-53.

But who cares? All that matters is how the future looks, and let me tell you, the future looks pretty bright. Freshman Darius Miller and transfer Josh Harrellson put on a show for the fans at Rupp. Harrellson nabbed player of the game honors while Miller broadcasted the talent that will quickly make him a fan favorite along with Patrick Patterson.

Miller had an amazing shooting night, scoring 14 points and going 6-7 from the field, while dazzling us with some quick passes from out top to Patterson underneath.

"The speed of the game. That's definitely the toughest change for me and all the intensity. It's a higher speed and you have to play 110 percent every time," Miller said about the transition from high school to the college game.

I think he has transitioned fine already.

Josh Harrellson earned the player of the game award, going 9-14 with 21 points in only 16 minutes of play. I believe Harrellson will get the nod over Perry Stevenson since he brings more of a scoring threat.

I can't just talk about the newcomers. I'll give some love to Jodie Meeks: 26 points on 9-19 from the field overall and 7-12 from three-point land! Are you crazy! Someone needs to remind me why Meeks didn't make preseason First Team All-SEC.

Patrick Patterson showed why he is a future lottery pick with a 9-13 shooting night, finishing up with 24 points while playing only 31 minutes. He showed a great presence around the basketball and took a few 15-foot jumpers as well. Kentucky fans can only hope Patterson is willing to stick around for his junior year.

This wraps up exhibition number one. The next exhibition match will be Nov. 7 against Ouachita Baptist at 7:00 p.m.

Preseason All-SEC Basketball Team: Patterson, Ogilvy Unanimous Selections

Kevin Welch — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:18:37 -0500

The SEC coaches put out their Preseason All-SEC team, and there were only two unanimous choices to the first team: Patrick Patterson and A.J. Ogilvy. Here is the list.

First Team All-SEC

Nick Calathes, Florida
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU
Marcus Thornton, LSU
Chris Warren, Ole Miss
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

Second Team All-SEC

Alonzo Gee, Alabama
Ronald Steele, Alabama
Michael Washington, Arkansas
Korvotney Barber, Auburn
Terrance Woodbury, Georgia
Chris Johnson, LSU
Jodie Meeks, Kentucky
Dominque Archie, South Carolina
Wayne Chism, Tennessee
J.P. Prince, Tennessee

To quickly add up the numbers, the teams with the most preseason All-SEC players are Tennessee and LSU, both with three.

Kentucky-VMI: Expect the Battle to End Quickly

Kevin Welch — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 01:16:36 -0500

The Kentucky Wildcats take on the Virginia Military Institute Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., and I highly doubt they bring guns to the game. If they do, hopefully we won't see Rupp being taken over.

This game should be a cupcake for Billy Gillespie's squad, one of the "most conditioned" teams he has ever had. Expect an up-and-down tempo game with just a 95 percent chance of a blowout, even though this game is a "sure win" like Gardner-Webb was last year. Hopefully the Cats show hunger earlier in the season if they want a solid year.

Last season was a slow start and had us sweating at the end of the conference tournament. This year, Kentucky has a healthy Jodie Meeks, who had 32 points in the Blue vs. White scrimmage. Patrick Patterson will again be the go-to guy. The superstar sophomore just can't be stopped, so expect All-Conference. Michael Porter, starting this season at point guard, has improved dramatically and must have worked on his shot during the summer. Did I mention he is ripped?

Gillespie will have this team focused and hungry to return to the top of college basketball, and it appears like it won't be long until you see the Cats making their 14th Final Four appearance in hopes of winning their eighth national championship.

VMI, playing out of the Big South, went 6-8 in conference play and 14-15 overall last season. They lost one of the biggest scorers last year in forward Reggie Williams, who averaged 27.8 points per game.

The other weapons for VMI are Travis and Chavis Holmes. Chavis put up 18.3 points per game and Travis Holmes had 15.6. They are the first- and second-leading scorers for VMI that have returned to the battle field.

My prediction for this game is Kentucky, 95-41, over the Institution.