Monday, March 29, 2010
Kentucky Rolls Through SEC Tournament
One of the best Kentucky teams fans have seen this decade, especially if youth is factored into the equation. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, and Eric Bledsoe are all potential first round NBA draft picks. The wildcats ended the regular season 29-2 (14-2 SEC) which was their best season in the past 10 years. Not a bad start for first year Head Coach Calipari if you ask me.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Kentucky Honors Seniors
Mark Krebs, Ramon Harris, and Perry Stevenson were honored Sunday for their perseverance and effort as they wrap up their senior year for University of Kentucky. But it might as well have been celebrating 3 other players because it is most likely their last season at UK also. Junior forward Patrick Patterson, Freshman guard John Wall, and Freshman center DeMarcus Cousins played in what is expected to be their last season as a member of the boys in blue. All 6 players will be missed and their work here will never be forgotten.
Back to the 3 seniors though. And the graduating Junior Patrick Patterson.
At this point right now the 3 seniors hold a record of 91-41 throughout their 4 seasons here. Thats a winning percentage of 69%, which doesn't meet UK's standards by any means, but when you take a step back and see what these 3 seniors have been through there's no denying they don't deserve a pat on the back.
Harris, Stevenson, and Krebs have had 3 different head coaches during their time here. This is the first graduating class of Kentucky basketball players that can say they have had 3 different head coaches in 4 years. There has only been 8 head coaches for the Kentucky men's basketball team since a team was formed in 1903. Statistically none of the Seniors were by no means stars, but they all helped the team at some point in time. Mark Krebs averaged 0.3 ppg and 0.2 rpg. Perry Stevenson averaged 4.7 ppg and 3.8 rpg. And Ramon Harris averaged 3.9 ppg 3.3 rpg.
While their numbers are none too impressive their time here has been enjoyed by every party involved and they will always be remembered.
Back to the 3 seniors though. And the graduating Junior Patrick Patterson.
At this point right now the 3 seniors hold a record of 91-41 throughout their 4 seasons here. Thats a winning percentage of 69%, which doesn't meet UK's standards by any means, but when you take a step back and see what these 3 seniors have been through there's no denying they don't deserve a pat on the back.
Harris, Stevenson, and Krebs have had 3 different head coaches during their time here. This is the first graduating class of Kentucky basketball players that can say they have had 3 different head coaches in 4 years. There has only been 8 head coaches for the Kentucky men's basketball team since a team was formed in 1903. Statistically none of the Seniors were by no means stars, but they all helped the team at some point in time. Mark Krebs averaged 0.3 ppg and 0.2 rpg. Perry Stevenson averaged 4.7 ppg and 3.8 rpg. And Ramon Harris averaged 3.9 ppg 3.3 rpg.
While their numbers are none too impressive their time here has been enjoyed by every party involved and they will always be remembered.
Monday, February 22, 2010
UK steals one in Starksville
Kentucky's will to win was once again what helped them walk away with an impressive record of 25-1. A record crowd of 10,788 were on hand to watch the thriller at Humphrey Coliseum, where they were 13-1 before this game.
The cats found themselves down 67-60 with 3 minutes remaining in the second half. Next two possessions Liggins drained a three and Bledsoe had a run out lay up that put the wildcats down 67-65 with 2:07 remaining.
"I told them in the huddle, 'This was going to be a great comeback for television," UK Coach John Calipari said. "They were saying they weren't going to lose the game. They just refused to lose."
That and the fact that State's star center Jarvis Varnado fouled out in only 23 minutes of play. But strong perimeter play by Bost, Augustus, and Stewart was what helped State dominate the 2nd half til the final minutes. Then Kentucky decided to turn up the defensive pressure, which led to four empty possessions for State, and UK capitalized on offense with 7 points out of four possessions.
In overtime the wildcats took over by getting 16 free throw attempts (capitalizing on 10), a crucial tip in by Cousins, and a clutch and one play by Wall.
The cats found themselves down 67-60 with 3 minutes remaining in the second half. Next two possessions Liggins drained a three and Bledsoe had a run out lay up that put the wildcats down 67-65 with 2:07 remaining.
"I told them in the huddle, 'This was going to be a great comeback for television," UK Coach John Calipari said. "They were saying they weren't going to lose the game. They just refused to lose."
