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Big Blue Nation Linkapalooza: Hyper Elite Platinum Edition

Coach Cal says, "Give me much more of that, and a side of fries, please."

John Bazemore - AP

Coach Cal says, "Give me much more of that, and a side of fries, please."

Well, today the new Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms were unveiled. Reaction has been decidedly mixed.

Now, for the links:

Calipari: To want more you have to ask for more // CoachCal.com

"You could tell I wasn’t happy with some stuff," Calipari said. "And I wasn’t happy because, again, we weren’t talking. They got layups because we had two guys come together and didn’t speak to each other. ‘Well, I thought he was going to stay and … ‘Come on, man, just talk. Just say, ‘I got him. You got him. Help me.’ Again, we’re into our own thing right now and you’re can’t be a special team and be that way."

Kentucky Wildcats 57, Georgia Bulldogs 44: The Instantaneous Ill-Informed Roundball Wrapup // Dawg Sports

This game was as frustrating as the loss to Ole Miss, but for an entirely different reason. The Hoop Dogs proved at the beginning of the night that they are capable of playing with (quite literally) the best team in the land, but they were unable to hold on despite solid efforts from Djurisic (10 points, 5 rebounds), Robinson (6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists), and Dustin Ware (12 points, 2 steals).

The ACC and SEC Blog: Will Kentucky Transfer Stacey Poole Help Get Georgia Tech Back On Track?

A Q&A I had about Stacey Poole Jr.


Star-divide

Iras Weekly Column

By the way hope your enjoying this stellar season that Coach Cal and his youthful felines are giving us because it's flying by, are you aware it is only six weeks from selection Sunday which basically kicks off March Madness and the road to the Super Dome in New Orleans.

How true.


College Basketball's Look-alikes featuring Darius Johnson-Odom and Kanye West, Dion Waiters and Kevin Hart

Anthony Davis is Sam the Eagle -- in more ways than one.


Purdue's NCAA hopes are in trouble // CBSSports.com


‘Crotch grab’ led to Badger official’s post-Rose Bowl resignation // CollegeFootballTalk

What next?


Kentucky Coach John Calipari: ‘We could be really special, and we are not right now.’ // The Washington Post

After beating Georgia, 57-44, on Tuesday, here is what Calipari had to say: "We are just into our own thing right now, and you can’t be a special team and be that way. The biggest thing is let’s step this thing up. Last year’s team, I could not believe we were as good as we were so I did not have to say a whole lot. This year’s team, we could be really special and we are not right now."

I think he's absolutely right, and I have been preaching this. I think we are starting to make moves in the right direction, though.


Kentucky Sports Radio // Why You Shouldn’t Complain About The New Platinum Look

Dear Drew:

I hate them. Now kiss off and quit telling me I'm old. I already know that.

Sincerely,
Everyone over 35.


Calipari: Recruits know if Kentucky is right spot for them or not // vaughtsviews

"Normally they’ll let you know. They’ll say I am not interested," Calipari said when asked how he determines if a player can handle the spotlight and pressure at Kentucky. "I’ve had kids that I’ve really wanted and kids that I wasn’t sure of but that kid convinced me that he could do this and the other kid was shaky even though I thought he was right. But the kids know. In most cases, they don’t want to put themselves in positions of being exposed and they won’t come.

Kentucky Sports Radio // Solomon Poole is a problem

I am not surprised, considering the actions of Stacey's father. Not in the least. Yes, I'm blaming parenting, and no, I don't know anything about the facts, so if that bothers you, take it with a grain of salt and move on.


Stats 101: Why You Should Ditch Rebounding Margin // Notes from the Sports Nerds

@tsnmike: @heymarnold If a team has a good rebound margin, it’s a good rebounding team. If that’s something that matters to you. Many win w/out it.

Could he be right?

No, he can't be. And he isn't. John Gasaway at Basketball Prospectus has been preaching this for years, yet we still have hard-headed holdouts who won't get rid of their Ford Pinto or their rebound margin.


Kentucky’s Youth and Inexperience: Does It Matter? // Rush The Court

In analyzing Kentucky, who is their Kemba Walker? Is it Darius Miller? Terrence Jones? Anthony Davis? Michael Kidd-Gilchrist? The answer is, they don’t have one, nor do they necessarily need one. With six players averaging in double figures — Calipari only goes about seven deep — there is never a need for one player to bail the rest out. If there was one thing we learned from last night’s game against Georgia, other than the fact that Kentucky responded nicely after having been ranked #1 by grinding out a win, it is that a zone defense can effectively limit the touches that Davis and Jones receive inside.

This, plus the glacial pace that Georgia played at, was largely responsible for the low score.


SEC Hoops Power Poll Results: 1/22-1/28 // Garnet And Black Attack


0 recs  |  60 comments

Comments

I gave Drew a little bit sterner response, but that pretty much sums it up nicely.....

It is time for our kittens to start listening to the coach-speak……because right now it is not as far from the mark as it usually is…..we have some holes to fill. They are not as gaping as they were a few weeks ago, but they are still evident.

After the Alabama/Georgia games, what is to stop a team like Ohio State or Syracuse from getting us on the court, playing the game really hard, really tight, and really slow to negate all of our advantages? Yes, we can beat the likes of Bama and Georgia when they try it, but can we beat #2-3-4-5 when they try it?

