Come On Down

A question for you. Why would a player want to play for anyone other than a SEC school? To win a national championship? Thats getting harder to do if you don’t play in the SEC.

1998: – Tennessee
1999: – Florida St.
2000: – Oklahoma
2001: – Miami
2002: – Ohio St. (won on a blown call)
2003: – LSU
2004: – USC (Auburn was undefeated and didn’t play)
2005: – Texas
2006: – Florida
2007: – LSU
2008: – Florida
2009: – Alabama

To get drafted? The SEC leads in that also department also as the draft results this year show.

1. SEC – 49
2. Big Ten – 34
3. ACC – 31
4. Big 12 – 30
5. Pac-10 – 28
6. Big East – 18
7: MWC – 13

The SEC has now led or tied for the most selections in the NFL Draft for 11 of the last 13 seasons and the last four drafts and every team in the SEC had someone drafted. Alabama (7), Arkansas (1), Auburn (2), Florida (9), Georgia (5), Kentucky (3), LSU (6), Ole Miss (4), Mississippi State (2), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (6), Vanderbilt (2).

Because you love your state school? Ok this one I can understand I mean who wouldn’t want to play for Montana St. rather than Tennessee.

So if your a young man wanting to play great football and are being offered by a school like USC, Florida St. or Penn St. come on down and play for Kentucky in the SEC there isn’t anything like it.

A reminder of my prescription to beat Florida

–Just a reminder and some minor modifications on my prescription for success. Most of it depends on clock management, running the ball, and Steve Brown growing a pair.

From weeks ago…. most of it, at least.

“–This might take a while, but I’m going to piece together a few things, ideas, and suggestions, that I think will give the Cats a chance to beat the Gators. Feel free to jump in and opine, and I’ll snag em as I get them.

–I know that there’s no way this can happen. I know there has been this much agreement as to a number one team in AP history. I know the Gators have returning a fully stocked defense. I know this. Yet, I also know that some teams will play this team close. Likely, ONE team will beat this team. Teams will score touchdowns. Teams will move the ball. Teams WILL deny the Gators the endzone, sometimes. So how does a team like Kentucky do it?
Well, that’s what I’m here for.

–The biggest worry we have to take into consideration is gonna be the kicking game. From all indications, the kickoffs have been inconsistent in their depth. Combine that with Florida’s speed and you have the makings for a LONG day full of short series on defense. No coaching ideas I can offer here. You either can get the ball deep enough or high enough to get the stop or you can’t. My suggestion to the coaches would be to consider free kicking the ball. The punters seem to be able to get over 40 on most every kick, and you get the hang time. Chances are you can force a fair catch on the 30 to 35 yard line that would be better than letting them catch it on the run at the 15-20. Just a thought.

–So, let’s start where we likely will, no matter what. Defense. Opening thought. Team is full of energy. Snapping at the leash. You’ve got better DBs than they have receivers. Start the day with a blitz. Doesn’t have to be a sell out. And, I certainly wouldn’t advertise it. But send one side and Micah. Objective: Get into the backfield early. Even if they hand the ball to a back, get in there early. If they don’t; if Tim keeps the ball for a play action, then hallelujah. Hit HIM! Throw or no throw. Get the hit, and set the tone. Chop the throwing arm if you can get there early. Remember. You’re not trying to win the game in one play. You’re trying to make this guy thinking about himself, not the play, late in the game.

Addition: UK must attack upfield. We have to play our assignments on the wildcat, but Linebackers cannot be expected to scrape the line with the way UF blocks. Each tackler is going to have to get upfield into the gaps and tackle their man.

–Obviously, UF has a lot of weapons. And, they have their best play maker handling the ball. But, Tim Tebow is human. He can be caught up in a number of things. 1st: You have to attack HIM for the game. Not waste time with assignment here or there, or this or that. Yes, you need to honor the assignments you have, but when all esle fails go hit Tim Tebow. Have somebody, as often as you can, not spying on him, but running toward him. And I don’t mean the DT and DE who are pushing every play. I mean a LB. A safety. A corner. MLB. MLB again. Safety. You’re gonna have to mix coverages and you’re gonna have to play up and back with your spacing, but this will be effective. You run your DBs up to play press or to blitz, then you back them up and leave the safety in. The snap of the ball he lunges then falls back into a zone about 8 yards off the ball to the slot side. Instead, your MLB some hard on a blitz to the opposite side of the DT the safety lunged to and the press is on. Tim is good enough to beat you. Yes. He’s good enough to make tough throws. But, NOW, at least, YOU are deciding how long he has to do it, and what routes he’ll have time to see develop before he gets rid of it.

