Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I'm a UK homer and I will bleed blue until the day I die. I 've been blogging here for almost a year, I haven't written many blogs, but most have been about the University of Kentucky. Thanks to this little blogosphere, I've gotten to know several fellow UK fans through the past year: Bluegrass Lady, UKJedi, and TheFormer88FanAgain to name a few. I've caught hell from some great SEC fans during that time as well (usually deservedly so), especially Rev! That's why I love this blogosphere: 95% of the people are great. They show courtesy and respect to their fellow bloggers and genuinely seem to care about the people here and their blogging. Everyone has their favorite team, player, driver, etc. and loves to blog about them. They see them through thick and thin.
I was able to spend New Years Eve in Nashville, TN watching my Wildcats beat Florida State in the Music City Bowl to culminate a great (by our standards) football season. Unfortunately, basketball season is a different story. I grew up watching UK basketball through the 80's when Joe B. Hall brought in the "Twin Towers" of Melvin Turpin and Sam Bowie--you know, the guy that was drafted before Michael Jordan. I watched a rogue coaching staff drag UK through an embarrassing recruiting scandal, then proudly I watched as Rick Pitino brought us back to national prominence with a championship in 1996, and a runner up in 1997. Sadly, Pitino left after 97 to try his hand again in the NBA. I watched his successor lead Rick's boys to another national title in 1998. Unfortunately, Tubby was unable to match the success he had in his first season at UK. After 10 seasons of sub-par recruiting and coaching, Tubby saw the writing on the wall and left for Minnesota.
So here we are in 2008. We have a new coach in Billy Clyde Gillispie. UK is currently 7-8 and losing by 4 to the 2-time defending national champion Florida Gators with about 2:49 left in the first half. We're struggling here, we're not used to this. Are Kentucky fans unrealistic? Maybe, it depends on who you ask. Kentucky fans are used to winning and we expect nothing less than that. You ask any fan whose team has a tradition of winning if they expect to win every game out and I'll bet you the answer is yes every time. Most realistic UK fans know that we're going to lose a few, but we were raising unholy hell the past few seasons when we were losing 10+ games and leaving the NCAA tourney in the first two rounds and wanted Tubby's head on a platter. We got our wish, Tubby left town, but not before he left a crappy legacy of players.
Why is UK sitting at 7-8? Why did they lose to powerhouses like Gardner-Webb and San Diego? There are many reasons why, I guess you can call me a homer for even writing this blog and trying to justify it.
RECRUITING: This was what Tubby was most strongly criticized about during his time here. He never could get the big name recruit. He never recruited in-state and this point was emphasized 2 years ago when he let Bruce Pearl drive all the way up I-75 from Knoxville and take Mr. Kentucky Basketball, Chris Lofton from Mason County High School, and didn't even try to stop him! He never tried to recruit Lofton. It was simply unacceptable in the eyes of UK fans and alumni. As a result of his lack of recruiting, UK has two seniors and one junior. The seniors, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford have spent more time in Billy Clyde's dog house than on the court, and the junior, Jared Carter, hasn't recovered from shoulder surgery last season. Word has it that the seniors just "haven't fit into Gillispie's style of play".
INJURIES: An injury is a homers favorite excuse for their teams lack of performance, so here I go! Yes, injuries have played a major part in UK's struggles. Sophomore guards Derrick Jasper and Jodie Meeks have missed the majority of the season for a variety of injuries. Both are playing tonight, but the rust shows. 7'2" junior center Jared Carter has not been able to contribute since last early last season due to injuries.
COACHING RUMORS: Many UK fans weren't very happy with the hiring of Gillispie. He didn't being the "name" to the UK head coach position. My stance on this is give the guy a chance. He hasn't endeared himself to the local media or the alumni, but we've got to let him do his job. There are rumors of him having full practices on game day and the players are just "worn out". The biggest concern is that Gillispie doesn't have a contract. He has a "letter of understanding" and no one outside of Gillispie and UK know what that letter contains. Is he just keeping the seat warm for someone else while being paid handsomely or is this a multi-year deal? No one knows. I hope that Gillispie stays long enough to establish a positive legacy at UK.
TURNOVERS PER GAME: Sorry folks, I'm from Kentucky. I can't count that high. Not enough fingers and toes to get to that number!
