Calipari era officially underway as UK rolls over Campbellsville University 74-38

The John Calipari era , minus John Wall, got underway tonight in Lexington as UK had the first of their two exhibition games, this one against NAIA Campbellsville University. Unfortunately my wonderful Brighthouse service in Orlando did not allow me to watch this live, a few things stood out from perusing over the official stat line.

1. Where was DeAndre Liggins? All the Cats that were eligible to play, did except for Liggins. I hope this is not a sign of trouble brewing with DeAndre as all indications had him turning his game around and ready to be a real impact for UK this year.
2. I am not going to make a huge deal out of this as it was an exhibition game and the first game against another team, but UK had 23 turnovers. I would expect this number to be drastically reduced by the next game.
3. Even with no John Wall and just 4 points by Patrick Patterson, UK won by 36.
4. You can't do much better defensively than allowing 36 points. UK only allowed 11 in the first half.
5. Darnell Dodson likes to shoot and may not be that big a dropoff from Jodie Meeks if he starts. Dodson had 19 points on 7-14 shooting and 2-6 form the 3 point line.
6. Perry Stevenson = instant offense. I loved this stat. In just 6 minutes, Perry had 11 points, was 2-2 from the field (1-1 from 3 point) and 6-7 from the line.
7. DeMarcus Cousins won the freshman big man matchup against Orton, 11 points to 4 and Cousins has 6 boards and 4 blocks. Orton did lead all players with 7 rebounds though.
8. UK's big men have to handle the ball better. Patterson, Cousins, Orton, Harrellson, and Stevenson combined for 1 assist vs 11 turnovers.
9. UK 3 pointers need to improve. 3-14 from beyond the arc.

All in all, I think this is exactly what Calipari expected when he warned us that UK had a lot of work to do. The big thing to look for is how improved UK is when Wall settles into the lineup in the next exhibition game. Here is a look at UK's stats from the game:

• Miller: 29 minutes, 4 points. 3 rebound, 3 assists, 2-5 FG
• Dodson: 30 minutes, 19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assists, 7-14 FG
• Bledsoe: 29 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4-7 FG
• Cousins: 17 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds, 0 assists, 5-8 FG
• Patterson: 31 minutes, 4 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists, 2-7 FG
• Harris: 15 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2-3 FG
• Stevenson: 6 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists, 2-2 FG
• Hood: 13 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 1-4 FG
• Orton: 18 minutes, 4 points, 7 rebounds, 0 assists, 2-3 FG
• Krebs: 4 minutes, 2 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0-0 FG
• Harrelson: 9 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 0 assists, 1-3 FG