Kentucky Men's Basketball: Transylvania Pioneers at Kentucky Wildcats Preview

Courtesy of ukrecruiting.bloginky.com

Tonight is the night everybody has been waiting for. The first chance to see the sensational six freshmen in action. Well fabulous five since Andrew Harrison won't be suiting up due to a knee injury. I'm assuming this is nothing serious and if it wasn't an exhibition that he would be suiting up and ready to go.

The Vitals

Day:          Friday

Date:         Nov. 1, 2013

Location:  Lexington, Ky.

Time:        7:00 p.m. ET

TV:            FS South/UK IMG

Radio:       UK IMG

Transylvania Pioneers (0-0, 0-0)

Transylvania finished the year 20-8 overall and 14-4 in the Heartland Conference, which was good enough for second in the league. They return six players from last years team with two starters returning. Like Kentucky this is a very young team with 13 freshmen on the team.

Head Coach Brian Lane is in his 12th season as coach of the Pioneers and sports a 211-91 record while leading Transylvania to the NCAA DIII tournament five times. Won Coach of the Year for the Heartland Conference four times since taking over.

Parker Stansberry is their leading returning scorer at 8.9 PPG and Tate Cox follow him with 7.8 PPG. Parker is the returning leader in rebounds at 3.4 RPG followed by Taylor Botkin at 3.0 RPG. Cox is the returning leader with 23 assists. While Stansberry also is the returning leader in blocks with 14 and Botkin in steals with 22.

Transylvania shot 48.2% from the floor, 38.3% from beyond the arc and 70.2% from the line while scoring 70.5 PPG. Their opponents shot 44.1% from the floor, 37% from beyond the arc and 69.1% from the line while scoring 61.6 PPG.

Kentucky Wildcats (0-0, 0-0)

Kentucky is coming off a rough season after winning the National Title two years ago. They finished the season 21-12 overall and 12-6 in the SEC finishing second in the conference. For most schools this would be a successful season but considering Kentucky failed to make the NCAA Tournament and lost to Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT makes it a terrible season for Big Blue Nation.

The Wildcats are lead by Head Coach John Calipari who is entering his fifth season at Kentucky is 123-26 while at UK and 526-164 overall. Led UK to the Final Four in his third year UK while winning a National Championship the following year.

UK returns seven players this year with Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein as the only players returning who started a significant amount of games. Like Transylvania there are a lot of freshmen on this team with nine on this Kentucky squad.

Poythress and Cauley-Stein are the leading returning scorers with 11.2 PPG and 8.3 PPG respectively. They are also the leading rebounders with Cauley-Stein at 6.2 RPG and Poythress at 6.0 RPG. Jarrod Polson is the leading assist man with 35. Cauley-Stein is also the returning leader in both blocks and steals with 60 and 24 respectively.

Kentucky shot 47.5% from the floor, 34.6% from beyond the arc and 64.2% from the line while scoring 72.6 PPG. Their opponents shot 39.2% from the floor, 32.4% from beyond the arc and 71.9% from the line while scoring 64.5 PPG.

Edge: Kentucky

Kentucky clearly has the edge here. They are bigger, faster and stronger than Transylvania. Transylvania will put up a fight because they are a good team who won't be afraid of the moment but by the end of the game the talent differential will just be too much for Transylvania.

What I'm Looking For

• Who will run PG for Kentucky and how will the offense look with somebody else running it. I'm expecting Jarrod Polson to be the starting point guard since he is the more experienced player between him and Hawkins. I want to see the offense run smoothly and have a good flow to it.
• Can James Young repeat his performance in the scrimmage? This is probably what I'm most excited to see. Young had an amazing scrimmage going for 27 points and while I don't expect him to score 20+, I want to see if that playmaking ability is there and that explosiveness we saw from him in the scrimmage.
• What will the rotation be, especially for the bigs. Who will Calipari bring off the bench first? Is Dakari or Lee going to be the guy or Willis who has been making a noise for himself in practice and might be the first guy off the bench for the Wildcats this season.
• Is Randle the real deal? The answer is yes but I'm still excited to see just how dominant he can be and in a game like this I expect him to just absolutely dominant from start to finish.

