Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
I am about to get in the car and head to Music City, but here are a couple of notes….
(1) Even after reflection, nothing about yesterday makes sense to me. However one thing is clear. This team is about as down as it gets. This is not a situation like two years ago where the chemistry is gone and the team is not getting along. But the guys on this team are miserable. The players are having zero fun, they dont understand why this is happening and to a person they all seem to be dreading playing basketball. The coaches also look miserable and Billy Gillispie seems like one of the most unhappy people I have ever been around. Throw in the fact that the fans are getting restless (as seen by one guy standing up when Rupp was quiet and screaming “Go back to Texas Billy”) and it just isnt a great place to be. I worry that with more losses, the negativity amps up and you have to be concerned about the coaches losing the team. As one former player told me, “coaches have to get respect. And if you are losing a lot, it is hard to have that respect.” Lets hope that doesnt happen.
(2) Even though Kentucky plays Florida International Monday (in a game that may be the lowest attended ever at Rupp Arena), all eyes are now pointed to the Music City Bowl. Keenan Burton is now back to doubtful and Jason Leger has been suspended for the game. Other than that the team is tact. Nashville is apparently entirely decked out in blue at this point and I cant wait to get down there to be part of the scene. Tomorrow should be fun and if the Cats pull out a win, few in the future will remember the low numbers of Seminole players who didnt dress.
(3) Quick roundup of the high school basketball action. Scotty Hopson was MVP of the KOB in Louisville. He had a great week, dazzling the onlookers and showing why he has the potential to be one of the best in the country. Hopson is looking at a number of schools now, including Kentucky and UL, but I am hearing that his favorite right now is Tennessee. Bruce Pearl has done a great job recruiting him and he loves the style of play in Knoxville. Count the Big Orange as the front runner.
As for Darius Miller, he is in the finals tonight against Lexington Catholic and has had a great run in the Fifth Third Tournament. He has once again shown why he can be both a great scorer and distributor and has taken it to all of his opponents. His matchup with Clark Stepp was a bit of a dud as he held Stepp under control and the June Buchanan star had an off night on an important game. I say this often but it remains true….go see Darius while he is in high school. You will be glad you did.
(4) Finally, like you I have heard all the rumors about the transfer in of a big man for second semester. The source of all these rumors is Lonnie Demaree, a great guy who I love, who says he is hearing one may be able to transfer in and begin second semester. While I trust Lonnie, I find this one hard to believe. If such a player existed, you would likely already find him practicing and a part of the team. Every potential player that could fit the bill (including Gilchrist who is at Maryland now) would already have the ability to be here and the fact that they arent suggests that there is no fire around this smoke. If I hear otherwise, I will certainly put it up here, but for now I think this rumor is just that, a rumor.
Time to head down the interstate….more from Nashville…..
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December 30th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Hopson and UT are a good fit. I hope it doesn’t happen.
December 30th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
first
December 30th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Cat Killers:
http://www.kentuckyink.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=150&topic=6 941.0
December 30th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Hopson played big in front of the large crowds. His game against Fayette, GA and Noel Johnson was proof he is one of the top players in the ‘08 class. Quick, agile, and explosive off the floor, Hopson will get it done at UT or anywhere else. And not only did Hopson play great against what most felt was the top team in Fayette, but ‘09 Jacob Jenkins was huge last night against Johnson and Fayette. Jenkins went for 28 points and nailed four consecutive 3-pointers to give Manual the lead in the 4th qtr and eventual win with a score of 109-106. Unreal in the clutch with a full house watching on. Johnson is the real deal, but Hopson and Jenkins outshined him the last two nights. The KOB was great this year and look forward to it again next year.
December 30th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I thought Hopson was wanting to go to the NBA after a couple of years. And he’s going to do that under Pearl? Yea, right. As for the UK players who don’t want to play… get lost, we need your scholarships for quality anyway.
December 30th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Look back to January 2002 for similar (team not getting along with coaches) circumstances.
But that team rallied to finish 22-10 with Sweet 16 finish. They put aside their differences temporarily. THIS TEAM CAN DO THAT, TOO!!!!!
December 30th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
a rumor as to why Legion left is that he didn’t respect BillyG because of his off court antics. But, from Matt’s perspective he was too spoiled. Obviously, Matt has more incite than me.
December 30th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
#5 Hopson has the atletic ability to get to the NBA and I don’t see why he couldn’t there at UK or UT. He was sporting an NBA filled logo jacket at the KOB and you know he’s taking the idea of what college can help him make the jump to the league in consideration when he selects his school.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Let me first say I have been behind BCG thru all the mess of this early season,if he continues to make smartass comments like he did yesterday after the losss (I dont have anything to say to the fans upset about the loss) he losses fan support. I dont believe he understands what kinda mess he has gotten himself into, judging by his actions after games and the lack of in-game coaching. Also, the fishbowl that is kentucky basketball, restricts his ability to get out and have a good time as he has in other coaching stops where people could careless about what he’s doin’, who he’s doin’ or what kinda belt buckle he wears…
I hope he gets this fixed and I’m not ready to give up. I just have this strange feeling about the length of his tenure, something has been telling me all day the guy wont make it back next year….I dont know why, but just my gut feeling
December 30th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
It would be good to get Hopson because God knows we need better talent at UK. I’m not sold on UK having more talent than the other teams they’ve lost to. And the basketball IQ is as low as I’ve ever seen on a basketball court (and a good basketball IQ should come before they step foot on a great basketball campus like UK). Gillispie is to blame for who plays when. But he cannot be blamed for them not being able to dribble, pass, defend, set picks, rotate on defense after being picked, running the floor, etc. The Herald Leader and other media outlets keep saying Gillispie doesn’t know what he is doing, but you have to eventually say the players aren’t cutting it.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
#9 Gillispie is not the type to kiss up to players, fans, alumni, or the AD.
