Cats Close Out Hoosiers

Now that's how you finish a game! Absolutely going away! I love it! Indiana should be glad there wasn't another 5 minutes on the clock, or the Cats might have housed 'em by 30! Yeah!

*end sarcasm

So I was again stuck watching this one through the wonders of my DVR, which means that I missed a real large piece of the first half while a team that shall not be named finished up their win over Pitt. The four-letter network was kind enough to put Kentucky on t"The Tres" and also on standard definition, but that doesn't help a brother when he has holiday obligations and has to time-shift the game to Sunday morning.

Usually under such circumstances I will try to avoid seeing the score or listening on XM Radio if I am away from home. I will even pre-empt conversations with people who know me as UK fan by saying, "Don't tell me about the game, I'm watching it later."

However, by the time I got to viewing this one, I was aware that Kentucky had beaten the Hoosiers by 19. I tell you: it makes for a very strange perception of things. I wasn't necessarily surprised by the score being close at half, but watching the second frame unfold was pretty bizarre. I just found myself waiting.....and waiting....and waiting some more for UK to (finally) put Tom Crean's team on blast.

Obviously, the explosion came very very late. And you know, it really wasn't even much of an explosion. More like a small salvo. A cannonade, perhaps. UK just continued to execute down the stretch, make its share of free throws and force IU into some poor sets and low percentage looks on their end. Kentucky seemed pretty peppy in the final 5 minutes while the boys from Bloomington appeared exhausted. And by the time you add it all up, it was a 81-62 Big Blue victory that looked really good scrolling across the bottom of the sports channel feeds all evening.

True, it was a good day for a couple of upperclassmen in DeAndre Liggins and Josh Harrellson. I'm continuing to be stirred by the play of Liggins in particular, who's added (or at least upgraded) a fairly reliable three-point shot to his repertoire this season, and still always manages to scrap and scrape and leave his left ventricle out on the Rupp Arena floor defensively. Back in the Billy Gillispie days (what was that? 15 years ago?) I was more frustrated by Mr. Liggins than anything. But he dribble-drives it pretty good, and doesn't mind doing the dirty work of taking charges, getting after 50-50 balls, and setting solid picks for his more celebrated teammates.

And since I don't have a whole lot of analysis to offer on the win, and since he put up 19 points and 9 boards--we're concluding this post by giving DeAndre the Blue Grass Chemical Player of the Game award for Saturday's win. DeAndre gets a refurbished 55-gal steel drum, spray-painted in any color that he chooses. As long as it's black.

GO CATS!

Bobby Knight + Golf = Profanity Squared

Okay, to get you in the mood for tomorrow's showdown with the Hoosiers, I thought you might get a kick out of this old footage of former Indiana Coach Bobby Knight.

It should be obvious, but the language in this video is highly NSFW....in fact, that's the whole point. (So before you click, make sure the kids aren't nearby.)

Of course, the video's been around forever, but it never fails to gives me big, deep belly laugh to hear Bobby cursing away in all of his highly creative, extremely ill-tempered, four-letter glory. Coach Knight is known for many things, and I would submit that profanity is perhaps chief amongst them.

Now, I really do try to keep things clean around here, but anybody who's ever played a round of golf knows just how frustrating the game can be. And let's just say that Bobby gets a little more frustrated than most with the little white ball.

So without any further ado....ladies and gentlemen....the vocal stylings of General Robert Montgomery Knight....enjoy....

Hansbrough Regains Conscisousness; UK Pulls Away

Apparently the Ben Hansbrough Show is only a brief sitcom rather than a full-length drama, and it was a good thing for Kentucky. The second-most famous of all the basketball-playing Hansbroughs was playing Wildcat-killer in the first half Wednesday night. However, UK eventually managed to cool him off in notching a 72-58 win at Rupp Arena West (aka Freedom Hall).

The annoying little Benjamin was practically running wild and tossing in three-pointers from Papa John's stadium (or at least trying.....witness that little "heat check" 30-footer he chucked up)-- but reality bites us all eventually. In the second frame, Cal's young squad put 'Brough and the rest of the Notre Dame squad on lockdown, causing the Irish to go 1 for 15 to start the half. Could it have been smelling salts?

UK frustrated the Irish with some excellent help defense, closing down lanes and denying the ball to potential shooters coming off screens. I noticed that DeAndre Liggins in particular was "shading" his man while dropping into the paint quite effectively, and UK's young guards showed boatloads of footspeed in preventing any easy buckets on fast breaks. Notre Dame had a tough time getting any great looks, and to be fair, they did miss some jumpers during Kentucky's defensive run that probably would normally fall a good percentage of the time.

Quickly going up 6 to start the second half, and with the defense on full alert, the Cats really didn't have to do much more to earn the win. Super-frosh Terrence Jones decided that he wanted to do plenty regardless. Nearly giving Jimmy Dykes an announcer-gasm, Jones absolutely bulled his way to 17 boards, nicely complementing his 27 points on the evening. The display was impressive in its variety, with Jones showing a decent outside touch for a couple of threes, getting to the free throw line on slick moves to the basket, and hammering in a dunk or two for good measure.

The poise that Kentucky showed down the stretch was a nice bonus. They milked the shot clock just enough, and continued to force Notre Dame to work for their points at the other end. Slightly shaky I guess, with some turnovers and just being weak with the ball on some possessions-- but for a team with few upperclassmen, they salted it away pretty good. 17 for 22 from the charity stripe is a number that most any coach would love. And keeping Notre Dame under 60 on the night-- that's a solid defensive game.

Depth An Issue For Young Cats

Let me first say that I thought UK's loss to North Carolina was a very entertaining game. It had a March Madness feel, despite the sloppiness, and overall the entire 40 minutes were plenty intense. Clark and Gus were pouring it onto their CBS microphones pretty thick.

The UNC crowd was quite vocal in their support the wrong shade of blue, and it all came down to the wire and some great free throw shooting by the Tar Heels at the end. It was a much better college basketball game-- in a frantic, back and forth way, than you might normally see on the first weekend in December.

Sure, the loss stings. You never want to have to learn through losing. Especially to those guys.

But what I have as a real concern for UK right now, and it's no secret to anybody that follows the team, is simply frontcourt depth. Josh Harrellson played 21 over-performing defensive minutes but eventually fouled out in trying to contain Tyler Zeller today. Likewise, Eloy Vargas and Terrence Jones were eventually disqualified via personals (perhaps mercifully in the case of Jones, who did not seem to have his A, B, or even C game at the Dean Dome.)

Being pessimistic about the Kanter situation, and knowing that Daniel Orton, his family, and everybody else obviously has to deal with Daniel's (ill-advised?) decision to enter the NBA draft, (why was that again?) I figure that Kentucky is going to have to find some methods to keep its "bigs" on the court.

For starters, Josh especially needs to learn the difference between good fouls and bad. His fifth was an attempt to deny an entry pass in the waning minutes of the game, in a situation where Zeller was not exactly established way down on the block. Better for Josh to not try and reach over top in that particular situation, and just play straight up "D" after the catch. Don't give the ref a chance to call that one....and that goes double knowing that you've already got four.

Crazy as it sounds, I think UK also needs to just spread the fouls around a little more when facing teams with size. Doron Lamb logged 32 minutes, and played a tremendous game-- especially scoring the ball-- but he didn't commit a single foul. Usually a guy would accidentally pick up one or two just by playing solid defense. No, I'm not implying that you want a guy to just hack it up for the sake of hacking, but the Cats don't have the luxury this season of just running another 6'9" guy out there like Perry Stevenson to absorb some contact.

I really believe the guards are going to have to help out and double down more when it's necessary. UNC was only 1 for 11 from 3-point land, so it's not like the Cats were asking for a bunch of trouble by selectively abandoning the perimeter. Pick your spots and help out down low, backcourt. They will occasionally need the assistance.

But truly, another big part of the answer is that the Cats are going to have to go small for larger stretches than Coach Cal may prefer. That's where Kentucky's more talented players are anyway, and the current roster simply has more guys at the 1, 2, and 3 spots. I'm sure Cal can strategize for some extended periods of uptempo, pressing, dribble-drive type basketball. The season looks to demand it.

