Heard a little of the Sunday morning radio talk shows yesterday and have to say I was a tad surprised with the degree of the negative edge the callers were giving to Kentucky’s six-point win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday. Truth be told, Kentucky’s performance didn’t bother me.
I know, I know, FAU entered the game 4-8. In their previous game, the Owls had been bludgeoned by the same UAB that ended up losing by 20 at Louisville on Saturday. Yes, I know, this is Kentucky and Kentucky isn’t supposed to squeak by a lower-level Sun Belt Conference team, especially at Rupp Arena.
But the fact is you’re not going to rout every team by the margins the Cats steamrolled Appalachian State and Tennessee State in its previous two games. It’s hard to keep that level of intensity. It rarely happens. There are going to be some squeakers along the way. There are going to be games where you don’t play up to your best every night. The main thing is to get the win. Kentucky did that Saturday. Move on to the next game.
But I noticed from the tone of the callers an impatience, or an anxiousness for Kentucky basketball to return to its “rightful place” atop or near the top of the collegiate world. One caller, John from Frankfort, the one with the authoritative voice, wondered when Kentucky became an also-ran program like 50 others out there, and said he was flat-out tired of it. You could hear the same sentiment, if not the same exact words, from other callers.
You can also hear a bit of doubt about whether Billy Gillispie is the coach return the Cats to the land of the elite. In just a season-and-a-half there is a sizable portion of the fan base that is tired of the continual mind games, of a player getting 20 minutes in one game and one minute the next, of something puzzling always going on over at the Craft Center, which spills over to Rupp.
I concur with quite a bit of that, myself. Billy Gillispie is the opposite of the no-Drama Obama strategy. He has to have something going on. I’m firmly convinced he’s one of those coaches who believes in keeping everyone around him on edge. He believes it brings out the best. Maybe he’s right, maybe he’s wrong. I do wonder if it’s a style that wears well. Remember, this is a coach who has never been at one stop more than three seasons.
But I also know that I was a tough Billy G. critic about this time last year, and the Cats turned it around in the conference schedule. They went 12-4 when they had no business going 12-4 in the SEC. They played with effort and determination. Had Patrick Patterson not been injured down the stretch, the Cats could have easily been a Sweet 16 team.
I think these particular Cats were playing their best basketball of the season before Saturday’s so-so performance. Those things happen. Look around. Connecticut beat LaSalle by eight, Buffalo by four. Texas beat Texas State by eight. Duke beat Rhode Island by three. There’s nothing wrong with a close shave or two. As long as you come out on top.
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
I agree with you on the FAU game. A win is a win and not all of them will be blowouts. You should include a differentiation among the people questioning whether BCG is the coach to lead UK back to the elite level. There are those that question him because of the issues you raised (which I am one). There are also those that question him because he is not Rick Pitino or Tubby Smith. Unfortunately, those folks do not realize that neither one is coming back. BCG needs to be evaluated for all his skills, good or bad, not compared to past coaches. The points you raise are more relevant than comparisons to past coaches.
And, yes, John, I wonder how many minutes Galloway will get this game.
Let Coach G coach - that’s what he gets paid for. I think he is doing a great job - I love the excitement he brings.
It would be interesting to see how many of the listeners/writers who know so much have actually coached - and at the college level - and, won. That always makes me laugh.
At least some of us know what we can and cannot do. I know I cannot coach - bet some of you can’t either.
I don’t think this is about wanting former coaches to come back to Lexington. There are some real interesting situations that seem to be going on with how (and why) Coach handles his personnel the way he does.
If some fans want to reduce everything to a Tubby versus Rick versus Billy scenario, that’s their own short-sightedness taking over.
As an Alum twice over and a person whose main link to home is watching his beloved Alma Mater in sports, I desperately want to get things back to where they were just a few years ago. That said, I also want to build something that lasts and have a leader here who wants to be here, for the long term.
Most all good leaders are misunderstood at the start. I realize asking a reporter to not ask every question is like asking a Kentucky fan to not watch a game. It isnt going to happen. That said, lets please not lose perspective and maintain a very even keel. I am very, very hopeful we have a real leader (not just a place holder) here.
Definitely not accusing Mr. Clay of unbalanced reporting, far from it, just a reminder. Mr. Clay should, however, still look for similarities of other good leaders and their beginnings to see if there are common themes. That would be more telling.
I think what we have is an old school coach. Discipline at practice and in life is key to him. He is not going to let the UK fanbase or media dictate to him what should be done. Hey wasn’t Pitino like that? Although he isn’t a media darling like Pitino. He is going to do things on how he sees fit. Now that could be a good thing or a bad thing. Too soon to tell. But I will say that the more he is pushed the more he will fight back and and be stubborn in my honest opionion. So lets leave him alone and either let him shine or hang himself with his decisions. Tubby wasn’t the recruiter he needed to be in the end of his tenure for us to be automatically succesful(and this is all relative since I with many other Kentucky fans feel it was a success last year) in a deep NCAA run. We must have some key recruits(which is being done) and some success in the SEC to have a good run. I know we are all anxious but we must remember he has only had one full season here. His cupboard wasn’t exactly full when he got here. We just must be patient and let it happen. We will be back one day. Hopefully with him and sooner then later. I have to much faith in Kentucky basketball to believe otherwise and the program is bigger then any coach or athletic director could ever be.
Cat fans are notoriously and brutally short-sided and negative. Can we focus on the positives? Ball handling was tremendous. Only 7 turnovers. UK had 19 assists on 31 baskets. Both HUGE numbers considering UK came into the game averaging 20 turnovers and an assist-to-turnover ratio of a little better than 1. FAU played over their head and UK did not succomb to them like they have other inferior teams of the past few years. The false expectation that UK can (and should) beat everyone they play by 20 or 30 points ignores the facts of not only where the UK program is now, but also the fact that others have caught up to UK. But let’s be careful not to go down the same road with Billy G that we went down with Tubby. When UK wins, let’s not over-hype Billy G and when they lose let’s not call for his ouster. He’s done a tremendous job thus far of managing the program and the progress is quantifiable. This isn’t 1978, 1996, or 1998. Heck the talent level on this team (from top to bottom) isn’t even 2003. Yet. Have patience Big Blue Nation. It will make championships won down the road taste even sweeter.