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KENTUCKY WILDCATS NEWS HEADLINES

John Wall named SEC Player of the Year, Cousins gets top freshman
Only the second time a Freshman received POY honor!

Q and A with John Calipari
Who’s his favorite player? And more.

‘Coach Cal Edition’ Mustang on sale at Paul Miller Ford
Last week was Makers Mark, Now Calipari has Mustang in his honor.

March Madness Coming to a theater near you… In 3D
Looks like the success of Avatar is spilling over to other genres.

And only a day and a half to bid on a GUARANTEED PLACE IN LINE: COACH CAL’S BOTTLE SIGNING
Proceeds go to support the CFFC.

The look of Calipari in this picture is a fairly good reflection of how I feel about the Cats heading into postseason play – I just don’t know what to expect from this team.  I mean, I know that there will be some great plays, great effort (at times), good statistics etc.  But will they be able to pull it out in the crunch when losing sends them home for the spring/summer?  Based on what we’ve seen all year, they will.  Time and time again, this team, and primarily Wall, has made the big play right when it was needed and has been able to win the tight games, including the many times they have had the big lead and let the other team back in to it.  I’m not sure why this happens, other than you have so many freshmen and sophomores playing.  It’s frustrated me all year, but I’ve really only just come to the conclusion that this is who they are.  The experience isn’t there, but the pride and will to win is.  And as long as they have that, I think they will be OK.  In the end, I think they need to feel challenged.  Feel the heat a little.  Playing on the edge.  If you think about it, that is when this team has been at it’s absolute best.  So, I’m not sure if the inexperience is going to bite them in the tournament or not.  But if I had to throw my lot in with one team in the country heading into this thing, it would be the Cats.  They’ve proven they can win under pressure and they have more talent than anyone else. 

As for today’s game, it was a little anti-climatic for me.  It was senior day, Florida, and the last game of the regular season.  I was really hoping for a blowout.  And for a while there, it looked like I might get it.  But, as has happened on many occassions this season, the inexperience and mistakes let the other team make a short run, gain some confidence, and then make a game out of it.  I think the point in this game where the tone/momentum changed was the two straight charging fouls on Eric Bledsoe toward the end of the first half.  As Bledsoe has done all year, he drove the lane a little out of control, took one dribble too many, and in these two instances got called for the charge.  I love Bledsoe’s game, but this is the one area I have harped on all year.  Driving to the lane with no where to go and then taking a dribble too far.  He should pull up for a short jumper or the dish, before he gets in the defenders face.  So instead of a 14 or 16 point game going into half time, it was a 10 point game with Florida grabbing some momentum before the break. 

Now, the team played quite well in the first half, particulalry on the defensive end.  There were a few mistakes strung together that gave Florida a little confidence.  But that’s basketball.  Teams are going to make runs.  Momentum changes multiple times per game.  I was particularly pleased with the contributions of Dodson and Miller in the first half, hitting some big 3 point shots.  The defensive pressure was good on the ball and Florida really didn’t shoot very well due to the pressure.  Problem was, they were getting offensive rebounds.  The Gators outscored UK 16-8 in the paint in the first half.  For the game, Florida had 17 offensive rebounds and outrebounded UK in total by 36 to 31. 

In the second half, it ended up being back and forth with Florida slowly cutting further into the lead finally drawing to within 62-60 before UK took control and wrapped up the game.  There were a couple of great moments in the second half.  John Wall had two drives into the lane back to back to regain momentum for the Blue.  Also with Cousins out of the game in the second half, the team clearly was looking for Patterson, and he didn’t dissappoint, he had 6 points in a short span that helped maintain the lead for UK.  Let me just say that I would like to see this more often when the other team is making a run.  Patrick delivers down on the post almost every time it is needed.  He is just too strong and quick for most people to guard.  And with the other team’s big man guarding Cousins this year, Patterson is even more potent against the other team’s power forward as opposed to the center.

