SouthEastern Wildcat Review

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......

I think I'll start off today's post with a little rant. Josh Selby. As I addressed in my last post, he de-committed from Sweaty Bruce and Vols a few days ago. Of course the naysayers are throwing Kentucky and Coach Cal under the bus by insinuating that Cal and World Wide Wes talked Josh out of his commitment to Tennessee. Many sources have stated that Selby was thinking about opening his recruitment back up a few months ago, however none of UK's detractors want to hear any of that. Shortly after Coach Cal was hired, I worried that every little thing would be scrutinized beyond belief number one because this is Kentucky and it has always been that way, and number two because of the undeserved reputation of John Calipari. I can see now that my fears were founded in truth.

From now on, every time a recruit changes his mind or if another school is perceived as being the leader to sign [insert 5-star player's name here] and suddenly he signs with UK, then automatically Cal cheated or World Wide Wes interfered or something else shady/behind the scenes happened. I mean why in the world would a kid want to play for the winningest program of all time?? Why would they want to try and see if they can add to the richest tradition in the NCAA?? Why would they want to practice in a world-class facility like the Joe Craft Center which is better appropriated and better looking than many division one home courts?? Why would they want to live in a storied building like Wildcat Lodge and be treated like a rock star every time they step foot out of it?? Why would they want to play at home in front of 24,000 screaming idiots every single time they take the court whether it's against North Carolina or The Wyoming School for the Criminally Insane??

And of course, why play for a coach that "unleashes" players and prepares them for the NBA?? I'm officially done with worrying what rival fans, overzealous reporters, and jealous programs think about Kentucky and John Calipari. UK has moved back to the forefront of college basketball, a spot that has been earned over time and one that 'Cat fans have been accustomed to occupying. Not only does Kentucky have the greatest salesman and recruiter in the country for a head coach, the product that is the University of Kentucky is incredibly easy to sell. I bet it's like selling me Mountain Dew, not too much work involved. So in light of UK recapturing its place among the college basketball elite, I hope ALL other fans hate us, hate our coach, and hate our arrogance. Because if they feel that way, that means all is right in the world and Kentucky is back to their old ways, meaning beating the everlovin' CRAP out of everybody!! Only one thing I have to say to fellow 'Cat fans:

Let's start off this evening with football links. The SEC Football Media Days start on Wednesday. In attendance representing UK will be Coach Brooks, Zipp Duncan, and Trevard Lindley. Here's 5 questions that will be answered during the upcoming season, and a quick overview of all 12 SEC teams. I wrote a post a while back about my feelings on Rich Brooks and the Kentucky program. Here's another good one from Bleacher Report. Regardless of your feelings about "Papaw," it's hard to deny the job he has done with the program. Two ex-'Cats in the NFL, Andre Woodson and Jacob Tamme, are both beginning their second seasons with the Giants and Colts respectively. Nothing would be better than these guys turning into superstars. Play-by-play man Tom Leach and Lexington Herald-Leader writer Chip Cosby both think it's time for football season. I agree with that myself. And to end the football links, Mark Story has ten questions for the upcoming UK football season.

Now for hoops links, Tennessee's assistant coach "smells" something fishy about the Josh Selby situation. I already addressed that above. The most bizarre recruit of the BCG era, Donald Williams, has changed his mind again. I wish the kid the best of luck, he was a victim of Clyde's madness. Jerry Meyer of Rivals talks about UK's chances with Josh Selby. Jodie Meeks keeps getting praise for his summer league performance, this time getting an "A" grade. Quickie about what recruits the 'Cats might be getting.

I don't think it will come as any surprise to Wildcat fans that as Patrick Patterson goes this season, so goes the 'Cats. Resident loudmouth and ACC homer ESPN analyst Dick Vitale put Patrick on his Second Team All Rolls-Royce Squad. Second team?? Come on Dick, show a little more respect. Speaking of ESPN, they have profiled Kentucky in their "Teams on the Rise" series. (Must have Insider account). In you don't have an Insider account (I don't either) Tom Leach has a few excerpts on his website. Are you jealous of all the guys out on the July recruiting trail? Gary Parrish tells us what we're missing. Point guard U?? Sure is starting to look that way... Joe Jackson happens to be one of the targeted point guards, and he had this to say about his recruitment. What does Coach Cal think about Louisville? He had this to say during his speech to the Pikeville Chamber of Commerce.

