Matt Pilgrim
Loyal reader Ron e-mails:
I didn’t see this posted on any of the Kentucky basketball web sites. Matt Pilgrim, in an exhibition game played on 11/7 against Central Oklahoma, did not start but played 18 minutes and scored 14 points with 13 rebounds. He also shot 3-8 on FT, committed 4 of OSU’s 27 turnovers and fouled out. Who would you keep on your team, Pilgrim, Liggins or Krebs?
Indeed, a check of the box score from Oklahoma State’s 89-80 win over Central Oklahoma last Saturday shows that Pilgrim made five-of-seven shots, including a three-pointer, and had seven offensive rebounds. On the down side, besides fouling out, Pilgrim mde just three-of-eight free throws. And he did not start.
Justin Hite of the Stillwater News-Press wrote:
There were a few flashes of brilliance in the Cowboys’ opener - most of which centered around Pilgrim. Midway through the second half, forward James Anderson, who finished with 23 points, left a behind-the-back pass for Pilgrim, who went up and under for two of his 14 points.
Only minutes later, Pilgrim skied through the air and grabbed one of his 13 rebounds, before slamming home a follow-up dunk.
Pilgrim and forward Obi Muonelo each finished with a double-double. Anderson finished with nine rebounds - missing a double-double by one board.
Travis Ford’s Cowboys meet Dillard in an exhibition game tonight.
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
I will trust the coaching staff’s evaluation on who to keep. Before Ok St gets to excited, Pilgrim’s “beast” performance was against Central Oklahoma. What happens against Texas and Kansas?
Ditto what Gary said. Ron may be loyal but Ron is a little self-deluded. By all means root for him… I love The Beast and I’m quite sure UK coaching staff would want nothing more than for him to do well… but don’t let his success convince you that you’re somehow a better judge than Calipari about who’s the best fit for the team.
Go Cats
I’ve heard Coaches have been wrong before. Not sure where, but I did. I’m sure Coach Cal could be wrong about “The Beast”. More likely scenario is that Pilgrim just doesn’t fit into Cal’s system. Just because he’s successful at OSU doesn’t mean he would have been successful here.