Terrence Jones has already had several much better days in his brief UK career, and will surely have many more. Josh/Jorts will give you everything that he can, including some questionable facial hair. And Vargas will develop into a solid contributor; I'm confident of that as well. But if you want to give yourself a mini-panic attack as a UK fan, imagine one of those guys going down with an injury for a few weeks, or missing a big chunk of the conference schedule. Depth is a concern, isn't it?

Kanter Fatigue

I wish that Enes Kanter had been declared eligible by the NC2A months ago. How cool would that have been? He could have played with the UK team in Canada and totally terrorized our neighbors to the north. All the Midnight Madness/Undertaker hoopla wouldn't have left a funny taste in everyone's mouth. Perhaps even the Cats would have beaten UConn and thus won the Maui Tournament again. We'll never know.

Because Enes hasn't been declared eligible. And maybe he never will be.

But what I do know is that this particular eligibility saga has me completely and entirely worn out. It's been going on now for what, four score and seven years? I think there are kids in this nation that were born, potty-trained, sent off to school, and are now eligible to vote since the first time I heard about Lexington's favorite Turkish import, and his possible eligibility baggage.

I honestly appreciate Dick Vitale stating the other night to an ESPN audience that he personally found it ridiculous that Kanter might not be able to ever play in a college game while Auburn's Cam Newton prepares for an SEC Championship and possible BCS title on the gridiron. Note to the NCAA: Hypocrisy ain't just a river in Egypt.

The Kanter kid was literally a kid, a mere 16 years old, when affiliated with a Turkish pro team, and his family did what they thought would best prepare him to eventually attend college and play ball in the US....and as such they are all victims of a very funky European basketball system that has its own interests to protect.

And I can also see where a reasonable person could look at the facts at hand and determine: you know what, the "kid" played (and was paid) as a pro....salary, benefits, compensation, expenses, whatever you want to call it....money changed hands, and nobody denies it, and that's that. No Division I eligibility for you. Sorry.

But really, what's got me completely exhausted is the ongoing saga-ness of it all. The near daily rumors. The reports of "legal strategies" and appeal processes and compliance issues. The t-shirt and sign-based FREE ENES movement (kinda funny, but still.) It's become a total drag to me. It really has.

I just want a Decision. With a capital D. (Insert your own "taking my talents to South Beach" joke here.) Seriously....ANY decision, with some finality and some closure and preferably some fairness. This hot mess has got to come to an end.

Yes, I'd love to have Kanter on UK's roster against North Carolina and every remaining game this season. That would be great. He sounds like a nice guy, a talented baller, and a young man who's truly interested in contributing to the UK program and giving his absolute best for Coach Cal and his teammates.

But honestly, I've just got to have a conclusion, melodramatic or not, to the Enes Kanter soap opera. Soon. Or I may lose what remains of my fan sanity.

Regular Programming Will Resume Shortly

Hey thanks to all of you that have been pestering me relentlessly via email. Yes, I do plan to blog up the 2010-11 Kentucky basketball season. How could I do otherwise?

Fact is, I did not get to see the Canada exhibition games, missed the Pikeville game entirely and only saw a piece of the Dillard game online. (Nice suit, Dale!) So my early season prep has largely been of the "read up on all of the coverage that I can get online" variety. Would have loved to have seen them all from start to finish, of course, but circumstances conspired...

As for the opener against ETSU, my personal coverage was limited to viewing only the second half, at an undisclosed Texas location with some fellow UK alums. Okay, it was Bagpipes in Austin. Thanks to Brian and Darian, et al for your hospitality. If you're ever in the area, you should feel free to join the crew for any and all Kentucky games. I'd even give you a good food recommendation, but I was too stuffed from an early dinner to check out the menu there.

So my limited impressions of the Cats' victory over the Bucs are as follows: very pleased with Terrence Jones, first and foremost, and also highly encouraged by the team's 3-point accuracy. Mr. Jones had a pretty "loud" 25 points, and demonstrated a smoothness and confidence that surely belies his freshman status. He rarely hesitated on the offensive end-- and while not truly gunning the ball, or ignoring open teammates-- he seemed quite content to look for his own shot, whether by taking his man off the dribble, or by throwing a decent little ball fake to get up a quick jumper. I'm not ready to anoint him as a 20 ppg guy based on the competition, but I seriously liked the scorer's mentality that I saw from him. It's always nice when you can join the company of a guy like Cotton Nash in the UK annals, with Jones tying the Wildcat legend for second-most points in a Kentucky debut.

Better yet, UK managed a 50% rate from three, and wouldn't you have liked to have gone 13 for 26 against West by God Virginia last spring? In addition to Jones (who was 2 for 3), Miller, Knight, Liggins, and Lamb all tallied shots from beyond the arc. So it would appear that Coach Cal is not blowing smoke when he maintains that this squad will be a good-shooting group. I'm sure we would all take a 50% average for the season, if there were a way to have it spotted to this team right now. Shame it doesn't really work that way...

So thanks for catching back up with me here, and I hope to get back to a regular posting schedule as the season gets underway.

Almost Heaven: Cats Stopped Short of Indy

Only one college basketball fanbase gets to end its season on a happy note. And as the flaming family room furniture lighting up Morgantown attests, that fanbase for 2010, much to our disappointment, will not be the Big Blue Nation.

So I guess y'all are going to have to find a good Butler blog to read for the next week or so. (Too soon?)

Unfortunately, as witnessed, UK turned up absolutely cold at the Carrier Dome this evening. You really can't expect to beat a Big East champion team when you miss your first TWENTY three-point attempts, let alone giving up another dozen or so points from the charity stripe.

But what really drives me crazy is the little things, like wondering if UK would have been better off playing against the Mountaineers' normal starting PG, Tuck Bryant (out with a broken foot). Instead, we get Joel Mazzulla, and the guy seemingly has the game of his young life. Unbelievable. Well, maybe not as unbelievable as holding WVU to zero two-point field goals in the first half, and still going into the locker room with a deficit, but still.

UK actually equaled its defensive effort from Thursday vs. Cornell in only giving up 8 buckets in the first twenty minutes, but the difference of course was that all of the 'Eers baskets were of the three-point variety. Just strange, I tell you. Strange as one of those extra breast pockets on a Greg Anthony suit. WVU is not supposed to be killing people from outside, but that was how it went tonight.

In the second half, Kentucky gave up too many easy baskets for its comeback to be effective. Mazzulla was seen blowing past Wall and Bledsoe on far too many occasions for wide open lay-ups, and I hate to say it about a guy who scored 19 points and grabbed 9 boards-- but I say it with sincerity, and of course with all due respect: John Wall had a pretty bad game.

Brilliant as ever in the open court, Wall did turn it over 5 times and was only 4 for 8 from the free throw line. From treyville, he made just 1 0f 5. Now, I'm not fitting the young superstar with horns, mind you. Just sayin' it was not his best game. I kind of noticed it more on defense; despite the 4 steals, he just seemed to get beat off the dribble way more often than usual. Plus, some of the quick possessions (i.e. bad shots) were ill-advised when UK was trying to regain control. Hey, it happens, and that guy can still play for my team anytime.

Bob Huggins' team rode the momentum of all those early threes into the second half and really had UK struggling against their 1-3-1. I honestly need to look at this one again (if I can make myself) to figure out where UK was breaking down on the attack. Certainly, there were times when the Cats simply settled for jumpers, and that of course did them no favors with a trip to Indianapolis on the line.

But hey, West Virginia absolutely deserved the victory tonight. They outplayed and outshot UK. Period. It was death by the long-range sword. And in closing, let me just say that I miss this '09-10 team already. Who knows what next year's roster might look like? Undoubtedly, there will be some beloved teammates moving on.....but we will have plenty of time to talk about that later.

So congrats to the Kentucky Wildcats on a great season, and to West Virginia for winning the regional. Now let's all root against the Dookies.

For Cats, It's One More to the Final Four

Kentucky outlasted Cornell Thursday night, pulling away for a seventeen point differential in the end, 62-45.