That and the fact that State's star center Jarvis Varnado fouled out in only 23 minutes of play. But strong perimeter play by Bost, Augustus, and Stewart was what helped State dominate the 2nd half til the final minutes. Then Kentucky decided to turn up the defensive pressure, which led to four empty possessions for State, and UK capitalized on offense with 7 points out of four possessions.
In overtime the wildcats took over by getting 16 free throw attempts (capitalizing on 10), a crucial tip in by Cousins, and a clutch and one play by Wall.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Cousin's Leads Cats in LSU Victory
Tasmin Mitchell and the Tigers played host to No.3 Kentucky Saturday at the Maravich Assembly Center. Mitchell had six 20 point games before saturday, one where he put up 38 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Auburn. But Tasmin Mitchell alone wasn't enough to beat the mighty wildcats.
Coming into the game LSU was doin horrid by their standards. Or anyone elses standards for that matter. The tigers were 0-8 in SEC play and only 9-13 with losses to the likes of Utah, Xavier, and Auburn.
Coming into the game LSU was doin horrid by their standards. Or anyone elses standards for that matter. The tigers were 0-8 in SEC play and only 9-13 with losses to the likes of Utah, Xavier, and Auburn.
Monday, February 1, 2010
LeBron In Lexington
On Saturday January 30th #1 Kentucky hosted #21 Vanderbilt. In recent years this has been a game dominated by the commodores, but the boys in blue have returned to national prominence this year. Not only holding a 20-1 record but they also provided entertainment for 'The King' on Saturday afternoon.
That is right readers, LeBron James was in Lexington Saturday! His entrance was anything but befitting a king. There were no trumpets sounding, red carpets rolled out, or banners unfurled. The reason may be because the king was late, strolling in to his courtside seat with 11:56 remaining. But aside from the dismal acclamation the attendance of LeBron James nearly outshined Kentucky's beating that it laid on Vanderbilt.
Patrick Patterson said, "To have someone of his stature come to our game is motivation for us."
Maybe the motivation James provided is what helped the cats prevail in such a must win game against the conference leader Vandy. Getting James to attend every big game may not be a bad idea.
Kentucky was dominant over Vanderbilt the entire game, leading by double digits for the final 32 minutes of the game. Vandy really didn't show any reason for why they were leading the SEC before Saturday, but UK really showed that they are the team to beat in their conference.
DeMarcus Cousins led the cats in scoring and rebounding with 21 points, and 10 rebounds, 8 of which were offensive rebounds. This helped Kentucky get more 2nd chance points, who outscored Vandy 20-2, which is music to the ears since they had trouble in that category last game (they were outscored 22-9 in the South Carolina game).
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Dismal Performance Defeats Tigers
On January 16, 2010 the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats rolled into Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum to take on the 9-8 Auburn Tigers in front of 11,669 fans cheering for an upset. The team clad in blue left the coliseum with a 72-67 victory to improve to 18-0, which is the third best start all time for Kentucky.
The Wildcats opened up a 19 point lead in the first half that was fueled by a 18-3 run, but dwindled down to 13 before the break. This was sparked by a pair of 3's from DeWayne Reed, Auburn's star point guard, who was dubbed as their 'spark plug' in scouting reports.
When the second half began Auburn continued to grind away at the UK lead. With 8:00 left Frankie Sullivan swished a three to tie the game at 60. DeAndre Liggins immediately answered with a backdoor cut of his own to the basket to put the wildcats up for good.
The Tigers never came any closer than 70-67, and Liggins disrupted their set play by blasting through a screen and forcing DeWayne Reed to throw up a contested three that clanged off the front of the rim and into Liggins' hands. Wall sealed the deal with a pair of free throws with 8 seconds remaining to help the Cats remain undefeated by the score of 72-67.
The Wildcats opened up a 19 point lead in the first half that was fueled by a 18-3 run, but dwindled down to 13 before the break. This was sparked by a pair of 3's from DeWayne Reed, Auburn's star point guard, who was dubbed as their 'spark plug' in scouting reports.
When the second half began Auburn continued to grind away at the UK lead. With 8:00 left Frankie Sullivan swished a three to tie the game at 60. DeAndre Liggins immediately answered with a backdoor cut of his own to the basket to put the wildcats up for good.
The Tigers never came any closer than 70-67, and Liggins disrupted their set play by blasting through a screen and forcing DeWayne Reed to throw up a contested three that clanged off the front of the rim and into Liggins' hands. Wall sealed the deal with a pair of free throws with 8 seconds remaining to help the Cats remain undefeated by the score of 72-67.
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