Not even a week. That is the amount of mourning time the Big Blue Nation has had after our CATS forget to show up against the Mountain-queers. Now, going into this season, we all knew right out of the gate, we would have a Moses leading his people out of bondage type exodus came April...what we did not expect was just how GREAT an exit it would be...As it looks, according to various web sites, blogs, Tiptons', and Larry Ortons' of the world, our Big Blue is now the Big Few. Liggins, Jorts, and Darius "Bryan Mayhew POY" Miller are the only cats returning to Lexington. Boogie, the validity and tone of the statement in question, stated at the McDonalds All-America game, that Darnell Dodson was entering the draft. He was leaving. Now, not only that obsurdity, but it was also mentioned by several participants in the Game it's self that Kentucky was loosing not 3, not 4, but at least 5 players from this years team. 5????? And some have even said that Coach Cal had disclosed to recruits that he has 9 scholarships available for 2010-11 season, while working his magic out on the recruiting trail. We have 2 recruits signed, Enes Kanter being one of them, and apparently are front runners for Brandon Knight and CJ Leslie. Jon Hood, more than likely will transfer from reports that I have heard, and that may be the real way that Dodson get's out of Lexington, rather than the rediculous notion of being drafted. Patrick Patterson's name comes up at least 70 times a day followed by he is coming back or what have you, and Of course Wall and Cuz are gone, we knew that since the day they signed, well Wall at least, cuz it became obvious around the 2nd week of the season. The one man out of control turnover Eric Bledsoe likes being in Wall's shadow so much, that apparently he is set to pack up and leave campus to the land of Coke habbits and Gentleman's Club shootings that is the NBA, all while being planted in the shadow of Lil' Blue Jesus. And, in a comment that is down right ignorant and could be one of the stupidest things that one could possibly say, Daniel Orton's dad,Larry, after being asked about Orton testing waters, but remaining minus an agent, then rumors speculating that he was leaving without question, then it going to he was going to have some work-outs, Larry decided that he would weigh in on the matter by saying, ever so eloquently, that Has his boy played more, he would have made Cuz look bad....Are you serious??? You are saying this about your son's teamates??? and do you really believe that he would do such things??? Block his shots maybe, but over all, Orton needs more seasoning, Boogie would destroy him right now at this juncture. Orton may have more potential than Cuz, but Cuz is already where Orton has to go..
The Pundit of Watkins Street, Everett Lemaster, voiced his opinions to me when he called the office today... He, in typical long winded fashion that is his trademark, basically said that he was sick of hearing of it, The Dodson thing was also the dumbest thing he had heard as well, and that he was questioning Cal already...he now had doubts about Coach Cal...not even a week after he got us deeper into the tournament with a bunch of kids two years removed form a learners permit...
Just for the record, Ev was a big supporter of the BCG hire and what he was going to accomplish at UK...I was against it from the start..
And Rich Coleman does not jive on Cal either...that is fine... Lots of people(Memphis, Pitino, John Cheney, Bob Knight, ESPN, and Danny Taylor) dont like him either.
Well, I am going to take the opposite road on this one.. I have no doubts about Cal. Ev says you cant recruit 5 one and done players a year like he does...it is just not going to work...well it is working and it will continue to do so..
I am heartbroken with how it ended this season. We were the best team in the country. But we were kids. Let's be realistic here, no matter how great they were, and how much hype they had, and how many times I referred to a 19 year old kid as a Jesus figure...they were kids...and they got farther than they should have...
Kentucky fans wanted the glory back...but they apparently did not want to pay the necessary cost of getting it back...this is not 1965, not is it 1977...Student athletes have the equivalant of ADHD, they are not going to be interested in school that long...hit it and quit it...The cost of being the best year in and year out, is going to be stocking your program with one and dones, and more often than not not living up to expectations and being prone for upsets...Kids arent gonna learn from past mistakes if they dont get any older...and it looks like UK is going to be Freshman for quite sometime...
So, as of this writing, nothing is set in stone...there are no certanties in life, and Lexington is agreat micro-causim for that statement...
And no, it is not a failure with our results from this season... Look past the hype and unrealistic expectations that we set on this team, and then bask in the amazement of what those young knock-out kids were able to acomplish...phenominal season Cats... Go Big Blue...
3 comments:
They got farther then they should have?
In all honesty I have no problem with Coach Cal.My problems are with Cats fans who beleive things will be different in Lexington than they were in Memphis and somewhere around Boston.2 more years of 1 and dones and your PROGRAM if you want to call it that will be so far behind the 8 ball that the next coach will need 4 years to start to rebuild.Sorry but thats my issue.See I live in a fairy tale world where Farmer,Pelphrey etc. brought pride to the bluegrass.
Todd, if that is your real name... Pay attention to the wording in the post, yes, I stand behind my words they got farther than they should have... A freshmen, albeit talent ladened, lead team who is reliant on the play of said freshman should not get to a region final...No matter how high the potential is, they still had to come out and learn the game of college ball...I would say that they were on a accelrated reader program...but none the less, they were Kids and they played like graduates...Same can be said for Michigan's fab five back in 91-92...they played beyond what they should have been at 18-19 years old...
As far as the one and done issue and what kind of make-up work a following staff would have to do after it would apparently ravage the program... Im not entirely sold on that... I think the lengthy rebuilding after one and done oaches leave is due to the fact that the booster gifts and recruiting violations are not picked up by the new staff right off the bat... they give it time...because where they are going to is already on the radar..they have to do it by the book for 2-3 years...a quick remedy to that problem?? if a one and done recruiting coach leaves, hire another one to replace him..
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