Gotta be brief, but I first want to give the Big Red some credit for having a great season and keeping the game competitive. I certainly could have done without their 7-footer trying to throw a saddle on DeMarcus and riding him to the ground, but for the most part I thought the Ivy Leaguers played clean, hard-nosed basketball and did their school proud.

As per my policy, I am leaving the refs out of it.

The way Kentucky put the "D" on Cornell in this Sweet 16 matchup, they really just had no chance. Funny thing is, with UK's defense, there are times when you almost want to talk about them like a separate unit. As in football--where the offense and defense are made up of 11 different players, with different coordinators for each side of the ball.

I submit that at times, the Cats can put on a defensive performance worthy of it's own nickname. No, I am not going to try to put a witty tag on them myself...the point is, like when Cornell was still sitting on 16 points for the entire first half-- you know they were up against a college basketball version of the Wrecking Crew, or the Purple People Eaters. A game-altering, championship level defense. Media darling Ryan Wittman was turned into a complete non-factor when UK cranked it up.

And honestly, I felt like the team did not play anywhere near its best game offensively. John Wall looked pretty bad early in the game, IMO. The guys were only 2 for 16 from three. Tons of missed free throws. And still a seventeen point win? Yikes.

So now it's a Saturday matchup vs. the second-seeded Mountaineers of West (By God) Virginia...Robert Huggins and his Beasts of the Big East are all that remains between Kentucky and a trip to the Final Four.

Competitions In Which Cornell is Likely to Defeat UK

• CHESS: this one immediately came to mind. Probably a cliche, but the game of chess is of course strictly cerebral, and requires no athletic ability whatsoever. However, I would personally envision Patrick Patterson as a super smooth bishop, moving diagonally in space, and John Wall would make an awesome attacking knight. Bruce Pearl? Definitely a queen. Hey-o!

• JEOPARDY: I bet those Ivy Leaguers could really give the Cats a run for their money on this popular syndicated game show. Alex Trebek: "Oooh, sorry DeMarcus, but you forgot to phrase your answer in the form of a question. Darnell, you control the board."

• WORLD OF WARCRAFT: I just can't see anybody on the Kentucky team really being into this kind of "alternate world" stuff. Sure, maybe some of them might play Call of Duty 4 or Metal Gear Solid for kicks, but let's face it, if you are a UK basketball player, you're like that Dos Equis guy...you live vicariously through yourself.
  

• MONOPOLY: Possibly the most classic board game ever, I figure the Cornell players break this time-killer out on those long bus trips to Brown and Princeton in lieu of playing spades like all the cool people.
  

• WOMEN'S HOOPS: Uh, no. Scratch that. The Kentucky ladies have been kicking tail all season long and have now advanced themselves to the Sweet 16 of the women's bracket. (Congratulations.) The lady Cornellians, meanwhile, were 7-20 on the year.

• ROWING: Just seems like something in which all those northeast schools would truly excel. In fact, their website shows that Cornell has both heavyweight AND lightweight rowing teams, so there you go. (Apparently, no middleweights in the sport of rowing. Hmmm.) But I'd honestly pay some good money to watch Daniel Orton trying to fit into one of those skinny little boats. Wouldn't you?

• SUDOKU: Edge would once again have to go to the Big Red here. And you can guarantee that Cal would be complaining that our guys picked up all their bad habits in the summer AAU sudoku leagues, and they think they "puzzle" ice cream. But Cal would also be chasing that 5-star junior from Brooklyn who's been flashing some mad logic skills and recently narrowed down his list to four, with Syracuse as the front-runner.
  

• TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Probably one of those games where the script would be flipped so that Cornell would land a top seed, and UK would be UK garnering a #12, coming from the lightly-regarded SEC. (It's a football conference, for crying out loud. As we're constantly reminded.)
  

• SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT: Self-explanatory.
  

• RUBIK'S CUBE: This is one game where the Cats' propensity for letting up on the gas could really come back and haunt them. I mean, you get those first couple of sides done and think you can coast, and then BAM! Cornell's got it solved and you're knocked out of the Sweet 16. Bummer.
  

• STEEPLECHASE: You'd think Kentucky would have the advantage in the heart of equine country, but the fact is, both freshman members of UK's starting backcourt have a documented and near-crippling fear of horses. In fact, Eric Bledsoe was actually once bitten by a crazed gelding at the Alabama state fair. True story.

• TWISTER: I don't know....something just tells me those Cornell guys are really, really flexible.

UK Squeaks Into Sweet 16 By A Hair

If this is what Cal means by "landing the plane", then this team looks ready for the challenge of a shorter runway, or maybe even an aircraft carrier. What a fine manifestation of basketball that was in the first two rounds for Kentucky.

That's how you put away lower seeds, Dorothy. You eviscerate them. With prejudice.

ETSU: not really surprising. Should have beaten them pretty good, and the Cats did just that. Wake Forest: slightly different story.

Wake was a power conference team, had legitimate talent, and had won a lot of games this season. Yeah, quite a few people had picked Texas over them in the opening round, and the Deacs needed some extra time to advance, but not in my wildest dreams did I think that Saturday game would be such a rout.

First off, let me summarize the "electric postseason atmosphere" of New Orleans Arena as I experienced it this weekend. I think I can sum it up for you in one word: Eh.

The lower section was filled, of course. And yes, the crowd was predominantly made up of Big Blue fans. But man, there was plenty of space available. So much space, in fact, that Mrs. Whisperer and I took advantage of some empty seats much closer to the court, very near the tunnel where the team entered and exited-- and very close to the always effervescent CD, a fellow alum who recently relocated to Beaumont.

(The original upper level tickets won't even make a great souvenir, as they get printed so far in advance that they are unable to show which teams will be playing. Nice hologram, though. And yes, I'll keep 'em.)

So we did our share of yelling and clapping at the appropriate times, and there was a steady buzz of support for the Cats, but the place just was not exactly cracklin'. Even the ODU-Baylor game, which was much tighter, did not have that intense, hold-your-breath kind of frenzy that you expect in a tournament climate. Perhaps everyone was completely spent after hanging out too long at Pat O-Brien's.

But we could see Ashley from where we were sitting, and we could also see the life draining out from the Wake Forest team as UK opened up the margin-- and the triple XL can of you-know-what-- all over their entire squad and its ACC pedigree.

A magnum opus by the Cats, really. You've read all about the statistics and the reaction and the press conferences by now.... and I'd describe the Bledsoe jam for you if I had gotten a great view of it, but you would only accuse me of further dunk envy. (Guilty.) I've only watched it about 3 or 4 times online.

Instead I'll tell you how cool it was to see the guys leaving the court triumphantly. (Warning: more crappy cell phone pics to come.) I was even in a pretty good position to catch Boogie's sweaty headband as he tossed it into the crowd, but it went to some guy about 8 feet away from me who apparently judged the wind direction and angle of descent better than I did. I also spied Brandon giving Coach Cal a high five on his way off the court. CORRECTION: he now also claims to have given high fives to several team members as well. Whatever. If they win the Kentucky's 8th championship, he'll probably be telling people 20 years from now that he was the walk-on who earned a scholarship.

But perhaps one of the things I'll take away most from the weekend is how, as many have mentioned, the Big Blue Nation seems like a family. No, not dysfunctional and inbred. You know what I mean. There were the ubiquitous C-A-T-S cheers on the walk back to the French quarter. Other UK fans asking about your thoughts on the game, or whether you were going to Syracuse (I wish.) Fist bumps from people you've never met from places like Mercer county. I don't know, just the way sports brings people together in a good way and all that rot. It was just cool.

So naturally, we wound up on Bourbon Street to celebrate. And more strangers were telling us that they had seen some of the guys on the team out there the day before. It was raining pretty good in The Big Easy on Saturday night, but I can't say it bothered me. As we headed back to the hotel, we left our man CD with his hard-earned Jagermeister hat on backwards (don't ask) and a smile on everyone's face.

Of course, there was the one hater (there's always at least one) who spotted my UK gear and just had to ask me a smart-alecky question. I just tried to roll with it....probably a sore loser Wake Forest fan...

Loser: "So how much money did you guys have to pay John Wall to get him to come to Kentucky?"

WW: (very slight pause) "I have no idea, but he's worth every penny."

