Georgetown College vs. Kentucky (Exh.) Sunday at 5:00

[Joneslab]

Kentucky kicks off its exhibition season against the NAIA's #1 team Georgetown College Sunday evening. The game will be on the SEC Network.

[Joneslab]

[Lighthouse]

Still some real good players on the bench.

[Blue Heaven]

Georgetown pulled down more boards than we did. Sure it was an exhibition, but it's apparent our achilles heel will be rebounding, especially with Nick maybe being out for a while.

Izzo's teams thrive on crashing the boards. It's gonna be an interesting game. We need EJ to step it up BIG TIME. He's too finesse and not enough hard nosed for my taste. Man, PJ would've been awesome paired with these athletes.

[Joneslab]

Some observations, and note that I missed the first 13:00 because of the soccer game. Those 13:00 seemed to be the best Kentucky played. After that it was pretty sketchy.

* Rebounding, as Blue Heaven said, is going to be a major issue. The lack of improvement in EJ Montgomery was shocking. I want to withhold judgment because it was just one exhibition, but he didn't look good. At all.

* The team took a major step back when Maxey was playing point guard. I can see why Cal likes him in that position: he's explosive in the same way all UK's great guards have been. Has that devastating first step that NBA players have. But it's also clear he isn't comfortable with the offense yet, and the lulls in the game offensively were very much due to his inability to get the team in its sets.

* On the other hand, Ashton Hagans was great. Just looking out there right now he's our best player and there's probably not a close second.

* I liked Sestina. Doesn't have the quickness to put the ball on the floor, which means he's going to have to be a +40% three-point shooter to max out his potential, but he gets after it and you won't have to worry if he's playing hard.

* Kahlil Whitney was wildly invisible. He went a long time in that game without taking a single shot. The few times he did get inside he just threw the ball at the goal without realizing where he was. Probably the poorest performance I've seen in the Cal era for a top 10 recruit in an exhibition.

* I thought Nick was pretty good. It's hard to tell against NAIA competition, but I noticed in the Blue/White that he ran the court very well. Saw that again last night. If his motor is going and his confidence is up, he'll help.

* Keion Brooks has to learn how to holster the gun a bit. Wants to shoot every ball. When he learns how to "let the game come to him," as the cliché goes, he'll be alright. Until then it's going to be frustrating to watch.

* Quickley's improvement still looks legit. The only thing about him is that he doesn't have that lateral quickness you see from true NBA-level guards, so he isn't an elite defender. Thought he had trouble at times against tiny Jake Ohmer, which doesn't bode well for his defense against really good D1 guards.

* As a team they definitely looked like more of a work in progress than we've seen in some time. Maybe since 2013.

* Going on with that point: college basketball is weird because so much depends on the energy in individual games. Who's hot, who's hyped, who comes ready to play--the improvement you look for in a college basketball team sometimes waxes and wanes because the sport is so dependent on hustle and grit and fire. So we may see this team come out guns a'blazing against Michigan St. But if what we saw last night is indicative of who we really are right now, then we're going to take some serious lumps in November/December.

[KCKUKFan]

* Going on with that point: college basketball is weird because so much depends on the energy in individual games. Who's hot, who's hyped, who comes ready to play--the improvement you look for in a college basketball team sometimes waxes and wanes because the sport is so dependent on hustle and grit and fire. So we may see this team come out guns a'blazing against Michigan St. But if what we saw last night is indicative of who we really are right now, then we're going to take some serious lumps in November/December.

Luckily, the schedule in November and December is made up of a lot of cupcakes, which this team will desperately need. Even the marquee games aren't as marquee as usual.

I was baffled by how poor Khalil Whitney looked. Just completely lost out there. EJ wasn't quite as bad, but he was more disappointing. I like the effort Keion Brooks puts out, and he really knows where to be on the floor. Rough around the edges, but instinctively knows how to play.

This team probably has more talent up and down the roster than the Ulis/Murray team, but they probably don't have a player as good as either of those guys, and there are obvious holes. I'm curious to see how this season goes.

[J.Jennings]

I am a slacker, didn't watch the game, forgot all about it

[Dwight Schrute]

The announcers were talking about what a good soccer game and they were lying because there's no such thing as a good soccer game.

[GOCAT15]

Anyone have any inside information on Richards ankle injury....didn't look good to me.

[KCKUKFan]

The announcers were talking about what a good soccer game and they were lying because there's no such thing as a good soccer game.

Soccer is a stupid sport. What really annoys me is how everybody in America co-ops it during the World Cup and acts like soccer is the best sport on earth, and then completely abandons it immediately after.

[Dwight Schrute]

Soccer is a stupid sport. What really annoys me is how everybody in America co-ops it during the World Cup and acts like soccer is the best sport on earth, and then completely abandons it immediately after.

I tried to get into it when Cincinnati got an MLS team and for the life of me, I just can't. The only thing it has going for it is that it's over in 2 hours or so.

[Joneslab]

I like soccer better than American football actually. Haven't really ever watched women's soccer, but I could get into soccer given the right circumstances. Went to a Louisville game a couple years ago and it was awesome.

[J.Jennings]

Update on Richards?

[Dwight Schrute]

I like soccer better than American football actually. Haven't really ever watched women's soccer, but I could get into soccer given the right circumstances. Went to a Louisville game a couple years ago and it was awesome.

I went to an FC Cincinnati game a couple years back. The atmosphere was great but at the end of the day, soccer is still soccer and the actual game is just boring to me. I especially hate it when it eats into a significant chunk of a UK basketball game.

[JFCats22]

Update on Richards?

Going to be evaluated today.