A few things on my mind as we close in on the start of the 89th season of Tiger basketball (tip-off at 8 pm tonight, FedExForum):
• How will Josh Pastner manage what is essentially a two-man frontcourt? Pierre Henderson-Niles — in a new body, it should be noted — and Will Coleman are bound to get in foul trouble (and often) this season. “Going small” isn’t a bad idea when you can put Willie Kemp, Elliot Williams, Roburt Sallie, and Wesley Witherspoon on the floor together. But when the other team “goes big” and they have to be defended? If I were to track any one variable for the 2009-10 Tigers, it would be the development of Henderson-Niles and Coleman as this team’s backbone.
- Josh Pastner
• Is Willie Kemp ready for a leadership role? He was the starting point guard as a freshman for a team that went 33-4. But playing behind Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans the last two seasons, Kemp found himself clinging to the periphery of John Calipari’s rotation.