He coaches basketball. That’s it. The rest is not in his span of interest.
UK knew that. He told them EXACTLY THAT on his interview. Blame Mitch if you want but UK got what they ordered in April 2007.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I will have video of tonight’s Lexington Catholic vs. Mason County game for those who don’t get to see the game. I will also try my best to get Darius Miller on camera for you guys. Does anyone have any questions for me to ask him?
December 30th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
You have to feel Jason Leger’s troubles began with eating all those ribs the other day.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Being 5-6 is why no one is having any fun. The pressure is mounting and combine that with losses like yesterday and you get a bunch of unhappy players, coaches and fans. BG agreed with the fans. You took his comments out of context #9.
December 30th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Matt, I’m heading out to Iowa tomorrow to work on the caucus for Obama. I’ll report something back afterward. I’ll be attending Obama speeches in Council Bluffs and Des Moines. And one Hillary event to check on Bubba. Think positive thoughts and Go Cats!!
December 30th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
I have watch most of the games this year and I have not seen BG coach in any of them. He does nothing but stoop at the bench and wait for a player to come to the bench or for a time out then raise he** with the players. He has the talent on the team for them to be good. Notice good not great. Someone said earlier that Carter is not the savior and I agree but why s he not on the floor? You’re going to tell me he’s good enough to start one game but bad enough to not have any significant playing time sense?? Williams is good enough to be on the floor as well. Start Carter and let Williams back him up allowing Patterson to play his natural position.
This team has too much talent to be this bad. I don’t know, maybe its the two hours of hard practicing before the start of games. Do any other teams do that? I seriously doubt it. I know BG is not happy with the conditioning of the players her inherited but surely he can’t expect to gain that conditioning during the season and demand his team play hard as well. Watch the players during the games, they are simply tired.
I don’t know what the starting line up should be but I do know that with starting cne of your true centers and Patterson at his natural position, it will free him for more points on offense. If he gets double, he is a good enough passer to hit one of the centers in the paint for an easy basket. As for the defensive side of that, well it will help Patterson by having one more big body in the paint.
December 30th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
He’s coached all 11 games - some well, others not as well. He has a different style than recent UK coaches. Different philosophies on Offense and Defense. W or L, right or wrong.
December 30th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Being on the court does not mean he is coaching. I’m not only referencing BG’s coaching to previous UK coaches but to all coaches. He gives no direction to his players. When players are out of position or not getting back on defense he just sits there. I do not call that coaching, I call that being a spectator.
December 30th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Guy’s lets be honest with each other… The Kentucky basketball team is getting beat by the fundamentals of the game. Those things are coachable and they are not getting done. There was a comment about Gillispie not coaching in any game above. Guy’s from my perspective down on the floor and looking over at the coach, that guy is 100% correct. The only time that I have seen Coach G get out of his cathers stance was when a player comes to the sidelines. What he needs to do is have a Bobby Night moment and start driving the damn bus! It is going to get worse guys if he don’t get out of that catchers stance and make some noise.
December 30th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
His “philosophy” isn’t that difficult to grasp. Sorry but it’s the truth. Hell, OTS ran the 1-4 High early at Kentucky until he started to play around with the Flex, the 4-1 Out, etc for some inexplicable reason. Gillispie prefers a lot more ISO in it (like the NBA) and a lot less player movement focusing more on positioning and ball-movement.
His defense is basic man-to-man pressure on the ball, force the ball to the wings, and trap. He doesn’t like the Zone or Matchup Press (like OTS) but prefers man-to-man 3/4 Pressure (like OTS). I ran the same stuff in 8th grade.
The point is Gillispie figures if he has superior talent he’ll win most games just with natural athleticism and depth. The thing that worries me is that when talent is equal it’s going to come down to the other things-like coaching, strategy, matchups, etc. Right now I think he’s been struggling in those areas and based on some things I’ve read he’s always struggled in those areas.
December 30th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Excuse me Bobby Knight
December 30th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
http://www.ryanparkersongs.com/
December 30th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
What happens if we lose to a 3-8 Florida Iternational team?
December 30th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Same thing as losing to a 6-8 SDU team.
December 30th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
20. if you only rely on talent and don’t know how to make coaching adjustments–thats bad coaching.
I wanted BGC to come here as bad as anybody but he has to start doing something else. just crouching and watching is not working.
December 30th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
I think Gillispie AT LEAST 1 year to coach the team in whatever manner he chooses.
UK played poorly and may have been coached poorly in several games thus far.
