With the final seconds on the clock, I bet no one had Jarrod Polson as the one who would seal the deal. The kid has shown up, pracitced everyday, and when his name was called, he took the bull by the horns. With a stat line (10pts,3ast, and 1stl) like he had last night, he deserves his own headline in the newspaper. John Calipari said in the preseason that he had no problem playing Jarrod some minutes at the point. But let's be honest, who believed him? Seeing what Jarrod was capable of against a quality opponent, I have to admit I'm in favor of the kid getting more minutes.
Now to the game. What we saw last night is what you'd expect to see out of a bunch of freshman in their first game of the season. There was a lot to like, and A LOT to dislike. Turnovers, lack of rebounding, guys getting lost on defense, and giving up offensive rebounds (23 to be exact) will give you the results like you saw last night. In the first half, Kentucky overwhelmed Maryland on the inside and out. In the second half Kentucky spent much of the time clinging to what was once a 15 point lead. Maryland was getting offensive rebounds at will, and converting them for very easy baskets. With basically two 7 footers in the game, one of them being the #1 recruit in the country, that is beyond uncalled for. This should be a very good rebounding Kentucky team, it will just take time for them to understand what they have to do on this level. But unfortunately, there isn't much time before their next big test. Duke and Kentucky will tip it off Tuesday night in Atlanta on ESPN. Until then, I imagine practices will be very spirited, and rebounding will be a big focus.
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