Just What These Cats Needed

What a wild ride! Most may not see the value in this game and hardly any average fans thought this type of game was possible. The very first thing you have to do is tip your hat to Miami. UK wasn’t ready for a perimeter game, and hasn’t been in any game so far, and Miami took advantage. They did a whole lot more right than just hit some shots. They laid the blue print on how to guard Wall and Bledsoe. Get back, try to keep them in front, funnel to the middle where help comes out in front of the basket or funnel to the sides. They boxed out well and limited the passes into the post, which is what UK wanted to do from the start. It seemed like the Cats all had their own things going on and no one was working together. That was especially true on D. I know I’ve been on Bledsoe about his defense but it was on full display last night. He just doesn’t want to play weak side defense and that is just as important, if not more important than on the ball D. The ball reverses, Bledsoe gets sucked into the lane, and in one case all the way across the lane, his man is free to roam to an open spot, the ball reverses to his guy, he’s no where to be found and a forward is stuck with two guys, his guy being the hot hand. This team wasn’t killing UK in the lane and the post simply didn’t need his help. This has to stop and now. BUT, there was a lot of good in this game. UK was seriously on the ropes. Dodson came in and provided good shooting and decent defense and UK began to cut into the lead. The guys started playing more together and started limiting the open looks. I had hoped to cut the lead to eight by the half and they did even better than that. But UK continued to do one good thing, then one bad thing the rest of the game. I again have to give Miami credit for not going away. They fought and took advantage of almost every UK mistake. I seriously question coach’s choice down the stretch and think he needs to do a much better job of understanding the personnel on the floor versus what he has on the bench. This has always been the knock on Cal and it was on full display last night. UK has the ball and a two point lead. Miami is going to foul, UK will get two shots and UK needs both of them. Wall is an all but automatic 1 for 2 at this point. Krebs is in his pocket and coach doesn’t pull him out. Krebs is a much better percentage at getting both free throws and if he gets one for 2, you put Wall back in. Krebs hits both shots and the game is over, and lets face it, UK was darned lucky to hit the shot and even more lucky they didn’t call a foul on Wall, which three free throws wins the game for Miami. I don’t think we will see the same team Thursday. I think we see a more timid team. We will see a team willing to jab and spar some instead of going for the knockout with one punch right out of the gate. Wall and Bledsoe swung wildly at nothing for a good part of the game. Much of that is our fault for thinking, and making them believe, they could over talent anyone. They also have to learn what they can and can not do at this level, and even higher than last night. I’ve been uneasy from the get go with having so much inexperience on the floor at one time. We’ll simply have to live with a lot of up and down play, and this team will probably lose to some lesser teams, and that’s OK. Wall seems to learn fast and the first thing he will learn is he will need help to be able to do the things he’s used to doing. He’ll learn that teams are going to try to take away his path to the rim and he’ll need to counter to make them pay. THEN the rim will be there. And as for Big Cuz, he gets my MVP award because he seemed to grow up right before our eyes last night. He was stellar, aside from his one late bone head, which turned out not to cost UK and may have helped use enough clock to shorten the game enough to get UK the last shot.

All in all, I think this was just what these Cats needed.  Oh, and they got the win..

BBR’s Week 2 Top 25

Couple of good games this weekend mixed the top 25 up a little with the Pac10 and the MAC doing most of the mixing. The MAC and the WAC came real close to pulling upsets over the Big 10 and the Pac 10. The biggest losers this week Notre Dame and the Big 10.

Being off Kentucky didn’t pick up any votes in the AP which doesn’t mean anything since the AP has never matched what fans manage to see every weekend with what writers don’t watch.

In the Coaches poll Kentucky got 9 votes which would rank us 6th in the SEC and 38th in the nation.

1 Florida 2-0
2 Texas 2-0
3 USC 2-0
4 Alabama 2-0
5 Brigham Young 2-0
6 Penn State 2-0
7 Mississippi 1-0
8 California 2-0
9 Boise State 2-0
10 Ohio State 1-1
11 LSU 2-0
12 Oklahoma 1-1
13 Virginia Tech 1-1
14 Cincinnati 2-0
15 TCU 1-0
16 Miami (FL) 1-0
17 Georgia Tech 2-0
18 Utah 2-0 405
19 Nebraska 2-0
20 Oklahoma State 1-1
21 Houston 2-0
22 Kansas 2-0
23 Georgia 1-1
24 Notre Dame 1-1
25 Michigan 2-0

BBR’s Week 1 Top 25

In an attempt to give you a unbiased by the media blue view of how good teams are we proudly give you our week 1 top 25 rankings.