ADDITION: Florida does not have good wide outs. They are primarily down field blockers, and blockers for the option pitch. We should be able to man up on them.

–Offensively (which I’ll get to ) I’d all but guarantee screens will be a waste of time. Screens just aren’t that effective outside of high school. Florida’s defense is gonna be too experienced. I think UK will call a screen. Probably a couple, and I’ll go on record telling those coaches ahead of time that they will be terrible plays and that the Gators will smell everyone of them out and be all over them. Cut and paste it. The screen is great if you catch a blitz, or if the other team is slow. But Florida’s DT’s will smell it out and be in the middle of it.

–About the only way I’d call a screen is if I was running double screens and had a QB who could fake to the heavy screen and throw to the weak one. And even THEN that’s not a good call.

–Trick plays are for tricks. I don’t mind the occasionally punt fake, or field goal fake, but most everything else is just too chancy. If we’re in third and short (3yds or less) Florida will be bringing heat. And they will have some of the, if not THE, fastest linebackers we’ll see. They will be in the backfield and trickery will likely mean a fumble or sack.

–***Florida will be a game where the judicious use of the tight end will be key.*** Like I’ve described MANY times, there is little defense for having the TE come off the ball, go 5-7 yds, turn and sit. All the QB has to do is burn a shot right to the side opposite the defender and then they guy just has to catch it and fall.

–The Wildcat package will be neat, but I’m not sure how much. Against a deep and experienced fron seven, some times you just need to be able to reduce the variables, put helmet on helmet and just get three yards between the tackles. It’s not flashy, and it won’t make we the fans go oooohhh. But, it gets the ball moving, keeps the defense honest, and gives the defense some rest. Can’t do it every play, but we also can’t consistently scheme up wildcat option draw passes. And, yes, we do have the lineman and full back to get yardage up the middle. The one thing UK CANNOT DO (are you listening Randy) is run hope plays. We need to run consistent plays. If you are in 2nd and 7 and you can either run it up the gut for three yards, try a screen (and we all know how badly those can go), or run a post pattern, TAKE THE THREE YARD RUN. Get it to third and four. Extend the defense’s time on the field and give yourself options. Now you only need four yards, but you can go as deep as you want. You can expect a blitz and run a slant, a draw, or a screen (still, I think, not a good call against florida’s speed) You can hit the TE short. And, depending on field positions, if you’re say… inside their 45, you call a hope play and leave yourself the option of faking the punt because you ONLY need four yards, not 7.

ADDITION: I cannot wait to see the wildcat. I believe it will be very interesting in seeing how Florida reacts to their own medicine. I think they will quickly be able to adjust, with their experience, but I don’t think they realize how fast UK is. UK back field, with Smith, Cobb, and Lock is just as fast as the Gators. Truth. Tebow is what gives them the edge, because he’s a running 250lb tight end that can throw. We don’t have any QBs that can bullrush for four yards. I cannot help but be convinced that it is not coincidence that we have seen this program use it’s most deadly weapons effectively until this game. My gut tells me that Rich Brooks knows we can win this game, at commonwealth.

–A big weapon offensively for us, will be the big weapon we’ve all known about from Florida. You set up in a shotgun formation with either Hartline (who runs fairly well… um no. Change that. Never again.) Cobb, or Newton and spread the field. On the snap the QB just runs a QB draw and tries to get three or four yards without fumbling. This can be a cheap, easy, play, and the formation is such a problem. Run it with Cobb and you’ve got a real passer, who’s a better runner, with a speed back. Call this play out of no huddles and it drives defenses crazy.
ADDITION: Imagine Cobb in shotgun, tucking the ball and stepping up like a run, then springing back (as he is quick and agile enough to do, and looking down the sideline for Matthews. Florida will bite on this, and I can see it being a big play once or twice, if we establish the wildcat.)

–My next bit of advice is for Steve Brown.

