UK: League will target Patterson, Meeks

When it comes to Saturday’s conference opener, familiarity breeds fiercer competition.
That’s when Kentucky expects in playing Vanderbilt in Rupp Arena.
For UK, that means Southeastern Conference opponents will try to make someone other than Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks win the game.
“If you’re playing Kentucky, you’re going to do your best not to let Patrick and Jodie beat you,” UK Coach Billy Gillispie said at a Friday news conference.
While identifying a third scorer has become a frequent topic, Gillispie said he’d prefer to have several players chipping in seven or eight points a game rather than a third option contributing, say, 16 points.
“We had three scorers last year and (opponents) didn’t have to guard some players,” the UK coach said. “I wanted all five guys to have to be guarded.”
Statistically, Vanderbilt presents a difficult defensive nut to crack. The Commodores have held opponents to 35.6-percent shooting, the fourth best number in the country. Opponents average 58.4 points, which ranks 21st.
“They really do a good job not letting you have very many easy baskets,” Gillispie said. “They stay between you and the basket. That sounds simple. You have to shoot over their defense. You usually have to earn baskets.”
Meeks and Patterson expect that defense directed that them, first and foremost.
“For this team to be good, we need others (to score),” Meeks said.
The possibility of a trick defense — say a box-and-one or a triangle-and-two — has been a topic of practice conversation, Patterson said.
Patterson mentioned several teammates as possible third or fourth or fifth scorers: Ramon Harris, DeAndre Liggins, Michael Porter, Perry Stevenson, Josh Harrellson.
“It’s third time to step up and shine,” he said.
This rise-and-shine time figures to come almost daily.
While noting such games as North Carolina and Miami served as good preparation for SEC intensity, Gillispie said, “You’ve got 16 in a row now. You can’t take a day off or you get bombarded.”
Speaking of bombardment, Vanderbilt put a 93-52 whipping on Kentucky the last time the teams played.
The Cats haven’t forgotten.
“You’ve got to think about it a little bit,” Porter said. “Losing by that much is never pretty.
“Yeah, we want to get them back. But we want to win anyway.”
Wide-open SEC
Kentucky wants to get off to a good start, in part, because the SEC race appears wide open, so each victory and defeat could make a big difference.
“Anybody can get first and anybody can get last,” Porter said.
With four of the next five games on the road, UK feels added incentive to start 1-0 by beating Vanderbilt.