Calipari: Bledsoe and Wall are better together
November 2nd, 2009 | 
Author: By LARRY VAUGHT
John Calipari said he probably used freshman point guard Eric Bledsoe too many minues in Wednesday’s 74-38 exhibition victory over Campbellsville.
With John Wall sitting out one of the two NCAA mandated games, Bledsoe played 29 minutes. He had 9 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 turnovers and 2 blocked shots.
Probably the blocked shots impressed his teammates more than anything. “He can swat a shot away because he has done it to me, so that didn’t surprise me,” UK junior Patrick Patterson said.
Calipari thought Bledsoe played “okay” without Wall.
“I probably played him too many minutes. This is all new to him. We are trying to get our wings to run wide so he can throw it to them and we can’t do it. They are too tight. We are still trying to get a feel for how we are playing. We had turnovers. This is what I told you that you would see early.
“We have to get a couple of guys that can beat somebody on the dribble. We had a lot of guys not wanting to beat their man on the dribble or couldn’t beat them on the dribble.”
Calipari says it helps both Bledsoe and Wall when they can play together because it takes the pressure off them.
“When they are on the floor together, both their numbers are better. I think youhave two guys that can break a guy down on the dribble and if he cannot get it, he can swing the ball and the other guy can do it. It makes the game easier for both of them. They both can handle, both are good passers. When it is all on them, I think they both turn it over more than they normally would,” Calipari said.
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13 Responses to “Calipari: Bledsoe and Wall are better together”
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As the song states…We’ve only just begun…and I have my seat belt on, buckled tight and ready for the ride. It’s gonna be one fun season, bumps, blisters, merriment and all. GO CATS!
Well, I would say that with this beat your man off the dribble offense we won’t get as good of results without John Wall. Bledsoe is fast, but not as explosive. That is why they play better together. It’s going to be fun to see them build chemistry together as we progress through the season. Bledsoe has a nice jumper though – maybe better than Wall.
It was pretty ugly but with moments of beauty. About what I expected. It is going to take a while to get everything straightened out. I was impressed with Orton. He seemed to play within himself and let the game come to him. Jon Hood looked better than I expected. Cousins is in for a surprise when Varnado says welcome to the SEC.
I almost called the cable company to complain last night. I turned on Fox Sports South at 7 to watch the basketball game and they started replaying the UK – La Monroe football game. I sat through the explosive start against a terribly over-matched opponent and then had to watch the flat, mistake filled rest of the game, with a few high points thrown in. Then on the radio postgame show I heard them interviewing Coach Cal and I realized it WAS the basketball game. Imagine my surprise.
But seriously, Cal warned us all summer and he couldn’t have been more correct. It got really ugly for stretches, but, WOW!!, if you looked past the bad parts, you could see the shape of things to come. When this whole thing comes together, it will be unbelievable. GO BIG BLUE!!!
Was Liggins in Fayette County last night?
[...] Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger writes that Eric Bledsoe and John Wall are better together. [...]
Perry Stevenson came into the game late and effectively drove the basket twice. He is more effective when he is moving. He made a major contribution in his six minutes of play.
Did you for a moment imagine Patterson playing a classic forward in that lineup?
PUt Pat with Wall and Bledsoe and that’ when the Cats will really get special. and it was impressive what Perry did once he got into the game
Glad to hear that Perry was able to make some noise late in the game. Hopefully he will continue to get some playing time and be productive for the team.
I hope so too, He’s really a good kid. Just keep being told he has to be aggressive, something he had not done in practice but did last night
I thought Dan Orton played great, and Patrick was Patrick of coarse, GREAT!! I can’t wait to get rolling, GO BIG BLUE
Very good point about Orton. He could turn out to be a real force for this team and certainly gives Cal a lot of options with Pat and Cousins