Already mentioned in the fan post, but from one old man to another

Whatever.

I don't understand the uniform backlash

Full disclosure: I was nine years old for the denim look, so I suppose I’m classified as young. UK changes uniforms pretty frequently and these are just “one-offs.” I agree they’re less attractive than our current uniform, but not by a huge margin. UK has a proud tradition of sartorially substandard uniforms. We’ve got great school colors, but consistently let them down with inferior design. This is not like the Yankees abandoning pinstripes.

I feel like I might be missing a joke. It’s hard for me to understand the level of fan outrage at these unis. Is everyone being sarcastic and I’m just missing it? Sometimes that happens with the written word. My friends aren’t really bothered, but they are also in my age group.

The flipside

Why are different uniforms necessary? Could it be that the only reason is that it give Nike something to use in marketing? Is there any reason the uniforms could help the Wildcats win more games?

Yes, but only if you believe Nike's marketing

I believe they cite superior cooling and freedom of motion due to this new fabric. I have no doubt that real motive is to make Nike more money. However, I suspect in so doing, they will also be making more money for UK per its licensing agreement. That is only true if people actually buy them and who knows if they will. I will never buy an authentic UK jersey no matter what it looks like because they are seriously expensive.

Because the current uniforms

made from paper-thin polyester, with thousands of airholes, and being a tank top, is SO DANG HOT!

I’ve never worn a basketball jersey and wished i could wear something cooler. Nike just want to sell.

That said, i just bought an AD jersey… yeah i’m a sheep.

Talking

Cal wants the players to talk more. Makes sense to me. Also, it doesn’t seem that difficult to say, “I got him,” or “You take him,” or ‘Help." Maybe multitasking isn’t all its reputed to be.

A question for the faithful.

What do the numbers 6, 6 – 6, 5, 5, 4, 3, 1 mean to the Wildcats this year.

Answer tomorrow night (If I can remember what they mean and remember to provide the answer).

Via mobile, Oldcat? I am shocked!

Mrs. Oldcat and I had a discussion about YOUR phone (doing one thing, making calls). :-)

I feel the answer is above even a guess from me. Losses at this point in the season of a championship team? You do have seven. The 6 — 6, throws me off, though.

Hey, old dog

newdog new iPad. How’s that for moving’ into 2012?

There you go buddy.....

next thing you know you will be creating “oldcat” icons……

Say what??? :-)
I like it. And tell Mrs. Oldcat I said hi!
Oh, yeah.

Ms O says hi back.

And I wasn't

calling you an old dog, just myself. iPhone, too! Santa was good to me. Technically, I got Ms O’s old iPad. She won a new one in a local drawing.

I wouldn't care if you were calling me an old dog. I didn't think one thing about it.

I am tougher than that. :-)

The answer is

Six players averaging double figures.
Six different players have been game-high scorers (not the same six!!)
Six times, Lamb has led
Five times, Davis has led
Five times, Jones has led
Four times, MKG has led
Three times, Miller has led
One time, Wiltjer has led

Point of all this is that it’s danged hard for an opposing coach to decide who to focus on when he’s on defense. Miller had it right: whoever’s on gets the job.

BTW, unless I misread the websites last night, Ohio State and UNC each have three players averaging double figures. Ours is a nice problem to have.

Very nice run down

I didn’t realize that our balance was THAT well balanced. Opposing coaches really don’t have a “pick your poison” problem with this team, they are all poison for opponents.

C'mon, Stat Guys!

(Just talking’ a little smack, there. We didn’t do that in my day. See how up-to-date I am?)

Hahahahaha. You're cool now. :-)
What next, Glenn?

“I hate them. Now kiss off and quit telling me I’m old. I already know that.”

You going to suggest we should go back to the tip for a jump ball? Good thing I’m only 33 and can keep up with these whippersnappers!

Haha!

You got me there.

OK, I'm well below the "old" threshold of 35

But I find these unis horrible.

I do believe that if they had switched the Blue and the “Platinum” gray it would look a lot better. Keep all the fancy new/recycled fabric. Keep the stars telling how many NC the team has won. Keep the shaded UK logo on the back. Just make the dominant color UK blue, and make the side strip a nice SHINY BRIGHT Platinum. Would be so much better.

best part is, the kids they are marketing these to after the Cats have to wear them

dont have the money to buy them……and I sure as the world aint going to see any of my money get spent on them……..

Sam the Eagle

Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are.

MKG is Animal, right?

Heck, this should be it’s own post: UK Players as Muppets.

Cal=Oscar

Wilt=Big Bird

JA JA BINKS without the long ears.
Missouri going down

An exciting game and a big win for Travis Ford

And we gripe

about a 13 point road win!

We better hope we can pull one out

against LSU. They aren’t looking bad against Miss St.

Right!

SEC road is always dangerous, as we found out with a Final Four team last year.

We have a precedent in playing a team

coming off a close road loss at MSU. We beat UT in a close one.

Georgia wasn't the only team playing at a glacial pace

I thought UK played a pretty deliberate game as well, particularly in the second half. I’m sure playing against a zone defense had something to do with it, but both teams seemed content with a slow pace.

True.

Kentucky is not really a deliberate team, but against the zone, you must work harder to get good looks inside the arc.

Our pace numbers are around 68 possessions on average, which is not a track meet, but it isn’t Wisconsin, either.

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