When John Calipari started the season talking about implementing the "platoon system", the first thing he said he wanted to avoid was pitting players against one another. He didn't want people to judge the two "platoons" as two different teams. But, when you watch the games, it's no secret that each unit has a different style of play. The "Blue Platoon" (the starting platoon) has a more methodical approach to the game. They run set plays and try to get the best shot possible. That's not surprising seeing as how they are the older more experienced squad. The "White Platoon" is a different story entirely....
When the second group hits the floor, the intensity one both ends of the floor pick up tremendously. On the defensive end, they play in your face, aggravating defenses that, for lack of a better word, just pisses the opponent off. With that style of defense, it immediately leads to offense. Several times throughout the game when the second squad is on the floor, they will force a turnover that will more times than not lead to an easy bucket on the other end. They are just pure energy the entire time they're on the floor. Calipari can ask fans and media alike NOT to judge the two "platoons" as two different teams but it's going to happen and ESPN did just that... Sort of...
The World Wide Leader in Sports posted this stat on Twitter showing how the offense is more efficient when Tyler Ulis is on the floor...
Now, I'm not saying the Ulis is the better of the two point guards, but it sure does seem like the game is ran a lot smoother with the 5'9" guard at the helm. He is quicker, can stay in front of his man better on defense and find the open man just as good as his counter part. He is leading the team in assists and it's no surprise especially when you look at what he did against UNC, 8 assists, 3 turnovers and three points. That's just impressive when you consider the type of defense Carolina played all night long.
Now, it wouldn't be fair to not give Andrew's stats for the same game for a comparison. Harrison finished the game with 11 points, 5 assists and 3 turnovers. Another good stat line and one that any team in the country would take from their point guard in a game like yesterdays.
As you can see, both guards are good at what they do and make everyone else around them better as well. The thing is, Harrison and Ulis play two entirely different games at the same position so comparing the two is absurd. Andrew can do things on the floor that Tyler can only dream about and the same with Ulis. Don't you think Tyler would love to muscle his way to the rim with brute strength the way Andrew does? Don't you think that Andrew would love to have Ulis' quickness and ability to stay in a guys face on defense? Sure, they both would love to be able to do everything, but the fact of the matter is, they can't. They each have their own skill set and are damn good using them. We shouldn't compare the two to find out who's better, instead, we should be thankful to have both players on the same team, don't you think?
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