Our rankings in no way suggest that some of these teams deserve to be ranked #1 or in the top 25 since at least one of them won against a Charleston Pastry team and others against programs desperate for money and short on top 150 talent.

BBR’s hats go off to Alabama, California, Miami (Fl), Boise St, BYU and Cincinnati for winning against quality opponents. A special hat tip to the WAC and the MWC for electing to play top tier teams and to William & Mary and Richmond for wins over ACC teams.

1 Florida 1-0
2 Texas 1-0
3 USC 1-0
4 California 1-0
5 Oklahoma State 1-0
6 Alabama 1-0
7 Penn State 1-0
8 Mississippi 1-0
9 Brigham Young 1-0
10 Ohio State 1-0
11 LSU 1-0
12 Boise State 1-0
13 Georgia Tech 1-0
14 Virginia Tech 0-1
15 Oklahoma 0-1
16 TCU 0-0
17 Utah 1-0
18 Miami (FL) 1-0
19 Cincinnati 1-0
20 Notre Dame 1-0
21 Nebraska 1-0
22 Georgia 0-1
23 North Carolina 1-0
24 Kansas 1-0
25 Missouri 1-0

Comparability Trend

When playing the stock market investors keep an eye on trends in the market. Football fans should do the same with football trends. One trend to keep an eye on is the comparability trend. How do we compare with other teams is something to keep an eye on.

By now everybody has read about the 42-0 win over Miami. How good the Cats offense looked and how good the defense looked after getting a look at the Miami offense for a quarter.

Next week we are off but will get another interesting look at how good we really are offensively. Miami plays Boise St. a team that dominated Oregon a team expected to contend for the PAC-10 title.

Miami is going to have a game under their belt and Boise St. will have game tape of Miami. It will be interesting to see how Boise St. (a possible top 10 team by then) a team who has less team speed, an offense thats no better at quarterback, running back and wide receiver than the Cats does.

So keep an eye on the score and the stats of the game next weekend. It should give us an idea of how we compare with a possible BCS buster.

Artificial Turf Toe Woes

The Cats have had a rash of foot injuries while preparing to play Miami on the artificial turf at the Nutter Training Facility which has similar artificial turf as Paul Brown Stadium.

If you believe the Bengals website which says “FieldTurf’s surface looks, feels and plays like natural grass” there shouldn’t be much of a problem with the surface. Why then am I worried about the surface.

A study of injuries sustained by California high school football players in 2006 found higher rates of injury on turf. There were 13.8 injuries per 100 session hours on turf and only 8.4 per 100 on natural grass.

Players on synthetic turf fields are more prone to injuries such as “Turf toe”, “Muscle trauma” including a higher than average incidence of high ankle sprains and of course “Turf burns”.

Two of which can cause players to miss weeks of practice and game time. Using the right shoes can help to reduce turf injuries but scheduling games on grass rather than on artificial turf seems to be the smart thing to do.

Another thing to worry about is heat. Fields using the modern turfs like Paul Brown Stadium use ground rubber from tires (which due to the toxic content including heavy metals of tires prohibits their disposal in landfills or through ocean dumping) as an impact-softening base. This makes much hotter since the ground rubber absorbs heat unlike grass fields.

I understand playing games in Ohio for the sake of recruiting but the possibility of injuries that could really cost us this year seem to out weigh the advantage.

Lets hope for a cool day and some luck in the Miami game as far as injuries go.

USA Today Poll

USA Today has released there preseason top 25. The Cats got 9 votes and are ranked 42 in the nation.

What shouldn’t surprise anyone is that there are no Big East teams ranked to start the season. Cincinnati, Pittsburg, W. Va, Rutgers and S. Florida all got votes. Its hard to see anyone besides Cincinnati or W. Virginia making a climb in to the top 25 due to the strength of their non-conference schedules.

The MWC and the WAC have four teams in the top 25 and a fifth Nevada got a few votes. Its easier to see some of them staying in the top 25 since they have teams that stand a fair chance of winning games against the BCS teams on their non-conference schedules.

USA Today Poll

1. Florida (53) 0-0 1,466

2. Texas (4) 0-0 1,386
3. Oklahoma (1) 0-0 1,358
4. USC (1) 0-0 1,321
5. Alabama 0-0 1,134
6. Ohio State 0-0 1,126
7. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,020
8. Penn State 0-0 988
9. LSU 0-0 917
10. Mississippi 0-0 889
11. Oklahoma State 0-0 861
12. California 0-0 711
13. Georgia 0-0 707
14. Oregon 0-0 694
15. Georgia Tech 0-0 559
16. Boise State 0-0 542
17. TCU 0-0 461
18. Utah 0-0 404
19. Florida State 0-0 371
20. North Carolina 0-0 293
21. Iowa 0-0 257
22. Nebraska 0-0 236
23. Notre Dame 0-0 194
24. Brigham Young 0-0 178
25. Oregon State 0-0 165