December 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Interesting how jones is willing to place blame on the coach now, when in the past he refused. He’s even going as far to say the coach may be “losing” the team.
Double standards are very interesting to observe and this site is DEFINETLY applying a double standard.
December 30th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Players are usually responsible for the W or L result. I’d guess coaching determines 10% or so.
John Wooden is quoted in his book They Call Me Coach that he became a lot better coach in the 1960’s and 70’s when he had better players. He said (paraphrasing) You Can’t Win Without Talent.
So any coach (OTS) that averages 26 W (whether last 5 years or 10) must have recruited some talent. Another coach (RP) that averaged 27 W in the 1990’s but only 23 W in the 2000’s may have lost his Talent Acquisition skills.
December 30th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
D. Miller updates for tonight’s game.http://fieldsnotes.wordpress.com/
December 30th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
http://fieldsnotes.wordpress.com/
December 30th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I also find it interesting that Matt is starting to really dog BG. If Matt had his way Tubby would still be UK’s coach. Matt, how about giving BG some time with his own recruits before starting the slime campaign?
December 30th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
UK won almost 77% of its games the past 5 years with 100% of the players recruited by the coach at that time. If 131-40 wasn’t good enough, why is 5-6 good enough?
IT ISN’T good enough.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Here’s some good talent coming our way. KC Ross-Miller who has verbaled to UK is a sophomore. Check out these stats. In the last 3 games he has 20, 9, and 19 assists. Kid’s averaging 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 11+ assists. Pretty impressive. You’ll have to copy this site and paste it into your browser.
http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/Player.mxp/AreaID-df5e4d45-1c08-4bb3- 973e-d907c8cbe204/AthleteID-1a7d7f27-9aae-4858-aacb-9e4914610213/Schoo lID-0a40956d-1408-4286-9dbb-465359416590/Boys_Varsity_Basketball_Winte r_07-08/Texas
December 30th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
His team is 2-12. I’d guess he’s the only decent player on it.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
The funny thing about this site sort of dogging Gillispie is that this site has the scoop on the recruits that have UK on their list (a list of recruits that keeps growing considerably).
December 30th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
He’s doing his part though. Look at Patrick Patterson on this year’s UK team.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Draymond Green, Kenny Frease, Philip Jurick, Ed Davis, Drew Gordon ALL had UK on their list in March 2007.
None of them did in April 2007. They signed with Mich St, Xavier, Tenn, UNC, UCLA in November 2007.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
I understand that BCG wants to establish his system, but it is tough to watch players that maybe can’t or won’t
play his style. We are consistently out of position. The only player to recognize he should cut to the goal
when Patterson has the ball and is double or triple teamed is Coury. I mean, that is pick-up game IQ. And
yes, the substitution pattern is baffling. But I will wait this season out and see what happens. I just hope
it doesn’t get so bad that we lose a player, I know Patterson is frustrated and not used to losing.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
hansbrough, brandan wright, david lee, thad young, lawal was down to us and ga tech, tubby had no chance at these and all of the ones you mentioned. hell tubby signed most of his classes in the spring getting what no one else wanted with a few exceptions. If tubby was recruiting someone and they were down to us and someone else, you could bet ur ass they were taking the other. Thats why the state of ky was in shock whenever patterson signed.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Something is not right with this team. BG needs to be a teacher/coach. Sometimes you have to give in a little. All kids are different. Some respond to other tactics. I am a coach and every year is a little different. This year I tried running my teams butts off the next week in practice when they played like crap. It wasn’t fun for me or them. The next game wasn’t much better. They didn’t respond in a way I wanted them to. So, the next week I tried to have a little fun with them. We needed to relax a little and just have fun. It worked! The next game, they had life, they had fun, and they played ten times better.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
leave billy g alone. everyone that is wanting him fired has a short memory, because less than a year ago everyone was wanting his head including me when we were getting run over by teams like georgia and vandy with a full roster. This is a new system for the player to learn and 2 of our best ones have missed alot of time and the other is a freshman that constantly gets triple teamed. Just think what would have happened to us last year if meeks and jasper missed this much time. We wouldnt have been in the tourney to get our azz beat off by kansas.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Green had COMMITTED to UK already and Frease was going to do so (per XU head coach). Both Patterson and Jai Lucas were set to commit to UK in March 2007 at McDonalds A-A game.
Tubby signed Chuck Hayes instead of David Lee in 2001 class. I’ll take Hayes over Lee ANY day.
UK signed 8 players between 1998 and 2004 who are now (or were) playing in the NBA.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
#41 Gillispie is off to a poor start at UK. No denying that. Pitino was 36-20 his first 2 years. Hall was 33-21 his first 2 years. Both went on to 3 FF and 1 NCAA title at UK.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
All you have to do is look at texas a & m. Their a top ten team because of billy. Everyone needs to get off billy so he can make us a top ten team. Hell bring tubby back. Its always fun to bet with ur buddies on whether or not we’ll even be ranked in the top 25 every year. Its gonna take billy more than 11 games to fix what tubby f***ed up in 10 years
December 30th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Thats because tubby took over a preseason top 5 team that just came off of back to back title games. Tubby has been to 1 final 4 and that was 98. Quit comparing waht they did in their first 2 years because g has only been here 11 games.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
lucas and patterson had never committe to tubby. if they were so hung up on tubby they would have followed him to minnesota.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
hell we had to sign bobby perry over cartier martin, he came for a visit and we couldnt get him away from k-state before huggins. When it comes to recruiting tubby is like a blind man trying to bat in the mlb, a strikeout waiting to happen.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
We’re playing a pretty big football game tomorrow, too. Why no discussion about that?
