Stirring up a Hornets. John Clay Posted Me On His Blog.

Wow, I have really done it this time.  My last article really exploded, thanks to  A Sea of Blue and John Clay.  I could take this time to defend myself, but I think that John will be just fine.  I grew up reading Mr. Clay.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on his stories, he brought fresh perspective...I am sure it was easier to write articles about the teams in the '90's.  So it was an honor to have a page dedicated to me...haha.  There is no such thing as bad publicity.  

And I have been reading A Sea of Blue for over a year, and think they do a great job over there...I love the new website.  A shout out to them for posting a link to TOK.  Hopefully the next one they pull over will be a better crafted argument.

Having said that, the only thing that I regret is writing 'alas'  in regards to Porter.  This is The Optimistic Kat, that shouldn't be in my vocabulary.  Today they played a great game.  UK 77 and UT 58.  Porter's three 3's were great (though I do agree with KSR...Porter's grouping of shots was really bizarre.  It is unusual for a shooter to miss everything and swish the very next one.  But he hit very timely shots... I am so happy for him.  He is becoming the harmonic balancer, lead guard, that we have needed [see my older posts to clarify that I did indeed say this earlier in the year]).  Darius was great, well he was perfect.  Patterson is a force.  Jodie played hard.  We would say he had a quiet game, but he does those little things so well; he is just a work horse.  He wants to make sure the offense flows and he gets his points in the flow.  

I don't think I sat down once during this game.  I was on my feet clapping and fist pumping (My neighbors below us probably hate all the pacing).  WHAT A VICTORY!  It was so great to sweep Tennessee.  I have similar feelings that KSR has toward UT, and they are not warm and fuzzy.  I can root for most teams in the SEC but I would just as soon see UT lose (unless they were playing Duke or North Carolina).

I knew that if the Cats continued to play defense the way they started the game, we would have a chance to route them.  The posture and demeanor of the Vols was one of defeat; Chism was moping most of the day.  And they looked dejected.

I still plan on writing "The Deatheaters" soon so stay tuned.  It is feeling that the local sports media have painted Gillispie in an unrealistic light (or maybe I am viewing him unrealistically).  I understand that when you are at Kentucky that you are under a microscope.  But guys listen, the media and unstable Kentucky Fans, have been ready to ship Billy G. out of town after the Gardner-Webb Loss and the San Diego loss last year.  Even though he turned Crawford and Bradley in to prime time players.  I am frustrated with the media's reaction(s) because we finally get a coach, after 10 years, who actually makes the guys practice and play hard.  The look like they are in great shape and they are athletic.  Give the man a fair shake, can we still give that to people here in Kentucky, especially a coach who is die-hard as we are.  I don't get it.

I am more excited about Kentucky Basketball than I have been since the one who shall not be named coached here.  And would some journalists please ask a real question!  There are rarely good questions being asked.  I can understand why Billy G. gets frustrated with interviews.  He does appear to be a bit more sarcastic in post game interviews after a loss, than a win.  Today, Billy G. talked a lot without being prompted.  That is part of the job and Billy G. does need to "humor" the media.  For more on this you should go to the archives here and pull up, "Laughter is the Best Medicine, A Ocean of Blue,  and A Weak to Get Strong."

Now, before I am labeled, a Gillispie's fan club president.  I don't agree with everything that Gillispie does, but there is so much negativity hanging on the state of Kentucky that it makes frustrated.  I was at the Mississippi State games and the fans were in rare form, yelling and booing.  Kentucky is my team and I am a passionate fan, but I want to give support without tearing down.  I would like to know why that there is no contract for Billy G., but my feeling is that if this were a major concern of the University that it would be taken care of.  But enough already. 

Wow, I have been on here too long...need to go to sleep.  After this week I will be ready to blog away, in preparation for SEC Tourny and March Madness.  Thanks so much to my loyal readers (and to those who are looking for spark to ignite their torches [to run Billy G. out of town.])haha.  Every one have a great night.

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. 

Blanketed! Kentucky in a State of Emergency. (From the Snow not the Loss to Ole Miss).

No blogging yesterday.  Kentucky was in a State of Emergency.  We had friends over to our home that were without power until late in the evening.  Then we had Nina's parents come right after that.  So, I did  not get to do my usually research and analysis.

I can say though that I loved Gillispie's comments about how much he loves his team.  Come on, that is so awesome.  How many coaches say that after a loss.  Forget about his run-in with the sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards.  Because I for one have never, I mean never had any useful information reported in that ten seconds clip.  It is useless and an annoyance.  The coach is trying to get back there with his team and correct some mistakes.  But he has to stop and answer some inane questions that is are vague and ridiculous.  If Gillispie's half time strategy was to get Meeks more shots and more screens what was it any of our business.  He's the coach.  I think that that part of the game is so bureaucratic and political I could gag.  I hate the half-time Coach's comments.

