Kentucky Crushes Puerto Rico 74-49 in The Bahama Tour

Kentucky's first game of the Bahamas Tour is in the books as the Cats defeat Puerto Rico by a score of 74-49.

There was a few things that caught my attention during the course of the game the first was Cal's ability to sub five players at a time. When a college team has the luxury of that kind of depth, things start to get difficult for the opposing team as we seen with Puerto Rico. You could tell that half way through the second half, Puerto Rico was completely worn out and that is thanks to Kentucky subbing five for five. The second thing you would've noticed have you watched the game was the difference in the bodies of the returning players. These guys have put in some major gym time during the off season and it shows as you look at guys like the Harrison's and Dakari Johnson. The all look leaner and in better condition than at any point last season. Along with the body changes comes more speed and agility from the Harrison's and the rest of the returning players. That is something that will be fun to see more of once the season gets started.

The freshman looked as good as advertised. Devin Booker is a very smooth player with an excellent outside shot and an ability to drive to the rim. Karl Towns Jr. is/will be a force to reckon with on the inside. He has great foot work and excellent post moves which includes a beautiful left handed hook shot that will be unstoppable by seasons end. The real story of the game was the play by freshman, Tyler Ulis. Standing a whopping 5'9" (if he's lucky), Tyler is an absolute bulldog on the defensive end of things. He is the quickest most ferocious defender I have seen at Kentucky since Cliff Hawkins. I couldn't count how many times Tyler deflected a pass or just simply slapped the ball out of a players hands with ease. This kid is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams as his athletic ability, court vision and speed will be a tough match-up for anyone in the country right now.

Of course we didn't get to see the likes of Trey Lyels or Willie Cauley-Stein as both are recovering from injuries. But, once they are cleared to play and you add them to the line-ups we witnessed today, things begin to look absurd talent and depth wise. There is no doubt that Kentucky will be the deepest team in the country and they will use that to their advantage all season long.

All in all, it was a fun game to watch and one that left you begging for the start of the season. Kentucky has several more games to come this week and the next one is tomorrow afternoon on ESPNU at 1pm against some French International team that I can't even pronounce let along spell. 

I can get used to writing about and watching basketball in August, Just sayin...