December 30th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
i feel ya.most of the time on here we have to spend our time putting scotland in his/her place.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Both UTEP and Texas A&M were downtrodden teams with virtually no tradition. This situation is slightly different, therefore it should be approached differently. Gillispie said it himself, he is not rebuilding this program, but more reinvigorating it. UTEP and Texas A&M were used to losing and had no problem adjusting to a new style because the old one wasn’t working. UK’s old style was faulty, but it still got 20 wins and a NCAA Tourney berth. Our guys are questioning why they should change something that was generally working.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
not on the downside of it. These last 2 classes plus the best 2 players in rondo and morris gone off the 04 class puts us with the talent level of western kentucky besides the addition of p pat. The last 2 seasons we lost 25 games and tubby saw this coming he couldve stayed if he was willing to change his staff but he didnt want to suffer through this mess he left so he used his loyalty to his staff as an excuse. If he was so loyal to them he would have taken them with him to minnesota who just got ran through by 17 by unlv. The style didnt work he has got the prestige of this program so low that it is hard to get the top players to look at us. That is why in recent years they have been going else where.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
#44 Tubby won 76% of his games the past 10 years. I bet you’ll take 76% the next 10 years if you could get it.
#45 UK lost 8 key players (Delk, Walker, Pope, McCarty, Mercer, Anderson, Prickett, Epps) off those back-2-back title games.
None of the 1998 players (NONE) played a key role in the 1996 or 1997 title games. Not a single one of them.
#46 Patterson and Lucas were GOING TO commit to UK at the McDonalds A-A game in March 2007. The McD PR dept scheduled their press conference to announce their UK commitments.
#47 Bobby Perry committed in May 2002. Cartier Martin visited in October 2007 but chose K-St because they hired his AAU coach and offered a scholarship to his AAU teammate.
Tubby signed 6 (of 9) Top 15 or better classes at UK.
The previous 3 UK coaches signed 17 (of 25) Top 15 or better classes. And 2 of those coaches PAID PLAYERS to sign with UK. (NCAA Major Infractions in 1976, 1988, and 1989 to prove it!)
#49 you’re a dumbazz. 110% pure DUMMY.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
if we played texas a&m we would lose by 25 because they play billy’s style. Billy was talking about building tradition which we already have. He was not talking about the personel. Give him a cahnce or head to minnesota.
December 30th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
cartier martin graduated k-state last year.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
#51 Crawford was #1 SG in 2004 class NATIONALLY. Bradley was #1 prep school guard in 2004 NATIONALLY.
Meeks, Jasper, and Stevenson were all Top 50 rated players in 2006. Meeks was HS All-American and Georgia POY. Jasper was AAU All-American. Stevenson was Adidas HS All-American.
UK had one of the Top 5 records (W-L, Most W - either way, you choose) the past 5 years.
Lemme guess. You voted for George Wallace in 1968?
December 30th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
#54 so what? The prior K-St coach had to hire his AAU coach as an assistant and give a scholly to his AAU teammate to get him there. So freaking what?
December 30th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Scotland, if we had so much talent why no Final Fours once the Tubbster began getting his own recruits? Please explain.
The day that Jai and PP committed who was coaching UK? Why was Florida absolutely shocked when PP signed with UK? They were confident/cocky that they were going to land PP. Kenny Frease would have been ANOTHER Tubby big man disaster. I loved Hayes too. I also loved Prince and Fitch. Tubby here and there got diamonds in the rough and they became very good players but more often than not they were disappointing and not UK-caliber. I liken it to making a pie - if you miss a couple of ingredients or have too much of one and not enough of another then it will taste bad. Tubby could not put the ingredients together to even get to a Final Four, let alone win one with all the resources at his disposal. He also had the ADVANTAGE of color and yet we consistently were outrecruited by the likes of UNC, Duke, Ohio St.
I do agree that thus far the BG era has been disappointing but I’m willing to give him time. I love what he has done with recruiting and I’m finally confident in our future. Tubby did not fall out of favor with me until several YEARS had passed by some I’m gonna give BG the same time. I support UK moreso than any coach so I’ll still be watching this year. Plus, I’m planning on going to the tourney in Vegas next Fall so I’m already looking forward to that.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
#53 I guess Gardner Webb must play Gillispie’s style, too - because UK lost to them by 16.
Gardner FREAKING Webb beat UK in Rupp Arena.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
no i will not take that winning percentage. I will take 2 titles, something tubby could not bring without pitinos players. Magloire,padgett,jeff shepard,nazr,micheal bradley (who won a championship and then got the hell out of dodge because of tubby’s style and later went to the nba,wayne turner. Thats five nba players left for tubby, plus jeff sheppard was a GREAT college player and the leader of that title team.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
no its the garbage tubby left us, hell just think what t would be like if he was still here we would have lucas instead of patterson, which would be a nightmare.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
#57 UK suffered a key injury (Bogans) in 2003 or that team is FF bound. UK lost 2OT game to Mich St in 2005 or that team is FF bound.
