Wildcat: KU behind Heels

royr17 · 01-10-2005, 05:45 AM

http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_ba...l/story/112797

Wildcat: KU behind Heels
By Chuck Woodling, Sports Editor

Monday, January 10, 2005

Lexington, Ky. — Bobby Perry still likes Roy Williams' current team more than he likes Williams' former team.

Kentucky has dropped only two games this season -- a 65-59 home loss to Kansas University on Sunday, and a 91-78 decision to North Carolina in early December in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Although KU is ranked No. 2 nationally and North Carolina No. 3, Perry sounded like the Tar Heels should be rated higher than the Jayhawks.

"I'd rank them right behind North Carolina," said Perry, a 6-foot-6 sophomore who scored a career-high 10 points and had seven rebounds in Sunday's defeat. "They have size and great athleticism, but they're probably somewhere behind North Carolina."

Then again, Perry and the rest of his teammates did not have to face Kansas with Wayne Simien, whose 20 points and 12 rebounds a game were on the bench for the fourth straight game.

Asked if the Jayhawks' performance without Simien caught him off-guard, Perry replied: "They're still undefeated when he couldn't play, so we weren't surprised how they played. They just took it to us."

Tubby Smith, the first Kentucky coach ever to lose to Kansas in Lexington, gave due credit to the Jayhawks.

"They took us out of our game," Smith said, "and we weren't strong enough and disciplined enough to win it. We had some major breakdowns."

Most of those breakdowns were brick-related.

Kelenna Azubuike, the 'Cats' leading scorer (15.0), was 4-of-16 from the field. Guard Patrick Sparks was 4-of-13, and forward Chuck Hayes 4-of-11.

"Those guys have to shoot better for us to win," Smith said.

Even worse, starting center Randolph Morris was 0-for-8.

"I thought we could get some things done inside," Smith said, "but we just didn't get the productivity we wanted, so we went with a smaller lineup."

Even the smaller lineup couldn't prevent the Wildcats from shooting a chilly 30.9 percent (21 of 68). Kentucky missed 20 of its 26 three-point attempts, with Sparks the worst offender at 1-for-8.

"Some of the same problems that have been hurting us all year hurt us today," Smith said. "We struggled shooting the ball, and we made some bad decisions."

The 'Cats also were tabbies at the free-throw line, missing eight of 19 charities.

"If we had made our free throws," Hayes said, "we would have won the game."

Still, Smith sounded more perturbed about his team's defense than about the shabby shooting. The Wildcats held the Jayhawks to 21 points and 27 percent shooting in the first half, but Kansas shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) in the second half and scored 44 points.

"Their shooting 50 percent in the second half proved we weren't playing defense," Smith said. "And they were shooting two shots from the line with 11 minutes left."

Kansas made 19 of 25 free throws.

"I think we could have been more mentally tough," Azubuike said. "We just gave them too many chances to get to the line."

Sparks, a junior guard who sat out last season after transferring from Western Kentucky, lost for the first time in Rupp Arena, and he didn't like it.

"We had big-time mental lapses," Sparks said. "We deserved this loss."

Kentucky (10-2) will play host to Vanderbilt on Wednesday.

**Lzen** · 01-10-2005, 08:19 AM

Bah, these losers don't know jack. In case they forgot, North Carolina lost to Santa Clara. KU has not lost this year. Case closed.

**Saulbadguy** · 01-10-2005, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lzen

Bah, these losers don't know jack. In case they forgot, North Carolina lost to Santa Clara. KU has not lost this year. Case closed.

UNC Fans: "But but but...our best player was out for that game!"..er...

Dr. Johnny Fever · 01-10-2005, 08:25 AM

I'm becoming more and more convinced that Tabacco road is one of the 7 portals to hell. The people there are brainwashed into thinking there could never be another basketball team as good, let alone better than them. It's the arrogance capital of the world.

Coach · 01-10-2005, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

UNC Fans: "But but but...our best player was out for that game!"..er...

Well you could tell the UNC fans that KU didn't had Wayne for 3 tough games, aganist nationally ranked GT at home, aganist a well-improved A&M team at home, and nationally ranked UK at Lexington.

UNC fans don't know jack.

**Saulbadguy** · 01-10-2005, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coach

Well you could tell the UNC fans that KU didn't had Wayne for 3 tough games, aganist nationally ranked GT at home, aganist a well-improved A&M team at home, and nationally ranked UK at Lexington.

UNC fans don't know jack.

That was kind of the joke..

Coach · 01-10-2005, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

That was kind of the joke..

Heh, I sensed that, but I had several UNC fans that were mentioning that UNC is a better team than Kansas right now. I would have to somewhat disagree. Let's see how good UNC fares aganist Duke.

Although, Illinois is the number one team right now, no contest.

**Lzen** · 01-10-2005, 10:08 AM

People think UNC is better because they score a lot more points. But if you guys remember, KU scored a lot of points when Williams coached here. It's just the style he has his team play. It doesn't always work too well against teams that are good at defending the transition game and force you to play half court basketball. Doesn't matter what anyone thinks, KU is #1 in the RPI and that is all that matters.

Swanman · 01-10-2005, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coach

Heh, I sensed that, but I had several UNC fans that were mentioning that UNC is a better team than Kansas right now. I would have to somewhat disagree. Let's see how good UNC fares aganist Duke.

