Meet the New Cats?

The Kentucky Work-In-Progress, makes just that in Auburn

Grandma Bledsoe paid a visit to Cal and the Cats, like she does every season since Eric was a Cat back in 2010, when they make the trip down to Auburn. One can only imagine, that she comes to, much like her grandson once said, help Kentucky 'Get shit right'.

(Go to about the 2:47 mark on the video.)

And, for the time being, Kentucky looked like, for lack of a better term, KENTUCKY.
They drummed Auburn in Auburn Arena tonight, and from the looks of the enthusiasm, rebounding, and hustle, may have finally bought in. Or, at the very least put a down payment on it.

I mean seriously, Kyle Wiltjer looked like an awkward 8th grader who had just gotten his first handful of boob at a youth center party, with balloons and a black light.



 He was grinning ear to ear, and rightfully so. He shot the 3 great tonight and he was matched with somebody , fittingly named Chubb, that made it look like he was setting the land speed record. Lest we forget those great passes he executed inside, no look-threading the needle, even... and I didn't look, but based on how gitty he was, he may have established the camp site for the evening(yeah, tent pitching)

Wiltjer didn't wilt tonight, scored 17 for the 2nd consecutive game, and more telling than that, had 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Speaking of awkward teens, our other resident Junior High Student Council Member, Jarrod Polson, once more did just enough to keep him 'dreamy' with all those girls in training bras (and housewives). Polson had a nice little put back on a rebound, and then .... he added to the legend that is Polson Ice: Drained that shot-clock beating shot and I'll be damned if he didn't give somebody (Josh Wallace) the got sit down treatment with a block. (To be fair, Wallace is roughly 3 apples high in his vertical prowess, so it's not like Polson had to jump through the rafters for it, but then again, Polson not exactly a redwood, either)

Jarrod Polson is rumored to be on a emotional high right now, as we had gotten word that earlier this week, he had won 1st place in The Elks Hoop Shoot Contest for the 13 and under division. It's only a matter of time before he ends up the subject matter of a Taylor Swift song.

Don't look now, but we've got a Jon Hood sighting, and it's *gulp* on the playing floor DURING the game. In case you missed it, Hood was put in to see what kind of spark he could provide the Cats, and , probably due to the fact he plays defense like he is trying to cause a friction fire. And, he will talk trash.

And no, since the last time you have seen him on the floor, it did not appear that he been put in possession of a hair-brush .

And don't look now, but holy hell we out rebounded somebody! 43-30.

Alex Poythress had his best outing he has had, both effort wise and just being aware he was on a court, since about the 4th game of the season, or so it would seem as much as he has been the target of some disappointment and frustration on behalf the Big Blue Faithful (myself included in that). He finished with 12 points and made a noticeable improvement in his glass cleaning efforts, pulling down 7 rebounds.

Ryan Harrow , God love his shoe-addicted heart, also finished with 12 points and he tallied 8 assists. He did turn the ball over 5 times, but he was generally in control and ran the team very proficiently throughout the evening. I'm telling you, we are just scratching the surface on Harrow, and I for one am thrilled that this is our point guard.

Archie Goodwin also finished with a dozen points, and displayed that he might be a New Archie.

In a occurrence which you would not typically expect, two players carried the name Noel (be it first or surname) in tonight's game. However Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, despite early foul trouble, still made his presence felt. It's not quite Anthony Davis-like, but hell's far it's a presence. Noel connected in the 2nd half with a lob that resulted in his dunk which is one of the nastier ones I have seen in quite a while. Cleared the dude's head.

He finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 blocks. It's tough following perhaps the best college Basketball player in the last 20 years, but Noel is doing an admirable job.

Julius Mays was the only other Cat who saw the floor, which was about as to be expected with Hood seeing floor time as a direct result of Cauley-Stein's recent knee operation. Mays finished with 6 points, which was thanks to 2-4 three point shooting. His shot looked good when ever he put up attempts, even though as a team, the Cats shot miserable in the onset of the game, at which point they went 11 minutes without a make.

The Cats blew it open in the 2nd half, going up by as much as 27. They actually finished shooting fairly well, considering how atrocious the early going was, and shot around 54% for the game. They were 10-16 from the foul line.

a rather quirky occurrence is that Kentucky turned the ball over 15 times as compared to the surprisingly sparse 9 that Auburn collected for the night. Auburn is somewhat prone to turnovers.
Both teams shot 15 three's... Kentucky connected on 5 and Auburn put up the goose egg going 0 for that 15.

It was kinda' bittersweet, though. This wasn't the same Kentucky team I have been rooting for all season long. That one, at least for tonight, was replaced by a different Kentucky team, one of which I hope decides to stay for the remainder of the season.

This was a big test for them. No, not because I honestly believe that Auburn is good, they are not, but because it was on the road, in league play, in front of a packed and hostile crowd. They handled it well, and managed to disregard all of that and build a huge 2nd half lead after a mere 5 point lead at the half along with horrid shooting and some key player foul trouble. And, at times, looked dominating.

Oh, and Tony Barbee said his Tigers were, basically, scaredy cats tonight... and it all had to do with what was on the chest, not on the back.

I think I hear some transactions being rung up in Lexington, it appears as if some kids are buying into something.



Tonight, Grandma and Eric would have been happy, because the Cats indeed got shit right.