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.