Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
It is very late and I have to get ready for court tomorrow, so this will be quick. Tomorrow the best two days of the year begin as it is March Madness time….a good time to remember heroes of years past such as Harold “The Show” Arceneaux of Weber State, who put a beatdown on UNC and Dean Smith Bill Guthridge one year in the first round. It is guys like Arceneaux, Bryce Drew, etc that make the tournament great and you can be sure that will be the focus of my next two days.
A few quick notes…..
— Konner Tucker committed to Kentucky today, giving the Cats another PG in the class of 2009. Tucker comes out of a Texas JUCO and was being recruited by a number of schools around the country (although it isnt clear which schools had finally offered). He visited UK during the NIT and fell in love with the place, giving his commitment. We wrote a bit on Tucker yesterday and as always, we welcome the newest Cat Commitment to the UK family. Eric Bossi of Scout.com however reports that UK is still recruiting yet ANOTHER Juco point guard, Malcolm Armstead, the hottest Juco PG target in America….who has three years left to play in his college career. We will have more on him later in the week.
— The Cats will play at Creighton on Monday night after the Bluejays BARELY squeezed by Bowling Green tonight in their first round NIT game. The game time has not yet been released, but it should be quite an interesting game. There is almost no circumstance outside of the NIT in which I can imagine the Cats playing a road game at a place like Creighton. That should make the next game random and to me at least, exciting.
— Larry Vaught (who has been all over things recently) had this quote today on Kentucky Sports Report from Deandre Liggins concerning the status of Coach Billy Gillispie:
Did the team hear the Sports Illustrated report before the game that coach Gillispie was being fired?
DeAndre Liggins: “We don’t listen to that. It is all negative stuff. He is still our coach. Whatever happens will happen. But he is still our coach now. We are just doing what he says to do and executing his plan.”
— Rumors were everywhere today of press conferences, secret commitments, cancelled flights and other stories. This ended up being the most visits for a day ever here at Kentucky Sports Radio, surpassing the record set just a couple of weeks ago after the Georgia loss. We could chalk that up to the NIT game, the Tucker commitment and the overall interest in where the program is going, but heres to another amazing day of view from the KSR fans. Here is what we know….as of 1:00 AM on Wednesday night, Billy Gillispie is the Coach at Kentucky, the Cats are playing Creighton and the Sweet 16 is still the best event that you can see for under 20 bucks in this state. I was there tonight rooting on my 13th Region pride with the Corbin RedHounds….they lost to Eastern, but it was still a great night indeed. Eastern will end up in the finals and the monster half of the bracket begins tomorrow to find their opponent. Tomorrow night’s session with Elliott County could very well nearly sell out, so if you get a chance, get your tickets now….it is going to be quite an event.
Basketball all day every day for the next four days…..color me happy.
Thread Hijack: Ok, after much deliberation, we’ve decided to do an NCAA Bracket Challenge. You will most likely win nothing but a high seed in future nerd fights, but maybe you’ll get one of those crappy shirts we made awhile back.
Sign up here
Password: mattjones
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Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
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March 19th, 2009 at 1:18 am
Get some sleep Matt your going to need it.I for one won’t be watching much BB over the next few days have to save my energy for the Cats on Monday. Whatever is going to happen will and I’m still going to be as die hard as ever no matter what the outcome. Get back on board people and pull for our cats and our coach no matter whom he is and no matter if you want him to be here or not. He’s a member of this cat family as well. Don’t turn your back on a fellow cat.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:20 am
I wasn’t Matt’s First! *gasp*
(That’s what she said).
But, seriously, Kon-Tucke (that’s his new nickname BTW), will be a great addition to the cats.
He is tough, tough, tough, and…did I forget to mention, gritty?
BMM
March 19th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Konnor Tucker also has 3 years…he’ll only be a sophomore, I don’t know if anyone had mentioned that.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:30 am
Kentucky plays Creighton Monday night at 6pm Central.
I was at the Creighton game tonight, for the first–and last–time cheering on the Bluejays so I can see my Cats play not 10 minutes from my house. I loved watching the game broadcasted from Memorial last night, but it is OK to be selfish now and again, no?
As far as Creighton goes…they’re a salty team. They have the #1 3 point shooter (%) in the country. The have a guy named P’Allen Stinnet who can ball. And a bunch of solid role players. They’re a good team.
