How Good is UK?

Frustration. It’s everywhere in the BBN. In every conversation, in every post, from fans that revel in the staff’s misery to hard and fast supporters. The question isn’t IS their frustration but more so WHY. I think the reason for frustration can always be traced to one source and that is un-met expectations. So I asked myself a follow-up and set out to come up with my own opinions. Just how good is UK and are the un-met expectations founded?

I think UK has enough to have won all but maybe three games this year so far. But, the only way they win those is for enough things to go their way and having things go that way every time out is impossible. UK just isn’t good enough to win when things are not going as they need them to. Great teams, like 96, could beat you at their game and beat you at yours. As for the rotations, I don’t know what people expect. One night Porter plays well and the next he doesn’t. One night Galloway plays well and the next night he gets lost on defense. So how does coach, or anyone for that matter, know which players are going to show up and which ones are not? Maybe saying “show up” isn’t the right term because as I said earlier, these guys need the game to go a certain way for them to play well and games ebb and flow. We had all hoped that Liggins and Miller would be fixtures in the starting rotations by now but that hasn’t happened and the reason is just as I described before. They still can not produce in a variety of situations and what they bring isn’t always what is needed in a given situation. When coach makes a change he never knows what he’s going to get.

So for me, the outcome for the rest of the season looks pretty bleak if they can’t get much better very quickly, because a few of these games are games I put with the three “unwinables”. People shouldn’t be saying a word about a loss at Vandy. That was a game they probably lose this year no matter what. Its the other SEC losses that cost UK, not the Vandy game. UK needed those because their home stretch is ridiculous. UT, who just lost and will be looking for pay back, @ USC, who has the personnel to give UK fits and already has, LSU, who is vastly improved, A Carter sighting for UGA then finishing up @ UF, who UK could barely beat at home.

UK needs to get to a point where the players on the floor thrive in many/all situations. That is the only thing that will end some fan’s frustrations and some of those will always find something to moan about. The way to get there is to grow up some young players and bring in better guys. I actually think Miller, Liggins and Galloway are starting to mesh with the team more and more. I don’t know if they will get to a point where they will make a difference this year and that is the most upsetting thing to me. But nothing built right is done quickly so I’ll just sit here in my frustration and wait for better days to come.

VandY TuNeS UK ~~~~~~~~~~~~77-64

The University of Kentucky Wildcats rolled into the Music City on a two game winning streak after losing 3 in a row…Indeed, to beat Vanderbilt on the road would be a tall order given that Patrick Patterson’s game status was that he “would not start”. Yet BCG was foiled here last year and his own losing streak was in jeopardy. Would he lose again? Could he solve the “TrIcK sAcK GYM” that worked it’s magic here last year, producing a win of over “two (2) score for de Dores”?

Well, it turns out he could not as UK fell to a determined Vanderbilt squad in one of the most atrociously officiated games I have watched in the first half. At the half with the score tied at 30 and with 20 more minutes to play, and 13 total fouls whistled, and 13 more to be blown on Vanderbilt, AND Darius Miller getting 3 fouls while playing well – and starting the Second Half..

BCG is getting a much needed Technical in the First Half, just to keep the refs from taking over the game, UK has fought and scratched the first half with our starters, Darius Miller(2^nd half) and Perry Stevenson on the bench, with 3 and 2 fouls, respectively.

In the second half the ‘Dores came out firing, and went up by 5 points early, as UK turned the ball over, while BCG takes out Harris and Porter…at the 17:46 mark of the second half… Galloway, who had a good first half, comes in for Porter.

If Perry had a pair, he’d be a pick, but he don’t and he won’t. Tough to hit with a pass; Perry needs to create and pass himself, which cripples the team not having the BIG WARHORSE in there on the receiving end on the Passes ‘O Perry…Vandy scores the first nine of the second half and UK never recovers…

Fouls started again, with the “stripes” calling 3 straight on UK, two of which were on Liggins. This has to be the toughest place to play in the conference, due to the officials losing their “peas” on one end of this building. It happens every year that I see, and is apparently not going to stop….I know that Tubby did not enjoy playing in that building, and I know that BCG don’t envision lots of losses there in the future, but right now it’s a tough out!

Good to see A.J. put that move on Ogilvy and get 11 points. A.J. played until he fouled out and for the most part played hard…Perry Stevenson had a sub-par game and his play was needed in the worst way. Jodie Meeks did not play his game as he was harassed by a 6’7” “athlete” the entire game. Oh, he hit his average; but in a loss 6 for 21 shooting is not good enough…BCG said he had “a good game for a great player…the team just didn’t play well”….

