Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
Wasn’t the “basketball race” I had in mind
Barring complete meltdowns, UK will finally arrive at their 2000th win this coming Monday against the Drexel Dragons. I’m sure it will be a cause for joy in Rupp that evening and “My Old Kentucky Home” will be bellowed with great fervor. But my question is this- who cares? If you think about it, 2000 is just an artibtrary number. No more special that win 2002 or 2167. And it’s not like we’ll get to enjoy the luster for long, as North Carolina and Kansas will both be joining us in the 2000-win club later this season.
I really couldn’t care less about the 2000th win. My biggest concern is maintaining the lead. Do you realize that as late as 2005 UK had an almost a 50 game lead on UNC? When you couple a lackluster final two years of Tubby, the general suck-fest that was Billy Gillispie’s tenure at UK and the dominance UNC has had over college hoops the past 5 years, that lead was reduced by almost 40 by the beginning this current season.
So I don’t care about 2000 wins because when UNC and Kansas both get there, the race is on to 2500, 3000 (a win I predict comes in March of 2048) and so on. As long as college basketball exists there will be these arbitrary races to “milestone” wins that, in the big scheme of things, don’t matter a whole lot. What does matter, however, is making sure that UK remains the winningest program in all of college basketball. Obviously, we would have lost the lead (perhaps forever) if Gillispie would have stayed. I think the pieces are in place to not only keep the lead, but extend it. But you have to admit it was kind of cute when UNC thought they might overtake us, wasn’t it?
The only problem in all this is that you can’t, no matter what you do, listen to Coach Cal. To hear him tell it, we’re only on win 1,993.
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December 15th, 2009 at 11:07 am
You should care because we were the FIRST TO DO IT!!!
December 15th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Who cares? I DO! and I bet the majority of Big Blue fans.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:13 am
The only people who say they dont care are those programs that are not close to the milestone. Im sure UNC fans would say they dont care now, but I bet their opinion would change if they had been in our position.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Did PB win a contest to get to “write” on this site? I can’t remember but maybe they should have limited the contest to lawdogs.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:17 am
I care more about banner #8 than I do win 2000.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:19 am
You are correct about the need to keep in front of UNC, KU, Puke, etc., but I can assure you that many people care. It may be an arbitrary number to you, but the pride involved in reaching this milestone is unmeasureable to many in the fanbase. Furthermore, it is just more exposure and hype for the program. Would you rather UNC get this attention? I promise when UNC reaches 2000, it will barely be a whisper in the media. The media loves round numbers. Who cares if a player hits .298. Ah ha, but if he hits .300, he must be good. 99 RBIs? Boring. 100? Great year. Who cares about this “arbitrary” number? Me.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:21 am
2000 wins matters, but staying ahead of everyone in all-time wins matters more.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:23 am
There goes PB again, not being a fan. How many more times are we gonna hafta teach you this lesson, Patty?
December 15th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Barker–you sure know how to stir the pot. While I agree with you in the big scheme of things, the most important # is the three point streak.
Seriously, you are right. But it is a driving force behind the fans and has given us something to look forward. The most important number is that we stay on top with the most wins and shorten that gap between us and UCLA. I am worried they may get their 12th this year.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Patrick, I have to give you credit. I have never seen a person who could more quickly or thoroughly alienate a fan base to which he ACTUALLY BELONGS!! Well, in all honesty, the “actually belongs” part I’m starting to wonder about.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:30 am
ummm, shut up Barker.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:37 am
While I agree that we would be dead in the water had Gillispie stayed, I have to also add that I don’t think we would have been much better than that had Tubby stayed. The trend was down, way down, from his previous seasons. Anyway, thank God that Calipari is here now!
December 15th, 2009 at 11:41 am
UNC fans have debated on message boards about how they’ll feel when they overtake UK on all-time wins after we are forced to vacate an entire season. Frankly, after what happened at Memphis, I’m worried about that too. Rose was cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse but they still took away Memphis’ entire season. I hope to god they overturn that on appeal (mostly for the precedent it would set but also because it’s bullshit) because the caliber of kids Calipari recruits…they have an incentive to do whatever it takes to get into the spotlight for those NBA scouts…even if it means hurting the school that helps them get to the next level.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Kentucky’s 2000 win will come against Austin Peay. Someone’s math is wrong.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Yes, someone’s math is wrong.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:54 am
14 - Yes, someone’s math is wrong. 1998 wins so far. Austin Peay 1999. Drexel 2000. Of course, that’s assuming we win both games.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Yes, dammit.