My Prediction

Kentucky will win this game. It will be fairly close earlier but they will pull away for a sizable lead. UK 86-49

Kentucky Men's Basketball: 2013-2014 Preview The Bigs

instragram.com/juliusrandle30

I decided to not break up the rest of the players into forwards and centers like previously mentioned. With there only being six players left we will cover them all in here. Well without further ado here are the big man who will be suiting up for the Blue and White this year.

#00 Marcus Lee 6-9 215 FR Antioch, Calif. (Deer Valley): Marcus Lee is another one of the forgotten freshmen whose minutes will be lower than they would be at any other school. Ranked as the #19 player by Rivals he chose UK over California, Louisville and Duke. First thing I notice right away with Marcus is while he is extremely skilled he will need to gain a lot of strength to be consistent at the college level. About 90% of Lee's weaknesses are due to his lack of strength. What he does bring though is great length with a 7-1 wingspan and crazy athleticism. Amazing finisher who can dunk everything and a premier shot blocker. Will definitely have his moments this year but as he gets stronger he will start to take his game to another level.

#15 Willie Cauley-Stein 7-0 244 SO Olathe, Kan. (Northwest): So WCS is my favorite player on this team considering I'm from Kansas also and grew up not too far away from Olathe. One of the few experienced players on this team and will be looked at to help these young freshmen bigs learn what it takes to play down low. Came to UK as the #40 player ranked by Rivals and chose UK over Alabama, Florida and Kansas State. He is vastly improved on the offensive end this year by showing more touch on his shots but is still raw on that end but is constantly improving. Will bring a hard working attitude on the defensive end getting rebounds and swatting balls away and look out for him on fast breaks as he is big and athletic. Should be the most improved player on the team.

#22 Alex Poythress 6-8 239 SO Clarksville, Tenn. (Northeast): Another one of the few returning players with playing experience. AP was ranked #8 by Rivals coming out of high school and chose UK over Florida, Memphis, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky. Poythress is obviously extremely talented and athletic but he always leaves me wondering if he really gave it all he had. Needs to play harder more consistently and I worry that on this team where he won't be the focal point if we will get that. Very solid defender and rebounder and has his moments where he can take over games offensively. Has all the skills and can do a little bit of everything but needs to stand out more in games as his talent says he should.

#30 Julius Randle 6-9 250 FR Dallas, Texas (Prestonwood Christian): This guy leaves me speechless. He really is college basketball's version of Lebron James as he just do everything. He can score down low, has a great mid-range shot and will knock down 3's with ease. His ability to drive and dish though is very underrated. Randle is an exceptional ball handler and passer. My favorite quality about him has to be his relentlessness. This guy just goes 110% all the time. Will take games over with his scoring and defense but also shows ability and desire to get rest of team involved. #2 ranked player by Rivals and chose UK over KU, Texas and Florida. My pick for College Player of the Year and #1 draft pick in the NBA next summer.

#35 Derek Willis 6-9 205 FR Mt. Washington, Ky. (Bullitt East): Derek is another local kid from Kentucky who was is a 3-star recruit and ranked #115 by Rivals and chose UK over Indiana, Louisville and Purdue. Very skilled forward who can shoot from anywhere on the court. Has ability to put ball on the floor and then score off the dribble, which is very advanced and rare for a young post player. Needs to work on his strength and hit the weight room and has also been known to be a little immature at times on the court and will need to keep his emotion in check. I don't know where his minutes will come from his year but like Dawkins should develop and be a big time player for UK in the future. Very similar to Kyle Wiltjer offensively but should be much better on the defensive end.