Statistically speaking, no one really dominated the box score.  It was a victory by committee with 5 Cats in double figures – Patterson(13), Wall (11), Miller (14), Dodson (10) and Bledsoe (14).   No one had double digit rebounds, although Cousins had 9.  Patterson contributed 5.   The best part of the game was the 8 for 18 performance from the three point line.  I’ve been waiting for the team to break out of it’s slump and they did tonight.  Hopefully it carries over to the postseason.  Hitting the three, makes this team unbeatable. 

General Thoughts

- Darius Miller had a very good game tonight.  He looked for his shot and knocked it down, shooting in rhythm when the ball was passed to him. 

- I loved that Calipari started all the seniors and let them play for about 5 minutes before subbing in Cousins, Miller and Bledsoe.  I really wish that Krebs had hit that three he took and converted his baseline drive.  The crowd would have gone absolutely nuts if those shots had gone in.  And what better way can you think of for a great guy like Krebs to go out, by hitting a couple of shots on senior night for the team he dreamed of playing for.

- Alex Tyus has hit only three 3 pointers in his career, all three against UK this season.  

- Cousins didn’t seem to be himself tonight.  Perhaps not getting the start threw his rhythm off a little.  Whatever it was, I’m not worried.  He’ll be ready to go come tournament time and I expect him to have a HUGE postseason.

- Patrick Patterson is statistically the best 3 point shooter on the team at 41.2% (21 of 51).  Go figure.

So in summary, this was a good win tonight.  There wasn’t much at stake considering the #1 seed in the NCAA tourney is sown up and the regular season conference crown was in the bag.  The team could have easily come out flat and just gone through the motions on this one.  So, even though the team let a big lead slip away again, it doesn’t really bother me.  They made the plays when they counted most and the put another W on the board.  Now, comes the time that we have all been waiting a year for – tourney time.  I’m more excited for the NCAA tournament this year than I have been for a while, probably going back to the 02-03 season.  I’m taking the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament off work and will be watching as many games as possible. Then on Saturday, I’ll be BBQ’ing some Brisket, Ribs and Pulled Pork for my dad’s birthday while watching games all day.  I don’t think it can get any better than that.  Well, I guess if Duke loses on the first weekend, that would just be the cream on top of that glorious first week of the tournament.

Next week, we’re on to the SEC tournament.  Check back for more discussion leading up to next Thursday when the tourney kicks off.

Go Cats!!

Well Bledsoe started out looking like he would have an incredible game but then reverted to his old self.  He closed out the half by committing two quick (stupid) fouls in the lane to close the half.  He did have 9 points, 2 rebounds and an assist so maybe I should cut him some slack, but in close games those little mistakes will have big consequences.

Darius Miller is currently 2 for 3 from three.  That can only bode well for Kentucky.  Darnell Dodson is 2 for 2 from three.  When those guys are hitting shots it is very difficult for anyone to play with us.

Patterson has made his allotted 1 for 2 from three as he has done in 10 games this year.  Still he has no rebounds and is only 1 for 4 overall.

Kentucky finished the half shooting 53.8% overall and 50% from three to Florida’s 40.7% and 25% respectively.  Also Kentucky went on a beautiful 10-0 run sans Cousins and Wall.  Very good sign.

Overall a very satisfying half.  Let’s see how the second half plays out.

I can’t turn away.  I’m fascinated by this.  I would really like to know what goes through a man’s brain when he sees this in the mirror and say’s to himself, “Yes!  That’s what I was trying for”.  I guess I’ll never know.  But I want to publicly thank Alex Tyus for helping me realize that no matter how bad things get with my own hair as I get older, it could always be worse.