So that's pretty much my take on the Cats in "Blue Orleans." Thanks so much for reading. And I'll leave you with one last snap (since I know you really care), of my delicious Sunday morning breakfast, courtesy of the beignet capitol of the world...you've got to admit, that's more than enough powdered sugar for a Sweet Sixteen.

Oh My!

It's finally time! Can you feel it? Got your bracket ready?

Well, I'm pretty geeked for the Madness, but I would not expect a very suspenseful Thursday evening for the Cats. Just too big of a talent gap for ETSU to overcome, I would imagine. Yes, it could be close early, like plenty of #1 vs. #16 matchups start...but eventually the depth will show, UK will settle in, and the final margin will be healthy.

It's probably more a matter of how interested these guys will be from the outset. Hopefully, they take to heart Coach Cal's admonitions about the "first five minutes" being so crucial, at the start of both halves. (Don't you love his Jeannine Edwards interviews? Tell me there's not some chemistry there.)

Anyway, why let the Buccaneers hang around at all? It's a given that East Tennessee will be playing with fully adrenalized, nothing to lose, shock the world abandon. So I say to the starters, especially to John, Big Cuz, and Patrick: Get your work in early, don't let them hang around, and let's see plenty of Perry Stevenson and Josh Harrellson in the second half.

And while they don't give any style points in the tournament, it'd be nice to hear at least one of those patented Dick Enberg exclamations before the final buzzer. You know the one. So rather than predicting a final score, I'm going to predict that Mr. Enberg will blurt it out after one of those furious John Wall drives to the basket, where J. morphs into a spinning, smoothed-out Tasmanian Devil wearing high tops.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to pace yourselves. It's another full slate of games on Friday.

Busting the East Bracket

Letting the dust settle a bit, I guess I don't have too many gripes about the path that has been laid out for the Wildcats. Getting to a Final Four is never going to be easy, and you have to like the fact that UK did get a number one seed, which was well-deserved. The oft-cited statistical probability is significant, when earning a #1 seed as opposed to a #2-- it greatly increases a team's likelihood of making it to the last weekend of the season.

Now personally, I wanted to see the Cats come through Houston so that I could check out a regional here in my own back yard. Instead, it will be the Puke Blue Devils coming through the Lone Star State (barring an upset). Whether that particular seeding was fair or not, I will leave for others to argue. Certainly the #2 seed there in the South (Villanova) would seem to have easier path for the first couple rounds-- vs. UK likely having to play a more "name brand" opponent in the Wake Forest/Texas winner.

Now, I do think Bob Huggins will use the classic "we were snubbed" motivational tool to get his West Virginia team fired up. They are obviously a very talented (strong, even rugged?) group and I have seen them several times this year. Their bigs are a lot to handle. But I'd be wary of looking too far ahead, as perhaps Temple or Wisconsin would provide a very good test in the Sweet 16. (See?! I'm already guilty of looking ahead myself!)

The point is, I don't get too much out of complaining over the bracket that Kentucky is up against this year. UK has always had more than its share of haters-- in the conference, in the media, and yeah, probably on the selection committee. But I do feel like this is a special team and it has Final Four talent, no matter how inexperienced. So let's just talk about East Tennessee State for now, and then after that, we can see who's next.

Cats Look to Use SEC Title as Springboard

Heckuva weekend, Brownie.....must have been truly insane to be a UK fan in Nashville these past few days.....Lord knows there were plenty of them there to testify to it.

So I really don't know where to start, but I suppose the Cousins putback would be the most logical place. That particular play goes right up there on the burned-into-your-memory list of last second heroics in the Kentucky pantheon. (A la the Brassow tip, the Nazr runner, the Padgett three, etc). What a testament to the nimble feet and the basketball savvy of Big Cuz, to weasel in there and flip that thing up off the backboard.

The fact that he did it to Mississippi State, well, I'm gonna have to consider that poetic. You think DeMarcus is still getting texts and phone calls from Starkville? I reckon the Bulldogs must have done some serious offending of the basketball deities to lose a game like that. Oh, man! The old miss the second free throw on purpose trick!? How many times does that even work? One out of ten? Ouch.

Cuz certainly had to earn his keep all afternoon long versus Jarvis "Please tell me he is graduating" Varnado. (If not graduating, then at least tell me he's used all his eligibility). But you also have to credit Bledsoe for "making" the perfect miss-- and J. Wall for getting up a prayer/heave just to give UK a chance. That was one of those plays that makes you wonder once again if this team is working with just a little extra pixie dust this season. Or if you want to go with "Cat" terminology, let's say that I hope they are saving another life or two for the Big Dance.

And quickly looking back at Saturday, UK certainly beat the life out of the hated Vols. Kentucky pretty much initiated a full security threat orange lockdown on Bruce Pearl's squad and outright suffocated them defensively in the second half. Tennessee looked absolutely discombobulated by UK's intensity and I honestly think the defeat was bad enough for UT that it really hurt their NCAA tournament seeding. Not that I care.

So the semifinal was a lot easier than it should have been for Kentucky, if you think about it. And the final was as close as it gets, with State being a mere tenth of a second away from taking down the top-seeded Cats. Shoot, looking back to the Friday opener vs. Alabama-- a pretty tough win-- this little Nashville trip was quite the challenge for UK, and it should be a more than adequate preparatory course for the Dance.

The team made it clear that they were not interested in cutting down nets at the conference level, but I would have been tempted to get the scissors out after running that gauntlet. Of course, all that Coach Cal has been preaching lately is that it is "the next level" that he and the Wildcats are really interested in-- that the SEC was not exactly at the top of their "to do" list. But those three wins, and especially the final this afternoon, ought to make for a nice little momentum builder as the Cats get ready to invade New Orleans.

Kentucky Regular Season Awards

Ahead of tomorrow's SEC Tournament tipoff for the Cats, I figured I would hand out a few awards in honor of UK's tremendous 29-2 regular season.

The REAL Coach of the Year: Cal! (Duh.) All due respect to Kevin Stallings, and he had a great interview on Jim Rome's show today, but I really don't see how John Calipari got overlooked by his SEC coaching brethren on this one. Lil' bro and I had a brief discussion about this-- again, admittedly, Stallings is great and they do a nice job there at Vandy-- but come on now, in less than a year on the job, John Calipari just assembled a HUGE amount of incoming talent, installed a brand new system and coaching staff, won the conference, all but locked up a #1 seed, completely re-energized an entire fan base, dare I say an entire state, and oh by the way (wait for it.....wait for it....) beat Vandy twice in the process. Yes, you could say I'm bitter about it.

Enigma of the Year: Darius Miller. I don't want to say he underperformed, so we'll stick with the enigmatic label-- and I'll grant that he has shown some consistency down the stretch. However, a former Kentucky Mr. Basketball with his size and skills should be expected to completely lock up a starting spot, and we all shouldn't have to wonder what type of outing we're going to see from him on a night-to-night basis.

Overexposed Dance of the Year: Okay, so I'm a little tired of people flexing their arms and moving their fists back and forth. It was cute for a while, though, and I'm guessing the rest of the country is going to get caught up with it during the NCAA tournament.

Rupp Arena Visitor of the Year: Vitale? Um, no. And keep your LeBrons and Magics and Roethlisbergers, too. I'm sticking with my second favorite Ashland Tomcat, Miss Ashley. You'd like a picture, you say? Sure. Twist my arm.




Game of the Year*: Hmmm...well, it's always nice to thrash UNC, but that turned out to be pretty underwhelming given the Tar Heels' fall from grace. And beating Indiana anymore just seems like punking a first grader for his Pokemon cards. There were some good conference victories to consider, but I guess I would have to say the Louisville win is just about always the sweetest. All right, it was ugly this January. It was hard-fought. It looked like football at times. But when you beat an in-state rival like that, it just puts a little pep in your step. *Hopefully Kentucky's true game of the year comes in the postseason of course.

Headwear of the Year: (Tie) DeMarcus Cousins' headband, DeMarcus Cousins' bomber hat. One for work, the other for play. "Peter Parker Swag". Ha! That guy kills me.

