DeAndre Liggins is Becoming One of My Favorite Cats

I want to announce publicly that I am becoming a huge fan of Kentucky's DeAndre Liggins.

Sure, I love the character of Patrick Patterson, the next-level ability of John Wall and the pure workmanship of DeMarcus Cousins, but Liggins is rapidly entering my group of favorites.

Liggins is doing all the little things that true basketball fans have to appreciate.

In tonight's victory over Alabama, Liggins was Kentucky's "go to" guy at the three position. Although he came off the bench, DeAndre logged 26 minutes and gave the Cats solid production with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal.

His number are continually improving, but my favorite things about Liggins aren't included on standard stat sheets. The things I truly appreciate tend to show up on coaches' stat sheets and I have a hunch that John Calipari has noticed the same things I have noticed.

In tonight's game alone, I noticed Liggins diving for loose balls, attempting to take charges and fighting with the big guys for rebounds. There were a couple of times that DeAndre was simply knocked out of the way by players that outweighed him by a hundred pounds, but he was not deterred. He finished the game with 7 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive end.

Liggins has also been making solid choices on both ends of the court this season. He rarely makes a dumb decision with the ball, he makes proper adjustments on defense and when an open shot presents itself - he steps up with confidence and knocks it down.

Have you noticed that DeAndre actually tries to work the dribble-drive offense? If he spots a lane to the basket, he hits the hole like a running back and takes the ball to the basket.

Finally, it is hard to not appreciate Liggins' ability to overcome adversity this season. While his first semester problems were never announced publicly, I think it is safe to say that DeAndre has shown a high-level of maturity and turned a negative situation into the start of a very positive basketball career.

If he continues to work with the level of passion he is demonstrating right now, the sky is the limit for DeAndre Liggins.