PLAY VERSUS RANKED TEAMS: UK failed to show up versus Indiana and North Carolina, plain and simple. UK had chance to beat a healthy Louisville team, who is well on their way back in to the top 25. You need wins versus these teams to get off of the proverbial bubble during tournament selection time. UK's only win versus a ranked team was last Saturday versus Vanderbilt. If you call Vandy your "signature win" for the season, you've got issues!
After writing this blog it's now a 46-41 Florida lead with 10:00 left in the second half. Kentucky continues to struggle on defense, and turns it over too much. I'm coming to the realization that this team may not make the NCAA's and if they do they'll have to win the SEC tournament to do it. As a homer, I'm trying to be patient, but it's not easy. I haven't stepped foot inside of Rupp Arena yet this season, maybe I'll go when Florida, TN or Arkansas come to town. Arkansas landed former UK player John Pelphrey as their head coach, and I want to see the reception he gets at Rupp. I want to see Bruce Pearl and make obscene gestures at him. I want to see UK play Florida because it's always a great game and in my pipedream our next coach is sitting at Florida cashing a fat paycheck. Maybe UK can finish the season around .500 and get in the NIT. At least we'll be in post-season play and it would give us some hope for next year. That's all we have right now...hope!
It has been a couple of months since I've written a blog, but I've been back reading and responding to a few other blogs in the past few weeks. I guess I just got a little burnt out on writing or just didn't have the time to write. Anyway, here are a few random thoughts on some semi-current sports stories coming out of my empty head:
I didn't know Southern Cindi well, but I know that this blogosphere has lost a fighter, a writer, and a true lady. From what I could see, she never had a negative thing to say about anyone nor did she ever let cancer get her down. By all accounts, she was an amazing woman. What also amazed me were the people here who showed her love and respect and helped her in any way they could over the past year that I've been around. You all know who you are and you all are amazing people! Rest in peace, Cindi.
Congrats LSU on your BCS Championship. That puts the SEC at 7-2 in bowls this season. Maybe I won't have to hear about conference superiority again until next year.
How many more days until the NFL Draft? I'm ready for it!
My dad and I went to Nashville over New Years to attend the Music City Bowl. My beloved Wildcats beat a shorthanded FSU team to win their second consecutive game. I was recovering from bronchitis while down there, but still had a great time at my first bowl game. The worst part: I was in bed before midnight on NY Eve and lost my cell phone while there. I feel naked without it!
I still don't know what to make of Roger Clemens in this Mitchell Report. Of all the names mentioned and people who have denied allegations of using performance enhancing drugs, he's the only one who has taken it out of the court of public opinion to a court of law. There's something to be said for him trying to prove his innocence through this defamation lawsuit.
Everyone's been talking about the Patriots wonderful season, but this is the playoffs. Jacksonville looks scary good in the AFC! It should be a great weekend of playoff football coming up.
It has been a disappointing season for UK basketball to say the least. Tubby left the cupboard bare, what decent players he had brought in have been injured most of the season, Billy Clyde is a hard #### in practice (so the rumor mills say), and he hasn't exactly endeared himself to the media and fans. The honeymoon ended with a loss to Gardner-Webb in early November and at 6-7 it isn't getting better. The biggest question in Kentucky basketball right now is why doesn't Billy Clyde have a contract? He has a "Letter of Understanding" with the university. Who knows what will happen after this season. One season isn't long enough for a coach to prove his worth. But no one knows the contents of that letter.
Well, that's about all for now. Hopefully before too long I can get some more blogs written. Hope everyone had a great holiday season and hope everyone has a prosperous new year.
When I took my 3 year old daughter to see Santa at the mall this past winter, I told Santa that all I wanted was a coaching change (and the first 2 seasons of "LOST" on DVD) at UK. At 1:00 PM CDT tomorrow, I will get my present. Tubby Smith is leaving for Minnesota.
I wasn't surprised to see Tubby leave in the fashion that he did. Basically, he was told to fire his staff or be fired. He chose to leave on his own accord and left a lot of money on the table in doing so. After last season it was "suggested" that he make some coaching changes. I believe the only one he made was hiring a new strength and conditioning coach. Not much of a change there. He has caught a lot of flack from the fans and media in the past few seasons and I guess he had enough. I have nothing personal against Tubby and many fans will agree with me on this. He was not the quality of coach we need at Kentucky. He was not a good recruiter and was not very media savvy. The last player Rick Pitino recruited was Tayshaun Prince. He has been a better than average NBA player. From Tubby's recruits the only one that comes to mind that has gone on to the NBA is Rajon Rondo. Not a good track record for recruiting.