Dunk of the Year: Could easily have just renamed this category the "John Wall Dunk of the Year." Tough call, actually. Really liked that breakaway at Georgia last week. But I suppose I'll take the left-handed tomahawk at IU's Assembly Hall in December. Oh man, I'm gonna miss that kid. I don't even want to think about it.

Villain of the Year: Bruce Pearl would be the obvious choice, and I thought about Downey too, but instead I'm giving this to the Mississippi State fans as a group. Y'all know what you did.

Comeback Player of the Year: DeAndre Liggins. Unanimously. Went from the deep, deep end of the bench-- for reasons still not entirely explained-- to becoming a valued contributor throughout conference play and an excellent energy guy. He makes the occasional three, plays well above average defense, and gets tons of loose balls. And for the longest time, I really thought he would be transferring elsewhere over the Christmas break. Nice job, Mr. Liggins.

Lovefest of the Year: ESPN's College Gameday visit to Rupp Arena prior to the Tennessee game. That was awesome. Really wish I could have been there. Jeez, even the reviled Digger Phelps got into the spirit of things. Just a cool event and a tour de force for the entire program. I was very, very proud of my alma mater that day. Sadly, it had nothing to do with academic achievement.

Cal-ism of the Year: "They think they poop ice cream" (referring to his freshman stars in particular).

Venue of the Year: The Moon Palace Resort in Cancun. Bizarre. Cracker box of a place, essentially a ballroom with chandeliers possibly in play. An open bar in the concession area. But hey, that turned out to be a good trip for Kentucky. Got a couple of wins, some good team bonding, fun trip for the boosters, and nobody got swine flu.

But speaking of venues, it's apparent that the one destination UK has on its mind this season is Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (And maybe they can take some hardware out of the Sommet Center in Nashville first.) Enjoy the tournament.

Wildcats Take Care of Business In Athens

Georgia's Dogs found themselves on the short end of an 80-68 final on their own senior night, largely due to UK turning up the defensive heat in the second half. Kentucky looked awfully good over a 10-minute or so stretch, especially when the turnovers were being converted into some nice fast breaks..... and this game featured several highlight reel dunks (from both teams).

Boogie Cousins definitely got down to business, handling the ball like a point guard on a couple of fast breaks himself, using a delicious little right-to-left move for a layup and also dropping a tasty dime for P-Pat.

Overall, a very "professional" type win for UK on the road, and a nice way for the Cats to begin what we all hope will be an undefeated month. What say we celebrate with a tune...

Georgia Is Surely on Calipari's Mind

I don't figure Coach Cal is going to be too distracted by the Maker's Mark commemorative bottle hoopla to have his UK team ready and rarin' to take on the Georgia Bulldogs Wednesday night. The worst-kept secret in the SEC might be this: 13-14 UGA is pretty darned good.

In addition to wins over Illinois, Tennessee and Florida, Mark Fox's squad also played a pretty competitive game in Rupp Arena back in January. Georgia was up by six late in the first half in Lexington, and was within two points with only 1:05 remaining in the game. So we shouldn't necessarily expect UK's trip to Athens to be a simple walk in the park.

The last thing UK needs at this time of the season is to drop another game, especially to a much less-heralded (albeit underrated) team the likes of Georgia. Consecutive losses would seriously jeopardize the Cats' chances at a 1-seed, not to mention raise an hysterical outcry from Big Blue Nation and the sports media in general. (Honestly, if I have to read another article about Kentucky's weak 3-point shooting, I'm going to have to choke somebody. Preferably a Kansas fan.)

But I would imagine that Cal, as usual, has it under control. He's already spun the loss in Knoxville effectively enough that I was nearly convinced that the Fiddlin' Five (v. 2.0) had actually pulled that one out. *Sigh*

Now.....I do like Calipari's idea of just a bit more playing time for Ramon Harris, if for no other reason than the fact he is a seasoned player and he also gives consistent effort, especially on the defensive end. If Ramon fails to make regularly make the outlandishly athletic play, you can at least usually count on him to make the smart play. UK just isn't going to win many games from that small forward (by committee) spot, but it can't afford to lose any either.

On paper, this should be UK's 28th "W" of the year, but obviously Calipari knows his team can ill-afford to count it as a hatched chicken. He's got to have his guys fired up from the start for this road game. Personally, I could do without another soaring Travis Leslie jam (which I am sure Big Cuz remembers quite well), and I think Trey Thompkins is also absolutely legit. The calendar now says March, and that means the old cliche rings more true than ever-- you have to take them one at a time.

Absorbing A Second Loss

All right, so I gave it a full day (and a half), trying to simmer down a little. Had myself a pretty decent weekend otherwise, the weather was great, had some fun with the family and all that stuff. Took a virtual chill pill. But I gotta say I'm still a little peeved about the Cats losing to Tennessee.

Mainly because it was Tennessee, I guess.

Objectively, there's not a whole lot to be ashamed about, losing to the 19th ranked team in the country on their home floor-- a team that had knocked off #1 Kansas earlier in the season. And sure, UK was coming off the quick turnaround of late Thursday to early Saturday, having avenged their only previous loss of the season to the "other" USC.

But man, you have got to show up a little better than that if you're Kentucky. No excuses. Potential clincher for the conference title on the line. National CBS coverage. On a day that the #1 Jayhawks took another "L" themselves. You knew that Knoxville was gonna be extremely hostile and the Sweaty One, Bruce Pearl, would be pulling out all the stops, including but not limited to, the day-glo sportscoat.

You just can't dig that deep of a first-half hole for yourself. That would be the main takeaway from this one. A certain former UK coach used to say, "When you lose, don't lose the lesson." And we all know how young these Wildcats are, but they must recognize that it is imperative to keep a team from running away from you to that extent. Nobody's 19 points better than UK this year.

So even when you can't buy a shot and aren't catching any breaks, you have too find a way to keep things reasonable on the scoreboard, confident that you will eventually make a run and get back into it.

And certainly, I was encouraged that the Cats did just that. They clawed right back and managed to tie it. They showed some grit and intensity in the second half. Absolutely. But they left themselves no margin for error... and in classic SEC rival form, a native of the Commonwealth makes the big shot to seal the deal against UK. Take a bow, Mr. Hopson. Now go jump in whatever the heck that river is that runs by your orange-infested campus.

Now seriously, am I apoplectic over this setback? Hardly. Some might even argue that this was a good loss that will sharpen the team's focus as the calendar turns to March. (Try telling it to Dan-O...."good loss" Ha!) But I was disappointed that at this stage, UK tried to simply mail it in, especially defensively. Way too much matador action yesterday. Mildly disturbing.

Must.... chill.....27-2......#1 seed still in sight...

Payback Is A (Something That Rhymes With "Witch")

Say, can anybody tell me where Darrin Horn is from? No? Whether he might have any Kentucky connections? At all? Anybody? Hmmm...maybe next time ESPN should mention something about his background, oh I don't know, maybe about forty-six times or so. Can never have enough of that story line. No sir.

(NOTE: I like Darrin. I really do. I've made that known. Hell, I even like Devan Downey. I think he's a nice player-- a gunner, to be sure-- but fun to watch from an objective point of view, pulling for the lil' guy. The problem is that for every deeeep three or crazy layup that he makes, he also bricks something from 24 ft. that he shouldn't be shooting. They don't tend to show those on the highlights. But we're not here to talk about Devan Downey.)

No, I'd much rather pontificate on how the Kentucky Wildcats brought the heat in turning in their 27th victory on the season, avenging...well, you know....that one little blemish. The Good Lord saith that revenge is His, and I always let him have it, but Big Blue just absolutely had to get 'em some in Rupp....to the tune of about 20 points by the time it was totaled.

Defense tonight was pretty good, I'd say. Yes, Downey got his, as he always does (26 points, on a whopping 25 shots). But when these Cats get serious about clamping down, they tend to put together the runs that ultimately make the difference. There was a rather extended stretch in the first half, where, as I like to put it, South Carolina just got "stuck" on 23. UK just decided to really get some stops, to make SC really work for their offensive looks, and there just wasn't much the Roosters could do about it.

(NOTE TWO: How many points would Patrick Patterson wind up with if he took 25 shots? Patrick had a tremendous game and more than atoned for his poor outing in Columbia three weeks ago.)