Had Tubby stayed at UK, both Patterson and Lucas sign in April. Neither did. Both signed in May. No idea why UF was shocked (HTF would U know?) but both were UK bound in March 2007.
If it’s all about FF, root for UCLA or North Carolina. Both passed UK in FF appearances in the 1970’s.
Prince was a Diamond In The Rough??? Top 10 rated HS All-American!
Fitch was GA Mr B-Ball runner-up. Diamond in the rough?
8 of Tubby’s recruits at UK made the NBA. 2 made All-American teams (3 times). 11 made All-SEC (16 times). 2 made SEC POY. Not UK caliber???
Tubby was 219-58 (79%) with 1 NCAA and 5 SEC titles plus 5 SECT championships in his first 8 years at UK. Surely he did not “fall out of favor” with you then???
December 30th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
in billy g’s press conference whe nhe was hired, he said there was going to be growing pains. he knew he what he was walking into. He inherited a boy and has to turn it into a man.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
In response to 55, do the coaches simply read a recruiting list and pick the highest ones they can find? Cmon, they EVALUATE. To me Crawford and Bradley have been average and inconsistent on the college level. If I could pick players off of UK and start my own team I would pick PP and Meeks. That is it. Do you think that Crawford and/or Bradley will be number 1 picks in the draft? Nope - not even All-Sec first team.
I’ve dogged these two more than I should but you can’t simply say a player was No. x on this list therefore it is not the coaches fault they do not excel. Again, if these guys were so good why no Final Fours? Please explain.
Also, quit with the racism. That just makes you a scumbag. BG has been dogged bigtime already despite his color. Before you make those comments simply stop, reach into the Dunkin Donuts box, and eat the donut.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
57) It is not an easy feat to reach the final four. They aren’t just given to you. Fans got spoiled in the late 90’s with 3 straight National Title Games. That was an AMAZING run, but it was not something that happens all the time. You have to have good talent, good IQ, and good chemistry. 2 out of 3 isn’t good enough. 2003 was one of the smartest, most cohesive teams I have ever watched play, but when it came to the tournament we ran into a rare talent by the name of Dwyane Wade. We didn’t have enough play makers.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
#59 UK averages 76% all-time. It’s the #1 W-L (%) record in Div 1 B-ball but not good enough for you???
UK has 7 NCAA titles in 69 years. You were disappointed 90% of the time???
Michael Bradley barely played behind Nazr and Magloire in 1998 and had NOTHING to do with Uk winning NCAA that year.
Jeff Sheppard never averaged Double Figures until Tubby coached him in 1998. He was great FOR TUBBY in 1998 BECAUSE OF TUBBY.
#60 Patterson AND Lucas, not OR. Both = AND.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Also we had to play Marquette in their backyard. What a joke that was.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
your key word in those attempts to get to a final four is LOSS. Your right if they wouldn’t have lost they wouldve made it but they did lose therefore they didnt which supports my point that tubby’s 1 ff came with ricks loaded roster.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
#62 so far he’s turned it into a crying little baby, not a man. (PS George Wallace is dead so you’ll have to vote for another Presidential candidate this year. May I suggest Barack Obama?)
#63 Crawford has scored over 1000 points in college and Bradley nearly 1000. Inconsistent, yes. But good players for UK most of the time.
SEC coaches named BOTH Crawford and Bradley to their preseason All-SEC team. You know more than SEC coaches???
I eat Seattle Sutton food http://www.seattlesutton.com and haven’t seen any donuts on their menus.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
no patterson was going to florida until tubby left and lucas was a uk lean but said he wanted to go to a school where the coach had been there for a while plus when tauren green left he might when to florida even if tubby left because of the immediate playing time for a team coming off of back to back titles and plus billy d has 6 straight wins over uk going for him to
December 30th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
#67 the 1998 roster was HARDLY loaded. 6 of the 13 players didn’t even play in college in 1997. Of the 7 who did, 2 were walk-ons (at UK). None had EVER averaged Double Figures, made All-Conference, OR EVEN STARTED a full season at UK before. NONE!
Perhaps you’d like to be Barack Obama’s VP candidate???
December 30th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
yeah second and third team all-sec all-sec teams doesnt matter unless its first
December 30th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
thats because they were behind some of the best players to ever play at uk
December 30th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
#69 FALSE. Patterson and Lucas headed to UK as of March 2007.
Tubby Smith has 16-10 all-time record vs Billy Donovan. If he were coaching in the SEC this year, it’s be going to 18-10 or 19-10 (SECT).
December 30th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
you must be a pyschic first you are the only person on this earth that knows patterson and lucas were going to uk and second after 6 losses in a row you can predict uk sweeps them hillarious
December 30th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Scotland, who coached UK to the longest Final Four drought in its history?
What do you think of Tubby negotiating with Minnesota at this time last year, in the middle of the season?
Who is responsible for our current streaks with Florida and Vandy? Yes, Vandy. This did not start early in Tubby’s tenure. This was the end.
