So we lost to Gardner-Webb. In the post-game press conference, Coach Gillispie said “[The Wildcats] look like they got whipped to me.” I think they got taken to school, and thank Basketball Heavens for that.
Jerry Tipton mentions in his blog that after Tuesday’s game with Central Arkansas, Billy said that Gardner-Webb was the kind of team “that could expose the Cats.” Gardner-Webb played the kind of team-committed basketball that Gillispie preaches. Instead, our Kentucky players looked like a bunch of guys who had been playing out at the Blue Courts in front of Wildcat Lodge; tired from holding court for a couple of hours and ready to get knocked off by an inferior team. There was little passion on the defensive end. What passion showed up on the offensive end was not smartly used.
It seems like this Wildcat team has a lot to learn. “You can’t just show up on the court and think you’re going to beat somebody because you wearing a certain jersey,” Gillispie mentioned in the post-loss press conference. This seemed to echo what Ramel Bradley said post-game:
“We learned a lot of lessons tonight. We watched them move the ball well, help on defense, run the floor and go hard. These are all lessons we needed to learn. This is a wake up call for us. Just because our jersey says Kentucky across the front doesn’t make it an automatic win for us. We have to play with more pride. This is a blessing in disguise.”
Something tells me that Ramel is repeating what his coach told him in the locker room immediately after the loss. Repetition is a decent way to learn things, like multiplication tables. However, sometimes the only way you learn is by trying and failing. Or maybe in this case, half-assing and failing.
Sometimes you learn by embarrassment. The Big Blue Nation was so ready to start roaring about our pre-season ranking that we didn’t see the signs in this early season — a team still feeling itself and its new coaching staff out. Nothing like a nice public whipping by a small North Carolina school to bring you back to earth.
By RPI rankings, this may be the worst home loss of modern times. But I do not believe we fans should be acting like its the end of the grand tradition of University of Kentucky basketball. The long-term consequences of this loss only occurs in March if Kentucky is on the bubble. And I’d rather worry about March in March, not just two weeks into the season. (Besides, what if Gardner-Webb wins 20 games and their conference? This loss will still be bad, but not nearly as terrible as it is now.)
As for the Wildcat players, they should be thanking the NCAA rules that Billy can’t run them any harder than he’s going to run him the next couple of weeks. They may learn to appreciate their class and tutor time, since they’ll be able to sit down. My guess is they’ll be learning more than that.
Very Well Written
Yes, last night’s loss sucked! Give all the credit to G-Webb, they just plain and simple out hustled and out played us and just wanted it more! BUT, it’s really no big deal on the grand scheme of things. I honestly think, that it is exactly what our players, and Billy Clyde, needed!
You can bet that Billy will have their FULL attention and heart at practice from here on out. Any preseason attitudes (Ramel & Joe) are out the window now. Those two played “Tubby Ball” last night and look what happened. So, yes last night was very disappointing. But, I expect these boys to respond in practice, immediately and when we take the floor on Nov. 21, they will respond in A BIG WAY!
One thing I walked away from last night happy about, was Alex Legion HAS ARRIVED! Those 3 straight 3’s he hit are just the beginning for him, here at UK! GO BIG BLUE!
P.S. All you “untrue” fans that booed our Home Team last night…KISS MY BIG BLUE ASS! You should never boo your team at home, NO MATTER WHAT! You people make me sick! Go be Lousiville fans if you wanna act like that, cuz you don’t deserve to be a CATS fan!
Having not been able to see the game, I am a little hesitant to talk about it but I did get to watch the agonizing gamchannel coverage from my dorm room. A couple things stood out to me as I looked at the boxscore and play-by-play.
1. We shot our free throws well. Well, Bradley was prefect but the rest of the team wasn’t too bad either. I always hate seeing the Cats throw points away at the free throw line.
2. Meeks was 4-15 from the field. Meeks has always struck me as the kind of player that could go either way. He seems to have tons of potential and has certainly shown his ability to take over the game at times. However, he has also shown that he can become a shoot first-pass later type of player. Seeing him shoot 15 from the field (1-6 from behind the arc) makes me uncomfortable.
