Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
For the first time in the tournament’s history since going to 64 teams, all four #1 seeds have held form and made it to the Final Four. The games were relatively awful, although watching the end of Davidson-Kansas did have to get your blood going a little bit. I was pulling for Davidson more than is really healthy and would have loved to see Curry take that last shot. But alas, Kansas played great defense and Bill Self FINALLY goes to a Final Four and removes the title of “biggest choking coach in the continental United States” from his resume….at least temporarily. You can make an argument that the four teams going to San Antonio are really the four best teams in the land…..that rarely if ever happens and should (in theory) produce great games next weekend. But for now, all the feel good stories are gone and we are left with three members of basketball royalty and a team that the NCAA must hate (Memphis). Whatcha gonna do?
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March 30th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Carolina’s probably going to win this thing, solidifying this tournament as one of the least-riveting ones in memory.
March 30th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Kansas over UNC. Memphis over UCLA.
Memphis cuts em down….eclipsing Duke’s modern day NCAA record of best total season record! Enough reason for UK fans to root for Memphis right there!
March 30th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Yeah, Memphis with a coach I
wouldn’t have minded had he
been hired by Kentucky.
March 30th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I hate Carolina…someone needs to beat them. Don’t like ucla or KU or UM either. Guess I’ll have to rediscover baseball earlier than usual.
It sure is obvious that we/UK needs athletes in order to compete with the big boys. We have a ways to go but I’m sure BCG will make it happen.
Curry was a joy to watch … too bad he didn’t get a last shot off but KU played him great.
March 30th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
#4 Thats like watching Kobe have 98 points in a game then dishing off to Smush Parker for the last shot, Very disappointing. I didn’t really care who won because only UK matters in my world but I could watch Curry shoot all day. Does anyone else think that Rotnei Clarke might play like this at Arkansas?
March 30th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
UCLA and UNC in the finals. UCLA wins it all.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
#3 Luke the Drifter - All of Kentucky rests well tonight knowing that you aren’t the athletic director for the University of Kentucky.
Historically speaking:
Calipari = take shortcuts and build a group with holes all through it’s foundation. Then lose the big one because of the holes. Bring in big names but in end end the guys he gets aren’t 100% committed to the team/share concept. Those kids never lived that way. It’s a foreign concept. When the going gets rough, they revert back to what they know, and it’s the selfish path which loses in a team game.
Kentucky = Don’t take shortcuts, and bring in level headed kids who want it more and who all pay the price every moment of their college careers . Brick by brick, the foundation is ensured strong with kids who get the game (team basketball). Always making sure some Kentucky blood is mixed in so when the game is on the line, the feeling to deserve it is less anxiety/pressure and more earned/sacrificed. Then when you get to the big one and each teams flaws are exposed, the other team has more.
Each team is given x number of chances (possessions & defenses) per game to make a mistake/error. Calipari’s way based on design is destinated to fail more often than it will succeed.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
It wasn’t just Curry, Davidson played extremely well as a team. But they blew it on that last play. With UK out, I don’t really have a favorite, I just don’t want it to be UNC or UCLA.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Methinks Luke the Drifter types and sounds a lot like one David Shelton.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
How about the White Lobster? Coming off the bench he shot Davidson back into the game when it could have gotten out of control. Curry had faith in his teammates which is an admirable trait, but I’d like to have seen him get off that last shot.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
#7.
I respectfully disagree with you. I think if you are going to make such an accusation, you better back it up with facts. UK is my team, but I happen to live in Memphis and know for a fact that this guy hasn’t taken shortcuts on this TEAM. Calipari has built this team starting with Dorsey and ending with Rose. They embody teamwork and also understand their roles.
Saying that Calipari takes shortcuts and Kentucky doesn’t is just a stupid statement to make. As much as I love my Cats, how do you think they got put on probation back in the late 80’s?
To say this team is selfish and doesn’t understand team play is just a statement from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about and obviously hasn’t watched this team play.
Am I bias? Maybe. Probably…but I still know that these kids have put in a lot of work building team play and working towards a goal.
Nothing personal bro…but I’d defend my Cats the same way.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I also live in Memphis, and its hard to root for a shithole team from a shithole city. maybe if the team or the coach had an ounce of morals, maybe…
March 30th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Worst…NCAA Tournament…ever.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Memphis - That’ll work.
Kansas - Not the worst option.
UNC - I threw up a little in my mouth.
UCLA - Please Lord, NO!!!