Now for a segment entitled, Remember Me? How about Derrick Caracter? The schoolboy superstar that totally flamed out as a member of Ricky P's team answers a few questions. Of course you would have to have a pretty short memory not to remember Tyreke Evans, superstar point guard from Memphis that was the fourth pick in the NBA draft this year. He explains why he went to Memphis and chose Cal and the Dribble Drive Motion Offense. Another trip to Memphis, former guard Antonio Burks was shot, but is now recovering and should come out unscathed. Ending on a pro-UK note, I hadn't thought of this but here's a list of the best current NBA players who actually graduated from college. When you think about it, you don't see that nearly as much as you should.

Thanks for reading, see you guys tomorrow when I put up a really funny story that happened recently to one of friends. Most of you will be able to identify, I think.

YouTube user ukcat8fan continues to put out quality Kentucky highlight videos. This one is his list of the ten biggest clutch plays in UK history:

I have to say that I can't argue at all with any of these. He does an excellent job, check out his channel on YouTube, he has quite a few more like this one. I really could watch these over and over and over.
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I used to think that summer recruiting was one of the best times of year to be a college coach. You don't yet have the pressures of the season, and you get to travel all over the country doing nothing but watching high school players trying to one-up each other and make a bigger name for themselves. After listening to Coach Cal's numerous diatribes on the subject, I must say that I agree with his stance on eliminating summer recruiting. To me it makes total sense to put the recruiting back into the high schools, as that was the norm for many many years, and things had a way of working out then. My the times, how they have changed! Now onto the various goings-on around the UK universe.....
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Please don't let these rumors turn out to be true. I sincerely hope that this is one of those cases where the names of the teams and athletes involved have caused this rumor to blow up. UT sites are reporting it, UK sites are discussing it, message boards are lighting up about it, and yet nobody in the mainstream media has even mentioned it yet. I'm not going to rehash the story, check the excerpt from CatsPause.com below. For the life of me, I just can't understand why these athletes continually get caught in situations like this. In light of the national stories about Adam "PacMan" Jones, Plaxico Burress, and seemingly a million others just like it, one would think these guys wouldn't even own a gun, let along leave the house with one on their person.

Six UT players were at an apartment complex that was discussed above and were harrassing multiple people. A female called the UK players (not sure if this was the female who invited them or another one) and asked them to come over and help her get them to either leave their apartment or the complex. The UK players showed up and a donnybrook ensued. During this bru ha ha a shot was allegedly fired by UK player into a wall. There is a 4th (UK) player invovled who's name has not been mentioned yet.

No one has been charged with anything yet and the police are not releasing any names to anyone. There are apparently dozens of witnesses to this event and the police are taking their time determining who to charge with what.

This is total speculation but I would not be suprised to see 4 UK players charged with disorderly conduct (or something along those lines) and 1 of them given the additional charge of something like Second Degree wanton endangerment (a class A misdemeanor) if he did in fact discharge a firm arm into a wall. I would also not be suprised to see UT players charged with something.

Fact of the matter is that the Lexington Police chief will have to charge someone with something since this is very much becoming public. However, he was raked over the coals pretty hard by Rich Brooks (who's teams have a very good reputation) and the press for the Stevie Johnson incident. If he is going to charge a UK player with a crime, while he was defending a female from UT PLAYERS, he's going to have to charge the UT players with something. If not, that would be VERY unpopular in Lexington.

Like I said above...I'm guesssing at what will happen here. I think you're going to see misdemeanor charges brought against multiple UK players and possibly against UT players.