One other thing that has been getting me a little pissed off is media people who say compare UK basketball to Alabama football. They have been using that analogy to say that UK & Alabama both think that they "deserve" to win the national championship in their respective sports every year. I think that is nothing less than absolute B.S.. I cannot speak for every UK fan, but I will say that I do expect to be competitive every year. I don't expect to be in the Final Four every year, but we haven't been there since 1998. Ten seasons is too long in Big Blue Nation. The past two seasons has seen double digit losses for the season, early exits from the SEC tournament, early exits from the NCAA's with 8 & 9 seeds, and losing a lot of games to conference opponents that should have been won. It was time for a change.
At this time, I hear there is a short list of coaches with Tom Crean (sp?) from Marquette being on the top of the list. I don't know much about him so I won't give an opinion on him. Pat Riley has been mentioned by some fans on local sports talk radio, but personally I'd prefer he stay in Miami. Of course Rick Pitino has been mentioned and I would love to see him come back to Lexington, but some fans still haven't forgiven him for leaving for Boston after 97 & then going to Louisville. Not sure how well he'd be received if he came back. As my lovely wife told me this evening "It's always hard to come back home after moving out. Things are never the same as they were before." I'd take my chances with him though. Other names mentioned have been Rick Barnes at Texas, Billy Gillespie at Texas A&M, and Travis Ford at UMass. I'm going to keep an open mind as coaches are interviewed and hope that UK gets a quality person, a good coach and a good recruiter that will bring some respect and consistency back to Big Blue Nation.
This is my first time writing a blog, so I hope I don't screw anything up in here. I just wanted a forum to give my opinions on the current status of UK basketball & in particular the future of the program under Tubby Smith.
I was very disappointed when Tubby was hired to begin with. I was hoping at the time that UK could have pulled Tom Izzo from Michigan State, but that didn't work out. Rick Pitino left a VERY good team here after the 1997 NCAA finals loss to Arizona and pretty much any decent coach could have led the 1998 team deep into the tournament and possibly win. I have always had a hard time giving Tubby credit for "leading" that team to the title. Since then, there have been a myriad of problems that have caused this Kentucky program (especially the past two seasons) to slip into mediocrity.
Before Tubby came, I was always under the impression that he was a "Pitino Disciple". To me, that meant full court press on defense and a high scoring offense. Instead, all I have seen from Tubby is a low scoring half court game on both sides of the ball. The complete opposite of what I was expecting. This style of play doesn't bode well for players who want to go on to the NBA. Players came to UK to play under Pitino because they knew they had a chance to improve their game and make it to the next level. I don't see Tubby developing the guys for the NBA like Pitino did. I think that high school players see this and choose to go to UNC, Duke, Florida, etc. since they will have a coach to better prepare them for the NBA style of play.
I don't have numbers in front of me, but it seems like years since UK has made it past the Round of 16 in the NCAA's. They seem to struggle when they need to excel. The past two seasons the Cats have struggled through the SEC regular season, SEC tournament, and NCAA Tournament. Even though the NCAA's for this season haven't even been selected, I have a hard time believing they are going to make any noise in the postseason, if they make it at all to the NCAA tournament. I'm not trying to be a pessimist. Honestly I'm not. What we have right now is a mediocre 19-9 team with an 0-5 record versus the Top 25, I think they are 8-6 or 9-6 in SEC play and still have a tough game against Georgia at Rupp and a tougher game against a struggling Florida team in Gainesville on Saturday. If I recall I heard something on the radio that there are 70 teams in NCAA Division I basketball approaching 20 wins. That means there's a lot of teams vying for the At-Large bids. Kentucky's quality wins are zero. In my opinion, the only thing that will guarantee a NCAA bid is to win the SEC tournament. If UK beats Georgia, loses to Florida and then loses in Round 1 of the SEC tourament, we're looking at 20-11 and either a 8-10 seed in the NCAA's or a bid to the NIT's.
OK, so now that I've made it known that UK seems to strive for mediocrity and inconsistency, who do you think would be the best choice if UK was to dump Tubby and his contract? Personally, I have several favorites. Of course, most of these may be pipedreams: Travis Ford from UMass, John Calipari from Memphis, and Rick Barnes at Texas. Of course, there's still Rick Pitino standing on the sidelines in Louisville looking east on I-64 dreaming of being back in Lexington. Rick, I wish you had never left to begin with!
If you've taken the time to read this, I greatly appreciate it. Any comments whether you agree or disagree with me are also appreciated!
