[Stardust]

J-Rod, we must add the link to another site when you copy their story's to protest us from copyright infringement.

http://www.aseaofblue.com/2012/12/15/377...postmortem

Game Ball: Kyle Wiltjer - Wiltjer gets the game ball with 23 points and 12 rebounds. I'm not sure Wiltjer has had 12 rebounds in his last 3 games combined. He also had a couple of assists and a steal to go with a devastating 7-9 shooting performance from the perimeter. I find nothing to criticize in Wiltjer's performance -- he defended better than at any time this year, shot better, rebounded better. He was just... better.

Nerlens Noel - Noel deserves an honorable mention for game ball. He fouled out, which is a definite negative, but he was otherwise every bit the player we need him to be. His quickness at 6'10" is absolutely otherworldly. His line is equally insane: 7 points, 9 rebounds, 7 blocks 4 steals, an assist and 3 turnovers. And 5 fouls.

Julius Mays - He did not shoot the ball well at all, but he did a good job in almost every other way. 1-8 shooting, but he made all five free throws, had 6 rebounds (3 offensive), 4 assists, a steal, and no turnovers.

Ryan Harrow - He continues to struggle with his shot. Harrow is one of those players who has let the 3-point shot thing get in his head, but he found other ways to get it done and really was good, even better than last game. He wound up with 12 points, but had only 2 assists and 1 rebound. He did have 2 steals. Overall, he ran the team pretty well, but he still has a ways to go.

Archie Goodwin - His line today is deceptive, 10 points on 5-9 shooting, but he was really out of sorts. He got in foul trouble in the first half, and never really recovered. Archie managed 4 assists, 2 blocks and 4 rebounds to round out his line.

Jarrod Polson - Polson was really very good in this game. He hustled, he was competent running the team, and was just a tough little cookie out there. His defense was much improved as well. 7 points on 3-5 shooting, an offensive rebound, assist, and steal.

Willie Cauley-Stein - Cauley-Stein had a up-and-down game. In the early part of the game he was pretty bad, but he got it going later and finished with a flourish, a couple of good plays on both ends of the floor. His line was 8 points on 3-4 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers.

Jon Hood - Hood played some quality minutes in this one, and played pretty well. He was 1-2 shooting, making one 3-pointer, and had a rebound.

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[COLOR="Blue"]Overall Team Observations

- The good is that Kentucky really hustled this game, and one thing coaches love are teams that hustle. I think UK got almost every 50/50 ball in this contest, and that has not been the norm for this team so far. If this is the results of Camp Cal, all I can say is, "Faster, please."

- The offensive execution in this game was not very good at all. Bad shot selection, missed wide-open shots, flawed passing, no decision-making... I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Yes, sometimes the offense looked pretty good, but it was way too inefficient. The second half was much better than the first, but I'm kind of particular about wanting two decent halves back to back.

- Kentucky's defense in the first half was execrable also. They allowed the Bisons to shoot nearly 50% in the first half, and players were biting on fakes, failing to close out on threes, allowing post up plays for scores and failing to offensive rebound. The second half, they played correctly, and much better, so I suppose we can take comfort from that. Inconsistency, though, has been and continues to plague this team on both sides of the court.

- Really happy to see the Wildcats communicate better. It wasn't a lot better. Baby steps.[/COLOR]