It Hurts All Over. But Hope is Just Around the Corner.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick [...], Proverbs 13:12.  Last night was Nina's first game at Rupp.  She was thrown in to the fire. It a hard game to witness, first hand.  My heart ached so much, wanting to erupt in cheering, but there was little room for that.  The negativity oozing from the fans was just unbearable.  It was like a heavy shroud that blanketed the arena.  I think that the fans came in with the little hope and prepared themselves for a loss.  I had a gentleman in front of my that shook his head the entire game, at everything.  The fans are disgruntled and upset.  I too am upset and bewildered.  But I am not about to come with a petition for Billy G.'s head.  This is not the last game of the season, or the last game ever played.  It is what it is: a tough and heartbreaking loss, but I will not mail in my resignation of fandom.  I will stand by their side and cheer them on.  They need fan support now more than before.  You know who your real fans are when you are losing.  If we never win another game I hope that I will still be here, just as passionate as before.  This is the true test of your faith.  Do you believe, or can you believe they can win?  And if they don't, will you still be here?  Are you just a fan of winning and not of the Wildcats?  Take a moment and reevaluate your motives.

The game plan appeared to be to get the ball to the inside and run the offense through Patterson.  Billy G. said in the pre-game that the Cats were going to challenge Vernardo and drive to the basket.  They did little driving that amounted to much.  Indecision plagued them when they got the ball past the 3-point line (and beyond the 3-point line for that matter): take a shot and get blocked or try and pass out of it.  Patterson was triple teamed most of the night and seemed to turn the ball over, get block, miss the shot, or not get the ball out quick enough for a 3.  It was a tough game for him.  This caused most of fans to call out for 3's to fly from Porter, Miller, and Galloway.  I am not sure that those would have been the best shots.  I know that they were wide open but remember the Cats were 7 of 28 last game.  They let them fly to no avail, not everyone is a 3-point shooter.  And the fantasy of Never Never (losing in the SEC) land for the Cats is over.  Jodie is no Peter Pan.  The SEC coaches have permanently sown a shadow on him and every step he takes.  If he gets a shot he will earn it.  News Flash: Our weakness have been re-exposed.

Early in the season it was known that we would have very few guys who would be able to score consistently and take pressure away from Jodie and Patrick; it is still a problem.  Perry didn't have a great game.  Darius played very well.  Josh had good minutes.  Galloway had a few good possessions (that missed dunk attempt was awesome.  He was trying put an exclamation point on the game and Vernardo's head, but he was fouled and missed 1 of 2. Slone was pushed aside as a non-issue by the Miss St. guards.  All of this adds up to a serious state of affairs.  If these Cats don't bring it every game they are not going to be successful...It takes me back to Billy G.'s main philosophy:  Compete every possession.  They are not doing that. 

Last nights game is a gut check.  You win 5 straight and drop 3 in a row.  If you shape it up and get the intensity back you can still be 13-3 (better than the 12-4 of last year.)  If you continue to let it slip away you can be 8 and 8 in the SEC.  We need to regain composure on offense.  But here is the main reason for the lack of offense, we don't have a point guard.  Porter can get the ball across mid-court and direct some traffic.  But he is not quick enough to penetrate and dish or draw defenders to him and deliver a precision pass.  He would be a great zone buster or 2 guard, to give Jodie a breather, but not to be going up against all the quick guards of the SEC and ACC.  Having said that, he is our best option for a floor leader.  Jodie is a scorer.  Ramon is a defender.  Miller is still a freshman and still learning.  And Liggins is wants to get his points, much like a SF.  With no floor leader the team is in disarray.  There is no one to help keep everyone else calm and control the offense.  Their passes are weak and uncertain and unsettling.  You can blame the coach, but he can only control so much on the court, they players have to follow orders and yet adapt to game play situations.  We have not found our team leader.  Jodie was for a while, but most teams have taken him out of the equation.

There is another twist to the rise and quick success of Jodie Meeks.  He hangs 54 on Tennessee and now every team is gunning for him (and Patterson).  If Jodie hits 34 or 40 at Tennessee, teams may think of him as a threat and keep an eye on him, but now they know that if he gets hot it may be a really long night; no one wants to be the next victim of a record night, not in their own house or in Rupp.  I am not saying that all is lost.  I think that the 54 points was amazing and so much needed in the period of little to cheer about over the last five years.  And I know that Billy G. and his gang are not going to quit and give up trying to get Jodie good looks and try and get the flow going again.  Billy G. and Jodie don't remind me of people who will back down from, well, anything.

3 losses in a row is hard to swallow.  Especially to teams that weren't supposed to be close to challenging us.  I know that Billy G. and gang don't like to lose.  But we are here now and we need to find away to get up and playing again.  Maybe they need to throw some bourbon on the smoldering passion.  You know, ignite the waning embers.  Like the Run during the second half when the Cats brought it to a 3 point game, you could feel the energy rising; they were stoking the flames.  But when Perry was called for a Charge on the rebound it was like getting hit in the stomach.  The intensity started ebbing away and then it was gone.  It was like someone had sucked all the air out of our HOPE balloon.  And you could see the players give up as well.  Miss St. was dominate and we were submissive.

I asked Nina after the game her thoughts, here they are.  "I thought they were out of control, unsure and lacking confidence.  Even you are aren't sure, you still need to play with the passion and heart that you are sure.  You should still play like you are the dominant one.  It is Rupp Arena, your home, you need to play your hardest.  They didn't look like they played their hardest, only for about a 5 min. stretch.  Their passes look soft and lacking confidence."  Folks she has only been a basketball fan for 5 years and she can pick that out.  But she was not down on the team and will cheer them on as well.  THIS IS HOW THE OPTIMISTIC KAT FAMILY ROLLS!!  NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER BACK DOWN!

I have to give respect for Billy G. though, he is going to play his defense and his offense, regardless of the outcome.  What I mean is that he is not taking direction from the media or the fans.  The man is stubborn, but I do believe in time that it will pay off huge.  Right now we are still in the school of hard knocks.  It is like giving a Porsche to a student driver, they are going to grind a few gear, kill the engine, but if you let them drive it long enough they will master it.  The Cats are killing the Porsche now that they are stopped on the hill side (Perry actually said mountain, but we have hills in Kentucky). I saw a couple of times that Cat defenders didn't push through screens and other times they left their man open at 25 feet, they just seemed disinterested with the game and tired.  I think that 7 days of rest will bring them back to form again.  Billy has been pushing them hard for about 24 games, maybe a breather is in order.  I think the Cats will get their second wind and finish the season strong.  I still say that Billy G. is the man for the job...only time will tell.  But let us take a quote from Rocky:  "It is not how hard you get hit.  It's how hard you get hit and still keep moving forward."  We've been punched square in the mouth.  Are we going to wuss out and take it?  Or are we going to hit back?  I say hit and hit hard.  Swing for the Knockout.