Oh Darius, can't wait to get you in Lexington

After seeing and listening to the debacle in Freedom Hall, I was afforded the opportunity to revive my Cat fandom with a viewing of future Cat Darius Miller. Miller's Mason County Royals were playing Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy in the 2007 Farm Bureau Classic at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center, in Pikeville, KY. It just so happened my nephew was playing in the game before Miller took the floor; so I decided to stick around and watch Darius play.

First off, in a great move (but kind of bittersweet after the UAB loss) when Mason County took the floor they played the UK fight song over the PA. I closed my eyes and imagined the scene next year with Darius, DeAndre, and Patrick warming up before a game. It almost brought tears to my eyes. On the first defensive play Darius stole the ball at mid-court and went uncontested to the basket for the first 2 on only 12 points in the game. Now while he only totaled 12 points, his team seemed to never trail by more than 10 or 12 points. What was great about Darius Miller tonight was that he never pressed and never tried to showcase. He was a "TEAM" player. He didn't even win the game MVP award. He is a member of a very talented team, that doesn't require his star like playing ability every trip down the court. He has good complement of players around him that can be just as dangerous.

He was silky smooth with the ball at times. He showed great ability to beat a press and create an open shot, or lure defenders to him which in turn opens up a player under the basket. We sure could use that type of play given the Wildcats inability to break a zone defense. He did have a couple of turnovers, but it wasn't the type cause by sloppy play, rather the type by maybe trying to make a tough assist that may be too tough to attempt. In the end he impressed, not on the stat sheet, but as a team player. Its easy for a star player to dominate around inferior talent and fill up the stat sheet. Darius showed tonight how he can be a cog in a well oiled machine, playing against good competition. I look forward to seeing him in Rupp next season amongst DeAndre Liggins, Patrick Patterson, and hopefully Scotty Hopson. Its always darkest before dawn. The future does indeed look bright.