I thought we played Drexel this week, not after Austin Peay. Mea culpa.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Patrick Barker sucks for writing this, and I hate knowing he is right.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Being the first team to 2000 is a huge deal. Only one team ever will be the first to 2000 wins. You never get another shot at that. However, if UNC were to pass us at some point in the future, we could always get the all-time lead back.
December 15th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Mr. Barker, with all due respect, it DOES matter. It’s about bragging rights, it’s about our pride in our basketball club succeeding. If we win the National Title this year, does it matter if we lose to the Cardinals? It ABSOLUTELY does. The ends does not justify the means with this club, you have to be one of the elite teams constantly.
December 15th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
By reaching these “arbitrary” numbers first one must ass-u-me that we are keeping the lead over UNC, Kansas, etc., great article saying nothing Barker. He up the horrible work, you superfan you.
December 15th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
^ Keep up the horrible..
December 15th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
The world could have used this article long before now!
The 200th birthday of our country was just another number. You could have saved the US millions spent on the celebration.
The 2000th birthday of Jesus Christ was just another number. You could have saved the entire Christian world billions spent on the celebration.
My guess is your 21st birthday won’t mean much when it gets here either.
How did the world, much less the BBN, ever make it this far before this post?
And you are wrong. 2000 means something to ANY program that reaches that miles stone. But to do it first? I think you’ve had a bad rap here for the most part, but you really stepped in it this time.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I care because to the milestone of 3000 I’ll be in the ground somewhere lmao…….and just beating UNC for the 2nd time this season just puts a huge smile on my face
December 15th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
By The Way………Who the Hell is Patrick Barker?
December 15th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Patrick Barker sucks. I am proud that our Cats are going to be the first team to reach a MILESTONE in College Basketball history. Sure, I think maintaining the lead is more important, but what a douche to try and take away the significance. Question for Matt: What does he add to the site??
December 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
# 25 patrick barker is the son of bob barker… a true basketball legend of all time and soon to take ocer drew carry’s job at the price is right … ……..PS.. Look to see who wrote this article
December 15th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
also pretty much a douche bag .. and really just not that great of a writer …or rather than saying he’s a bad writer I can’t say that .. his opinions just really suck !!
December 15th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
The first to 2,000 Wins does matter my friend. It huge.
December 15th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Just a terrible post, really.
It’s like having KSR’s own little mini version of Jerry Tipton.
December 15th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
It matters for the same reason that so many holidays matter. It gives big hearted UK fans something to attach their affection to. The number 2000 truly is arbitrary, but so is casual dress Friday, and none of us argues with that. In fact, I think the day we hit 2000 wins should be declared a state holiday that we celebrate each year (as long as we get off work and out of school). That way we can quit counting wins and have something to celebrate each December/January (since there really isn’t anything we celebrate this time of year). The “First to 2000 Wins Day” will forever make our opponents furious with envy, and after time we will all forget about its arbitrariness.
December 15th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
#19 pretty much sums it up *thumbs up*
December 15th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
After this year, when UK, UNC and KU all hit 2000 wins, it will be a few more years before the next teams do it. As of the start of the year, Duke was 112 wins back of us; Syracuse another 123 behind Duke.
We also have far fewer losses than any of the other big programs, of course. The gap is a little surprising to me. UNC has lost 68 more games than UK, KU has 148 more losses. These two teams have PLAYED more than a couple of more seasons worth of games than UK and we’re still, and hopefully will always remain, NO.1 in wins.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:34 am
33, that’s some good insight right there. Maybe you should have been the one to write about our 2000th win, huh?
December 16th, 2009 at 11:27 am
This Barker guy is beginning to make Brian the Intern look good. Seriously.
Footnote: Bryan was misspelled on purpose.