November 20 ~ Thoughts of One Man’s Opinion

Team of the Week


Kentucky

My first team of the week award goes to Kentucky.  You might be thinking why does one of the winningest programs in college basketball history deserve the award normally reserved for an overachieving team.  First of all, a win against Duke in the Champion’s Classic certainly draws notice.  But secondly, and more impressively, first year coach Mark Pope has built a roster entirely of transfers that was picked to finish 8th in the SEC by the coaches.  Not a single player who has played this season appeared for the Wildcats last season.  The task of recruiting an entire team in a few weeks is impressive enough, but to get them to play as a team this early in the season is what is most incredible.  It certainly seems like there has been a culture shift in Lexington, as the era of 5 star freshman recruits of former coach John Calipari has been replaced with experienced players from schools like San Diego State, Wake Forest, BYU, Dayton and Oklahoma, just to name a few.  The season is still young and one win does not cement anyone as a national championship contender, but it is worth keeping an eye on Kentucky and whether this group of newcomers can continue to gel and become a force to be reckoned with in the SEC.  


Big East Update


Early season losses are never a good sign for potential bubble teams.  The Big East bubble teams especially have recorded some less-than-ideal setback:

  • Villanova - losses to Columbia, St. Joseph’s and Virginia

  • Seton Hall - losses to Fordham and Hofstra

  • Butler - lost to Austin Peay

It is still too early to say if these losses will cost any team a possible tournament berth, or if any of these teams are even close to being tournament caliber.  But it does appear that the Big East will be split between two classes of teams, with the group of UConn, Creighton, Marquette, St. John’s and Xavier looking far more talented than the rest.



Marquette

Fiserv Forum has been lit this year.  Photo credit Kelly Kacprowicz



Final Four here we come?  Well maybe it is too early to be thinking about a potential Final Four trip, but the early season results sure have been promising.  I have to give coach Shaka Smart credit for once again putting together a challenging non conference schedule.  To have already played two Big Ten teams and with a neutral court match up with an SEC up next, all before Thanksgiving, is the kind of challenge you would want for a veteran team.  



This may be a slightly warm take, but I was genuinely impressed more with the road win at Maryland compared to the home win over Purdue.  Don’t get me wrong, the victory over Purdue that featured the first MU triple-double in 21 years was a sight to see.  But going on the road against an unfamiliar foe (MU has now played Purdue 3 years in a row), an opponent that featured a 5 star freshman big man, was the kind of measuring stick win that gives me great optimism for the season.



The emergence of Stevie Mitchell as a scoring threat is one of most pleasant surprises from the first five games for MU.  Mitchell has always been a premier “glue guy,” always willing to make the plays that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet.  But this season we have seen a more aggressive Mitchell on the offensive end, driving to the basket with confidence and getting to the free throw line regularly.  With Kam Jones and Chase Ross as the clear #1 and #2 options, Mitchell could be the ideal consistent #3 that can hit big shots when needed and step up and knock down free throws at the end of games.



There is starting to be real concern with the shooting woes of David Joplin.  Shooting 8 for 39 on 3s for the season and 2 of his last 23 is simply not going to cut it for someone with a career 35% 3-point percentage.  Joplin has redeemed himself at times this season, including a 27 point, 10 rebound effort against George Mason and a key block late in the game against Maryland.  But if the shooting numbers do not improve, there are plenty of options on the bench that Shaka can go to. 



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