Others Receiving Votes: Kansas 138, Michigan State 136, Texas Tech 114, Cincinnati 90, Pittsburgh 64, West Virginia 55, Rutgers 51, Miami (FL) 46, Missouri 44, Illinois 38, Clemson 30, South Carolina 18, UCLA 14, Auburn 12, South Florida 11, Nevada 11, Kentucky 9, North Carolina State 7, Wisconsin 6, Arkansas 6, Northwestern 5, Southern Miss 4, Wake Forest 4, Arizona 3, Boston College 3, CENTRL MICHIGAN 3, East Carolina 3, Colorado 2, Maryland 2, Navy 2, Tennessee 2, TROY 1, Minnesota 1, Michigan 1, Houston 1.

UK Goes to The Wall!

What does John Calipari do with his # 1 ranked class in the country to enhance his recruiting season? Well, he goes out and lures the #1 player in the class to UK. Late last night, Slam Magazine confirmed that John Wall had selected UK among Miami, Florida, and Duke.

I can’t begin to express how ecstatic the UK fan base is now, what with the job that Calipari has done already in recruiting, and now landing Wall. Described by Dave Telep as, “The nation’s single most unguardable player”, Wall joins a class already loaded with 5- star recruits, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton and DeMarcus Cousins. I foresee us fans talking UK basketball all summer.

There were some who believed that our signing Eric Bledsoe recently would affect John’s decision. It appears it had nothing to do with it. ““I’ve been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks. I sat down and prayed and thought about it. Last night we had a meeting and I just came out and told Brian “(Clifton).

It hasn’t been that long since some of the SEC coaches have said that UK’s dominance of the league was over…Well, that is about to change and change very quickly.

Why Wall Might Go To Miami

Looks like well rounded football and I can see why Wall might want to go to Miami. The players are definitely touch football material and as someone on the forums said tight ends coach will be the best coaching job.

Looks like well rounded football and I can see why Wall might go to Miami.

Latest Top 25

This weeks top 25. With a good week by LSU and a few losses by others the SEC could climb into the rankings

AP Top 25
1. Connecticut (67) 22-1 1,795
2. Oklahoma (3) 23-1 1,710
3. North Carolina (2) 21-2 1,672
4. Pittsburgh 21-2 1,583
5. Louisville 18-4 1,423
6. Duke 20-3 1,350
7. Wake Forest 18-3 1,242
8. Memphis 20-3 1,237
9. Michigan State 19-4 1,214
10. Marquette 20-3 1,137
11. UCLA 19-4 1,131
12. Clemson 19-3 1,097
13. Villanova 19-4 989
14. Xavier 20-3 893
15. Butler 21-2 762
16. Kansas 19-4 751
17. Missouri 20-4 395
18. Arizona State 18-5 389
19. Gonzaga 17-5 361
20. Purdue 17-6 353
21. Utah State 23-1 317
22. Illinois 19-5 303
23. Syracuse 18-6 280
24. Ohio State 17-5 216
25. Florida State 18-5 182
Others Receiving Votes
LSU 167, Washington 135, Texas 106, Florida 66, Minnesota 43, Dayton 31, California 16, Kansas State 8, West Virginia 8, South Carolina 7, Davidson 7, Miami (FL) 7, Utah 4, Arizona 4, San Diego State 2, Siena 2, Northeastern 2, Robert Morris 1, Boston College 1, Green Bay 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Texas 16, Minnesota 19, Washington 22.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Connecticut (30) 22-1 774
2. Oklahoma (1) 23-1 735
3. North Carolina 21-2 711
4. Pittsburgh 21-2 689
5. Duke 20-3 604
6. UCLA 19-4 554
7. Louisville 18-4 553
8. Wake Forest 18-3 541
9. Michigan State 19-4 521
10. Memphis 20-3 486
11. Clemson 19-3 456
12. Marquette 20-3 446
13. Villanova 19-4 416
14. Xavier 20-3 375
15. Butler 21-2 346
16. Kansas 19-4 300
17. Utah State 23-1 258
18. Arizona State 18-5 214
19. Missouri 20-4 162
20. Illinois 19-5 143
21. Gonzaga 17-5 124
22. Syracuse 18-6 115
23. Purdue 17-6 114
24. Washington 17-6 86
25. Florida State 18-5 62
Others Receiving Votes
Ohio State 55, Texas 50, LSU 50, Dayton 34, Minnesota 30, Florida 26, Davidson 9, Utah 9, South Carolina 7, Saint Mary’s 5, Brigham Young 5, California 3, San Diego State 3, Penn State 2, UNLV 1, Arizona 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Texas 17, Minnesota 19.