#44 Dakari Johnson 7-0 265 FR Brooklyn, N.Y. (Montverde Academy): Dakari is just a big strong guy. He reclassified to the class of 2013 and was ranked #9 by Rivals and chose UK over Syracuse, Georgetown, Kansas, North Carolina and Ohio State. Dakari is a very solid player on offense. He has the ability to score with his back to the basket with a right hand hook shot and is a major threat on the offensive glass. Brings that New York toughness that you see in players from that area. Probably one of the least athletic on this team as he does struggle to get elevation, which can hurt him on the offensive end. Needs to work on his left hand and footwork to become a consistent scorer. Struggles with defending players outside of the paint and lacks lateral movement to be a shot blocking threat from the weak side. Will be a solid player though as a freshmen for Kentucky and have his moments.

And that does it for the preview of the upcoming season for UK basketball. My guess for the starting 5 this year will be Andrew Harrison at PG, Aaron at SG, Poythress at SF, Randle at PF and WCS at C. I would start James Young over Poythress due to AP's lack of motivation but he will get plenty of minutes off the bench along with Polson, Hawkins, Lee, Dakari and Derek.

Look out for a pre-game article for the exhibition game against Transylvania on Friday.

Kentucky Men's Basketball: Preview 2013-2014 Guards Pt. 2

James Young courtesy of ESPN

Today we will continue our preview of the upcoming season by reviewing the rest of the guards on this Kentucky team. This group of players doesn't include anybody who will make a huge impact on this years team but players who will still be important both this year and in the future. And with that let's get started after the jump.

Resume

Rudy Salazar
2100 Oleander Dr.     Lexington, KY     40504     (785)204-2790     rjsalazar09@gmail.com

OBJECTIVE: Copy Editor Intern

EDUCATION

University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Bachelor of Arts, Journalism                                                          Anticipated May 2015

Wichita State University, Wichita, KS

Bachelor of Arts, Sport Management                                            Anticipated May 2015

GPA: 3.17

WORK EXPERIENCE

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY, Wichita KS

Intramural Referee                                                                       October 2009-March 2011

     Referee events such as Flag Football, Basketball and Volleyball

·                   Set up events and take down

·                  Clean up work area at end of each night

·                  Serve as liaison between teams and Intramural Director

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY, Wichita KS

Marketing Intern                                                                       August 2009-February 2013

·               Run in-game promotions

·               Assists sponsors with any assistance

·              Write scripts to be used by PA and Production Crew

·              Assist with creation of in-game promotions

SKILLS

·      Microsoft Office                                             Fast learner    

·      Knowledge of Mac and PC                            Self-starter

·      Social Media                                                   Leadership

·      Skilled multi-tasker                                         Cooperative with others

REFERENCES

John Brewer                                                                               Jason Malay                                                          

Associate AD/Marketing & Strategic Communication     Assistant Director of Marketing/Game Operations          

Wichita State University                                                         Wichita State University

jbrewer@goshockers.com                                                       jmalay@goshockers.com

(316) 978-5497                                                                         (316) 978-5447

Buck Ryan
Associate Professor of Journalism
University of Kentucky
buck.ryan@uky.edu
(859) 257-4360

This I Believe is My Dream Job

Joe Faraoni/ESPN

This I believe is what my dream job will be. Hosting my own sport radio show on a major network such as ESPN, Fox Sports, etc. I love everything about having this type of job. Spending my days talking about subjects I'm interested in and listening to what other people have to say. I love everything about sports and since I can't play them professionally I want to spend the rest of my life covering them and giving out my opinion on them.

I went to college originally at Wichita State University to pursue a career working in sports and there I was able to obtain a degree in Sport Management. What I learned though after spending my time there working for the university while it was a good job and a good place to work I wasn't really all that interested in the business side of sports. I didn't really care about marketing a athletic institution or convincing season ticket holders to renew their tickets. I started to realize though that I was listening to 610 Sport Radio in Kansas City, Mo everyday. From there I realized that this is what I enjoy doing. My favorite moments are talking with my dad about what our favorite team should do or just about general sport topics in general.

