Article from the Ken Pomeroy blog:
http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/web...tic_breakdown/
This is the team our Jackrabbits will be opening against. If we had a senior point guard coming back, I'd be a lot more hopeful of sneaking in and stealing one. Even so, we'll be on the same court with them. Let's throw the ball up and see what happens!
http://kenpom.com/blog/index.php/web...tic_breakdown/
The situation in the backcourt doesn’t change from last season, with Rondo and Patrick Sparks getting spelled by Ravi Moss and Ramel Bradley. The one thing that does change is that this group will be counted on more to provide offense. Rondo was in a great place last season, able to be a distributor for the most part. He will be forced into a bigger role on the offensive end in 2006. Can he become Chris Paul? Maybe not, but his ability to get to the hoop and to the line bode well for him to carry more of the offensive load. Sparks is dangerously close to entering Gerry McNamara-land in terms of praise-to-production ratio. He’s a good, but not great, three-point shooter. Big performances against the in-state rival and in the regional finals pushed his reputation ahead of his ability.
To summarize, Kentucky’s defense will be great. With Rondo, they’ll still force a ton of turnovers, and increased playing time of the shot-blocker Alleyne may lower the opponents’ shooting percentage further. The only way that the offense will improve is if Rondo and Alleyne eat up a much larger chunk of possessions while remaining efficient. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rondo did that, but Alleyne is another matter. As a team, Kentucky may maintain a decent shooting percentage, but rebounding and turnovers will suffer with the new players in the lineup. Even when Morris comes back, look forward to a lot of games in the 60s, and a few more in the 50s than you are used to seeing from the Wildcats.
To summarize, Kentucky’s defense will be great. With Rondo, they’ll still force a ton of turnovers, and increased playing time of the shot-blocker Alleyne may lower the opponents’ shooting percentage further. The only way that the offense will improve is if Rondo and Alleyne eat up a much larger chunk of possessions while remaining efficient. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rondo did that, but Alleyne is another matter. As a team, Kentucky may maintain a decent shooting percentage, but rebounding and turnovers will suffer with the new players in the lineup. Even when Morris comes back, look forward to a lot of games in the 60s, and a few more in the 50s than you are used to seeing from the Wildcats.
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