When we lost to Marquette what was our seed and what was theirs? That was an utter blowout regardless of Bogans injury. Wade was on fire and so was their center. How many points did Bogans wind up with? What was his season avg.? Please recite those numbers dumbass. The game with Mich. St was an absolute war that we could have won. But in looking at that game it is not a surprise we lost. They were as talented and as tough as we were. This is not Minnesota. Most years, not all, we are suppose to be more talented and just as tough as Mich. St. It is no shame to lose to them but it is also not a surprise in looking at that game position by position.
I slurped up some milk with the Shepard comment. Shep developed over four years under Pitino and Tubby did a fine job with him in his fifth year. I heard Pitino make several comments in 97 regarding how good Shep was and that he’d love to have him but it was best for the program and Shep to be able to play in that fifth year. Did that pay dividends in ‘98 or what? Did Tubby ever have the talent or gumption to redshirt promising players for the betterment of the program? You know the answer to that one.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
#71 OK - 6 of those players made 1st team All-SEC (7 times). UK had 3 more players make 1st All-SEC teams in 1998-99-2000 but none had ever done anything like that before (Tubby came).
That’s 9 players 1st team All-SEC in 10 years (6 his recruits).
UK had 10 players make 1st All-SEC in prior 8 years (but only 7 were RP recruits).
#72 very few of the 1995-96-97 UK players were Some Of The Best UK Players Ever.
Delk was. Walker. Mercer. That’s all.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
and it really doesnt matter if the whole damn team gets sec honors if ur the number 1 over all seed and get put out in the second round of the tournament
December 30th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
whats a bigger upset, a new coach, new sytem, and injury plagued team that isnt very good lose to GW or our epic meltdown flameout in 2003
December 30th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
#74 how about Obama & Petty In ‘08 buttons?
#75 please don’t knock Adolph Rupp. The NCAA began integrating in the 1950’s and he only made 2 FF in his last 20 seasons as a result. Not his fault. He was much better in the 1940’s.
And don’t knock Joe Hall either. Yes, he lost 4 straight to Vandy in 1973 and 74 despite having 6 HS All-Americans on those Uk teams. Not his fault. See Rupp/Integration above.
UK was #1 seed in 2003. Not having bogans healthy changed the whole complexion of the game. Surely you watched it?
UK has been to 31 Elite 8 games and 13 FF. That means (more often than not) UK loses when it has FF opportunity. Historical, undeniable fact.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
#77 the 1970 team was #1 ranked (hence #1 overall seed) yet lost its second game in the NCAA tournament. Been there, done that. Quit knocking Adolph Rupp.
I prefer the 32-4 #1 ranked 2003 season to the Gardner Webb loss. You may prefer the GW game?
December 30th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
my point is tubby cant get to a final four with his recruiting it always gets him and what in the hell would it matter if bogans was hurt in 2003 bogans was playing in the nba you are thinking about 2002
December 30th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
bogans was hurt against marquette the next year they lost to squeaky johnson
December 30th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I’m a huge BCG fan and hope people give him a chance to build HIS team. A majority of fans I know said that after Tubby left, it would take a year or two to rebuild. Well, that’s happening and now those people aren’t happy. Granted, I don’t like to lose either, but I think once he get’s his tough, unselfish guys, we’ll see how good a coach he is. Just look at the A&M team this year that he built. They have guys who go after it.
A few other comments, and one that will probably tick off some people. I really hate seeing Joe Crawford on the floor. The only time it seems like he tries to play is when he’s trying to score. To me, he just seems like a lazy, selfish player. And for Bradley, is there a point guard in recent UK history with a lower basketball IQ? He’s constantly making Freshman-like mistakes on the court. As long as he can just catch and shoot, he’s good, but when he has to make a decision, ugh. Hopefully with Jasper’s return, he can go fill that slot.
Another BCG comment. As many of you know, you can send 40 bucks to UKAA K-fund and get an autographed football or basketball. I got my Rick Brooks ball within a few weeks. Saturday, I got a letter of apology from UKAA saying they are unable to fill my basketball request and they will refund my money. Looks like BCG is not even doing this for the fans. I hope he’s spending the time he would have used to sign a few balls to figure out how to stop no-name walk-on’s from having their career games against us…
December 30th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
#80 i’m not knocking rupp he had enough collateral (titles) to have some bad luck
December 30th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
joe crawford is the same player he was when he came here. Good scorer at times but when i watch him i just wait for them to call a travel or walk. he has always had that problem and looks like he always will. On bradley you would think a senior point guard would be a little smarter than him though I give him credit because he would be a better 2 guard.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
#79, how many years into Hall’s reign were those losses to Vandy? What year was Tubby’s streak with them?
I did watch the Marquette game and if you think Bogans was the sole reason for the loss then you need to stop drinking Jim Beam with your donuts. Again, how many pts did Bogans score in that game? What was his avg. for the year?
So, do we give Tubby some sort of credit for NOT getting to the Final Four with ALL the teams he put together at UK? Why did Tubby run away from UK if he was doing such a great job? The most Barney was going to do was ask him to put in place a top recruiting assistant or two. When he negotiates and makes his plans with Minn. and eventually leaves does he take his assistants with him? Nope. Is that being a great guy? Can you explain that one Smokey?
