What is wrong with Kentucky?

ccrobinson said...

And Pastorsbc said...

And this resident of the great state of Kentucky, who happens to be a (((LOUISVILLE CARDINALS))) fan says...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMEN!!!!

Actually, though...I'm just kidding.

I'm part of the rare breed who pulls for both Louisville and Kentucky.(and all the other teams from Kentucky as well. EKU, WKU. Morehead, etc)

When Louisville and Kentucky play each other I'm pulling for Louisville. But thats the only game each year than I'm not pulling for Kentucky. To me the best end to the season is for Louisville to win the national championship. The 2nd best would be for Kentucky to win it.

I think Kentucky will get it together this year. They just got Morris back and its really the start of a new season with him in the lineup. They might actually start to "peak" about tourney time. Louisville on the other hand wont make the tournament, imo. The Big East is much tougher than the SEC and the Cardinals lost too many seniors last year, and are relying on too many freshmen and sophomores this year.

NEXT year Louisville will be back to Final 4 quality...like last year.

(And btw...Kentucky can thank their lucky stars Louisville is so young this year. They would not have gotten that lucky victory against us if not for that. )

And to those folks from other states who want UK to lose...jealously is so unbecoming!

(Louisville and Kentucky combined: 9 national championships and 20 Final 4's)

Go Cards and Cats,

Mike

(Oh, I forgot. The coach who used to coach for UK...Rick Pitino...is now coaching the LOUISVILLE CARDINALS. Just thought I'd good naturedly remind the UK fans of that. )

 

Forgot to add this...

WAY TO GO UK girls! The LadyCats beat # 1 ranked Tennessee last night!

Mike

 

Actually, UT was ranked # 3, inexplicably.

 

Vickie DeMoss, a former Pat Summitt assistant, has done wonders with the UK Lady Cats. I don't think they are kicking themselves over missing Pat since they don't seem to sweat losing the Bear too much

 

TomVols,

Its actually Mickey DeMoss, not Vickey.

But I agree, she's doing a fantastic job.

Mike

 

Kentucky 78 - Arkansas 76

Horrible fist half, fantastic second half. Go figure. Best defense I have seen UK play in nearly ten years. Best offense in quite some time.

Sparks lobs it to Morris...GOOD!!!!!

 

I am still not convinced...

We will see how we do the next 2 games, especially at FL.

 

Artimaeus 'sounds' as if he's been around Tom Leach too much, lately!
What is wrong with Kentucky? Four words: lousy shooting!
This team is not a consistently good shooting team, from the free throw line (below 65%), from two point range , or from three point range, with the overall percentage of below (45%).
The best shooter on the team is Morris, but his rebounding is suspect, (KY's leading rebounder is the point guard!) and he is never going to be mistaken for Bill Russell or Dennis Rodman on defense, even if he were too, to dye his hair 'orange'.
The two blowouts occurred with KY shooting uder 25% vs. KS at 50%, and 33% vs IN at 53%.
Beyond that, the loss of C. Hayes, and K. Azabuke.
These two players were better than their stats showed in one aspect. They just refused to lose, as a rule. KY has yet to find a replacement for this attitude, with flashes from a couple, most notably Ravi Moss and 'Big Woo', but they are not consistent, the closest being Moss with an oft needed big shot. Discount the 'wing and prayer'(s) from Sparks and Rando against SC; these were abberations.
Now that I've said all that, with what I've been reading, one might think KY has a record of two losses for every win. In fact, folks they are 14 and 6. I don't know about your math but that ranslates to a 70% winning percentage. Same with UL, one better at 15 and 6, over 71%. Keeping on this track, WKU (15 and 5) and Murray State (13 and 5) are at the 'top o' the heap' in their respective conferencesEKU is playing .500 ball nad the only Division I team in this state really getting beaten up on is Morehead St. with ionly two wins, this season. 65 teams go to the dance, If the trend continues with these KY teams, I'd be very surprised not to see at least three and perhaps four of them there. However, I would NOT mortgage the farm, anytime soon, for tickets just to see any of them in the Final Four, in Indy.
Ed