And sure, Cousins was certainly his beastly self tonight, making a spin move dunk that had me jumping off the couch. He notched yet another double-double and had Dickie V raving about his potential as a pro. Magic Johnson also had nice things to say about Cousins, and especially about John Wall. What I found most interesting was that Magic stressed how "cool" they both seemed, for lack of a better term-- that the freshman weren't allowing the hype to get to them, or wear them down, and that they were managing to exceed the high expectations. Not just the talent, but it was the attitude was what impressed him.

(NOTE THREE: Magic's put on a few, but that was a sweet purple-checked shirt he was wearing. I'm totally gonna wear mine to the office sometime next week.)

I really thought Kentucky might run away with it early, since they jumped out quick for a change. Kind of nice to play with an early lead, right guys? But credit to Horn's team for settling down and making at least a contest of it. That "points in the paint" graphic that the Worldwide Leader kept showing was really the story of this one, IMO. Daniel Orton provided some good minutes off the bench, and really, who can match up with Coach Cal's frontcourt when everybody is clicking?

It will be a quick turnaround with the early start Saturday vs. the Tennessee Gangst...excuse me...Volunteers, so I do hope that the young Cats get plenty of beauty sleep tonight and Friday. No Two Keys, tonight fellas, okay? I really expect that to be a tough one in the building that Pat Summitt built, and I do still think UK looks a bit tired (another missed dunk by Patrick and I'm gonna seriously rob a liquor store).

An Exclusive Interview With John Wall's Shooting Sleeve

You know exactly where to come when you need a hard-hitting, ground-breaking, investigative interview with a notable inanimate object connected with UK basketball. And this time, we've got something special...

Wildcat Whisperer: Thanks for joining us, John Wall's Shooting Sleeve.
John Wall's Shooting Sleeve: No problem, thanks for having me.

WW: So, what should I call you, just.... Sleeve?
JWSS: Yeah, sure. Some people call me Double-S, or Sleevey, but yeah Sleeve is cool.

WW: Please tell us a little about yourself. What's your background?
JWSS: Well, I'm a Nike product, of course, so I'm from Oregon...what? What's so funny?

WW: (chuckling, resisting Mitch Barnhart joke) Oh, nothing...go on.....Oregon?
JWSS: Yeah, well, not really from Oregon, but I guess you could say I was designed there. My earliest memories are actually from a textile factory across the Pacific, quite a long way from Oregon, if you now what I mean.

WW: I see... and you are made from what, exactly?
JWSS: Well, most of my siblings are 84% DRI-Fit polyester and 16% spandex, but since I'm John Wall's shooting sleeve, I'm actually a proprietary blend of 100% awesome.

WW: I'll say.
JWSS: Yeah, it's good to be me.

WW: Can you shed a little light on what it is that you do for John, exactly?
JWSS: Well, not a whole lot, to be honest. I squeeze his magic right arm a little bit. Provide some padding. Bring a little more blue and white into the mix, I suppose. But John really does all of the work. I'm just a little extra support is all.

WW: Uh-huh. Well, a lot of readers want to know...are you concealing anything under there? Some scars, perhaps? A tattoo?
JWSS: Oh man, John would probably kill me if he knew I was telling you this, but yeah, there's a tat on there, just a little slogan on his right forearm.

WW: No way! What does it say?
JWSS: It says, "Duke Sucks". (Pause.) Just kidding, man. Had you going there for a second, didn't I?

WW: Ha ha, verrry funny. But I guess a sense of humor is valuable in your line of work?
JWSS: Yeah, I mean imagine if it had to spell out Krzyzewski...(pause)....anyway..... if you want to talk valuable, sleeves like me are actually available for under 20 bucks online. They've been flying off the shelves, too.

WW: Do you figure that's because of their association with the so-called Basketball Jesus?
JWSS: Well, you know, lots of guys are wearing them now. Bledsoe has one too, Patrick sometimes, and of course plenty of NBA guys, so it's not just J-Dub.

WW: Yeah, but your man Wall is white-hot these days....SI cover...player of the year candidate....
JWSS: Oh sure, but it's all deserved, is it not? You saw the Miami game, right? Season opener in Rupp, true freshman nails the buzzer-beater? And how many players have the skills and the cojones...can I say cojones?
WW: You just did.
JWSS: ...the cojones to pull off that defensive stop at Vanderbilt. The kid's big time. Cal knows it. Even LeBron knows it. (More of a headband guy, than a sleeve guy, but still. Gotta respect LeBron.)

WW: Yeah, I suppose we could talk all day about the phenom. What's been your favorite game, or highlight so far?
JWSS: Well, that reverse lob dunk against Hartford was pretty sweet. And then the left-handed throwdown on IU was all kinds of nasty, too (although the left arm is bare, if I can just point that out) but really, the best thing about the kid is that I always feel like the NEXT game could be even better. He could still get that triple-double, that 30-point game, that jaw-dropping, did-he-really-just-do-that kind of highlight on any particular night. Fact is, I don't think John has peaked as a college player yet, and I don't think the team has peaked yet either. Feelin' me?

WW: (suppressing fit of pure, unadulterated joy) Yeah, Sleeve, I'm feelin' you. I believe you're absolutely right. We're all looking forward to March in the Big Blue Nation, that's for sure. So is there anything else you'd like to say before we let you go?
JWSS: Yeah, there is. And I'm glad to be able to get this out in the open. You know The Dance? The one everybody's doing now? Totally my idea.

WW: Seriously?
JWSS: Yeah man, think about it. You put that arm up there and make the fist and start twisting back and forth...what's that focus on? What's the first thing you're gonna notice about a guy doing that?

WW: His sleeve?
JWSS: Exactly!

WW: Well, thanks again for stopping by.
JWSS: You got it, man. Peace.

photo credit: Walter Cornett

Another Great Escape

They just keep doing it. This young, at times extremely immature Kentucky team continues to find ways to snatch victory from the jaws of you-know-what.

Turnovers can't stop them. Missed free throws can't stop them. Abysmal shooting (36%? Really?) and even silly technical fouls (we're looking at you, Mr. Bledsoe) can't stop them.

And perhaps most importantly, a picture-perfect length of the floor inbounds play at the buzzer on Saturday, could not stop them. Sure, that Ogilvy shot would have only been for the tie.....but every UK fan knows exactly what memorable play that long pass, catch, and shoot was reminiscent of. So....let's change the subject.

Hey, how about the Patrick Patterson renaissance? It's great, isn't it? Big Pat's three from the corner was probably the play of the game. (Although Wall blocking a Vandy shot, and then pulling it down to get the the free throw line was pretty brassy, too.) Anyway, Patrick put up 13 and 13 this evening, and it was a steady, heady, upperclassman-in-charge type of performance, IMO. Sure, he got a little flustered and slammed the ball to the floor (after that mild tussle with a Commodore in the second half)-- but dang it, Patrick CARES!

I kinda like Mad Patrick. He could really be awesome. Gotta work on the hops though, Pat. (Maybe the guy's a little tired?) Long season. So get some of your spring back, big fella. No more missed dunks, k?

Truth be told, Kentucky seemed awfully ripe in Nashville. I believe the Cats could have absolutely been had, and Coach Stallings has to feel like his squad let one get away. But I suppose the so-called Memorial Magic wasn't fully effective this season-- leaving a lot of very strange gold-painted persons (and one really big dude in a military uniform) extremely disappointed. The way UK was shooting it from the floor today, coupled with how the free throws weren't falling either, left the Cats as vulnerable as they are likely to be for any particular game.

This season's Five is certainly much more of the Fiddlin' variety, but all ugliness aside, Cal and Co. get another big conference road win, and you just can't argue with the results.

Little-Known Facts About Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. This game at Vandy on Saturday scares me a bit. They have a solid team, they will of course be jacked up like Robin Williams on three Red Bulls, and they have that stupid stinkin' gym working for them. But I did manage to uncover a few items about the place that I hope you might find intriguing....


* The facility holds approximately 14,000 people, of which 13,988 are country music lovers.

* As freshman, all Vanderbilt players are given special instructions for locating the dead spots in the floor and avoiding the indoor air currents that are used to deflect opponents' shots.

