Checking up on the new guys

Though UK basketball is well under way, not much has been said on SAI about this year's team. We may not have a John Wall or a Demarcus, but we do have some new guys making a splash in the college basketball world (and of course, a few who still find themselves at the end of the bench). Here's what's up with the new faces of Kentucky basketball:

Terrence Jones: Thank goodness this guy chose Kentucky over Washington. He's already picked up a few SEC Freshman of the Week honors, been projected as an All-American, and has been placed the top 5 among draft boards. Jones has been an integral part of the team's success, and when he had his first bad game, Kentucky fell apart. Since then, the team has proven that they can still take over a game without Jones, but I hope that doesn't have to happen very often. He's definitely had a couple poor games. He had a terrible shooting percentage against Winthrop, no rebounds in the first half of the Mississippi Valley State game, and he's been in foul trouble several times, but everyone seems able to overlook all of these things because he's had enough great moments to make up for poor play. He averages over 18 points a game, close to 10 rebound a game, and has an impeccable ability to draw fouls. I'd like for Jones to be able to take on John Wall's role of taking over a game when Kentucky is in trouble, but there is work to be done for this to happen.

Brandon Knight: Knight is finally proving that he is who we thought he was. After a couple terrible games in Maui, B. Knight has stepped it up and is becoming the point guard that Calipari is looking for. I've been especially impressed with his defensive effort as of late. He averages 17.5 points a game, but needs to improve on assists (only 3.5 per game). At the beginning of the season, I would've said that Knight will be back next year, but it's looking as if we could lose him to the pros as well.

Doron Lamb: Well, he just broke the freshman scoring record for points in a game with 32. Lamb has been excelling off the bench and it's refreshing for UK fans to see a player who can drain threes after our outside shooting struggles from last year. He averages over 14 points a game, an average that has been skewed by a couple unproductive games, and has a 55.6% 3-pt shooting percentage. There have been questions about his defensive effort, but he has greatly improved on defense in the last few games.

Eloy Vargas: Man, this guy. He's played close to 20 minutes in several games, but rarely ever has more than three rebounds and/or two points. He has looked absolutely lost on the court at times and has been pretty disappointing for his size. Until yesterday. Vargas had his first decent game yesterday afternoon against Winthrop. He scored eight points and three blocks, boosting his average to 2.9 points per game and 1.0 block per game. We can only hope Vargas continues to play this way and continue to improve as we enter into conference play.

Stacey Poole: It seemed like it was going to be Poole's time to shine when Cal stated that he was disappointed with the play of John Hood and that he would be giving some of his minutes to Poole. In the game following this statement, Poole got in the game, didn't play well, and was taken out quickly. We have yet to see much of Stacey Poole since then, but hey, he made a three against Notre Dame!

Jarrod Polson: Jarrod is fulfilling the role of the player that everyone cheers for at the end of blow-out games. I even spotted Josh Harrellson chanting his name during the Mississippi Valley State game. Yesterday, Cal remarked that he needed an eight-man rotation and Polson could see more minutes, so that's some pretty big news for the little guy.

Enes Kanter: Free him. Please.

Look for more UK and SEC basketball posts coming in the next few weeks.