2009-10 Totem Pole

This is from May 7, 2009. Crucify me if you want (the update is coming):

With the signing of Eric Bledsoe yesterday, the makeup of the 2009-10 Cats is nearly complete. Anything added to the current roster is gravy. Yes that means you John Wall. Since the roster/scholarship situation has been discussed ad nauseum via the interwebs, I thought I would throw up a totem pole of most important players for this fall's team. I cannot imagine this would be the same as your totem, so feel free to crush me in the comments. Again, this is not best player, best athlete, etc. I will try and correspond each 2009-10 player with a player from the 1995-96 team, or someone of their potential ilk.

Staring at the top, Jodie Meeks is the most important. I know point guard is the position we've been lacking lately, but if Jodie for some reason doesn't come back, we'll lose a ton. I don't think you can put a price on seniority and leadership for such a young team, and that's exactly what we'll have. Not to mention someone I KNOW can fill it up from outside. We could win without him, it'll simply be easier with him. Many of these studs coming in have been used to dominating games for four years. That will not necessarily be the case come October/November. How will they handle adversity? Most have probably never felt it. The experience of Jodie, or any upperclassman for that matter, can help temper the emotions of an 18-year old on the court. Tony Delk clone from '96. Hmm, isn't Delk back this year. Interesting.

Pat Patterson comes in at #2. I would've put Pat in the top spot, but when its all said and done, we'll have enough bodies down low to provide consistent play. The reason we need Pat back bad is, to be frank, to help school Kwame Brown DeMarcus Cousins on how to practice. Maybe he's a hustler in practice, maybe not. From what I've gathered in what little time I've had to see him, is his laziness. Coach speak can only go so far for a young man. To have Pat come back and show this kid the ropes for a year would do wonders for Cousins and the program as a whole. Antoine Walker without the shimmy and square head.

Darius Miller and Ramon Harris are next. Probably for no other reason than I trust these guys. I know what I'm getting with both. Miller having a wide-range of offensive skills, Harris providing a much needed intangibles role for what could be a loaded team. Harris definitely won't see the type of minutes he saw last year, but I see him as the type of glue guy who will get key defensive stops and throw his body all over the floor in a Allen Edwards/Ravi Moss '04/Dale Brown '93 type of mold. Miller will either play the role of freshman Ron Mercer or junior Derek Anderson. Either is fine with me.

This brings us to the all important point guard. Coach Cal was probably right when he talked to Bledsoe. You're the guy. There's no promise of John Wall coming, and he's already seen what he currently has or at least has an idea of the skill set of Liggins and Galloway. Eric Bledsoe has quite possibly stumbled onto a gold mine. If he's the guy, he will have an unreal team around him. If Wall comes in, he'll have a year to learn from a potential top NBA pick and get a chance to experience Cal's dribble-drive. Depending on how everything else goes down, he could be the 1995-'96 Anthony Epps/Wayne Turner character. Epps being someone who realized what he had around him and just tried to stay outta the way. Turner being someone who got decent minutes, but mostly sat back and learned everything he could for the following years. Which will it be?

DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Perry Stevenson is going to round out the top eight. All three will possibly challenge for minutes at the same spot. They'll all get chances at the four and the five. If you go on talent alone, Cousins and Orton are your guys. Stevenson could excel in this offense simply on oops and putbacks. He knows the speed of the game and I'm sure "the Coz" has learned a few tricks in his time at UK. A UK senior will not go down without a fight. Mark it down. He's playing for a professional career. Motivation is powerful. Think Walter McCarty minutes/importance.

Jon Hood and Darnell Dodson will hovering around Ramon Harris waiting for him to falter. If he falters, everything I said about him goes out the window. Hood and Dodson will have to make their money on hustle plays and defense this year, which is totally fine by me. Think of these guys as the Jeff Sheppard role.

I've just went through the top 10 players for UK this fall and you can literally make a case for playing time for each of them. What a time to be a UK fan.

Matt Pilgrim. C'mon, we're talking about practice, no? Prove me wrong. Let's go with Jared Prickett. Sorry Matt.

Everyone else (Kevin Galloway, DeAndre Liggins, Josh Harrellson, A.J. Stewart) is in the danger zone. As Matt said in his scholarship recap, these guys could be fighting for one spot if John Wall comes to UK. If he doesn't come, those guys are fighting for two spots. These four guys will be fighting for the fat Nazr and Oliver Simmons roles.

Dwight Perry + Mark Krebs = Jason Lathrem + Cameron Mills

Here's the 2009-10 UK totem pole:

1. Jodie Meeks*
2. Pat Patterson*
3. Darius Miller
4. Ramon Harris
5. Eric Bledsoe
6. DeMarcus Cousins
7. Daniel Orton
8. Perry Stevenson
9. Jon Hood
10. Darnell Dodson
11. Matt Pilgrim
12. Kevin Galloway
13. DeAndre Liggins
(14.) Josh Harrellson
(15.) A.J. Stewart
(16.) Donald Williams
17. Dwight Perry**
18. Mark Krebs**

*- could leave this spring
** - denotes Walk-on, definitely on the roster

Tell me how bad I screwed this up, and what would you change?