UK allowed Vanderbilt to be more comfortable in what they tried to do in the second half, Vanderbilt had too many second chance points, and shot 46 per cent for the game, and let them get too comfortable in their own offense…

This team without 2Pat is a shadow of what it can be, and the margin for error is slim now. The loss is tough, but not the end of the world…2 Pat will be back and we’ll be a tough out again; tough enough to beat Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt “Tunes UK” ~~~~ 77-64

The University of Kentucky Wildcats rolled into the Music City on a two game winning streak after losing 3 in a row…Indeed, to beat Vanderbilt on the road would be a tall order given that Patrick Patterson’s game status was that he “would not start”. Yet BCG was foiled here last year, and his 2 S-C-O-R-E/and some loss, was the largest of his Tenure….His own losing streak notwithstanding: Could he solve the “trick gym” that worked it’s magic last year?

Indeed, this is not a basketball gym, as the sidelines are so deep it is more of a “baseball dugout”, given the room to operate…I hear the Vandy players get their workouts just “running into the game”, but that’s a different tale for a different day…

PLaying all your games in a gym like that gives one school a tremendous advantage. Now, I once played some competitive billiards, and one’s home table is special, but you don’t want to be gifted on a 9 ft table, and then forced to play on a “snooker table”…It’s human nature. Psychology takes over the players minds also. In short, we played like crap, and as UKBoo noted, there is a reason some players don’t play as much, and we ALL were able to see that last night!

Well, it turns out BCG could not solve the short “jinx” he has going, and just as his predecessor once took it on the chin, so shall he. UK fell to a determined Vanderbilt squad in one of the most atrociously officiated games I have watched in the first half. At the half with the score tied at 30 and with 20 more minutes to play, and 13 total fouls whistled, (AND 13 more should have been blown on Vanderbilt), AND Darius Miller getting 3 fouls while playing well – and starting the Second Half..

BCG is getting a much needed Technical in the First Half, just to keep the refs from taking over the game, UK has fought and scratched the first half with our starters, Darius Miller(2^nd half), and Perry Stevenson on the bench, with 3 and 2 fouls, respectively. Lucky to be tied at 30-30 and the officiating eased up the second half and we proceeded to lose the game. NO EXCUSES!

In the second half the ‘Dores came out firing, and went up by 5 points early, as UK turned the ball over, while BCG takes out Harris and Porter…at the 17:46 mark of the second half… Galloway, who had a good first half, comes in for Porter.

If Perry had a pair, he’d be a pick, but he don’t and he won’t. Tough to hit with a pass; Perry needs to create and pass himself, which cripples the team not having the BIG WARHORSE in there on the receiving end on the Passes ‘O Perry…Vandy scores the first nine of the second half and UK never recovers…

Fouls started again, with the “stripes” calling 3 straight on UK, two of which were on Liggins. This has to be the toughest place to play in the conference, due to the officials losing their “peas” on one end of this building. It happens every year that I see, and is apparently not going to stop….I know that Tubby did not enjoy playing in that building, and I know that BCG don’t envision lots of losses there in the future, but right now it’s a tough out!

Good to see A.J. put that move on Ogilvy and get 11 points. A.J. played until he fouled out and for the most part played hard…Perry Stevenson had a sub-par game and his play was needed in the worst way. Jodie Meeks did not play his game as he was harassed by a 6’7” “athlete” the entire game. Oh, he hit his average; but in a loss, 6 for 21 shooting, is not good enough…BCG said he had “a good game for a great player…the team just didn’t play well”….

UK allowed Vanderbilt to be more comfortable in what they tried to do in the second half, Vanderbilt had too many second chance points, and shot 46 per cent for the game. UK and let them get “too comfortable” in their own offense in the second half, according to Darius Miller on the “Star of the Game” show.

This team without 2Pat is a shadow of what it can be, and the margin for error is slim now. The loss is tough, but not the end of the world…2 Pat will be back, and we’ll be a tough out again; tough enough to beat Vanderbilt.

