SouthEastern Wildcat Review

Kentucky vs. Florida. Northernmost SEC team vs. Southernmost SEC team. 1st choice vs. 2nd choice. (Oh and by the way, how nice is it that the 2nd choice ended up with the job?!?) Eddie Munster vs. George Clooney. Of course, none of this really matters. What does matter is the fact that Kentucky has lost 8 of the last 10 in this series, and it's high time UK evens up that score. The 'Cats are back, and revenge is sweet. John Wall got a very quiet 19, while Eric Bledsoe was posting a very loud and eye-popping 25. Florida tried their best to take Wall out of the game, and Cal pulled out a first (for this year anyway) out of his hat and moved Eric to the point. I knew Bledsoe was a baller, but it really did my heart good to see the future of Kentucky's point guard position put on such a show. What a game!! The only disappointment being UK's inability to stomp on their neck once they had them down. All in all though, a great performance from all the guys (DeAndre had a little of a down game) and only greater things to come.

Number 2. Let's say it again together and let it sink in for a minute. The Kentucky Wildcats are the second ranked team in all of the land. Seven long years. That's how long it's been since the 'Cats were able to lay claim to so lofty a ranking. How wonderful it is to be able to say that again. It is also wonderful to be the focus of the college basketball world again. Sitting here now watching the Dirty Cards play the other set of Wildcats ranked in the top 5, Villanova, and what do I see on the screen? A graphic of John Wall's stats this season to go along with Jay Bilas singing his praises. Exactly how long has it been since a UK graphic was thrown up during a Big East game??? And numerous times this season I have heard various announcers speak of the wonderful coaching job Cal has done and what a turnaround he has orchestrated in Lexington during a game in which Kentucky was not playing!!! Again I can't help but giggle thinking about Clyde sitting in a dimly lit bar in Timbuk 2 nursing his fourth "fruity smelling drink" wondering how in the hell he nearly tanked the greatest program of all time. We all knew that brighter skies were on the horizon the day John Vincent Calipari was announced as the leader of Big Blue Nation, but the speed in which he has accomplished an undefeated record and number 2 ranking is nothing short of a miracle.

Speaking of an undefeated record, is it a good thing or a bad thing? I'm sure by now you are screaming at me, "How can that be a bad thing??" Well, here are my worthless thoughts on the situation. There is always going to be pressure on anybody wearing the blue and white. Fans like us will always ensure that. Add to that the rapid ascent from NIT team to #2 in the country. If the 'Cats keep the streak going, pretty soon THE STREAK will become the defining characteristic of this team. It will always be the first thing mentioned when anyone breaks down Kentucky. "When will it end?" "Can they keep it going?" "Will this team become the 1st since Knight's Hoosiers in '76 to go undefeated and win it all?" Think back to the New England Patriots of a couple of years ago. It was all about the streak, not about how good the team actually was. How much of that wore on their psyche? How much did the pressure of being undefeated lend to their loss at the hands of the Giants in the Super Bowl? If they had lost a game later in the season, would it have caused them to re-focus and get better instead of keeping the status quo? If the 'Cats suffer a loss, will it cause them to get better? Or will the desire to be the first wire-to-wire undefeated team in over 30 years serve as enough motivation?

I don't know the answer, but I sure am looking forward to finding out......

Winning ugly. I know all the talking heads say that is the sign of a good team. But this is two games in a row that the 'Cats have won in this fashion, and I'm not very sure that I like it. I have a few friends, (and my mother also happens to be included in this category,) who enjoy the closer, back an forth games more than the blowouts. As for me, give me a Hartford or Drexel beatdown anytime. I have waaaay more fun watching a game when Kentucky is up by 20 or more. I don't get a headache, heart flutters, or watery eyes when UK is killing somebody. I also don't catch that mysterious disease that causes loud strings of unintelligible curses to come flying out of my mouth. But in the end, a win is a win, and I guess I can live with that.

Georgia did come to play, and this is now the second straight game that I believe had some seriously sub-par officiating. Again I will say that refs do not win or lose games, but man did it seem like UK was not getting some calls that they should have gotten. Cousins and Patterson did foul out their entire front line with the exception of Thompkins and that had a big impact on the game as Cousins took over down the stretch. Some stats and comments about each of the guys that played today:

Starters

DeMarcus Cousins: 16 pts,7 reb,3 stl,2 blk,4 to,3 pf in 25 minutes.
I go back and forth on 'Cuz a lot. He has so much talent and can dominate a game as much or more than Wall can when he checks the attitude and just plays. Today was a good day for him, he really stepped up at the end of the game defensively and hit some clutch free throws. And I have to admit I was glad he left off the headband for most of the game. The 3 steals stand out the most to me.

Patrick Patterson: 17 pts,6 reb,1 blk,1 to,2 pf in 37 minutes.
Pat had a pretty solid game. Should've got some more boards. The 1 turnover stood out because it happened at a critical juncture in the game and was caused by nothing but pure laziness on Pat's part. Very much unlike him.

Darius Miller: 5 pts,1 reb,1 stl,1to in 15 minutes.
Disappeared again. I really like Darius but I believe that DeAndre should be starting in his place. No energy and played way too timid.

John Wall: 17 pts,4 reb,5 ast,1 stl,1 to,2 pf in 34 minutes.
Quietest 17 I've seen Wall get this year. Something was off with him today, Cal said in the presser he wasn't feeling well. You could tell. Still, 17 on an off day isn't too shabby.

Eric Bledsoe: 12 pts,3 reb,1 ast,3 stl,2 pf in 37 minutes.
Only 2 turnovers on the day, and a beautiful little right hand flip reverse in the lane in traffic. If he keeps turning in games like this, the 'Cats could keep the winning streak going for quite a while.

Bench

Darnell Dodson: 0 pts and 2 reb in 11 minutes.
The cold streak continues. He needs to regain the sharpshooter form from a few games ago. His 3-point shot is a huge weapon when it is falling.

Ramon Harris: 0 pts,2reb,2 to in 10 minutes.
Razor wasn't much of a factor today. If Liggins keeps his play up, Harris will be fighting Darius for minutes before long.

Perry Stevenson: Absolutely nothing in 9 minutes.
And the enigma continues. I swear I saw him on the floor, but you sure couldn't prove it by the stat sheet.

Daniel Orton: 3 pts,3 reb,1 stl,1 blk,1 pf in 8 minutes.
Daniel didn't have much of an impact on the game either. I didn't notice his normal energy. His 1 rejection however was a good one.

DeAndre Liggins: 6 pts,1 reb,3 stl,2 pf in 14 minutes.
Great, great game. Boundless energy. A big layup when the 'Cats were sputtering. Excellent defense. Without a doubt the most improved player on this team since the start of the season. Cal hinted at the presser he may be starting the next game. I agree totally.

I think these are the shoes me and my friends called "Kentucky Dunks" when we were growing up. Anyway that was a random pic and thought, so now it's on to the little swamp to show Billy D what he gave up when he turned us down when Tubby left. And thank goodness he did!! I hated Clyde in the end, but if he hadn't came, we might not have Cal now, and damn, was it worth the wait!!!!