* The playing surface is made from rejected wood that was deemed unsuitable for Cornelius Vanderbilt's coffin.

* This floor is polished with the same brand of wax paste that Kevin Stallings uses to shine his forehead.

* Vanderbilt's all time leader in blocked shots, Will Perdue, proposed to his girlfriend at halfcourt of Memorial Gymnasium during the Tennessee game in 1986. She said no.

* The lights are dimmed during game play to give AJ Ogilvy a more dramatic background for his frosted tips.

* Former Kentucky player/athletic director and former Vanderbilt coach, C.M. Newton, was once quoted as saying the place smelled a little bit like a pair of his old Chuck Taylor All-Stars.

* After beating Vandy on a last second runner in '98, Kentucky's Nazr Mohammed fell from the court, breaking his leg. He then shouted "Sic semper tyrannis" before hobbling to the locker room.

* Nashville locals often refer to the gym as "The Lil' Opry".

* A 2002 facility renovation, tabbed at $25 million, did not expand the women's restroom facilities. In fact, no public arena ever has enough women's restroom facilities. Federal law.

* Memorial Gymnasium-- the building itself-- hated Saul Smith, too.

Trio of Double-Doubles Needed for UK Win in Starkville

(Admit it, this picture makes you a little hungry.) Jarvis Varnado finally met his match, with three Wildcat amigos notching at least 18 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson combined to ensure that all was right in the SEC basketball world as Kentucky snapped a recent Mississippi State bugaboo with its 81-76 overtime win.

Varnado, who fouled out, was unable to re-create his famous Gillispie-era block party and was close to a non-factor in only 23 minutes of play. Perhaps predictably, it was Big Cuz who was the main beneficiary of Varnado's absence, leading the Cats with 19 points and 14 boards. Maybe someone should scatter Cousins' cell phone number around Vanderbilt's campus for the rest of the week.

State came in with the greenest of all lights from three-point land, attempting 35 treys in all, and fortunately for Kentucky, making only 10 (28.6%). Kentucky also enjoyed a very wide overall rebounding margin of 52-35, which led to a lot of put-backs for the Big Blue and limited the Bulldog's own second-chance opportunities. Even Liggins, Dodson, and Orton pulled down 4 rebounds each-- and the Cats were certainly in need of every possession as the game required an extra period to decide a victor.

Rick Stansbury sounded so dejected on his post-game radio show that I almost, almost, felt a bit sorry for him. The Bulldogs were playing their third game in only six days and fell to 6-5 in the SEC. Stansbury lamented the fact that his home fans had to leave disappointed after creating such a great environment and cheering their hearts out for the nationally-televised game. He was heartbroken that State had several empty possessions at the end of regulation that could have closed it out.

To which I say: Silly rabbit, wins are for Cats.

If you've been watching Cal's team all season, you had to feel this was the type of contest that UK has learned to pull out. Yeah, they mess around too much, and I for one, (although I'm most assuredly not alone) hate it. These Cats play down to their competition at times, and I've criticized it (you know, like last week). They do act like a young team, no argument about it. But you know, twenty-five in the "W" column doesn't come by accident. That's TWENTY-FIVE and counting.

Did UK hit every single free throw down the stretch and in OT? No. Did they get themselves a really great shot at the end of regulation? Nah. Silly turnovers? More than a few.

But they did get enough from the charity stripe (attempting 15 more than the Dogs.) And DeAndre Liggins surely could have made that baseline "J" and saved us 5 more minutes of nail-biting. (Not that I'm against free basketball and pushing back SportsCenter to get some additional coverage).

Put it this way: if you told me that Kentucky could get another 6-point road win at Vandy this weekend, I'd take it all day long. Nice win.

And if you'll allow me a brief personal note in closing: my good friend and fellow UK alum Paul experienced a horrible family loss earlier this week and I just want to send him my condolences. He is somebody who encourages me all the time, has read this little blog from the start, and I really just want him to know that he has my fullest support and sympathy. Hang in there, PA.

Does #2 Need to Try Harder?

The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats defeated Alabama by a score of 66-55 in Rupp Arena Tuesday night, in an effort that I will kindly refer to as "workmanlike". The current ESPN/USA Today poll has UK trailing only Kansas in the national rankings (third in the AP), but the Cats displayed their frustrating, if not infuriating, tendency to let opposing teams linger-- prior to finishing off the Crimson Tide in the second half.

In being held to only 66 points at home, and once again putting in an especially tepid start (NOT THAT I COULD SEE IT, ESPNU-- gotta take care of all those George Mason fans, right?) Kentucky opens itself up to rightful criticism that it doesn't fully focus when playing squads that are lower on the food chain.

We've seen it several times this season of course, and most recently the sloppy beginning at LSU makes for a good example, but perhaps it's not entirely fair to fault UK for not always slamming the door shut earlier. After all, the Wildcat faithful are always quick to point out that opponents usually bring their "A" or even "A+" games when they face the seven-time national champs. And we're talking about playing in a BCS conference (albeit more known for the pigskin) with rosters full of legitimate Division I talent. You can't blow them all out by 30 and scorch the earth in the process.

And yet, that is exactly what I want, and undoubtedly what you want as a Kentucky fan, too. It's in our blood.

We could discuss expectations 'til the cows come home, but I do sincerely feel that the '09-'10 Cats are prone to spells of disinterest when playing lesser teams such as the current 'Bama squad. I don't pin this on a true lack of effort per se, but more of a proclivity to play slightly less aggressive defense while ahead, coupled with a strange aversion to making the simple or basic basketball play on the offensive end...and favoring the more spectacular play.

If you're counting, that's two games in a row for a behind the back layup move by John Wall. And yes, they are admittedly fun to see on the highlights. But can we also cut out some of the turnovers, please? Not all of them are of the forced variety, after all.

So yeah, DeMarcus Cousins tossed in his seventh double-double in a row, UK goes to 8-1 in the conference, Wall himself had 10 rebounds.... and here I am, picking nits. I guess it's a tradition going back to when? The Alex Groza days? But I just really feel like this could be an extra-special team. And at the end of the year, I don't want Kansas, or Syracuse or anybody else ahead of UK. That means Coach Cal is going to have to stay on the young'uns to keep "grinding" (his words) more effectively and not take 3-4 minute breathers when the game is still undecided.

As demonstrated in this win, you can get away with it at home in February, but I'd rather not see it come tournament time.

Monday Night Gumbo

Highlighting a weekend trip to Baton Rouge to view the Cats live and in person for only the second time this season....(I witnessed the Hartford game in Rupp back in December, notable only for J. Wall breaking the UK single-game assist record)....apparently, there was some kind of NFL football thing going on that had the local cajuns a little excited...

*You know Kentucky's off to a slow start when your son asks, "Dad, are they gonna get more than one today?" and you can tell he halfway means it.

*Catching the recorded version back at home this evening, it truly was hard to believe that about nine minutes into this one, UK had only a 12-10 lead. Considering the final score, I don't think the Tigers knew what hit them.

*It was nice that Perry Stevenson at least got some minutes (and a bucket), being a Lafayette native who undoubtedly had plenty of family and friends present at the game.

*Also present was one Durand "Rudy" Macklin, who had his jersey retired at halftime by LSU; Macklin gave a very nice speech that showed a true humility and grace--mentioning former teammates, coaches and of course, his parents. Class act. But it probably wouldn't have killed them to keep the house lights on for the ceremony, because the inadequate spotlights cast a very strange pall over the proceedings.

*Darius Miller turned in another uhhh...unremarkable performance. Put me in the VERY concerned camp here. 17 minutes, 1 shot? I like the 3 boards and 3 assists, but that's not what I think Cal is looking for from Mr. Miller. I'll leave it to the speculators to figure out what's going on there, but we all know that the former Mr. Basketball is severely underperforming.

*Also, I was not very impressed with Tas Mitchell on Saturday. Credit to Patrick Patterson and UK's team defense for keeping him off kilter, but usually a player of Mitchell's caliber will manage to "get his" even in blowouts, and yet he was held to only 10 on the day. The guy settled for a lot of threes.

