(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)
Big Blue Links for Tuesday:
Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes on UK’s growing pains: ” Daniel Orton had taken – and missed – only one three-pointer all season: against Cleveland State on Nov. 24. Inexplicably, he decided to launch an air ball from beyond the arc with Kentucky trailing by 11 midway through the first half at Tennessee. Moments earlier, John Wall spun 360 degrees in the air to elude a defender and make a layup. The oohing and aahing had not died down yet when Tennessee dunked five seconds later after UK failed to get back on defense.”
Mark Story of the H-L makes the Wall case: “The case for Wall. Can be summed up in six letters: C-L-U-T-C-H.”
Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger says Sunday will be Senior Day for Patrick Patterson: “There has been no official announcement that Patterson will be part of the Senior Day ceremony and Patterson has yet to confirm he will enter the NBA Draft when the season ends. But both are going to happen.”
Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes that Memphis fans are familiar with how Calipari spins losses: ” That’s right, University of Memphis fans. It’s John Calipari’s positive spin after a loss, designed to quiet the critics and to keep all “the miserables” on Negative Island. Kentucky coach Cal has been spinning like one of the Four Tops since Tennessee beat the No. 2 Wildcats, 74-65, on Saturday. The Vols played the same zone defense that used to give the U of M fits when Pearl played Calipari’s Tigers.”
Brett Dawson of the C-J writes about UK getting refocused: “‘I said before the game, I told my staff, ‘We’re going to have to lose one of these games before we finish the season,’ and they said, ‘Why?’?’ Calipari said Monday. ‘I said, ‘Because we think we can play how we want to play and then we’ll come back and finish them off at the end.’”
Tom Leach talks to Georgia radio voice Scott Howard.
David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press writes that Calipari is downplaying the zone: “Calipari credited Bruce Pearl’s Vols for being more aggressive out of the gate, which he said was as important as his team’s bad 3-point shooting. He said South Carolina played man-to-man during its upset of the Wildcats on Jan. 26, as did Vanderbilt on Feb. 20, when Kentucky prevailed 58-56 in Nashville. The first-year UK coach also admitted there are times when there are good losses.”
David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger on UK’s SEC Player of the Year candidates: “There should be no shortage of quality candidates when the Southeastern Conference coaches sit down to cast their votes for player of the year. Honestly, there’s plenty of them on the Kentucky roster alone. The Wildcats, who have been among the nation’s top teams all season, have three players who could garner consideration.”
Nick Craddock of the Kentucky Kernel on UK women’s successful regular season: “The UK hoops team (23-6, 11-5 Southeastern Conference) has surpassed preseason expectations, wrapping up a second place finish in the SEC, its highest finish since 1983. Junior forward Victoria Dunlap has been leading the charge all season in becoming an SEC Player of the Year candidate, despite no preseason notoriety for her play.”
Ken Howlett of A Sea of Blue on a wrinkle in time: “UK’s response to the ploy was to shoot threes, which invariably were wide open, sometimes forced, and seldom true. Instead of spreading the floor, which creates space, and throwing over top of the “coverage,” UK continued to launch misguided rockets, which not surprisingly led to defeat. I know, I know, it’s called shooting them out of the zone, but after missing 10 of 11 three-point shots per half, some type of adjustment is in order, but none was forthcoming.”
Inner Circle’s deep thoughts: “As we are now in March, many Cat fans have become bitten by the tourney madness bug. With just two regular season games remaining, predictions are already being forecasted. I’ve surprisingly heard two contrasting opinions. Many people feel that Kentucky is Final Four bound, with a break here and there from a National Championship. Many others believe that the Cats will be ousted in the Sweet Sixteen. Why? A team that is long and plays a zone (a team like Syracuse), could spell disaster for this Wildcat squad. Only time will tell.”
KSR on John Wall and UNC’s guidelines: “When it came down to it, however, Coach Williams stated simply that Wall “just didn’t fit…” the North Carolina program. A few weeks into the season, Williams stated that Wall is the best college point guard he’s witnessed since Jason Kidd. So, a player the caliber of a Jason Kidd just isn’t a good fit for North Carolina basketball?”
Cat Scratches on Matthew Mitchell and SEC Women’s Tournament: “‘I think it’s one of the toughest tournaments in the country to win. You’re going to have to play very, very good basketball over consecutive days to be the champion. We’re excited about the opportunity to be able to go down there and compete.’”
Straitpinkie looks at stretch run to the SEC Tournament: “The ‘Cats revenged their only loss of the season but then fell too far behind the ‘Vols and their late rally fell just short. They are still in prime position for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but must be weary of a Georgia team that is causing problems for others despite their lack of talent and depth. Remember, these Bulldogs took Vandy to OT at Memorial Gym and then upset the Gators last week. Despite the fact that Florida appears to be heading for the NCAA tournament, expect Wednesday’s contest to be tougher on the Wildcats than Sunday’s finale.”