UK 64 Vandy 77

There is no gym in America that I wish would burn to the ground more than that God awful place Vandy plays in. The place reeks of bad basketball and plenty was on full display last night. Not just the players and coaches but the refs as well. Vandy’s uniforms suck, their gym sucks, their cheerleaders are ugly, their coach looks retarded and they didn’t pay the refs nearly enough for what they got in return. UK did its part as well. Porter played as poorly as I have ever seen. Harris did next to nothing, and UK never goes anywhere when it has to rely on a Liggins, Galloway Miller combo. And I wasn’t surprised at all with the outcome. UK went into a place where the home team always has its way as far as calls are concerned when UK comes to town. UK went in without its main guy inside. And as much as we love seeing Harrelson all over the floor on offense, he simply can’t defend the likes of Ogilvy. UK did it’s part to stink things up as well. I finally figured out the main problem with Liggins, Miller and Galloway last night. They have no idea where their bread is buttered. Not one pick was set by any of the three to free up Meeks. Not one. There is your answer, to those people who do not know why those guys do not get more minutes. Basketball is about doing the little things. Especially when you have the likes of Meeks and Patterson. Creating your own shot is great and all but you must understand how UK wins games. UK has won a total of one game where Liggins created his own shot. It has won a total of one game with Galloway feeding someone other that Meeks or Patterson. The rest have been won with Porter and Harris getting Meeks free and setting up the inside. Those three could do it much better than Porter and Harris if they applied the proper mindset. YES, you should create your own shot if you can’t get Meeks free. YES, you should get in the lane and dish if you can’t set up Patterson. But you must understand who you are playing with. A tight dish to Stevenson in the lane is a sure turnover. That’s just how it is until he shows better hands. Liggins does one thing and that’s drive the lane. He will continue to pick up charges until he realizes teams teams know exactly what he will do and sets up for it. On the bright side, I thought Stewart came in and provided a much needed lift. He has developed quite the jumper and his post defense, while horrid, was the best of the night.

In the end, this game wasn’t lost because of Liggins or Porter. It wasn’t lost because of Harris or Miller. It was lost because UK was short handed, the game was not called the same on both ends either inside or out, and UK had no one to generate an inside threat or rebound. Players picked up fouls where they didn’t even touch Vandy and Vandy was allowed to man handle anyone they chose to. I’m spitting this one out because chewing on it has left a really bad taste in my mouth.

FOOTBALL RECRUITING: JOKER”S WILD

It just might work that way on the recruiting front for Joker Phillips and Co. After securing the promise to play football at the University of Kentucky, one would think that Joker has hit the jackpot in the state of Indiana.

….And he has, when you think of it….IU is not much of a recruiting magnet for the state – and for those who think that Notre Dame might be a bit “high brow” for them and like the SEC better than Purdue’s BIG TEN – then “HERE”S JOKER” …….

Isaiah Lewis has said that he is very interested in UK and why not? UK had just offered the Big Safety a scholarship to play football at the University that had just signed his Quarterback to “LOI”.

Isaiah Lewis has said of his QB: “I think I’m pretty tough, but he’s hard to bring down. He is going to be a great college football player”. His QB is Morgan Newton, one of the Top Twenty Five in “All DE Land”… senor~

But alas, the larger story here is the fact that UK has hit the state and hit it H-A-R-D. When you take a state’s best player, and leave the rest of the world the “pickins”, then you are on the right track for serious inroads. That’s the stuff of Florida and USC lore, NOT UK….

________________________________________
Isaiah Lewis
Indianapolis, IN (Ben Davis HS)
HT: 5’11″
WT: 186
40: 4.69 – electronic time between soph.-jr season

Offer: Yes
Interest: Iowa, Purdue, Indiana, Kentucky

Probably more of a strong safety. Isaiah plays LB in high school

SEC Basketball Rankings

Hear is our latest SEC Basketball Rankings. Things are starting to sort themselves out in the conference.

1. LSU: With wins over SC, Tenn and Miss St. twice along with the bottom of the conference LSU is showing they belong at the top. With 2 tough games left with Auburn and 1 with Tenn and UK they can cement there position with wins.

2. South Carolina: Sitting tied with UK and Tenn. in the east makes SC one of the three number 2 teams in the league.

3. Kentucky: Again tied with SC and Tenn. but with a spanking of Tenn. and a drubbing of Fla. on their record the Cats are number 3.

4. Tennessee: Starting to look like they were ranked earlier but still at 4.

5. Florida: Loosing 3 out of 4 drops the Gators to 5th and just when they were starting to get some media love.

6. Miss St: Loosing 2 in a row sends them down to 6th.

7. Auburn: Easily ahead of the bottom of the SEC and 2 games left with LSU to move up.

8. Vanderbilt: Interchangeble with Mississippi and Alabama but have games left with UK, LSU, Fla. and SC is going to make it hard for them to keep their ranking.