Mid Season Review

The UK mens basketball program has reached the end of its 2008 schedule. So lets take a look at where they started through where they are today…

The preseason started with as much question as promise. UK had several highly rated new comers and was returning some quality players. But UK was also losing a huge chunk of its scoring and leadership. Off season surgery also placed major question marks on both of its returning marguee players. Meeks was cleared much earlier than Patterson, so he was easily much further along but still was not his old self. There was a point in one of the preseason events (I think it was the Blue White game) that made me sit up a bit on the edge of my seat. it seemed like a small funny thing to most, but I certainly didn’t think it was funny and felt it may be a sign of things to come. Patterson, who is and always has been THE man child, went up for a certain slam only to get rejected by… the front of the rim. I knew right then he wasn’t full strength and he obviously did not have the explosion or lift he displayed last year. The preseason, otherwise, went off without a hitch but then something happened. The season started. And not just against your typical patzy. VMI may have looked like a patzy on the surface, but once you looked deeper you saw something very scary. You saw a high scoring team that played pressure D going against a UK team that had all new roles in three of the four spots on the floor and the most glaring was the point (OK, lead) and it was a recipe for disater. The sky fell and hell opened it doors to the doomed. Ok , maybe not but those who would do anything to undermine this staff revelled in the glory that was a season opening loss. Luckily, the sky did not fall, hell did not open and it turns out all UK needed to do was get better.

And better they did get. Little by little, and bit by bit, UK got better and better with each day. Yes, there was a loss to UNC (who has not lost that has played them), yes there was another loss to a very big and talented Miami team. But there were also wins against K ST, West Virgina and host of other gritty teams, with some real yawners thrown in. So at the close of 2008, UK stands at 11-3. Of those three losses, all are to top 100 teams (yes, VMI is in the 80s), two are to top 50 teams (Miami has even been a top 25 team) and one was to the best team in the land. UK has answered the scoring question easily by turning Meeks lose, getting Patterson back to full strength, and using its third scorer which is a hybrid of Harrelson, Stevenson, Liggins, Stewart, Porter, Slone and Miller, to the tune of 80 something points a game. UK has also found its D when needed by only allowing teams to score in the 60s on average. That is a 20 point or so differential which includes the three losses. The bottom line: This team has gotten better and better every day. And one by one the questions of the preseason have been replaced with answers. The answers were not always the ones people thought they would be. People sometimes have a hard time when that happens. Many thought the answer at the point would be Liggins. Turns out it was Porter. The question of depth would be answered, many thought, by Harrelson and Miller. Turns out its more like Galloway, Slone and Stewart. Many of those people say that you can’t win in big games with guys like Porter and Slone. I say if the other options were able to get it done by now, they would have been able to do it in the gimmi games. How can anyone with a sane mind say that Liggins is a better choice against UL when he isn’t the better choice against App St? That just makes no sense to me at all…

So, now that we have taken a look at the season to date, what are some of the questions moving forward? Is Patterson fully recovered? I say that question was answered when he left from the second block and posterized the poor kid from App St. THAT was the first NBA quality move I have seen in a UK jersey since Prince was taking off from outside the lane for his patented sky dunks. Who will be the third scorer is ALWAYS the question. I think it will contiune to be by committee and I really like it that way. That shows a team is able to mesh and mold around what others are trying to take away. When you have a set third scorer, it makes scouting a little easier. When you have six or seven guys that can each step up when the game plan calls for it, it make it impossible to scout or defend. Can the cats continue to play well with the likes of Porter and Slone? I say they better, or others need to really step it up. I hope its both. The more buttons coach has to push, the better. But I do think Porter and Slone are carving their own nitch on this team. Watch out if Liggins and Miller start doing the same. What about the three spot? I have no clue who will take the lead there. It could be Galloway. It could be Harris. It could very well be Miller if he starts playing more and thinking less. But I think all three will continue to contribute provided Harris recovers. What about the post? I think that is becoming very well defined. Patterson is back to where he was last year, but what if he has matured and is even better? This is a very real possibility. I think it is actually likely. If you think about it, this is an infinately better passing team and with the improved play around him, Patterson’s limit is, well, limitless. Couple that with a guy like Stevenson who is a great complement to him, and then throw in the added support provided by a very skilled Harrelson and an ever improving Stewart, the post seems to be very well manned for the final stretch. So here’s the big question: What should we expext from the home stretch? I have no idea how far this team can go as of yet, but I do not think it is even close to reaching it’s potential. But I am really excited that the answers to all of these questions begins in earnest come January 4th. I say bring on the Cards and..

GO CATS!

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