[ January 30, 2006, 12:40 PM: Message edited by: EdSutton ]

 

I dunno, I don't recall any UK men's BB coach getting fired, in my memory. My namesake is an abberation to this, because of the scandal, and leaving, but only at UNC, UK, UL, Duke or IU (UCLA got over it.) would coaches with near 75% wining percentages even get much flack! Although Tom Izzo at Michigan St. is headed that way, IMO, and Lute Olsen, and the two Big Jimmys in the Big East are going to be tough acts to follow, as well.
Ed

 

Ed: I was reading your post and agreeing with you until you made the statement about "Big Woo" being one of the guys who possibly could have that refuse to loose attitude like Chuck Hayes. How did you come up with that? For the life of me, I can't find anything that Woo can do well. I don't think he could play major minutes at an OVC school much less at a national power.

 

Woo has, IMO, shown this about twice this year, most notably in Morris' second or third game back when Morris got into some foul trouble. Had about three blocks, some rebounds (Morris had none, if I remember correctly) and two times saved balls by diving on the floor. And there was a game earlier when he showed up, and did not act like it was only his third year playing ball. I'd call that a 'flash' wouldn't you? Especially when we are talking about 20 games. And flash was the word I used.
For PastorSBC, I don't know how long anyone would just stay around at UK. The only time I've not heard someone calling for someone's head is after they happened to win a title, save for Uncle Adolph with the "Runts" and Couzin Rick with the "Unforgettables". Even Rick got flack after the 104-103 loss to Duke, for a bad coaching call. Amazing! Not one realistic person would have given UK a really decent chance going into the game with that powerhouse, and it took a perfect game by a Unanimous choice 1st team All-American for Duke to win in overtime.
"The coaches didn't give us our customary Title! Off with their heads, I say!"
Ed

 

Ed: I do remember a game or two when Woo did a couple of good things. However, as you noted, this has been pretty rare over the 20 games and very rare over his 2.5 years. I think he is a good kid but he just does not have the skill to play at this level. Same goes for Alleyne. It's too early to tell about Sims and Carter. It also appears that Tubby does not feel Adam Williams can play. I like Tubby and am not one of those guys wanting to see him fired. However, it looks to me as though he needs to re-examine his recruiting a little. Too many roster spots are being occupied by guys with small college talent.

 

Follow-up question: Does anyone know if there has ever been another time when the UK Ladies BB team was ranked in the AP Top 25 while the UK Men's team was unranked at the same time? I can't remember this happening before.

 

I can't either...

Drain the Tub

 

Another big "W" tonight on the road. Hey, the more negative I have become, the more they have been winning. So, I am sure Florida will kick their behinds this Sat night in Gainesville...

 

Yep! That poor record is now 15-6. Not too bad for somebody who can't coach, huh?
BTW, Pastor, who might you suggest that KY could get who is a 'better coach'? Jimmy C. from UConn, or Coach K? These are about the only two with more titles that are still actively coaching. Not one of the remaining SEC coaches has a record that remotely equals Tubby's, to my knowledge. Maybe we could talk Mike Davis or Bob Knight to interview for the job with an 'explosion' demo. Heh! Heh! I'd have no problem with a Tom Izzo, or a Bill Self, should Tubby leave, but I seriously doubt they would leave Michigan State and Kansas, respectively. IMO, not many of the better coaches just 'get away.', from 'name' schools, with the possible exceptions of Rick Majerus at Marquette, a few years ago, and John Caliperi from UMass. Name another, if you can think of one. I really would like to know of any you might suspect fit this bill. Gotta run.
In his grace,
Ed

 

I think we would go after a Billy Donavan type or even a younger coach with UK ties like Travis Ford from UMass or John Pelphrey.