I'm an avid reader of John Clay and I couldn't help but notice that his video clip of Rick Stansbury this morning contained a rather drawn out exposition on what might have been if Rodney Hood had not gotten hurt and was available to effectively guard Michael Kidd-Gilchrist the second half (news flash: I'm not sure anyone in college basketball can effectively guard MKG when his team really needs him). "It's not fair."
This reminded me a bit of earlier comments by Kevin Stallings -- which were subsequently repeated by Billy Donovan -- lamenting SEC scheduling and the fact that Kentucky does not have to play any Thursday/Saturday turnarounds. "It's just not fair." We even have ex-coaches joining the chorus: Digger Phelps ranting "This is Vanderbilt's day - don't ruin it." "It's REALLY not fair (you guys support your team way too well)." Bob Knight (enough said).
This tone of "stacked deck" from the captains of the industry jogged some old memories for me. You see, I was raised to be a rabid UK Wildcat fan by another rabid UK Wildcat fan who would share stories of days gone by (and the latter fan, now 81, and I still watch every game together through the modern miracles of ESPN and text messaging). So I reached out to my mentor this morning to see if he remembered any similar stories from the glory days when our ship was guided by Mr. Rupp. Very succinctly:
After many years of watching Kentucky basketball, I have finally attended several home games this season. I have never been more shocked to see the lack of support of the fan base seated in the lower arena. I have watched many Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse,etc, this year and the crowd stays on their feet the entire game rooting their team along. The people and families who have held the seats in the lower arena for years seem to have their rear ends glued to their seats and would never raise their hands to applaude their beloved Cats! I think it is time for the 'preferred seats' to be released to the general public and fans who are willing to show their support. We have the best team in the nation and to see these seats wasted on people who are too dignified to be seen acting like UK students is a disgrace. I would be ashamed for my face to be seen by the public just taking up room @ Rupp Arena. There are too many die-hard fans who are willing to pay hard earned money for those seats! Get off your duff, Big Blue nation and show some interest in the Cats...if you are not will to do so, you may know someone who would be thrilled to be at the game so pass on those tickets!!!!
Mississippi State is on a big slide (WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BIG SLIDE PUNS!). They'll look to cure what ails them (mercury-riddled catfish poisoning) tonight at The Hump against Kentucky. As well as Kentucky has played lately, a win for the Other Bulldogs does not look likely. Here's what I want to see from the Cats tonight:
1. Better defense. The past three games, Kentucky has surrendered .98, 1.03, and .94 PPP. I'd like to see that number drop some. Kentucky's average Adjusted Defense is about 87 points per 100 possessions; Ohio State's is more like 80 or 81. Turn the screws, Cats.
2. Darius Miller and Terrence Jones need to own Rodney Hood. Jones is getting more aggressive in spurts, but his is one game he needs to hang up the 2/10 WOULD NOT BANG meme and kick some ass. Dee Bost is what makes this team go, so I think it's safe to assume Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will be guarding him or Arnett Moultrie. Renardo Sidney is slow and lazy but he requires a double-team in the post. Arnett Moultrie is good and will probably get his. The X-factor, though, could be Hood. If Jones is not on the double-team in the post, he needs to deny Hood the ball on defense.
3. REBOUND. That should speak for itself; Kentucky has to do a better job hanging onto missed shots on both ends of the floor. State has a big, physical front court and the Cats will have to be faster.
Do those three things and the Cats win easy on Mardi Gras. The offense will take care of itself; State's defense is just average. GO CATS!
Losing three games in a row will take a toll on you as a coach. That is unless you are Matthew Mitchell, and you have a good firm grasp of the big picture. He asked the UK women to go out tonight and rock the house, play aggressive, and play fast, and they did just that. And it paid off. For a half.
Details after the jump.
Mon., Feb. 20 - 9:00 p.m. ET
Memorial Coliseum
TV: ESPN2
Radio: UK IMG
For everyone who knows anything about UK Hoops, I don't have to tell you what this game means. For those of you who don't, I could give you a long list of hyperbolic examples, tell you about Theodore Roosevelt charging up San Juan Hill and all that, but the times for speeches and being brave in the face of danger is over. It is time for action, and that's the long and the short of it.
A few short stats after the jump...
I was out running errands today and was listening to Jeff Goodman and Bruce Pearl's show called Inside College Basketball on satellite radio. They had an interesting topic that asked the question, "what college coach would make the best President.?"
Pearl went first and chose Rick Pitino. He compared him to JFK in a few ways (that escape me right now) and Goodman said hands down it would be Coach Cal. Goodman said that no one can sell an idea like Calipari and blow smoke. He also mentioned that Cal had escaped any trouble at his previous coaching stops. I found it interesting that the 2 choices were coaching the 2 most prominent universities in the state of Kentucky.
They opened the phone lines up and got the opinions of the callers. The usual suspects were mentioned like Coach K, Bill Self, Bobby Knight etc. I really have no opinion on this but thought it was a fun conversation and wondered what coaches the readers of ASOB would choose. I suspect the responses (if any) will be blue tinted but I pose the question to you nonetheless.
So in honor of President's Day, who ya got and why?
Anyone who has ever left home knows that feeling you get when you come back after being gone for a long stretch, or even just a really long trip. You walk in, set your bags down and just let that feeling just kind of wash over you. Then you do your best Judy Garland, and say to yourself, "There's no place like home" (clicking your heels is optional). I am betting that UK feels exactly like that right now. Matthew Mitchell's charges are 16-0 this season in the historical Memorial Coliseum, a venue that has seen it's share of championships, as well as big time games over the years. None of those are any bigger to A'dia Mathies and Company than tonight's matchup with Vanderbilt. UK is reeling from three straight road losses to LSU, Tennessee, and that heartbreaker against Alabama. And if that wasn't enough to deal with, there's this little thing called the SEC Regular Season Championship on the line too.
Lots more to cover on this game after the break.
The Real Last Great Game: Rupp Arena Re-visited
As I drove across the newly re-opened Sherman Minton Bridge this morning on my way to work, I thought about my perfect Saturday afternoon. Yesterday afternoon with my wife, I made my second trip to Rupp arena. It was my first full game there. My first trip, now two years past, was cut short by work obligations. I had stayed late at the Indiana factory where I work to make sure an important machine would run. I was the system expert and unfortunately I was needed. I missed a good deal of the game.
I think all of us watching the Ole Miss game Saturday engaged in a collective gasp at the 10:07 minute mark of the first half when Anthony Davis collected his second foul. At that point, UK had built a nice little 22-14 lead and most of us were relaxed and thinking we were well on our way to a convincing victory number 26.
Enter an obstacle. Do you think Cal was secretly happy that he would now get to see how the team could perform without its consensus Freshman of the Year/Defensive Player of the Year/Player of the Year/First Pick in the NBA Draft? I believe he found out.
I'm a HUGE Kentucky fan. Currently live in Maryland, so everyone here talks about the Harrison Twins as if they're the greatest recruits to ever consider Maryland because well, they probably are. A family friend is actually relatively close with one of the coaches on their AAU team and thinks that they will actually go to Maryland. Not sure how much I will actually pay attention to this, but thought this was worth noting. Thoughts anyone?
Oh, and great win today Cats!!!!
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