I believe Kentucky gives me the best opportunity to achieve these goals. I had the chance to go to a lot of school such as Syracuse, Missouri and Kansas, which is the school I grew up rooting for but when visiting Kentucky there was just something about the place that spoke to me that didn't occur at the other schools where I truly believed this place would put me in the position to achieve my dream job one day.

This is something I want extremely bad. I know just by completing a program and getting a degree will not guarantee me any success that I must continue to work on my craft to achieve this dream but I will do whatever it takes to reach my goal and I believe I will be one of the more well known alums of the University of Kentucky when it is all said and done.

Kentucky Men's Basketball: Preview 2013-2014 Guards

Aaron and Andrew Harrison courtesy of USA Today Sports

With Big Blue Madness now done with and the season getting underway next week with the Blue/White scrimmage on Tuesday, Oct. 29th and an exhibition against Transylvania Friday, Nov. 1st what better time to do a preview of the players who will be wearing the blue and white this year. This will be a four-part segment with the Guards on this team being split up into two different segments. After the jump is the first part.

#1 James Young 6-6 215 FR Rochester Hills, Mich. (Rochester): It's not too often that a player ranked #11 by Rivals gets overlooked but that is the case with James Young but you can't really blame people with the amount of exciting players on this team. Somebody is going to get overlooked. Young though is already starting to make a name for himself though without even playing a minute by having an impressive offseason so far. What makes Young so intriguing is his ability to not only be a lights out 3-point shooter at 6-6 but also has the aggressiveness and willingness to drive to the basketball and use his height and athleticism. The only concern will be a lack of strength, which could limit him both defensively and rebounding but I don't see this being much of a problem. Expect Young to be one of the best 6th man's in the nation and take over games where other Kentucky players are struggling.

#2 Aaron Harrison 6-6 218 FR Richmond, Texas (Travis): While Aaron is considered to be the less talented of the twins he is still the top Shooting Guard prospect coming out of high school and expected to be a high pick in next years NBA Draft. Harrison's strength to this team will be his ability to shoot the three either moving or with his feet set as he can go through stretches where he will just simply not miss. Not the best of ball handlers but still good enough to combine it with his strength and craftiness to get to the basket almost whenever he wants. Only real weakness is just youth and lack of experience at the D1 level. Most of his weaknesses will be fixed as he gains that experience and learns the game.

#3 Jarrod Polson 6-2 182 SR Nicholasville, Ky. (West Jessamine): Jarrod is the local kid who chose to walk-on to the team instead of taking a scholarship to play at Liberty University. He is now a scholarship player at UK and while his playing time will be almost non-exsistent due to the talent ahead of him this is a senior who has been here for the high's (National Title) and lows (NIT loss) and will be able to help these talented freshman learn what it takes to win at this level and mental side to the game. Can be counted on for depth if injuries or fouls or just freshmen mistakes creep into a game. Player you can count on.

#4 Jon Hood 6-7 215 RS-SR Madisonville, Ky. (North Hopkins): Another local kid who was highly recruited coming out of high school as the #40th ranked recruit by Rivals and chose in-state Kentucky over Ole Miss, Tennessee and Georgia. Due to competing for playing time with NBA talent players hasn't had the opportunity to play the minutes he probably thought he would but has toughened it out and will provide a lot of leadership to this young team and a player who you can rely on if the situation rises up. Reliable three point shooter with size.

#5 Andrew Harrison 6-6 215 FR Richmond, Texas (Travis): Andrew is the more hyped of the two twins being that he is a 6-6 PG. You don't see point guards that big in college or even in the NBA that often. Andrew was listed as the #5 player in the nation and the #1 PG by Rivals. He is big and strong and takes advantage of his size to muscle his way past smaller guards into the lane to get easy buckets for both himself and his teammates. Andrew is exactly what your looking for in a point guard as his best ability is he is able to make everybody else around him better. This team will go as Andrew takes them. Point guard play was a problem for UK last year but this year expect Andrew to lead this team and be the leader even as a freshman.

Keep posted for the next part of this series tomorrow where I will tackle the rest of the guards on this UK Basketball team.