By John Nestor

Kentucky's Coach Calipari to Rely on Two More Freshman in National Title Bid

 

Lexington, KY

John Calipari will have to rely on two more freshmen to take him to the promised land.

The coach of the preseason No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats, who has feasted on the one-and-done talents to take him to the brink of his first national title only to come up short, will be relying on point guard Marquise Teague and forward Anthony Davis to possibly get him over the top.

The Wildcats' sights will certainly be set on North Carolina, which returns its entire starting five, two key reserves and a trio of talented freshman. The preseason No. 1 Tar Heels, who dropped a 76-69 decision to Kentucky in the Elite Eight last season, are the prohibitive favorites to win the national title.

That Wildcats' team last season featured one-and-down point guard Brandon Knight, chosen by the Detroit Pistons with the eighth overall pick. Kentucky, also lost starting center Josh Harrellson and wingman DeAndre Liggins, both second-round picks, from that 29-win team.

The previous season Kentucky lost freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe to the NBA after advancing to the regional finals.

Enter Teague and Davis, potentially the eighth and ninth players, respectively, to play one year and go to the NBA since the new rule came into effect in 2005.

Teague, the brother of former Wake Forest star and Atlanta Hawk Jeff Teague, is hoping to become the fifth straight Calipari point guard to jump right to the NBA after one season.

Derrick Rose, the first, was a Rookie of the Year award winner in 2007-08 and MVP last season. Tyreke Evans was Rookie of the Year in 2008-09, Wall recorded a triple-double in his sixth game last season, and Knight averaged 17.3 points and 4.2 assists.

"During the season, it is about our team. The minute the season ends, it is about those individual players, and we help them make decisions," Calipari said. "We give them information so they can make decisions on what they want to do."

The 6-2 Teague averaged 22.7 points, over four rebounds and nearly six assists for Pike High School in Indianapolis, Ind. He may be the fastest player end-to-end in college basketball right now, comparing favorably to Wall, who is a whiz with the ball. And Teague hasn't been resting on his laurels since arriving on campus.

"College is another step-up. It's not high school where you can just beat players one on one every time," Teague said. "We're all ready for it, but it's a big step up.

"I came in at 170 pounds and am now 187. I really just started lifting hard when I got here. You have to go hard here. It has improved my game; I can take bumps a lot better when I'm going to the basket so it has helped me to be able to finish better."

His first-step quickness will present a lot of 3-point opportunities for wings Darius Miller and Doron Lamb, both talented long-distance marksmen, along with bigs Terrence Jones, who turned down the NBA lottery to return for his sophomore season, and Davis, a wonderful blend of size, skill and athleticism.

The Chicago native stands 6-10 after growing eight inches since his sophomore year at Perspectives Charter High School. Being 6-2, Davis had guard skills; ballhandling, outside shooting, agility which he retained as he filled out to 220 pounds. He exploded into the No. 1 prospect in the country after averaging 32 points and 22 rebounds last season.

Davis will score inside, outside and penetrate to the basket but will also add solid defense. With his guard skills and agility, Davis is an excellent shot blocker, especially from the weak side.

"He's really good, he's a great kid," Calipari says of Davis. "This kid has a smile on his face. If I told him, you're playing center and you're going to have to slug it out, he would say, okay. "

Because of his unique set of skills for a big man, Calipari has even changed the Wildcats' fastbreak scheme.

"I don't want to run him to the rim because that's not what he is," coach said. "Get out there and run and make plays, and then slide in there if you need to. "

Davis will get plenty of help inside from Jones, a first team Blue Ribbon All-America selection and SEC Player of the Year. The 6-9, 250-pound behemoth averaged 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds last season and like Davis, combines finesse, power, outside shooting and shot blocking.

Calipari doesn't want his prized sophomore, who turned down being a likely lottery pick to return, to defer to the star frosh.

"I said, Terrence, you look at these freshmen and you say, you guys are all really good. You are just not better than me," Calipari said. "You look at them and tell them, you're really good, you're good; none of you are better than me and he's practicing that way. He's trying to say, look, I went through this. I just went to a Final Four. I got 15 rebounds in the Final Four game."

Jones did more than tell his new teammates it was his team. He showed them. Jones dropped 52 points and grabbed 16 rebounds with six assists in a late-October Blue-White scrimmage.

When the regular season begins Friday against Marist, Calipari only wants the best for his players. For Jones. Davis. Teague.

"I want them to also dream big dreams. I want them to feel good about why -- why make them feel bad about wanting to be the best? I want them to be the best. I want our team to be the best. . I want them to think beyond their surroundings."

If that happens, Coach Cal's surroundings in April could be The Final Four in New Orleans.

 

Frosh Anthony Davis racks up double-double, Kentucky demolishes Marist

Lexington, KY

Freshman forward Anthony Davis tallied 23 points and 10 boards and the Kentucky Wildcats opened up their season with a 108-58 demolition over Marist Red Foxes Friday night at Rupp Arena.

Davis, the freshman standout out of Chicago, came through with a big performance in his college debut as he shot 10-for-13 from the field to lead the young and talented Wildcats to a 50-point victory.

Freshman standout Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague also made a nice impression in their first college basketball games, combining for 31 points.

Freshman forward Kyle Wiltjer tallied 14 points off the bench, while sophomore forward Terrence Jones recorded 8 points and 9 boards for the Wildcats.

Freshman guard Isaiah Morton and junior guard Dorvell Carter combined for 25 points to pace the Red Foxes, who went toe-to-toe against the highly-ranked Wildcats early on before succumbing.

Kentucky shot 46-for-75 on the floor (.613 percent) while mauling Marist to just 20-for-63 shooting (.317 percent). The Wildcats also dominated the Red Foxes in rebounding (50-27), assists (24-10) and blocks (13-4).

Kentucky, ranked No.2 in the preseason poll, will have its first real test Tuesday against No.13 Kansas.

Marist will try to bounce back from the loss when they visit the University of South Florida Bulls Monday.

 

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Kentucky's Coach Calipari to Rely on Two More Freshman in National Title Bid