3. 8 assists, 12 turnovers. This just flat out isn’t going to cut it. I really hope we can get Jasper back from knee injury soon because I believe a pure passing point guard would work really well in our rotation.
I hate to see us start the season of like this (most of all, this means I don’t get to see them play until November 21) but this is far from the end. But we better be able to hold serve against Liberty……
Unfortunately it is a slow sports week so every outlet has something to say about this. Tony K. of PTI suggested that Billy G. might not have been the right hire. He also said that Billy was UK’s 4th Choice (Don’t quote me on the 4th choice part, I was too busy laughing at TK’s 1st statement).
Remember it is called “March Madness” not “November Madness.” The sun will come out tomorrow, but this was bad, really bad. Peace.
It Was a bad loss but we needed it. We will get better it will take time. As for the BOO BIRDS AT RUPP! SHAME ON YOU. That is just crazzy and you wonder why the talking heads frome Espn and other stations say were Rabid and mean well there you go just plain and simple if you boo your team your not true fans period. As for Billy Clyde not being the right hire whatever He is a winner pure and simple these guys need time to buy into his system and get used to him. Remember We started Early this year not alot of practice time. ONe Loss and prople are already starting It’s bullshit WE ARE REBUILDING TUBBY WAS A GOOD COACH BUT A TERRIBLE RECURITER THE LAST FEW YEARS! Gve him soumtime it is not going to happen over night I Love the guy he tells you like it is and has pasion for the game. He understands the college game has changed and there is talent everywhere now not JUst the power Programs. Hang in there BIG BLUE NATION we will be fine . GO CATS!
I was so excited to be in town last week to see Steve Beshear get elected to be KY’s next Governor, and was even more thrilled when I learned a friend of mine had tickets to the UK-Gardner Webb game. Not only that, they were in section 43!
The end of my excitement was about the time I entered Rupp Arena, as that was the ONLY time all night we were even in the game! I’ve never seen a KY team play so poorly. GW ran past us repeatedly like we were standing still.
I never thought I’d live to see the day where the Boo Birds would ring out in Rupp (as they did at the half). But after watching the second half, I admit I was among them. I was booing the effort, I was booing the coaching (or lack thereof), with my boos I was cheering a hard fought win by Gardner Webb.
We’ll likely not see the Top 25 after this game, and it may well mean the difference between getting a 4-5 seed in March or getting a 6-7 seed.
I could not beleive that UK was running the same offense, the same defense with 6:00 to go in the game, as they did at the beginning. And as for the game day practices, I hope Billy learned a valuable lesson. Having your team in shape is one thing, but they’d better have their legs for the game. I thought I was watching the Eddie Sutton Cats for most of the night, but there were no Emery packages or ACT tests to be found.
By the way, welcome to the big time Billy Clyde!
KyFanInPA: I think we’ll definitely drop out of the Top 25, and I’m pretty sure the voters will need to be hard-pressed to put us back there. But if we pull off victories in 2 of our 3 non-conference rival games (Louisville, Indiana, North Carolina), we’ll be back in the list for sure. The talent and the coaching staff has the potential to win 2 of those games; whether or not the potential is reached remains to be seen.
And the Boo Birds sang out at Sheray Thomas last season. Not the first time Rupp has expressed their discontent; sadly, won’t be the last time. And if you wanted to cheer for G-W, that’s great; but booing the Wildcats takes away victory. When we booed after the G-W game, we implicitly said to the G-W players, “you should have never have won that game, and it is our team’s fault you won; not your own play.” I thought the G-W boys deserved better than that.
As far which seed we get in the NCAAs, that loss is only going to look worse with the more losses we get. So if we get 10 losses, it’ll effect us; if we get just 6, then it won’t so much since we will have beaten some strong teams.
Thanks for giving us your Rupp Report and your thoughts; I honestly appreciate it, even if I disagree with some of what you said.
Stop comparing booing at uk to booing at UL, Cards fans boo when their superior talent puts on a poor performance. The kats do not have superior talent. catfaninpa, get real, talking about lower seedings in the Big Dance, ’cause you ain’t going. No, no, it’s the NIT at best for you. Are you aware of all the lame comments, by kat fans, about UL ending up in the NIT a couple of seasons, well welcome to the little dance…
Why is everyone all over Billy’s sack…he has not really accomplished anything…other than two dui’s
I just really wish everyone would quit blowing this game out of proportion. It’s the 2nd regular season game with a completely new coaching staff. They are still getting use to each other. This loss was not a big deal, if you know, understand and follow college basketball.