That said: Patrick Patterson should have a absolute career day Monday night. Not to mention they have NOT ONE person who can check Jodie on defense.
Kentucky playing in Omaha–despite people who think that the Cats aren’t “relevant” anymore–is one of the biggest sporting events here you can imagine. That’s even with Olympic trials, last year’s first round of the NCAA Tourney, the College World Series, etc. People are absolutely JACKED about Kentucky playing here. It’s going to be a wild crowd.
But just with Patterson and Meeks alone, UK should be able to win this game with a fair amount of ease. And I, for one, cannot wait to have Kentucky playing in my hometown.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:39 am
I love me some Basketball.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:53 am
This Malcolm Armstead guy sounds interesting. He has a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio, and shoots 55% from three point range, although he only scores about seven points a game. Sounds like he has a lot of schools looking at him.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:08 am
I just want to know if Konner can stay in front of Downey and other super quick SEC guards.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:12 am
why do we keep going after JUCO players?
March 19th, 2009 at 2:17 am
Armstead can play…Tubby was recruiting him his last year here when he was a junior in high school.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:19 am
I think Armstead is from Alabama.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:21 am
7- that’s what G.J. is for…he’ll see minutes as a defender for sure.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:39 am
8. Because we still need guys for next years team, and there is only 11 uncommitted players left in Rivals top 150.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:40 am
Sorry if that makes too much sense.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:16 am
7 Judging a book by its cover aren’t we? We need ball handling, passing, shooting, and leadership on the offensive end. If he could provide that we are way ahead of this year. I’m willing to bet he could at least provide a status quo level of defense. Not giving the other team 20 extra chances a game would be a help don’t you think? Meeks, Miller, Orton, Patterson would be a nice bunch for him to pass to as well. Who are leaving to double team? If this kid can hit the 3′s with regularity that would be deadly.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:34 am
If there’s a new coach in three weeks, one wonders if he will abide by Gillispie’s last-ditch scholarship offers to this white kid and the other academically challenged pg.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:21 am
So who are we losing after this year? I am hearing Liggins, Miller, Patterson, and Stewart. Plus Carter graduates and Williams goes off scholly.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Malcolm Armstead, that is who we really need to add to next year’s class!
This is a solid young man, really quick, etc.
Add him to the mix, and he is probably our starting point guard, and with him, GJ, Tucker, we could find ourselves in solid shape at point guard.
That allows Porter to play his natural position of shooting guard, either backing up Meeks, or if Meeks leaves, maybe even starting at SG. Porter, if allowed to focus on SG, will be better than anticipated.
With Armstead and GJ, we are back with true point guards with “SPEED” who can cause problems for other teams on defense, and who can keep up with the other teams fast guards. We also have Tucker, who must be a really smart, high IQ point guard, who can hit well from outside.
I personally will feel really good about next season if we add both Tucker and Armstead!!
March 19th, 2009 at 7:38 am
No. 16, Miller is not going any where! Liggins, I expect to return, but might not. Stewart, a bigger question mark. PP & Meeks, their status is up in the air, they really need a strong, long NIT run to help their NBA stock. My gut feel is maybe one of the two leaves, but more probable they are both back.
I’ve heard rumors that one of the existing players may go on either academic scholarship, or pay their way.
If there is ant behind the scenes negatives from one or two players, they will be asked to leave.
And I would expect one surprise transfer.
It will work out!!
March 19th, 2009 at 7:54 am
I hope your right 18. I read a few hours ago at HOB that Miller has an attitude problem and that hes gone. I think that would be a huge loss for us if true.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:04 am
19. I have heard Miller is leaving too, but not because of HIS attitude problem. Have you ever heard him give an interview. He is the nicest “yes sir, no sir, thank you sir” kid with an attitude problem I’ve ever heard of. I want everyone including coaches back, but it’s not in the cards.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Not sure what will happen, but mark my words, Jon Hood will make you forget about Darius Miller should he decide to leave. I like Darius, and think he will continue to contribute, but Jon Hood is THAT MUCH BETTER!
March 19th, 2009 at 8:07 am
I’m sure this could be a typo, but here is the NIT schedule listed on ESPN:
Monday, March 23
Creighton (27-7) at Kentucky (21-12), 8 p.m.