–Umm.. blitz. Hit Tim Tebow early in the game. hit him late in the game. Hit him when it’s a draw play. hit him when it’s a trap. Okay,.. okay. Clearly we can’t hit the guy with no reason, but you get my point. I strongly encourage you, Steve, to look at some of the blitzes that Joe Lee Dunn used to come up with as Miss. St. Safeties, corners, every LB, one LB, Middle and weak LB, Zone blitz. LBs and no ends. You are going to have to call a game that PREVENTS Florida from being able to assume anything.

–As a defensive coach, You cannot play a veteran team by doing what they’ve seen time and time again. You have to create mismatches. You have to limit Tebow’s time to make reads. You have to shorten their passing game by making Tebow protect himself from hits.

ADDITION: I would still blitz, but I’d blitz as much now to get my backers in the backfield on the run, as I would to just hit Tebow. Maybe he’ll break out, but Tim Tebow is not a good passer, and they don’t have Spurrier era Wide outs. I think we can chance their passing attack and focus on the run. If we get florida to start passing the ball, our chances for winning improve dramatically.

–Here’s another HUGE tip from the guru. During pass rush situations, You need to train your defensive lineman to rush for two seconds. TWO SECONDS. In TWO SECONDS if your defensive lineman doesn’t have the advantage against the offense, if they aren’t in a seam heading for the QB, or if they are running straight into a double team, they need to back up, get their hands up and jump into passes. It’s a waste of energy for a d-lineman continue to struggle for another second and a half to two seconds just to have the play go by them, anyway.

–I know many coaches teach this. I KNOW it. But, I still see teams that are getting out there and not doing it.

My thoughts for offense aren’t too complicated. This is the one area where Florida DOES have the advantage. The ability to make plays is still a factor. So, here’s what I recommend. Don’t get too caught up in trying to outscore Florida.

The Gator offense is similar to a major league baseball pitcher on a good day. They start the day, get you into a rhythm of going three and out, trying to make desperation plays to keep up with them. The pitcher gets going. He’s usually throwing the ball fairly quickly, because he’s in his groove. When good pitchers do this, they start commanding the strike zone, getting ahead early, and that’s the beginning of the end.

So, how does UK stop this? In a similar fashion that major league hitters do. They step out of the box and call timeout. They stretch back and swing a couple of times. They take some time to readjust the gloves. They MAKE the pitcher go at the pace they want. This frustrates the guy. Might even make him throw a little chin music. That’s fine. The minute he starts doing stuff like that, he’s showing his aggravation. He’s showing he lost the focus. That’s what you wanted. And, that’s what UK needs to do.
UK needs to perform simple, aggressive plays that keep the Florida defense on the field. Even if you don’t score a touchdown, a couple of first downs and time off the clock will disrupt the offense, and slow the game down.
AND….

wanna know a little secret? Urban Meyer is an ego maniac. HE is the one he will get frustrated from this kind of play. He KNOWS everyone is watching and he KNOWs that his team’s fitness for a championship is being evaluated every game not by whether or not they win, but in how GOOD they look doing it. He would ABHOR a 21-17 third quarter score, even if he was winning.

ADDITION: Take note of the gator players during the UT game, and Meyer’s reaction afterward. Even up till Tuesday of this week, he was grumbling over the fact that UT took them out of their play style. I tell you, he’s an ego maniac worse than Spurrier. WE run the ball, we get some first downs, He’ll start eating his nails. UK runs it with Connor 4 or 5 times and focus on hitting them from Tight end to tackle, and we’ll get first downs, stay in third and shorts (which hinder blitzing) and we WILL win this football game.

–This UK team has potential. No, they will not be able to stare down there schedule and pick out the tough games that they SHOULD WIN. But…

Let me see if I can give the Wildcat Faithful the best way to look at this.

–Florida is as good as any Florida has been, when they’ve been good. They’re not better than the best teams that Spurrier had. Look at those teams and be fair. A lot of NFL players. This team is still good, and right up there. That’s what everyone in the media sees. The problem is that ignore that THIS UK PROGRAM IS NOT THAT ONE THEY USED TO PLAY. This Florida could beat those UK teams by 70 points,… just like they did then. This Gator team cannot beat this UK team by 70 points unless we just let them. And this team has WON THREE BOWL GAMES. Had THREE winning seasons. Is putting guys into the NFL. This UK team has players who have beaten… not just played with… not just came close to… but BEATEN the SEC and National Champion.