*A fairly tepid crowd IMO at the Maravich Assembly Center. The students did manufacture a bit of spirit with the random assortment of large craniums and a couple of crazy costumes. But you can tell that's a football school. Even with the early lead, you could sense the Bayou faithful weren't really buying in...and given their team's winless conference record, it's tough to blame them.

*Big Blue, on the other hand, always manages to get into the building, doesn't it? And Big Blue makes its presence felt. Road games, conference road games, neutral site, tournament, no matter. I figure if the university scheduled the Martian All-Stars to a home-and-home, the UK faithful would fill at least 20% of the Red Planet Coliseum. (And probably gripe about the drink prices.)

*The Mike the Tiger exhibit was very cool. Gotta give credit there. Money well spent to give your school's live mascot a sweet place to hang out and be seen by the fans. Mike was actually up and pacing around for a change, really showing off and relishing his own tigerness. And honestly overall, the LSU fans were quite nice to me. Again, I hear football would be a much different story.

*I hate to say it, but it looked like Wall could have been called for traveling on that behind the back layup move. However, that's one of those calls that superstars are never whistled on, and who knows what's traveling anymore these days? One-two-shuffle-step and jump? It was a beautiful and creative basketball play regardless. And Mr. Wall has a penchant for those.

*Big Cuz remains the Eighth Wonder this season. Just a massive guy that has agility and coordination that is so uncommon. That little flying tip-in was amazing. I think Trent Johnson's team was more than a little awestruck by DeMarcus. Well, it was either that, or Bobby C's beard.....both are true forces of nature.

*And finally, I also reviewed the tape that the refs were checking out when DeMarcus inadvertently clocked (insert random LSU player name here) on a rebound. I saw nothing intentional at all, and figured those Arcadians wouldn't have such a big issue with a little "elbeaux."

GO CATS!

LeBron Witnesses UK Win Over Vandy

Yes, King James was in the house yesterday. Yes, he wore a spectacularly funky sweater. And yes, Big Cuz is perhaps on his way to eclipsing John Wall as best freshman in the country and top pick in the NBA draft later this year.

Hard to believe I'm typing that, but seriously...DeMarcus Cousins added yet another double-double to the resume yesterday, and if this kid can just keep himself under control in the heat of battle, he is displaying the kind of talent that will surely propel him to a VERY high position in the lottery come summertime.

His penchant for technical fouls and run-ins with opponents remains disturbing. The headband: inadvisable. But jeez, the feet on this guy! Have you ever seen a 280 lb dude that was more nimble? He's got a little bit of range and whole lot of touch. He can make a good percentage of free throws. He goes after rebounds and loose balls like someone half his size, flinging his 6'11" frame around the court with a reckless abandon that his this blogger gushing after Kentucky's triumph over the 'Dores.

Oh yeah, the game.

Well, it was bit of a mess. Way too many whistles. For crying out loud, if I hadn't thoughtfully tivo-ed the hour long wrap-up show on ESPN, I'd have missed most of the of the second half. What can you say? Sometimes the refs think everybody came out to see them, and not the players. Maybe they figured their flight out of Lexington would be canceled due to the snow, and so there was no rush.

But good gravy, what a foul-fest. Made it really hard to watch, even on a Sunday morning with a nice cup of coffee, and no distractions at all.

However....what I most certainly did enjoy watching, aside from Cousins' performance, was the three-point shooting of one Darnell Dodson, and his partner in perimeter crime...Patrick Patterson? Yes, Patrick Patterson! P-Pat been puttin' some work in, hasn't he? Nice. Very nice. Less treys is probably more for Patrick, but if that stretches the D out for the team, then I'm all for it. More importantly, Mr. Dodson has to continue to stroke it with confidence, and I like how he was making the catch-and-shoots look so fluid against Vanderbilt.

As far as the presence of Mr. James goes, well, I suppose it's kind of cool. Additional buzz for the program, and all. I know all about the Nike connection, and I believe Cal is sincere in his admiration for the King, and that LeBron can function as a mentor of sorts to J. Wall and Cousins and the rest of the possible NBA-bound Kentucky roster.

I just don't want it to become a circus or anything. I prefer a brighter line between college ball and the NBA, in the old-school, amateur athletics kind of way. Obviously, Cal has done a tremendous job of raising/restoring the profile of Kentucky basketball in his brief tenure, and this is just another example of that. At least #23 isn't going to Kansas or Duke games, right?

But the take home message from this win is that the Cats "bounced back" from the South Carolina loss in a most effective manner. They practically shut down AJ Ogilvy; maintained, if not expanded, a comfortable second-half lead against a very solid conference opponent; and now look forward to a Groundhog Day matchup with the Ole Miss Rebels in a very winnable home tilt.

UK Falters in Columbia

Okay, so I'd really like to blame this on President Obama. I mean, the nerve of that guy, bringing his bad health care mojo over the telephone to congratulate Cal and the UK program, honoring their efforts to raise relief funds for the Haiti earthquake victims. For crying out loud, why don't you get Roy Williams on the phone again?

But I know at least one Democrat reads this blog regularly (she knows who she is) and so I'm not going to put this all on the POTUS.

Now the refs, on the other hand....

(Okay, so I'm trying to keep the sense of humor intact.)

But really, there's nothing funny about this loss. Kentucky got outplayed tonight. Period. If you would have told me the Cats would only tally 62 versus the Gamecocks, I'd have said you were crazy. And really, I think that's where the problem was.

It wasn't really Devan Downey. Not in my opinion anyway. The guy took 29 shots. And let's face it, a few of those were complete, unmitigated cr@p that just went in. Of course he's going to wind up with 30 points. And yes he's a good player, and yes Jimmy Dykes has borderline erotic dreams about his crossover dribble, but I really don't think it was Downey that won the game.

It was more like UK lost the game.

Not blocking out. Rushing on the offensive end. Settling for bad shots.

Patrick Patterson absolutely disappeared in the second half tonight. That just cannot happen, folks. John Wall turned it on late, sure, but he was largely absent as well.

I like how Kentucky responded at the end and played with real urgency to try to pull it out, but seriously, where was that effort for most of the game? Did this group get the big head after beating Arkansas over the weekend and ascending to the top of the polls? You can bet that John Calipari was preaching his best "we're not really 19-0" sermon leading up to this one, but was his locker room flock giving him an "amen"?

Now, Big Cuz certainly showed up with his 27 total, but that's probably more a function of his actually staying in the game for 30+ minutes. It's almost expected, which says a lot about the freshman and his potential when he stays out of foul trouble. But if Eric Bledsoe plays 30+ minutes and only gets two field goals, well, it's going to be a very long night for the Big Blue. And it certainly was. Patterson's line is even more flabbergasting: 35 minutes, and only FOUR ATTEMPTS. Wha?

The balance was just way off tonight. It was a little reminiscent of Jodie last year: it's nice when he had a big game, but you didn't really want him to have to get 40 for UK to have a chance to win.

I suppose the classy thing to do in defeat is to credit the victors, and unquestionably "the other" USC had a great night on the glass, out-rebounding the Cats 44-40. Lexington native and WKU grad D. Horn kept his team composed and focused all game long. They responded well when UK took a 5 point lead in the second half. But the Cocks only had 6 total assists and shot but 34.4% from the field themselves. Not exactly a fantabulous statistical effort, but hey, it was enough to have the court stormed when the final buzzer sounded.

Calipari warned that there would be games like this, that the virtual bulls-eye on Kentucky's collective back had only grown larger with each win, and you would have to say that it caught up with them. The real test for the young Wildcats will be, how do they respond? Do they take a second loss quickly, a la Texas last week? Vandy is going to be capable, after all. With perfection now out of reach, will the squad regroup and focus on what remains attainable?

I maintain that if Kentucky plays to potential, it is still far and away the best team in the conference and amongst the best in the nation. The optimist in me therefore hopes that the silver lining in this loss will be that UK's Fiddlin' Five (redux) learns to quit fiddlin' around so much and take care of business. Step up, Patrick. Play every minute with urgency, Great Wall.

If you must lose, then at least learn from it. And after this visit to Columbia, UK must. Or, to borrow a phrase from a certain Chicago politician, Yes We Can! *pukes*