Tomorrow, Kentucky takes on the Florida Gators in the last regular season SEC conference game.  The significance of the game will be diminished – only slightly – since South Carolina beat Vandy today, which granted UK sole possession of first (even with a loss tomorrow) and the outright SEC championship.  #44 for UK. Think about that for a minute.  44 freaking titles.  Simply amazing.  I love being a UK fan. But let’s not beat around the bush here.  The game tomorrow is about the graduating seniors (and one junior) as well as the probable last game for a couple of freshmen.  Mark Krebs, Perry Stevenson and Ramon Harris will graduate and will have used up their eligibility at the end of the season.  Patterson is graduating early, but has a year left.  He’s almost certainly gone.  And with Wall and Cousins both projected in the Top 5 of the NBA draft, I can’t see either one of them staying.  I’m not going to go into the significance of these players and their contributions in this post, I’ll tackle that in a later post.  But, we all need to stop for a minute and realize what we have been able to witness this year as Kentucky fans.  We have seen possibly the second most talented team to ever where the Blue (after the ‘96 team).  This team has connected with the fans in a way that is truly special.  They have brought the program back from the abyss (the Gillispie years).  They have put UK at the top of the college hoops world once again. 

I’ve been watching Kentucky basketball my whole life and this is probably the most memorable season for me.  I’m not sure why other than that the last few years have been so depressing, that being on such a high this year has been a huge contrast and so I think it makes every win that much sweeter.  And knowing that we are just beginning what could be one of the greatest eras in UK hoops history only makes it that much sweeter.  I’m happy for this team, particularly the three seniors and Patterson, who have been through so much.  They will leave this program having played on one of the most loved teams in the program’s history.  Truly remarkable to think about when you reflect on where the program was just 11 months ago.

Now, on to tomorrow’s game.  Florida comes into Rupp desparately needing a win to improve it’s NCAA tournament resume.  They really only have what I would consider to be two high quality wins, Michigan State early in the year and then Tennessee last week.  Lose this game and that would put them at 20-11 and 9-7 in conference.  Not horrible, but again, not many quality wins.  Could the Gators be out of the tourney 3 years in a row, after winning the title 2 years in row?  It’s very possible.  On a side note, let me say how happy I am that we don’t have Billy Donovan as our coach.  Not just because of how Florida has done the last few years, I just never really liked him as the choice.  I would have preferred Tom Izzo, Sean Miller, Jay Wright and of course our very own Calipari before Donovan.  I’ll leave it at that for now.

AT 9-7, Florida would be tied with Mississippi and Mississippi State from the West division.  UK, Tennessee and Vanderbilt are all locks for the tourney.  But after that it gets dicey.  None of the other teams have really done anything that says “We belong!”.  However, I can’t see the SEC only getting 3 teams in the tournament.  Particularly with how weak the tourney bubble is this year.  I think 5 teams is a stretch, but I definitely think we get four.  So, if Florida wins tomorrow (they won’t) then I think they punch their ticket.  If they lose, I think the fourth team will come from Miss., Miss. St. and Florida, with the bid going to the team that goes the furthest in the conference tourny.  So, there’s clearly a lot at stake for Florida.  UK is a lock for a # 1 seed and they have already wrapped up the SEC crown, so presumably, you could say this game doesn’t matter as much.  But don’t tell that to those who are playing their last game in Rupp tomorrow.  I expect it to be an emotional day.  And I think the Big Blue win convincingly tomorrow, making that statement to the rest of the country that KENTUCKY BASKETBALL IS BACK, and they better be ready for them over the next 4 weeks.  I expect the 3 lottery picks to all have big games.  I think Cousins and Patterson both have double doubles and Wall will go for 20+.

If you remember back to the first game with Florida which UK won 89-77, Eric Bledsoe was the big hero with a career high 25 points.  Bledsoe carried the team that night and really put notice out to the NBA scouts that their were two top tier point guards on this team.  In that game, UK led by 15 in the second half, but allowed Florida to come all the way back and tie it before running away with it at the end.  I don’t think we’ll see that tomorrow, because the team is going to play with a lot of emotion and intensity on senior day.  Florida’s biggest threat is it’s backcourt of Boynton and Walker.  However, UK wins that battle at both positions so I’m not too worried.  The only chance that Florida has to win this game is if the Cats get so distracted by Alex Tyus’ hair (or lack thereof) that Florida gets some easy layups while the UK players stare in amazement.  Won’t happen.  They’ll be too focused.  UK wins 88-71.