Although, Illinois is the number one team right now, no contest.

You can't penalize a team that hasn't lost just because another team appears to be better, so you can't rank UNC above KU until KU loses. Right now I think UNC would absolutely own Duke. I think Duke is a paper tiger this year. They have absolutely no depth so if you get one of their key players in foul trouble they're in big trouble (plus I hate Duke with every bone in my body).

I tried to watch the Maryland/UNC game on Saturday because Vitale was not surprisingly extremely annoying. I'm just glad most of the Illini games are being announced by Brent Musburger and Steve Lavin, which I think is the best duo in college BB today.

01-10-2005, 05:45 AM
royr17 MVP Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Lovin my kids Casino cash: $1898676	Wildcat: KU behind Heels http://www.kusports.com/news/mens_ba...l/story/112797 Wildcat: KU behind Heels By Chuck Woodling, Sports Editor Monday, January 10, 2005 Lexington, Ky. — Bobby Perry still likes Roy Williams' current team more than he likes Williams' former team. Kentucky has dropped only two games this season -- a 65-59 home loss to Kansas University on Sunday, and a 91-78 decision to North Carolina in early December in Chapel Hill, N.C. Although KU is ranked No. 2 nationally and North Carolina No. 3, Perry sounded like the Tar Heels should be rated higher than the Jayhawks. "I'd rank them right behind North Carolina," said Perry, a 6-foot-6 sophomore who scored a career-high 10 points and had seven rebounds in Sunday's defeat. "They have size and great athleticism, but they're probably somewhere behind North Carolina." Then again, Perry and the rest of his teammates did not have to face Kansas with Wayne Simien, whose 20 points and 12 rebounds a game were on the bench for the fourth straight game. Asked if the Jayhawks' performance without Simien caught him off-guard, Perry replied: "They're still undefeated when he couldn't play, so we weren't surprised how they played. They just took it to us." Tubby Smith, the first Kentucky coach ever to lose to Kansas in Lexington, gave due credit to the Jayhawks. "They took us out of our game," Smith said, "and we weren't strong enough and disciplined enough to win it. We had some major breakdowns." Most of those breakdowns were brick-related. Kelenna Azubuike, the 'Cats' leading scorer (15.0), was 4-of-16 from the field. Guard Patrick Sparks was 4-of-13, and forward Chuck Hayes 4-of-11. "Those guys have to shoot better for us to win," Smith said. Even worse, starting center Randolph Morris was 0-for-8. "I thought we could get some things done inside," Smith said, "but we just didn't get the productivity we wanted, so we went with a smaller lineup." Even the smaller lineup couldn't prevent the Wildcats from shooting a chilly 30.9 percent (21 of 68). Kentucky missed 20 of its 26 three-point attempts, with Sparks the worst offender at 1-for-8. "Some of the same problems that have been hurting us all year hurt us today," Smith said. "We struggled shooting the ball, and we made some bad decisions." The 'Cats also were tabbies at the free-throw line, missing eight of 19 charities. "If we had made our free throws," Hayes said, "we would have won the game." Still, Smith sounded more perturbed about his team's defense than about the shabby shooting. The Wildcats held the Jayhawks to 21 points and 27 percent shooting in the first half, but Kansas shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) in the second half and scored 44 points. "Their shooting 50 percent in the second half proved we weren't playing defense," Smith said. "And they were shooting two shots from the line with 11 minutes left." Kansas made 19 of 25 free throws. "I think we could have been more mentally tough," Azubuike said. "We just gave them too many chances to get to the line." Sparks, a junior guard who sat out last season after transferring from Western Kentucky, lost for the first time in Rupp Arena, and he didn't like it. "We had big-time mental lapses," Sparks said. "We deserved this loss." Kentucky (10-2) will play host to Vanderbilt on Wednesday.
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01-10-2005, 08:19 AM	#2
Lzen Supporter Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Jan Quadrant Vincent 16 Casino cash: $2130692	Bah, these losers don't know jack. In case they forgot, North Carolina lost to Santa Clara. KU has not lost this year. Case closed. __________________ If at first you don't succeed ...skydiving is not for you.
Posts: 41,384

01-10-2005, 08:25 AM	#4
Dr. Johnny Fever stax of wax Join Date: Feb 2004 Casino cash: $10004900	I'm becoming more and more convinced that Tabacco road is one of the 7 portals to hell. The people there are brainwashed into thinking there could never be another basketball team as good, let alone better than them. It's the arrogance capital of the world. __________________ courtesy of BoneKrusher "Baseball? It's just a game. As simple as a ball and bat, yet as complex as the American spirit it symbolizes. It's a sport, a business and sometimes a religion." Ernie Harwell
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01-10-2005, 10:08 AM	#8
Lzen Supporter Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Jan Quadrant Vincent 16 Casino cash: $2130692	People think UNC is better because they score a lot more points. But if you guys remember, KU scored a lot of points when Williams coached here. It's just the style he has his team play. It doesn't always work too well against teams that are good at defending the transition game and force you to play half court basketball. Doesn't matter what anyone thinks, KU is #1 in the RPI and that is all that matters. __________________ If at first you don't succeed ...skydiving is not for you.
Posts: 41,384