This UK team is the team getting better and deeper EVERY YEAR. They are not regressing. And they certainly have not peaked. These coaches are still hungry. They have a mission. It’s not out of reach, anymore.

–Let’s be clear fans. Let’s not doubt this team until they give us reason. If I could emphasize ONE point, it would be this. We need to realize that UK playing the Gators is NOT like UK playing EKU. The talent difference is not that vast and broad. Certainly in Florida’s favor, but not by some damn near divisionally sized difference. No. UK playing Florida is more like Miami Redhawks playing UK.

(Minor Change: Miami was really, really bad. Really bad. If I had know their talent had fallen off that much, I would have declared the game much more like UK playing Miss. St.)

Yeah, we should win. But, we aren’t going to their house, with a starving fan base in an SEC sized arena. This is doable, if not likely. Florida sees Alabama. They see Georgia. They LSU. They see UT (to beat on) They see what they think are peers. They do not see the UK team coming. They don’t. The MEDIA will even tell you what to look for. They’re pre-selling it.

–Florida has UT at home. The Vols and the Gators. In the Swamp. Lane Kiffin and all the bad blood. The smack. The egos. Then they go on the road to play #11 LSU. LSU. ANOTHER championship coach. ANOTHER HUGE EGO…..

Those of you who’ve looked ahead may have noticed something. There’s a game in between those two monsters. A little visit to UK. Now you tell me. Where is the practice priority going to lie? What films do you think the coaches are REALLY going to be watching? What highlights do you think the players are going to be looking at? Think they’ll be looking for UK Louisville highlights? Think they’ll be flipping over UK Miami?

I see the world overlooking this game.”

The majority of that was written weeks ago, and I think it’s been damn near Karnak like.
–UK: run more than pass. USE THE CLOCK. Understand that each play is only a battle, not the entire war. Be happy with 2nd and seven. Run it again and get 2 to 4 yards or throw to the tight end or a hook route. Eat clock. Use the tight end three plus times. Run between the tackles. Stay in third and 5 or less. UK has a great kick return team. We should get good field position. Turnovers never need be emphasized. It’s hyperbole. Florida will do what they did against UT. They TOO will commit 9 to the box. Fine. Play action and give Matthews a reason to play here. Start this guys career with a highlight day torching UF when he’s in single coverage.

On defense, Get up the field. Don’t try to play laterally, they’ll be through the line if you do. Use 9 in the box most of the day, and disguise it by floating your safeties a bit. Blitz, and mix up the blitz.
I’d probably put Micah on Tebow as a permanent spy.
In fact, I might drop him an additional yard off the line to encourage him to run at the line of scrimmage.

Expect Florida and Meyer to get impatient to score. Trust Lindley, Burden, and Warford. Let them know you trust them. They can do it.

Tell your DE’s to get upfield and KEEP contain. Don’t get trapped at the line while they string out an option and leave the DB on an island. If you’re blitzing appropriately, as I’ve described, **STEVE BROWN**, then you will still get good pressure and will meet runner at the LOS.

LAST THING for the defense. Strip the ball every chance you get. Florida has shown a propensity to fumble the ball. They are so used to and eager to burst out that they aren’t used to being in traffic. They do not protect the football well. Strips by safeties and corners could yield BIG results.

Jeremy Jarmon Ruled Ineligible to Play at UK

Jeremy Jarmon, the senior defensive end, has tested positive for a substance banned by the NCAA. The NCAA denied UK’s appeal of their decision which ends Jeremy’s career at UK.

Here is a kid who made an honest mistake, and one who was not trying to gain a competitive advantage by getting “bigger, stronger, and faster”. He was merely trying to lose some weight. After he was told to stop taking the supplement, he tested negative, but it was too late according to the NCAA. The NCAA could be much less stringent when a case like this one arises…The need to punish has overruled the need for compassion, and a desire by the athlete to comply.

Jarmon met with the media on Saturday morning at his own request. It was a tearful end to a great career here at UK, as he read a statement explaining how his positive test came to be. He explained how he purchased dietary supplements from a local retailer with the intent to reduce his body fat.It’s a sad day for UK football all around, because Jeremy was a stand-up guy and a leader on the field and off. He will be missed by all.