December 30th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
#86 exactly the point ive been trying to prove. Scotland posts meaningless statistics. The only stats that mean anything are Titles (.5 half pitinos) FF (.5 half pitinos) after 98 He has 2 goose eggs.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
I grow sick and tired of this debate. I also grow sick and tired of people who are intent on taking anything and everything a man did away from him by claiming that nothing he did he did on his own. It’s petty and a sad commentary about people in my mind. Seriously, some of you people really need to grow up.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
i give him credit for what he did on his oown. He turned uk into a perennial 12 loss team, and now billy g has to take hell because he was brave enough to come in here and remodel it.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Spoiled, silly children. That’s all we are anymore. It’s disgraceful.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
i’m not spoiled and not a child. Just pissed off he can’t recruit and was too stubborn to fire some assistants for the good of the program so he drives it into the ground and then runs off, then we get a new coach and people won’t give him a chance. That’s what i grow sick and tired of.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Who else thinks Scotland is Matt Jones?
It’s hilarious how scotland refrences all of these great stats but fails to mention what matters. Final Fours. We’re in the midst of our longest streak of no final fours since Rupp. Who is the architect of such a streak??? Scotland’s lover. ORLANDO TUBBY SMITH!!!! That’s what matters. Get Crawford and bradley out, add liggins, millera servicable, along with healthy Jasper and Meeks and we’ll be on our way back.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
#92 agreed, i support crawford and bradley because they are cats but i will be excited to see some new faces and it will definitly give the program some energy. The past few seasons has just had a dreadful atmosphere around it.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
*Rant Time*
I am absolutely sick of this sense of entitlement fans have. Some 19 year old kid misses a box out assignment we call him names, tell him he sucks. A team doesn’t win a championship we act like someone raped our mother’s. “How dare they don’t meet my expectations! How dare they don’t do what I want!” We act like these people are mindless, soulless automatons who exist solely for our personal gratification like some damn video game. People really need to start getting a grip.
There’s a load of problems in this world-losing basketball game doesn’t even make the Top 1000. It sucks to lose a ball game when you have some sort of personal attachment or investment in it; I totally understand that. But no one died because they were on the wrong side of a box score. Nobody lost a family member, their job, or is starving to death because we didn’t make the friggin Final Four. Stop acting like a bunch of assholes and get some perspective.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
we’re not on this blog to talk about the worlds problems, go to cnn for that. We’re on here to discuss sports and mostly uk at that. These kids get good scholarships worth prolly between 20 and 30 thousand dollars per year and ol tubby was getting paid as a top 3 coach in the country to bring and he didnt get the job done. Thats the price you pay to come to a high profile place like this. there is going to be criticism and they are going to learn to deal with it.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
*Rant Continued*
I love basketball. I grew up playing basketball. I grew up thinking that winning is the only thing that mattered and that losing was akin to death. But as I’ve grown older I’ve discovered a simple truth: Everybody wins and everybody loses. At some point you’re going to end up on the wrong side of the ledger-the ball ain’t going to bounce your way, a frog farts in France, whatever. It’s going to happen and you can do nothing to stop it. So acting like a spoiled little bitch when you actually fall short isn’t the most productive of ways to live your life.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Hell we’ve been falling short since last decade. In that case we must have built a damn house on the wrong side of the ledger. And i dont think the ball is bouncing the wrong way, i think its just tubby’s recruits that dont have any hands to catch the damn ball.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
*Rant Continued*
Who gives a flying fig how much you make? Do you stand over a damn Rhodes Scholar’s shoulder while he’s writing his thesis on the English Civil War and point out the damn flaws in his thinking? You don’t think he’s earned his place by his hard work, his dedication, his effort to get where he is because you don’t think it’s good enough? Who the F are you pal, Sir Thomas Moore? What gives you the right to judge? Can I walk into your life and critique every little flaw or fault I find? Can I say you suck at your job and should give up your salary because I don’t think you earned it. My tax dollars pay for the roads that you drive to work on, the schools your kids go to, so I guess that means your ass belongs to me.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
I’m not critiquing every little flaw. My tax dollars pay for the same as yours. It makes a hell of a lot of difference how much you make. You get paid based on your performance and tubbys performance was clearly on the downhill and if that happens in business most of the time your boss talks to your ass and tells you to straighten up as in changing assistants and he didn’t want to do that so he hit the road before he got his ass fired.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
*Rant Continued And I’m Stoned*
This is a greater issue. It’s about you thinking your “owed” something from a bunch of college kids who spend countless hours practicing and training to put a leather ball through a metal hoop at a greater rate than another group of college kids. They owe us nothing. Not one thing.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
naw i didnt blame it on them. i said in #93 i support the cats no matter what. I can lay all the blame i want on tubby smith because he is a paid employee just as all of the teachers at uk are, and if they dont perform their job to the level that is expected out of them then they get put on the road.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:42 pm
your just mad because people are giving tubby hell, but on the other side you were probably all over his ass last year when he was getting embarrassed by kansas and continues to get ran over by teams like georgia and vandy in the sec.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
*Still Ranting*
I don’t think we should be paying anybody millions of dollars to play a game let alone coach it. That’s another issue in and of itself. I’m not going to sit here and act like Billy Gillispie is sneaking into my house in the middle of the night like my sister’s glue sniffing ex-boyfriend and stealing money out of my wallet. We live in a Free Market. Yay Unfettered Capitalism!