March 30th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
hopefully memphis will win. can’t stand NC or UCLA either one.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Worest NCAA ever? mmmmmmmmmmmmm Kentucky must have gotten beat in the 1st round huh? Ask any unc, ucla, memphis,or kansas fan hasn’t been that bad to us.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
UCLA is the most undeserving team ever to advance to a final four. They beat a 16, a 9, a 12, and the weakest 3 seed there was to advance. Three wins over non-BCS conference teams and the Big 12’s SIXTH PLACE team. UCLA will get their rearends handed to them and they DESERVE IT. Pisses me off UK doesn’t ever get a bracket like that when we have a decent seed.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Top to bottom, boring tournament. 2 or 3 good games outside of the first round. the round of 64 is not supposed to be the best. WAY too many blowouts and games that were never really close. Hell, even UNC UofL was only close for 10 minutes.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:03 am
UK doesn’t want UNC or UCLA taking home the title. Our claim to fame is wins, titles and longevity. UNC wins and they gain titles and already have the wins. UCLA is solely based on Wooden and a lack of defense in 1995 on the last play. Impressive title numbers but essentially all at once. If they win though, they could claim to have the longevity that we boast. I personally am cheering for Memphis then Kansas. Memphis caught flak all year and are proving everyone wrong. And enough of the Kevin Lovefest. He’s good yes, but he’s no Greg Oden. He will get taken to school in the NBA if he tries to go under the hoop.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:10 am
# 11 Memphis Cat - I thought the point I made about Calapari is clear to everyone except David Shelton posing as Luke The Drifter.
To first answer your questions… I started the comparison off with “Historically Speaking”. This should take the Kentucky probation in the late 80’s and toss it out of the window of even being brought up.
Historically Kentucky has done things the right way, with the kids working harder than everyone else to prepare (talk to any of Rupp players still alive about the Memorial Colisieum stairs). Kentucky teams historically (specifically Rupp, Pitino, & now Gillispie) are known to work harder than any other team at conditioning. There’s documented proof of it happening under Rupps 40+ years, along with Pitinos 9 and now Gillispie has their feet bleeding once again. I’m not sure about Joe B.’s conditioning regimine so I won’t include it, but, I don’t think you questioned that aspect, which was a significant part of my position.
Anyone who is confident that Calipari is clean as far as recruiting goes should just wonder why he’s not at a more presitgious school. Many jobs have come and gone through the years, and Calipari doesn’t seem to get past the speculation list on any of them. He has 9 losses in the last 3 years and isn’t coveted by Indiana? You know why? Even if he is clean no AD at a prestigiously tradition rich program would ruin his career taking that risk. I heard Calipari’s name come up in speculation water cooler talk when Tubby left, but you never even heard Barnhart address it. I think we all know why, so let’s just accept that he is considered too big a risk by many AD’s, you answer that reason on your own if you want.
You said, “To say this team is selfish and doesn’t understand team play is just a statement from someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about and obviously hasn’t watched this team play.”
Again, I said historically. I didn’t say my comments to address this Calipari team ONLY. I also said these kids will revert to selfishness when their backs are to the wall, as in the Tennessee game. I didn’t say they don’t understand team play, I said they’re not 100% committed. None of his teams have been while at Memphis. Several of his UMass teams were more balanced, but since he went to Memphis, it’s like he’s pulled out all the stops to get the ring.
I could be wrong regarding the outcome of this tournament, but I have a feeling Memphis is getting ready to get handled by UCLA and their refs. Once Memphis faces a team who can match up against them and has good coaching, which they have yet to see both in an opponent this tournament they will face the weight of the flaws (Miss St was the closest to this point, Mich St. just was outmatched with little Neitzel on the perimemter, and Texas is coached by Rick Barnes lol).
Put them at the free throw line in a close game against UCLA or NC and see what happens. The concrete is almost already dry.
BTW, do you think Calipari locks his office door when he leaves the gym?
March 31st, 2008 at 8:47 am
Before N-E attempts to bash Memphis you should pay closer attention to their record overt the last three tourny appearances. Currently KY has the best three yr span from 96-98. Calapari is on the verge of surpassing the win total from those yrs. He is also the only coach to EVER take two schools that are not BCS affiliated (Umass and Memphis) to the final four. He may suspect but he manages to get the job done. I’m not saying they will win the whole thing but don’t hate.
And for the record # 20 Joe B. Hall was the head of conditioning for our beloved Adolph Rupp. So I’m guessing he was pretty instrumental in that aspect.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:20 am
Not possible for them to surpass our NCAA tourny win total from 96-98. 3 Straight Championship games, winning two. The only way to surpass that would be to 3 peat.