Bahamas Games Open Thread

[Dwight Schrute]

Probably because Cal plainly stated he hadn't spent more than an hour on defense. If they had called it like a real game, Jonny David would've been in before halftime.

But mostly I think Cal wanted to expose the younger guys to the physicality of big time basketball and wanted them to get punched in the face a little bit. Mega Bemax (they looked like the T-Mobile employee all star team) slapped and pushed the crap out of these guys and they pushed back.

[Pobilly]

Now we wait and see how they develop from here. That was a good early start to the season!! Hope the guys keep focused (and by all accounts they will) and get better at the little things. The difference in a W is the little things when it comes to the grind of the SEC season. Can't wait till we load the train for the ride of the 18-19 season. Should be a fun trip. Now I am READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!! Go Big Blue!

[Dwight Schrute]

I listened to the game yesterday via the UK Athletics app while I mowed my lawn. If PJ and Reid Travis are gonna hit 3's like that, this team is going to be almost unstoppable. One thing that also caught my attention on the radio feed was during the last huddle, TJ Beisner (now of coachcal.com) reported that Reid was telling the younger guys to finish strong and stepping up to show leadership.

His leadership will be huge if he can provide that role. Having a 23 year old grown man playing with these guys everyday will pay huge dividends.

[Uncle Dave]

Combined stats from the trip. What's not to like? Very solid shooting, including FTs. Good board work. 17 assists per game. 10 TO's per game. Nearly 8 steals per game.

https://ukathletics.com/documents/2018/8/12/mbb_bahamas_combined_stats.pdf

[Joneslab]

Travis had a great game yesterday. Watching it live, it felt like he could have been credited for 25 rebounds. Was around everything.

Clearly they wanted him to have a big game in the Bahamas, so he got the green lot on everything and logged a lot of minutes. He'll have to adjust to the more rugged SEC obviously, but just his presence alone in there will be critical against teams like Tennessee and South Carolina. Some of these guys last week were trying to move him and Travis could stand his ground against everybody who tried to body him.

[J.Jennings]

Wow, really impressed with this team, going to love Herro and Johnson, actually this whole team. I dont sense any elephants in the room chemistry wise and this was just a minor glimpse of how good special this team can be. I dont know about you guys but i am pumped and excited, going to be fun year and i am going to sit back and enjoy it and just be a fan....

[Uncle Dave]

I suspect this team is going to beat the pants off a lot of really good teams. The Duke game can't get here quick enough lol..

[Joneslab]

Rob Dauster's five Bahamas takeaways. His comments about Quade Green being this team's Quinn Cook are interesting.

https://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2018/08/13/five-takeaways-from-kentuckys-bahamas-exhibitions/

[catfaninin]

Rob Dauster's five Bahamas takeaways. His comments about Quade Green being this team's Quinn Cook are interesting.

https://collegebasketball.nbcsports....s-exhibitions/

Reading that and not seeing Keldon Johnson's name even mentioned tells me a lot about just how good this team can be.

[KevinHall]

Reading that and not seeing Keldon Johnson's name even mentioned tells me a lot about just how good this team can be.

Yep because Johnson may be the best player. You can tell he has it all and is willing to the little things too to win.

[teamchemistry15]

I kind of feel like Travis was a bit of a black hole down in the post. He was holding it too long and forcing some stuff, IMO. But, I understand that's how he's had to play the last four years at Stanford so hopefully he grows into a more willing passer from the post. Stick Herro on the wing on his side and they won't be able to double much.

I think the best backcourt would be a platoon like rotation of Quickley/Green and Hagans/Herro. I almost think you need that shooter out there with Hagans to prevent the defense from clogging the lane. And, I love the idea of that scoring ability and defensive ridiculousness coming off the bench.

The big question is where will Jemarl fit in? If he's as good of a shooter as advertised he will play, but when and where? Is he big enough to play the 3?

[TrueblueCATfan]

Well this team is certainly going to be fun to watch this year

[Blue Heaven]

Well this team is certainly going to be fun to watch this year

This may be the most excited I have been for Cats in the pre season. It's obvious that we have the parts to be a well oiled machine. It seems we are going to have some emotion on the court. I love that. We didn't see much if any of it last year.

[Joneslab]

This may be the most excited I have been for Cats in the pre season. It's obvious that we have the parts to be a well oiled machine. It seems we are going to have some emotion on the court. I love that. We didn't see much if any of it last year.

This was a huge thing in the Bahamas. This team seems to have some intensity that, as you say, we didn't see hardly at all last year. Last year's guys were stoic. And they were young, and young guys tend to be quieter. But personality-wise we didn't have many vocal guys. None at all really.

One thing that jumped out in these games last week was how intense the players were. How they all, pretty much to a player, didn't seem afraid to push somebody around and then let them know about it.

That's huge. I think much of it goes back to Keldon Johnson, but we've got a couple of other guys who look like they're not afraid to get in somebody's face. It isn't a small thing at all.

[Dwight Schrute]

This was a huge thing in the Bahamas. This team seems to have some intensity that, as you say, we didn't see hardly at all last year. Last year's guys were stoic. And they were young, and young guys tend to be quieter. But personality-wise we didn't have many vocal guys. None at all really.

One thing that jumped out in these games last week was how intense the players were. How they all, pretty much to a player, didn't seem afraid to push somebody around and then let them know about it.

That's huge. I think much of it goes back to Keldon Johnson, but we've got a couple of other guys who look like they're not afraid to get in somebody's face. It isn't a small thing at all.

Another thing is that when we built a lead, we kept on it. Part of that is the competition, but they kept the boot on the throat the entire time.