Let's just hope none of this comes to fruition, Brooks' defense is still reeling from the news and loss of Jeremy Jarmon. If any more players, especially those slated to be major contributors fall by the wayside, it could turn out to be a looooong time until basketball season starts. And if this poster is telling the truth, I bet Steve Brown has quite a few sleepless nights ahead of him:

I got an update, to what I posted earlier. Most of what has been said is the same. Several new pieces of info. One of the girls that lived there, is friends with the UT players, I believe even dates one.Micah, and several other players were called by someone in the apartment. The door was busted down, and a fight did break out amongst UK players and the UT players.
The girl who lives there, and several of her friends inside the apartment are accusing Micah of breaking the door down, and also accusing him of brandishing a gun.
Micah says he did not break down any doors, and did not even have a gun on him that night. Thats his version. At some point during the fight, the UK players left because the police where on the way. He was not arrested, not detained and as of yet hasn't even been questioned.
There is and has been animosity between Micah and that girl, so perhaps her credibility is what is leading to this delay. Can't find out who's version is true, but those are indeed her accusations.

I hope that's not the sound of a season going down the tubes. What shame if off-the-field incidents end up costing the 'Cats their 4th straight bowl and a decent season.
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Another quick football note, UK defensive lineman Corey Peters finished runner-up to a South Florida player for the honor of receiving the Emmitt Smith Award. It is given only to members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, specifically to one who demonstrates athletic achievement, academic success, and fraternity and community involvement.
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Jodie continues to impress his new NBA bosses and show all the doubting Wildcat fans that not returning to UK was in his best interests. In his 1st Summer League game his line was 14 pts, 2 rbs, 0 ast. Meeks increased his scoring in his 2nd game to a tune of 16 pts, 2 rbs, 2 ast. And typical of Jodie, another increase in his 3rd game to 20 points. I believe he will not only make the team, but be a big contributor during his rookie season.
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Chuck Hayes. Keith Bogans. Tayshaun Prince. Three of the greatest players in Wildcat history. If you'll notice the fourth person in this picture, I believe he has every right to be mentioned with these guys. After his career is finished, I really believe he will not only be remembered as one of the best 'Cats to ever don the uniform, but also as the one who preservered through two of the worst seasons in UK history only to come back and lead UK out of the dark ages. Speaking of the dark ages, it looks like UK is going to fight the Clyde lawsuit as hard as they can, recently approving $100,00.00 to be used to hire Dallas-area lawyers. The train wreck continues....... Mark Story's Fast Break Points column is usually an interesting read, and this one is no different. Do you know the story behind the most successful coach in the history of the Kentucky Wildcats? If not or if you just need a little reminder, check out the first part of a two-part series on the Baron of the Bluegrass.
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Jerry Tipton was complaining wrote in his article in Sunday's Lexington Herald-Leader that Cal was selling the NBA more than he was selling the Kentucky program. Ummmmm, What's wrong with that? If that keeps the program on top and is the perception of the recruits, I for one am definitely all for it. When you land a class like this along with the starting lineup possibilites, I say let the man sell the brand however he wants. Does Cal's or any other coaches use of Twitter violate any NCAA rules? Not necessarily, but it does come really close. The previous link also has a list of the 50 most prolific sports Twitterers (?)
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Joe Jackson is a Memphis-area point guard that UK has a lot of interest in just in case Cal doesn't land Rivals #1 prospect Brandon Knight. He has some competition from his replacement at Memphis, Josh Pastner, who wants the kid so bad he's willing to do this. Wow.
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Former Billy Clyde era commitment and still current 'Cat target Dominique Ferguson is apparently changing high schools. Rumors of this circulated a while back, but D-Ferg has consistently denied them. For some reason I'm not real high of this kid. All kinds of talent, just seems kind of aloof to me.
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And from the department pictured to the left, one of the great past Wildcat players has made the news for something you don't want to make the news for. Surely this is not what 122 million in career earnings gets you. Please tell me it was just a bank error. Actually, that's what I'm going to believe until more facts come out. Changing the subject, has Yahoo Sports passed ESPN as the new "source" for breaking sports news? It certainly seems to be that way, for now at least. And finally, the 10 most overrated things in sports. See you guys tomorrow.