Could Rider give Kentucky “fits” Saturday?
November 20th, 2009 | 
Author: By LARRY VAUGHT
Mississippi State assistant coach Phil Cunningham says Rider, the team Kentucky hosts Saturday, is the kind of team in NCAA Tournament play that “can give you fits” if you are a highly seeded team.
Cunningham should know, too, because Rider upset host Mississippi State 88-74 last week behind 21 points each by Mike Ringgold and Novar Gadson. Ryan Thompson added 16 points, Justin Robinson had 15 points and Gadson pulled off 11 rebounds against State’s Jarvis Varnado, the SEC’s most dominant true post player.
The Broncs, who returned four starters off last year’s 19-win team, outrebounded the bigger Bulldogs and had 11 offensive rebounds. They also shot 62.5 percent from 3-point range (10 of 16) — a huge alarm for Kentucky after the Cats allowed Miami to hit 15 3-pointers Monday and Sam Houston State to make 18 Thursday.
“They could very well be in the NCAA Tournament this year. They will battle Sienna and Niagara for the conference title and they split with a very good Sienna last year,” Cunningham said.
“They are all New Jersey, Philly guys. They all know how to play. They are tough kids. They created mismatches in the post, especially when they went small. They took Ringgold, a power forward, and played him at center. He is so quick off the dribble that we could not guard him. He’s a tough kid and they won 42 games the past two years and he was a big reason why.
“We led by eight points twice and nine once and had the ball in the first half and yet they just hung around. I thought we had a chance to get some separation but they made a run at the end of the first half and scored the first six points in the second half. When they did, we tightened up and they gained confidence. They totally controlled the second half and we had trouble with their zone.”
Yet against Virginia Thursday night Rider (2-1) shot just 33.3 percent (17-for-51) from the field in a 79-46 loss. However, UK coach John Calipari said Rider could easily beat his team after UK’s 102-92 win over Sam Houston State Thursday because his team has given up 33 3-pointers in the last two games.
“We are not playing winning basketball right now. It may catch us. They got beat at Virginia and did not shot well. They are better 3-point shooting team than this team (Sam Houston State) we played today.
“I am going back to watch tape and then going to punch walls. Then I have to get this game out of my system and watch Rider to see how we can stay in the game and guard a team that has offensive players and won at Mississippi State. Mississippi State couldn’t guard them and I bet you they are better defensive team than we are now.”
Cunningham said Rider exposed that State was not a great rebounding team and also probably was overrated this early in the season.
“We had a ‘we are going to outscore you mentality’ and we didn’t rebound very well. They just exposed us in areas that we have got to get better at,” Cunningham said before UK played Sam Houston State. “We gave up 88 points. Kentucky won’t do that. They are too good defensively.
“But they will make you play. They remind me of Kentucky and Indiana kids. They know how to play and Thompson, the point guard, is very good. They had no turnovers on the road in the second half against us. That’s pretty impressive.
“They are all skilled, can all pass, can all shoot and can all put it on the floor. They are a team you will not want to play in the (NCAA) tournament. Hopefully, we learned from the game and we probably let Kentucky know they better be ready to play against this team.”
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11 Responses to “Could Rider give Kentucky “fits” Saturday?”
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This is going to be interesting. Rider will come in here with nothing to lose and just bomb away. If our 3 point defense doesn’t do a 180, we could be looking at another tough game. All of these teams can just play as loose as they want to play, because no one expects them to win. What a tremendous advantage that is. And it sounds like their inside defense will harass the big men inside as well. We have shown a tremendous propensity for getting the ball stripped in the lane, so that could be a big factor in the outcome of the final score. The passing to guys in the lane who have 2 or 3 defenders standing in front of them needs to stop as well. A large amount of the turnovers have been really poor passing decisions and nothing to do with the other team doing anything special. SOME improvement in all of these areas would be nice. I don’t expect miracles, but I do expect these players to make progress from game to game. These players may be young, but they are still supposed to be the best-of-the-best. Sometimes it looks like they never learned some of the fundamentals of basketball. I will stop ranting now. I don’t think, for one second, that UK will lose this game. I have faith that they will play well enough to win. It is just that “well enough to win” isn’t going to be good enough to win, forever. I still love this team and I know that they will be something special….GO BIG BLUE!!!
[...] Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate Messenger writes, “Mississippi State assistant coach Phil Cunningham says Rider, the team Kentucky hosts Saturday, is the kind of team in NCAA Tournament play that ‘can give you fits’ if you are highly-seeded team.” [...]
Young teams no matter how skilled have trouble being patient against zones. This will be a huge learning esperience for the young Cats. Look for a close game and don’t be surprised if things don’t go well. Anyway, GO CATS!
I think Cats may surprise us Saturday. This team is young, but willing to learn because it wants to win. NOt saying to expect miracles, but may win easier than many are now thinking
More than likely Rider will be a game that the Cats put away early. I forsee an big change in transition and perimeter defense Saturday. Cal was visibly upset with everyone on lack of communication and transition. Even though Cousin’s had a heck of a game, I thought Cal was going break a blood vessel when he laid on the floor twice instead of hustling to get up and back in the play. If they continue the lack of defensive intensity Rider has 3 starters over 50% from 3 pt land and this is a game of the year for them, nothing to lose. I also think Cal needs to spread the minutes more, too many good players sitting, too many players bent over, not everyone is in the doghouse. Kyle Macy scoffed twice during the game about the street ball plays that were being thrown up by the youngsters. I consider Kyle to be very professional and I understand his displeasure with these type of plays. Against a good team the Cats will be eaten and Kyle knows it. Carolina looms large and after watching their game, their D is smothering. PP was very out of sorts last night. He is just not comfortable yet facing the basket, but he is an absolute beast in the paint, unstoppable.
I hope they have some tapes of Rider to watch.
Agree with you Terry about Kyle. He knows what he is talking about and the players need to start listening to Cal better. But the trip to Cancun could be perfect for that and give them a chance to learn and grow together. But we all have to remember it is only November and my guess is Cal knew these struggles were coming.
I think Lousville, not UConn or North Carolina, will be the first time we can truly gauge how good this team might be by March
Any word on Liggins?
I think Cal is handling this young group masterfully. They came in thinking a great deal of themselves. He is taking the early part of the season to humble them. I think the benchings, rants, and everything else is his attempt to get their attention and get them focused on the long term goal. I suspect that when we face the big boys we will see Cal become a cheerleader, a big encourager, etc to boost their confidence. Good coaches, like Cal, seem to know which button to press at which time. I think we will start to gel around conference time.
Insiders tell me Scott that LIggins will play Saturday. Of course one of them also thought he would play Thursday
And I am with you Steve. Cal knows what he is doing and is using the media to help make a point to players like a lot of coaches do
I think that if we starting extending our defense and pick up early in transition we will be fine, Look for dodson or miller to have a big game rider is big but not quick to the base line on “D”, we should see some base line baskets in this one..Pick up early and defend on the perimater and we should be fine..GO BIG BLUE!!!