UK vs CREIGHTON – BCG RuMoUrS

The Wildcats get a chance to play again Monday in Omaha, Neb., when they face Creighton (27-7) in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament. If they win, they will play a third-round game at Notre Dame on Wednesday.

During a Sunday news conference, UK’s coach Billy Gillispie, shrugged at intense speculation about his firing as the Cats headed for Omaha, Neb., to play Creighton in the National Invitation Tournament.

“All I do is work,” he said. “That’s all I’ve ever done (and) all I’ll ever do.”

That prompted a question: Because he does not acknowledge the public-relations component of being UK’s coach, does Gillispie want to return?

“I love it,” he said after chuckling. “I mean, I love it. I love this place.”

But Gillispie could not say at a Sunday news conference whether he will remain Kentucky’s coach next season.

Gillispie neither confirmed nor denied that UK President Lee Todd met with Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart late last week to discuss the future of the basketball program. Or whether the coach had met with either of his superiors about the program in recent days, “We meet all the time” was his response.

Creighton, winner of 12 of their last 13 games, is led in scoring at 15.7 ppg by Booker Woodfox who was also the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year…He also shoots 47.6 from 3 land, 3^rd in the nation.

I look for Darius Miller to continue his improved play. Darius has been averaging 9.3ppg over his last ten…BCG on Darius: “It is hard for a freshman, and being Mr. Basketball in this state is added pressure. (Darius) has handled. He is learning to play angles and I’m proud he is improving in that area so quickly. He is not afraid to take shots and force the action, and I have great confidence he can guard his man in the toughest situations.”

Ramon Harris on the game, “Last year we had a few ups and downs and then we got it going. We thought the same thing would happen this year, but it didn’t. This is our last chance to get it going and prove that we are better than people think”.

Indeed it is….

Fallout from Yesterday’s LOSS to Florida

Some observations after the UK vs Fl game from The Media World for the BBR:

From KSR:

When asked if he thought his job might be in jeopardy, in the postgame press conference, Gillispie said this:

“no, the season is not over yet is it”.

“The debate is ultimately moot…he will not be fired and the only way he wont be the Coach of UK next year is if he were to make that decision. Anything you hear to the contrary is incorrect.”

From Catspause Matt May: “There is no joy in Catville, mighty Kentucky has struck out.” *

“”We just didn’t do a good enough job executing anything in the second half,” Gillispie said. “I thought we competed really, really hard and I loved the way they fought but we just didn’t execute well enough to win.”

From Kenny Walker at Scout: “….I hope Billy Gillispie can deal with the high expectations, pressure and criticism. Look at all the coaches before him. They did in a different way and style. We are still trying to figure out his style and personality. Hopefully one day we will get the answer. But to be fair to him, give him another year to get his guys in and then”…

From John Clay of the LHL: “…You wonder if by now everyone isn’t ground down, tired of being one error away from being yanked to the bench.

If the Cats don’t particularly care for their coach, that’s hardly an exclusive event. But they need to respect him, to at least believe in what he’s saying. I’m not sure that’s the case with this group. There are whispers that there’s not a lot of love in the (locker) room, and maybe you should expect that from a team spiraling downward. Maybe not.

Bottom line: A coach deserves more than two seasons to turn a program around. He deserves the chance to do it with his own players. He deserves that, that is, if you possess faith he can turn it around with his own players. There has to be a reason to believe.

So far, this has not been an easy fit. Gillispie often seems an uncomfortable fish in a very big bowl. He’s not a glad-hander, and he isn’t making friends by not signing that formal contract. The “Billy being Billy” doesn’t wear as well when you lose.

On the floor, his first recruits haven’t made the expected impact, and this team will go down as having suffered one of the more pronounced collapses in school history — a team with Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks.

This is Kentucky basketball, after all. It’s sort of a big deal. It’s why Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart gets the big bucks, and why, despite his politically correct public statements of support, the final call isn’t as easy as you might think. Either way.

But, as Gillispie himself said, the season isn’t over. Maybe, somehow, someway, the coach can execute a turnaround in Tampa and get this team where everyone wants it to go.

But this regular season was one big turnover. “

*_{I’m flattered}

Casper dies from injures

Jenni Casper, the record-setting former University of Kentucky volleyball player injured in a car accident early Saturday, has died.

Casper, 24, was pronounced dead at 1:27 p.m. Sunday by UK Hospital staff members.

She had been critically injured at 1:43 a.m. Saturday, when, according to police, she was driving on Chinoe Road and apparently lost control of her car negotiating a curve near Fontaine Road. Casper’s car hit a tree, Lt. Scott Blakely of the Lexington police department said Saturday.

Police believe speed and alcohol were factors in the crash, Lt. Garry Sennett of Lexington police said Sunday.

Casper, who played for UK from 2003 to 2006, graduated from the university in May 2007. Originally from Louisville and a graduate of Mercy Academy, Casper was the Southeastern Conference record holder in career digs, ranked 13th in NCAA Division I volleyball history in career digs and was a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

“The Wildcat family is saddened by the loss of Jenni Casper,” UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said in a statement.

“Jenni represented the University of Kentucky and the volleyball program with passion and dignity. She was an intense competitor and amazing individual. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jenni’s family and loved ones during this period of grief.”

UK volleyball Coach Craig Skinner added, “We will do everything we can to carry on Jenni’s legacy of dedication, enthusiasm and unselfishness through our program.”

Information about funeral and memorial arrangements was not available Sunday night.

John Cohen resigns as UK baseball coach

Five days after a season-ending loss to Michigan in NCAA Baseball Regional play, John Cohen has resigned as University of Kentucky coach. Gary Henderson, associate head coach and pitching coach under Cohen, will be the successor. Mitch Barnhart, UK’s athletics director, made the announcement during a Friday afternoon press conference. Cohen is leaving to take another job – presumably with his alma mater, Mississippi State.

Barnhart told the Herald-Leader only two days earlier that he anticipated that Cohen would be his coach next season. A soon-to-be-built stadium and a raise in salary were among the incentives that Barnhart thought would keep Cohen with the Wildcats.

In six years at UK, Cohen compiled a record of 175-112-1, leading the Wildcats to their first Southeastern Conference championship and twice taking the Cats to NCAA regionals, finishing each time with a school-record 44 victories.

Cohen came to UK after two years as an assistant at Florida. Before that, he was head coach at Northwestern State for four years, going 146-84.

His overall record as a head coach is 321-196-1 over 10 years.