Enough with the exhibition games, the Cats opened their regular season last night with a (fairly) impressive win over East Tennessee State University, beating the Buccaneers 88-65.
In similar fashion to last year's opening round NCAA tournament game, it was up to Kentucky's freshmen, albeit a different set, to provide the necessary firepower to see off a spirited effort from their border rivals. Terrence Jones scored 12 straight early in the second half to spark a Wildcat run from which the Buccaneers would never recover.
The freshman power forward-turned-center finished the night with an impressive double-double, totaling 25 points and 12 rebounds, a performance that is sure to ignite the debate as to how quickly Jones will head to the NBA. The big man ran the floor incredibly well, made a couple threes and also turned in a very good game defensively.
And as for the shooting woes of last year's squad? Hopefully they followed Wall, Bledsoe and Co. to the NBA, and with the number of threes the Cats knocked down in their season opener, it looks as if that may be the case. Freshman point guard Brandon Knight knocked down four from behind the arc and fellow newbie Doron Lamb led UK with five treys.
Maybe the best harbinger for this team was the play of Deandre Liggins, a former cast-off who flew a bit under the radar last night but finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Liggins will have to be a leader for this team, and hopefully with the spotlight squarely on the freshmen (again), he'll be able to step up and show why he was so highly recruited in the first place.
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