This from Mitch Barnhart: “Let me be abundantly clear, this guy has been a model of discipline for our program. He has never had a disciplinary action and he has never even come close to failing the test before. It has never been an issue. This is a three week isolated deal that is very unfortunate. He has been unbelievable for the University of Kentucky. Do not lose sight of that. I don’t know anyone that could represent this program better than he has in a lot of different ways and I am thankful for that and that he knows that.”

UK Dismisses Billy Gillispie

After two tumultuous years at the helm of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, Billy Gillispie is out. Kentucky’s top choice two years ago when Gillispie was hired, Billy Donovan, is rumoured to be the replacement.

Billy Gillispie arrived at UK with a reputation as a hard-nosed grinder who overachieved. He had four conference Coach of the Year awards in his pocket to go with it. Some said that Billy was too much of a task master, that he wore his players down, but it CANNOT be said that he did it HIS WAY, since he never got the chance, given only a two – year tenure.

Billy Gillispie had a 40-27 record in his two year at UK. He took over for Tubby Smith who left to go to Minnesota. This year UK missed the NCAA for the first time in 18 years. Reports are that UK is reaching out to representatives of Billy Donovan.

NIT TOURNAMENT UK vs UNLV

As expected the University of Kentucky Wildcats did not receive a bid to the NCAA tournament from the selection committee on Sunday…They will instead accept the bid to the NIT, where they well be matched up in the first round against the Runnin Rebels of UNLV with coach Lon Kruger.

UK will host UNLV at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday night in Memorial Coliseum. UK will be a four seed in a region that also has the top-seeded Creighton. Now that UK is playing in the JV tournament, I suggest that they make the most of it. There may be some fans that get to see them that would otherwise not have that opportunity.

Patrick Patterson had his own opinion of the NIT: “If we could win the NIT that could carry over to next year, that would be a huge confidence boost and weight lifted off our shoulders. We’ve had a not so good season and everyone is frustrated but making a run in the NIT would help”

Ramon Harris sees it as “a chance to play more basketball”, and indeed it is. UK will be playing its first game in Memorial Coliseum since the end of the 1975-76 season when the Wildcats moved to Rupp Arena.

“We are happy to still be playing,” Gillispie said. “There are 330 some teams and they all want to play in the NCAA and that’s not possible for every team every year. We will try to represent ourselves the best way we can.”

So his players seem eager to play?

“I am not a mind reader. We had a really good practice last night. I would expect we will play well and we will have to play well to advance against a very good team,” Gillispie said.

UNLV won AT Louisville 3 days before UofL beat UK on a Edgar Sosa buzzer beater. They are similar to many SEC teams in that they like to spread you out and shoot the 3. Billy Gillispie expects a difficult matchup for that reason, “It will be a difficult matchup for us because they spread you out and shoot a lot of 3′s. They really utilize the drive. They are hard to guard because of their athleticism and ability to shoot 3′s.”

Bottom Dwellers Ga “DOGS” UK 90-85

The Georgia Bulldogs came into Lexington, losers of nine road games this season and playing for pride only, beat the Kentucky Wildcats. The University of Kentucky Wildcats, needing a win to avoid their NCAA bubble bursting, may have seen that slip away. The Cats, losers of 6 of their last 9 coming in, plodded along with bottom league dweller Georgia in the first half, as the Georgia shooters put on a 3 point display reminisicent of some other squads that came into Rupp this year…It must be the defense! Georgia shot 52% the first half on 7 of 9 three pointers in gaining their 1st road win of the year.

Uk rode the hot shooting of Michael Porter who was 4-4 on threes the first half to finish the half with a 2 point lead after being down by as much as 7 with 1:10 to go in the half. On the strength of a 4 point play, precipatied by an intentional foul on Georgia, and possesion which led to a Patrick Patterson slam and the resulting first half lead. Terrance Woodbury had 21 points for Georgia in the first half.

The second half saw Georgia take a quick 61-53 lead as Billy Gillispie pulled all his starters but one, and UK had 3 consecutive turnovers…UK fell behind and trailed Georgia by as much as 10 points in the second half…Now UK, not knowing where they stand, must pick themselves up and go to Gainesville Fl. Florida suffered a similar loss tonight against Mississippi State, which all but eliminates them from the NCAA tournament also..

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.

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

Wreck injures former UK star

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