"So, Coach, what are you going to do different in the second half to score some more points than your opponent?"  asks an annoying sideline reporter (whom are mostly all women...eye-candy for the networks?  Trying to justify hiring more women.  And I am sure that most women, who are journalistically-bent don't want to be doing this fluff, but probably have to if they want to have real reporting job in sports; political garbage)

The Coach responds, "Well, Jane Doe, we are going to play harder on defense and play smarter on offense."  Then he runs off to the locker room.  Wow, my inquisitive mind has been slaked by that Pulitzer Award Winning journalism.  

Jane Doe then turns to the camera and says something earth shattering like, "Well guys, there you have it play hard and smarter.  That is why he is one of the best coaches in the conference." 

Wow, that was riveting stuff.  That was such and in depth reporting that I probably could not have figured it out myself. 

 It was a tough loss and will take us out of the national polls, but the team nor the coach offered any excuses.  And I think that the reason that Gillispie didn't try to get Meeks open with double and triple screens was to force other guys to step up and prove that the Cats are more than two deep on offense; three or four deep.  For the most part it happened with Perry and Darius.  He tried to let Jodie's points come to him in the flow of the game and not force him to be the team's saviour.  If they had won then other teams would have seen how useless it is to just try and shut down Jodie and Patrick.  This was hands on training for Liggins and Miller (and everyone else).  I feel this is very important come tournament time.  These other higher ranked team will shut down Patrick and Jodie (or they will have off games) and if they other guys have found their offensive groove we will go far in the tournament.

I know that if the Cats had applied more pressure on the defensive end we could have had more transition points.  Now, Liggins did not make the best decisions in transition, but he is just a freshman.  Everything that Gillispie does is to strengthen the Cats' weakness so that the team is more mature and seasoned for the post season...that is all that really matters.  SEC championships are great but they don't have the same ring as NCAA Championships.  Remember Pitino said that a loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Championship game would not be good for the '96 Cats, but he benched most of his starters the last few minutes as the Bulldogs went on to win.  We lost the SEC tournament.  But he came out and said that it was good that we lost.  It gave the starter focus and showed that they were not invincible; brilliant idea and plan.  On the flip side if the '96 Cats win with the starters on the bench confidence is up that the team is so good that they could win with second tier guys.  Great a good lesson as well.  I don't think that Pitino's plan would have failed either way.

Here it is guys, Great Coaches are always teaching, every step of the way.  They are constantly pushing you to become better.  Gillispie has been challenging his other players to step up and preform.  This was the perfect stage, and if not for a few too many 3's and bad passes, this actually reinforces that same truth among the players.  Patrick and Jodie score 44 and the rest of the score 36.  Not too bad.  We can play and be successful playing this brand of ball, but everyone has to know their place and make better decisions with the ball.  I am sure that I haven't told you anything that you couldn't make up your minds about otherwise...I am just internet eye candy?  I feel so taken advantage of...

Here's a great article about Tubby.  A positive word about our former commander and chief.

Heartbreaker...Man What a Buzz Kill!

This was a heartbreaker of a loss.  I am still feeling the sting.  85-80...I guess that we didn't get our shut out.  I will be back in the morning with some encouraging words.  I will be driving Nina to work in the morning, I am going to need my rest when facing those icy roads.

The Breakdown of a Great Gillispie and Lobo Chessmatch

I stand corrected today as Patterson said that there was no ligament damage to his finger.  It has been jammed to heck and is swollen.  I had a friend who got a jammed finger, it still is not right; looks like a goiter on his pinky.  So here is a deeper analysis of the damage received and given.

The Tigers shot the exact same percentage from the 3-point line as the Cats, but they made twice as many.  They had 5 players hit from beyond the arc...we had just one, Jodie Meeks.  The reasons are two-fold (at least): 1.  The underdog mentality releases the pressure and nervousness from shooters and they know that they can just let loose.  What do they have to lose?  If they lose, well, they were supposed to...and if they win, well, then they played a great game.  2.  The game plan was to unleash the Beast Master (Patrick Patterson, see the post "Billy G.'s Amazing Act) and subdue the Tigers.  It worked.  Now the game plan for the Tigers was to make Jodie and Patrick beat them...and they did just that.  It was a great plan, but it was foiled by great execution on Kentucky's part.

The comparisons of the Tigers and the Wildcats ends right there, we dominated every aspect of the game:  Rebound 42-22, Field goal percentages 52.5%-38.8, Free Throw Percentages 81.3%-31.3%.  Another stat that is in credible is that the Cats only committed six fouls (that had a reward of shooting free throws), compared to 32 for the Wildcats.  Patrick, Jodie, Ramon and Perry just ventured into the lane on a mission.  I thought that Patterson was going to foul out the entire Tiger team by the end of the game.  

Interesting that Patrick and Jodie had identical FG, how's that for diversity?