9. Mississippi: Near the cellar but stand a good chance of winning 3 of the next 6.

10: Alabama: Their next 2 games are Fla, and Miss St. Win those 2 and they stand a chance of moving up.

11: Arkansas: Been a up and down season for the Hogs but not at the bottom of the pile yet.

12. Georgia: A win over Fla. doesnt get them out of the cellar.

Meeks NOT “Meek” with 45 points, Record — Win for UK over Arkansas

The road was “KIND” again for Jodie Meeks. With the mentality of “The Alpha Male” of the UK basketball team, Jodie Meeks again took UK by the collar and led them through Bud Walton arena, with not only the victory, but another scoring record for Mr. Meeks.

Indeed, no other basketball player has ever treated the screaming HOGS with such a scoring outburst, and left a dwindling crowd one more for the road with 54 seconds to go, when he soared in for one of his patented Sprint Baskets”, and threw down a massive two handed slam…Bill Rafferty now almost devoid of adjectives, having used them all on Jodie during the game stated simply:

“There it is FOLKS, A GUARD, see it and WEEP!

And weep they did, as Jodie hit shots all over that arena and generally OUTRAN the “boys from Fayetteville”. Speaking of running, I bet “Pelph” has that team running until the next game over letting Jodie get all those sprint outs…

With Patrick Patterson on the bench nursing a sprained ankle, Jodie Meeks took it upon himself, as he is wont to do, to score 2PAT’s points or something of that nature, easily equalling both his own scoring average and 2Pats…

“He’s like halfway human.” Darius Miller

With one half of our “Batman and Robin” team scoring all over the court in every way, the score was tied at the 4:07 Mark ‘O Da 1st 1/2 – Jodie Meeks 22 Arkansas 22. The real score was UK 37 Arkansas 22….! Nuff Said….!

Let us now talk of what they speak, Jodie Meeks for President..Yes, you heard it here. Barrack look out! Jodie Meeks is more humble than you and can take you to the hole just like all the other guys you play against….

Well, that’s a bit lofty for now. How about we shoot for “PLAYER OF THE YEAR” . Now those comparisons of MOZ’s to the – Big “O”- don’t seem so “OFFT BASE” — as Amos Moses would allow…

As for his “work ethic”, it would be an understatement now to say that running bothered Jodie Meeks…Being a track star at his high school, gives one the impression that he loves to run, and if BCG ask him to run to the game, I suspect he would run alongside the bus, and score 50 once he got there…!

“…A PLEASURE TO WATCH”… Tim Brando

“He just makes it happen out of what we try to do.” …Billy C. Gillispie

Mother of UK recruit Daniel Orton Dies

Carolyn Orton, the mother of UK recruit Daniel Orton and former Oklahoma State forward Terrence Crawford, died of complications from Lupus on Tuesday night. She was 52.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Memorial Road Church of Christ, 2221 E. Memorial Road in Edmond.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, D-E-F-I-N-A-T-E-L-Y BLUE

Rich Brooks hails this class as the “Best One Ever”…..I second that emotion and, as usual, I have become interested in exactly what we got to work with, as we nailed down the finishing touches on this, THE 29th rated class in America…

As for the “Old”, we have had two top-twenty QB’s in the fold for some time, but the NEW may be the late addition of two 4-star athletes, one being a much needed receiver and one a DE, who we “BORROWED” from the JUCO ranks…

That’s a great number – the 29th best ranking – for a FOOTBALL PROGRAM such as UK’s, which, in the past, have had their classes fall somewhere below the TOP 50, AND the coaches out on the recruiting trail looking for the “SLEEPERS”….

You see, UK takes the sleepers, the kids who might break out and show great college football skills, and even move to the next level with their play…..Such legendary UK players as Wesley Woodyard, Stevie Johnson, and Trevard Lindley,attest to the fact that UK’s coaches know the value of the well-researched recruit….AND, JOKER PHILLIPS has always beat the bushes….

That is one reason that I have always rated UK’s classes a bit higher than the guru’s who rate ALL the teams….I know, based on history and performance, that UK will always get that kid who displays great potential as a football player regardless of accolades….

With this in mind, the question now is: “How do I rate this class? Are there sleepers in this class that will propel it further up the pecking order into SEC stratosphere? After all, that is the league we compete in, AND outperforming UT in the recruiting department won’t get you much in a league where UT is not THE player anymore, we just need to beat them to break some bad MOJO, but we MuSt recruit alongside the current “Juggernauts ‘O the SEC”; teams such as Florida, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, or THE BIG 4.