Davidson (27-7) at St. Mary’s, Calif. (26-6), 11:30 p.m.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:08 am
For those of you who question the scholarship situation (4-5 commits v. 2 scholarships) I can guarantee you that Gillispie knows who is leaving b/c of him at the end of the year. Patterson – GONE……..Miller – GONE……Stewart – GONE……
“Wait til Gillispied gets his recruits in here, then you will see, he is the man!!!! (SARCASM)
hahahaha right now he has 2 recruits that he is running off, and replacing them with 1-5* 1-4* 1-3* 1-0* ……
Case and point – 2010 the year of the 5 person Jr. class ….. he has 1-5* 1-3* 1-2* to replace them.
Get out of here with this crap about how good of a recruiter he is – HE HAS HAD 1 TOP 20 CLASS IN 8 YEARS!!! TUBBY HAD A TOP 10 CLASS IN EVERY YEAR BUT 1 FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS INCLUDING THIS YEAR WITH MINN.!!!!!!!
Barnhardt knows he missed the boat with this one, BCG is gone and if he Barnhardt doesn’t make the right choice this time he will not be far behind
March 19th, 2009 at 8:10 am
^^^^^^ Thats top 20 for Tubby
March 19th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Can we keep Miller AND Hood? I like the Cats more when I’m also cheering on Kentucky boys.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:13 am
[...] Kentucky Sports Radio has its news and views on March Madness. [...]
March 19th, 2009 at 8:14 am
23,24: A Minnesota fan, I presume?
March 19th, 2009 at 8:23 am
24 Stop with Tubby, Good God. IT WAS TIME FOR HIM TO LEAVE GET OVER IT!!!!!!!!!!
March 19th, 2009 at 8:27 am
All the hits on this site confirm that most fans express themselves when bad things are happening rather then when good things are happening.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I think- I’d have to double check, that BCG had put together 4 straight top 25 recruiting classes.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:28 am
24 – see you wanted to give Tubby more time but not BCG? Tubby has the #1 recruiting class (Rondo, Morris, Crawford, Bradley), then put Meeks, Stevenson, Porter, Jasper on top of that….I think we got a 9 seed in the tourney that year. If you are ok with Tubby squeeking into the tourney, then you should be ok with Gillispie missing it by 2 losses without the likes of Rondo, Crawford or Bradley….
March 19th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Carter graduates= 1
Stewart leaves= 1
Liggins Leaves- 1
Williams leaves= 1
Jorts might go= (1)
Porter might not play next year so there is another.
Miller is not leaving.
Why would he?
Neither is Perry leaving.
He is a senior next year!
Where would he get eligibility to play elsewhere?
Patterson comes back and graduates next year.
Meeks is back as a senior.
Add in the frosh class and some JUCO kids and
it is not a bad looking team.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:31 am
^correction…I skipped the J Carter class. Rondo never got the chance to play with Meeks class.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Does KSR have a bracket pool anywhere?
March 19th, 2009 at 8:32 am
cantuckeeboi – 1 top 20 class for BCG in 8 yrs………did you really expect him to bring in top classes at UTEP & Texas A&M……….seriously……..your comparison b/t him & tubby is not apples to apples as far as recruiting…..
March 19th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Why all the interest in JUCO players? Do they ever really work out?
March 19th, 2009 at 8:41 am
wikipedia says BCG had 4 straight top 25 classes, if that’s correct.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:42 am
cantuckeeboi and lexslamman have an agenda. Since Tubby left they DO NOT WANT UK TO SUCCEED thus proving how great Tubby was.
Me, on the other hand, was not happy with Tubby at the end and don’t think BCG has what it takes.
I just know that if we get the right coach then we can be great again.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:42 am
I think just because there’s hardly anyone left for next year -and we really need a PG.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:44 am
35: Cantuckeeboi is yet another idiot on KSR. I bet he would take Sutton over Gillispie right now. I just don’t understand all the Gillispie-hating on this site. He will never surpass Sutton!
March 19th, 2009 at 8:45 am
ESPN website is showing the Creighton game being played in Lexington.
Not sure if that is a misprint or not!!
March 19th, 2009 at 8:47 am
UK recruiting per scout
05-not in top 25
06-rank #16
07-rank #11
08-rank #15
09-rank #13
Texa A&M recruiting per scout
05-not in top 25
06-not in top 25
07-#15
08-not top 25
09-not top 25
March 19th, 2009 at 8:47 am
38. Both of them will argue the sky is green just for a response. They are just bored.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Dude, look outside. It IS green.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:53 am
According to the NIT web page the game time on Monday is 7 PM. The game will be shown on ESPN. Link: http://www.nit.org/sports/m-nit/sched/nit-m-nit-sched.html
March 19th, 2009 at 9:00 am
#4 – Thanks for posting, it’s cool to hear from a UK fan in Omaha. Are there many fans in that area? Do you think they’ll make a good showing at the game? I was definitely pulling for another game in Lexington, but if we have to go somewhere, at least it’s to a school that has a really great fanbase, from what I hear. Enjoy the game! Go Cats!
