Recruiting Update:3/22

Coach Gillispie hit the recruiting trail again this past week, receiving a commitment from JUCO PG Konner Tucker out of Texas. He was being recruited by a few colleges, such as Marquette, California, and DePaul. He is PG #3 recruited by BCG so far in the Gillispie era at UK. He will be a sophomore next year.
Commitments:
Daniel Orton-He played in his state championship this past week for Oklahoma City (Okla.) Bishop McGuiness, they lost the 4a state championship though. In a losing effort he had 14 points, and is looking in good shape as he is recovering from knee surgery. He will play in the Derby Classic in Louisville in April, with future UK and UofL recruits, along with local high school players.
Jon Hood-He was at both the SEC Tournament and the KHSAA Sweet 16 with his family. His family has stated that they expect Coach Gillispie back at Kentucky next year. He is also recovering from an injury, a stress fracture in his right foot. The senior from Madisonville is expected to play in the Derby Classic.
GJ Vilarino-Was named a unanimous selection to the District 9-4A all-district team in Texas.
Recruits:
Vee Sanford-Played well in the KHSAA regionals agaiinst Scott County and Class of 2010 prospect Dakotah Euton, but was shut down in the Sweet 16. Coach Gillispie has been at the tournament this past week in Lexington and Sanford is still considered a prospect. The senior from LexCath is also being recruited by a number of big schools.
John Wall-The #1 PG in the country is still being recruited by UK, but it is not really speculated that he will come, or even is interested. Still is between Baylor and Memphis.
Eric Bledsoe-Has listed UK has one of his top 3 schools, even though Duke is his dream school. UAB and Florida are also interested.

Even though this is for college basketball, shout out to Covington Holmes on a great game last night in the finals, winning in 2OT for the school's first title. Shelby Valley and Elliot County also played well.

Runnin Rebels Ran Out Of The Gym, Cats Win First Round Game

In an epic game played in the hallowed Memorial Coliseum, Billy Gillispie coached under the shadows of legendary Adolph Rupp, even sporting a brown suit, just as Rupp did. The crowd was sold out, the largest crowd and only crowd over capacity in the NIT so far. UK beat UNLV 70-60, in a game that mirrored what UK has played like all season. A close game with UK playing on all cylinders, having scoring spurts and playing stiffling defense, only to blow a lead becuase of turnovers and have the game on the line in the last seconds. UNLV got off to a quick start, opening up the game with a 9-2 lead. But the Cats clamped down on defense, forcing turnovers and and bad shots by the Rebels, who went cold from beyond the arc. The Cats ended the half on an 8-0 run, capped by a Patrick Patterson putback as time expired. The Cats opened up the lead with 3 point shooting and fast breaks. After the Cats took a 52-32 lead, they let UNLV get back into it by not defending and by going cold, eventually making the score 60-57 in the waning minutes. But the Cats pulled it out and will play at Creighton on Monday at 7pm on ESPN. Due to Creighton being the #1 seed, the Cats will have to travel to Omaha to play. The BBN will bring a big crowd as always.

March MADness:Cats Miss NCAA's; Get First NIT Bid Since 1979

After watching with some anxiety and hope on Selection Sunday, Patrick Patterson realized that UK's name was not going to be called, for the first time in 17 years. UK had to settle for the second rate torunament known as the National Invitational Tournament(NIT), where they drew a 4 seed and a first round matchup against UNLV. The Cats will play at Memorial Coliseum, where they have not played since the 23,000-seat Rupp Arena opened back in 1976. They have also not played in the NIT since 1979, back when a young Kyle Macy still played for the team and Joe B. Hall roamed the UK sidelines. The results of not being in the NCAA Tournament will have some effects on UK in the offseason. It is being widely speculated that BCG is on the hot seat, by both the local and national media. Many fans have contributed to the madness that is going on in Lexington by proclaiming through message boards that Gillispie might already be on his way out. AD Mitch Barnhart said he will have a meeting with BCG and evaluate the season and then they will move forward and a decision will be made. This could possibly effect incoming recruits and transfers, but only time will tell.

Cats Get Revenge, Beat Rebels

Patrick Patterson stated that he wanted to play loose yesterday, and that is exactly what he did yesterday. The sophomore had 15 points in helping the Cats avenge an earlier loss to the Ole Miss Rebels, 71-58. Darius Miller also played aggressive and had 12 points. Jodie Meeks added 25 points and Perry Stevenson had 10. The Cats had regained some confidence before and after the game, in ending their losing streak. They played aggressive defense in the second half and got out to a big lead. They will have to keep up the momentum if they want to beat LSU on Friday. Patrick Patterson also mentioned before the game that he will be coming back for his junior year.

The SEC Tournament

It is officially my favorite time of the year, the SEC Tournament. I sometimes compare this time of year to Christmas, because it is so highly anticipated. When it is held in Atlanta, which it is most of the time, UK fans have a tendancy to call it "Cat-lanta". All fans from different schools gather at one particular venue for 4 days of festivities and great games. The winner of the SEC tournament is rewarded with an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Out of the many tournaments there have been, Kentucky has won the most with 25 tournament championships, more than all the other teams combined. The seeding is determined by the standings in the division. The top 4 teams from the East and West division receive a bye. The games begin Thursday and end Sunday.

Florida vs.Kentucky Pt. 2-Preview

This rivalry has cooled a bit recently since both schools are not in the national spotlight as much. But it is still an important game. Just like it was last year, it was unofficially a play-in game for both team for the NCAA tournament. But after both teams facing losses this week, the opportunnity for other bubble and at-large teams to get in is becoming is becoming more likely. A day like today, when UK was all the talk on television, call-in radio, message boards, etc. fans speculated many things that could very well be what is hurting this team. But the reality of the matter is we all need to focus on the matter at hand and get ready for the next game. Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks are what will make the difference on Saturday. They are the catalysts in helping us get some wins this season; it will be up to them. Patterson should be a dominant force since Florida has no post game, and Jodie Meeks m/ust come off some screens or curls or designed plays to make things happen. He has made magic this year by having games with 45, 46, and 54 pts. all on the road. He will need to come alive, as well as Darius Miller. If this team can play some fluid offense and contain Nick Calathes, they should be fine. As long as they can defend the 3-pt. shot, they should be able to keep Florida out of it. Im predicing the Cats win 75-70, same score as last year.

Worst For Last?

Obviously the title speaks for itself. Micheal Porter, a player who has been criticized because of his erroneous play at times, played his best having a career high 15 pts. Jodie Meeks, UK's leader, played his worse game, forcing too many shots. Georgia, the last place team in the SEC East and winless on the road this season, won. UK, the team which is on a slump and jeopardizing their 18-year NCAA appearance streak, lost. It just keeps on getting worse from here. At the time when I started this blog, UK was 16-4 and undefeated in the SEC. Now they are simply on life support, trying to get an at-large NCAA bid in a down year in the SEC. It has been argued by some if this is a down year, since there is so much parity, but the majority of these teams lack some sort of consistency. UK lost to Georgia last night, 90-85 on Senior Night, a night on which UK had an 83-5 all-time record in that game. They were all but guaranteed a lock into the tourney had they won out against USC and LSU last week against the 2 top teams in the conference. But they were blown out on the road and lost a close one at home, as almost every loss at this point has been, a close one. It is becoming more apperent that UK does have the talent, considering they only lost to Louisville on the road in the last 2 seconds. But I know feel it is the coaching decisions that are hurting this team the most. The had shown the potential before and I thought they could only get better, but they now look as if they degressing. It now falls on the coach, and before all Hell breaks loose, he better make some important decisions before his seat starts to get hotter.