First, based on the “sleeper” factor, and the two “Top Twenty-5 QB’s”, I think we are much better than 29th….Just as a team like Florida can grab another ring with an impact QB such as Tim Tebow, so can UK do the “heavy lifting”, with their two signal callers AND improve their position in the SEC, which after some strong showings with Woodson at QB, “ran in place this year”…

As for our young signal callers, one of them just needs to be what the scouts predict for both of them; AN NFL PROSPECT!

Considering the effectiveness of teams with a great QB, one can see how just a modicum of good play at the other spots can make you one dangerous team…Consider, if you will how dangerous Vanderbilt University was when they had Jay Cutler and one great receiver. Now, I think we will be much better than that Vandy team, based on what we have, and what we have coming in….Surly we can be better than a team with no Athletic Department, etc…, but that is another tale for another day…

Here are the players with my synopsis of the B-E-S-T:

It starts with the quarterbacks, and Kentucky has landed two good ones in Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski. Really, what is not to like about either one of these kids….? Ryan has such a strong arm it’s rated in the top ten and may go into the baseball draft before he plays a down at UK…Morgan only has the 4.5 speed that Curtis Pulley had, with the strong arm of a Woodson. He GAINED 1,600 + yards on the GROUND and over a thou passing…!

Now we have our “Arm” problem solved, what else did we get?
I like the big receiver out of Texas that we got late by the name of Terrell Mitchell, 6’4” 4.7 forty, along with the 4-Star Juco Chris Matthews. My sleeper receiver is the 6’6” Larod King 4.6 forty

Along the O- line you have to love the 650 lbs of beef we signed in Larry Warford and Sam Simpson. I’m picking both to “put their hands down” next year…errr, at least one, since Sam snaps without a hand down, an anomaly in football if he can do it at the collegiate level….

At the DE/DT position, I like the late signing of the 4-star JUCO defensive end, DeQuin Evans, Long Beach, Calif., to fill the void left by the graduation of the oft-injured Myron Pryor. Evans is a Top Twenty JUCO player holding down the 16th best player spot in all of JUCO land. U of L was a late suitor but UK held on…

At the linebacker spot, players of note are Qua Huzzie, “hardest hitter in the state of Ga”, and Jarvis Walker who claimed the same fame in the state of Louisiana.

At the RB spot we probably just stole Running back, Donald Russell from Florida, while Dakotah Tyler, RB Indianapolis, although rated the 18th best player in Indiana is the 1st running back listed, and ranks the 68th best in the land – while running a 4.4 forty with 205lbs of bulk is always a good thing…

“SLEEPER KEEPERS”

Larod King, Ratcliff, Ky*

Brian Adams of Cummings Georgia **

* Plays with abandon, doth the 3-star who plays b-ball as well.

**Must be related to Jeff Sheppard, this 3-star former high-school QB turned receiver, with that 37” vertical and 6’4” height….?

UK’s 2009 Football Recruiting Class
Brian Adams, ATH Cumming, Ga.
Jordan Aumiller, TE Danville
Justin Bean, WR Tupelo, Miss.
Mister Cobble, DT Louisville
Jonathan George, RB Lincoln, Ala.
Qua Huzzie, LB LaGrange, Ga.
Tristian Johnson, DE LaGrange, Ga.
A. Kendrick, TE/WR Katy, Texas
LaRod King, WR Radcliff
Patrick Ligon, DE, Memphis, Tenn.
Demetri Merritt, LB LaGrange, Ga.
Kevin Mitchell, OL Douglasville, Ga.
Terrell Mitchell, TE Powder Springs, Ga.
Ryan Mosby, LB Rockwall, Texas
Ryan Mossakowski, QB Frisco, Texas
Martavius Neloms, DB Memphis, Tenn.
Morgan Newton, QB Carmel, Ind.
Donte Rumph, DE St. Matthews, S.C.
Donald Russell, RB Plm Bch Gardens, Fla.
Samuel Simpson, OL Lexington
Dakotah Tyler, RB Indianapolis
Jarvis Walker, LB Metairie, La.
Myron Walker, DT Metairie, La.
Larry Warford, OL Richmond
Ridge Wilson, LB Louisville
JC
Mark Crawford, DT Indianapolis
DeQuin Evans, DE Long Beach, Calif.
Chris Matthews, WR Los Angeles

Newest contributing writer MemoirsOZeus

Ladies and gentlemen please welcome our newest writer MemoirsOZeus to bigbluerules with a big round of applause.

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