March 19th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Usually he will fight but i guess he accepted defeat this time.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:01 am
KSR Bracket Challenge:
http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/group?groupID=120145
Password is Matt Jones
March 19th, 2009 at 9:02 am
CORRECTION, password is: mattjones
March 19th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Why do people say that Miller is leaving?
March 19th, 2009 at 9:04 am
[...] blogs and websites is at an all-time high judging from our traffic and recent comments over at Kentucky Sports Radio, and I expect the biggest reason for this is the uncertain future of the Kentucky basketball [...]
March 19th, 2009 at 9:05 am
[...] Kentucky Sports Radio has its news and views on March Madness. [...]
March 19th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Liggins, Harrelson, and Porter have all said they plan to play at UK next season
March 19th, 2009 at 9:10 am
According to NIT website
we play:
Monday March 23RD
7PM on ESPN
March 19th, 2009 at 9:11 am
19) “I am hearing” = Catspause. Nice.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:15 am
42 – class rankings can be deceiving. Often numbers matter as much as quality. That is, for some services a class of 12 2-star players would rank the same as 6 4-star players, nevermind that only 5 can play at once. The problem with Tubby’s recruiting was quality at the top.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Damn matt i think Maggard tooka shot at you with his telephone interview with konner Tucker its near the end i heard the smartass in his voice. damn lol
March 19th, 2009 at 9:24 am
HOWARD STERN PENIS!
March 19th, 2009 at 9:26 am
http://www.adviceformitch.com
March 19th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Got to give a shout out to the Christian County Colonels, probably got the WORST draw they could have getting Holmes lol. But, proud of them getting there again. If you don’t get there you don’t get the chance. Like Matt said, Sweet Sixteen best ticket in the state under 20 bucks.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Man, all I want is for all these rumors to be put to rest. Very sick of everything negative. BCG can be a pain in the butt–but I’m not sure that him leaving/being fired is best for UK. Rebuilding starts over again…
Also, Orton will be a huge factor next season and if we keep our core players we should be solid. Tough decisions in the next few weeks.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:36 am
#56 I agree just throwing the ranks out there for info. I thought the biggest problem with Tubby was he only recruited when he absolutely had to which left huge holes in the roster & a serious fall off when he had to go to the bench.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:50 am
i won the bracket contest last year…didnt get shit
March 19th, 2009 at 9:54 am
I found this interesting: http://www.michaeleaves.blogspot.com. Why not go ahead and poor some more gas on the inferno?
March 19th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I don’t see how people think that if BCG leaves it will get better. It takes more than two years. People forget that this is only his first full year of recruiting, and you have to remember that just cause you’ve been at a college for two seasons you still don’t have much to recruit because most of your top 150 pretty much committ there junior year. I think he is doing fine. Maybe he is a little hard headed but pushing him out will set the program back atleast 5 years.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:03 am
#8 because not many people want to play for this idiot coach that we have. He sucks as a coach and as a recruiter. He’s a hard working recruiter no doubt, but 1 elite player per year or every other year isn’t going to cut it. Man I hope he leaves.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:08 am
66 How can you honestly say that he sucks as a recruiter he has only had ONE off season. I bet you are one of those KY fans that pulls for Louisville when not playing KY. Or one that only wears there blue apperal win things are going good. You’re and idiot!!!!
March 19th, 2009 at 11:10 am
I just wanna say good work by everyone on here reporting that there was going to be a press conference yesterday at 5PM so that Gillispie could tell everyone he would be returning as the coach. Friggen Idiots…Some people just love a good rumor….I may start a few today just to stir the pot..Just to mess with the people who actually believe this stupid shit
March 19th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
BCG will be back!
Will he get his butt chewed on – Oh YES!
Will he be forced to make some changes, Oh YES!
Will he have to sign a contract, which will be will have to give some on in order to return and prove he can handle this job< OH YES!!!
But everyone needs to expect him back unless he pushes back.