And Crimsonelf…don’t ever try to compare Loserville Basketball to UK Basketball. I know it must be tough being a fan of the JV team in KY, but seriously. When Denny Crum couldn’t even get you all into the NIT in the mid-late 90’s…we were winning National Championships!
You all had to get our “old coach” just to even get some decent basketball there again. You will always be the JV team in this state and you just need to accept it!
Spooner, I suppose you NKU boys consider getting a DUI an accomplishment, huh? I suppose that makes sense, since the Cincinnati Bearcats used to lead the league in DUIs during the Huggy Bear era.
C’mon Martino, lets think about what you just said. If anything I would think UK kids consider a DUI an accomplishment, specifically kids involved in UK athletics…From recent memory I can remember a pretty nice list of current and former wildcats that have had their run in with the law, lets see…Ramel Bradley, Steve Johnson, Randolph Morris, Marquis Estill all have been in trouble in the last few months…What do they put in the water down there?
whatever it is they do put in the water here,..I love it! Have you seen our girls? DAMN!
Haha, shooter, DUIs don’t count when the player isn’t on the team anymore. Besides, the high-water mark for Wildcat Inebriation was set by the lovely J.P. Blevins, who was underage drunk and fell down stairs while being chased by the cops.
I think the worst offense in modern Wildcat times (Since Pitino) has been DUIs, although I think Tubby’s “Team Turmoil” had some terrible offenders on it. And most of what they’ve done was pale in comparison to the exploits of most of the Bearcats’ players while under the swerving leadership of Huggy Bear. My step-father-in-law always calls Cincinnati “Thug U”, but he’s just co-oping the name from U of Miami. But he’s not the only one to think that Huggy Bear recruited thugs.
But let’s leave the players out of this. We all know what’s the real problem with you, Shooter; because of Billy’s DUI history, you want him to be the Bearcats coach. And wear jogging suits. Its okay to admit you miss Huggy Bear. He was special to all of us; those who loved him (like yourself) and those of us who knew how to beat him (like Kentucky).
Aren’t you glad that he moved closer to you in West Virginia, Shooter? Now you have a new favorite team to watch!
Come on Gimel, to think i used to have respect for you, but you truly fit the build of the “ignorant Kentucky Fan.” Huggs had never been hated by the people in cincinnati, its been everyone outside. I know your an ignoramus but Uk has not been in any less trouble than cincy…look at the facts, uc just always goes national because cincinnati is obviously a bigger market than lexington. And are you kidding me, Huggins gets one dui and is kicked out, why would they want someone with 2 on his way to a third? Word from one of the blogs i read is that your man crush billy g loves to get shithouse drunk lol…Mick Cronin is doing a nice job and by next year his team will compete, billy would just screw every thing up, he couldnt even snag anthony mclain…Yea ill root for Coach huggs (Who wouldnt, hes back home), but as well as andy kennedy at ole miss, and Frank Martin at Kansas State…Hell just call cincy the cradle of coaches
Thug U! man how original. I bet your step father is a good man, but he obviously needs to be educated lol
Spooner, I thought you’d know asinine teasing on the Internet when you’d read it. I do find it humorous that you have such a Huggy Boner. I also thought it was funny that you’d be teasing our coach about DUIs when your coach is known for it too.
And yeah, I made that comment about my step-father-in-law to highlight thug issue. By the way, I’ve read an article that defended Coach Huggins’ recruiting choices, stating that he wanted to give these inner-city kids a chance at something better. I doubt that Coach Huggins was truly philanthropic; Lord knows he benefited from their gifts. Doesn’t make him 100% evil, either.
In terms of our generation, Spooner, don’t get your panties in a wad. I just reread my post and it wasn’t hateful — although I suppose the “Thug U” reference may have been a little mean, sorry.
Yeah, Huggy put some great talent in the league. Kenyon Martin is an excellent sixth man the 20 games of the year he’s not hurt. And if Logan had been more than 5′2, who knows?