We’re not talking about anything but you, or people like you, acting like spoiled brats because you can’t brag to your friends about being Superfan # 1 of some brilliant, championship winning team every season.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:31 am
Patrick Patterson seems to look wonderful playing within BCG system. He’s putting together strings of double-doubles. What’s everyone else done consistently? What did the San Diego scouting report look like:
Triple team Patterson
Make the rest of (Tubby’s Team) beat us
Our talent level at all other positions is making it quite an easy task for us to be defeated. Ramel and Joe are so streaky with their play, you almost have to have them in a role where they can be brought in for a few minutes to gauge if they are going to be hot or not. I for one, would love to see Bradley play an entire game with the heart he displays with about 1:20 seconds left in the game. Does anyone remember a game last year when he scored like 8 points, just refusing to give the game up? Where’s that at for the entire game? Sorry, just frustrates the heck out of me.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:01 am
Win most (80%) of the next 20 games = NCAA bid.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:03 am
#97 Adolph Rupp made 2 FF and won 1 NC in his last 20 seasons when basketball integrated. Was UK falling those 20 seasons, too?
December 31st, 2007 at 7:07 am
#89 Gillispie AVERAGES 12 L per season in his career. UK averaged 8 L the past 5 seasons - the same 5 that Gillispie coached in his career. Looks like Gillispie is the perennial 12 L team.
December 31st, 2007 at 7:23 am
Regardless, Gillispie deserves more than 11 games. Joe Hall was 33-21 (61%) his first 2 years. Rick Pitino 36-20 (64%).
Hall finished 264-79 (77%) and Pitino 183-30 (86%) the rest of their UK time with 3 FF and 1 NC apiece (in 11 and 6 years, respectively).
December 31st, 2007 at 9:17 am
You see scotland, you try to look smart by throwing around your stats. But you fail to put them in context. His other two jobs he took over the worst team in ther respective conferences. That pulls his average down. Look at his records when he left the schools. Further its about hope and where you’re going. Tubby may have averaged 26 wins. But what direction was the program headed? Bcg gets a pass this year because of the mess our program was left in…
December 31st, 2007 at 10:07 am
tubby sucks and got his ass handed to him last night and will continue to. Damn im glad he is gone. Look where A&M is and look where uk is at. That is the only stat you need to look at scotland; their win loss record. The team billy built is top 10; ots team is 5-6, dont worry though billy will fix it. He always does.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:24 am
I struggle with all the fans talking about “tubbys team” or let BG build “his team”, hell I thought this was our team. I think it is wrong to think of any of our teams as the personal teams of any particular coach. The UK basketball program and team belongs to the fans who support it with their $$$ and their hearts. Yes the coach does or does not contribute to the overall success of the team but the team does not necessarily belong to the coach. We don’t nickname our teams based on the coach involved. The fiddlin five, the comeback kids or the cardiac kids weren’t named after the coaches. I think we as fans are the true owners of these teams and they don’t belong to the coaches whether it’s Rupp, Pitino, Tubby or BG. I wish Tubby the best in Minnesota because he’s a great gentleman and represented our program with class and professionalism. I hope if we ever play them we beat them by 30 points though. It’s not the losing that is getting BG in trouble, it’s his attitude and general lack of support for the players, and the fans and his smart ass comments to the media that’s causing him to become a black mark on our program. Let’s give him to the end of the season. If he doesn’t improve in these areas, win or lose, it’s time to find us another coach.
December 31st, 2007 at 11:43 am
Scotland of course we would all take winning 76% of our games over the next 10 seasons. What we won’t take is not going to a final four. We all know that Tubby never did that with his own players and I bet Billy G will.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Scotland, you are ridiculous. No $h1t if they go 20-9 (winning 80% of the rest) they will make the tourney. Why even say that? There is no way they finish the year 15-3.
December 31st, 2007 at 3:25 pm
#109 lots of coaches have take over really bad programs and brought them to life. Bob Huggins at Cincy starting in 1989, for example (among 100’s) of others.
UK struggled the past 2 seasons after 8 very good ones (1998 through 2005).
UK struggled in 1973 and 1974 (33-21) after 5 straight SEC titles (1968 through 1972). Where was the program headed in 1974?
Answer: FF in 1975.
#110 Tubby (who is African-American BTW) is 397-147 (73%) for his career. He has 1 NCAA title and 7 conference titles.
Compared to Pitino, who is 503-185 (also 73%) for his career. He has 1 NCAA title and 4 conference titles.
#111 the current UK team is Gillispie’s team and players. The last 10 UK teams were Tubby’s teams and players.
If Gillispie were 12-0, people wouldn’t care in the slightest about that other stuff. They didn’t when Pitino was coaching UK either.
#112 Gillispie has never been close to any kind of FF yet. Remains to be seen - it’s possible.
#113 UK won 18 of its last 23 games in 2001. Won its last 10 games in 1976. Can be done, have a little faith in your Cats.