Cats fumble away opportunity, again.

It was another impressive night from a numbers perspective for Mike Hartline and the Kentucky passing offense. The running game looks to have a solid future but certainly missed not having Derrick Locke. The defense also was not great, but at the end of the day- all Kentucky had to do was hold on to the football and they would have likely escaped with another victory and stay in the SEC East race. For the second time this year, they simply gave away a victory. You simply can't expect to turn the ball over and give up a short field in the SEC. Good teams take advantage of that and even mediocre SEC teams will usually not let you get away with it. First at Ole Miss, and now at home against Georgia...if the Cats had not fumbled themselves out of these two games, they'd be atop the SEC East standings with a 6-2 overall record and a 3-2 conference record.

Once again, an opportunity to make that next step forward in the SEC ended in disappointment. Things don't get any easier next week in Starkville, either. Dan Mullen's 6-2 Bulldogs are for real. They've already knocked off Georgia and Florida and they have a major New Year's Day Bowl within their grasp. The Cats can still position themselves for bowl season nicely with winning these last three games(and honestly, who would be disappointed with ending the season with a win in Knoxville?). But hopefully the Cats bounce back resiliently again this week and play spoiler to the great season MSU is having in a similar way that the Bulldogs did to the Cats in 2007.

And good news...Tuesday night is the Blue/White basketball scrimmage! Cheer up, Kentucky! Thanks to allkyhoops.com for this photo of Wall and Bledsoe going at it in last year's scrimmage.

Wall and Cousins' Impact will Remain With Program

Antoine Walker, Walter McCarty, Rodrick Rhodes, and Mark Pope. Talk about a blast from the past. When was the last time we heard or seen any of these guys around Rupp or Lexington? Their own senior day games?

Nothing against those guys, they all wore the Blue and White for at least three years before moving on to the NBA and they all had good careers at Kentucky. The question I have for you today is this: would you rather have a good player stay at Kentucky and contribute for three or four years and then never hear or see from him ever again, or would you take John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins for one year on the court with their continued support of the program for the rest of their young lives?

I'd take Cousins and Wall as lifelong supporters, even if they were only on the court for one season. After Wall was named MVP of the NBA Summer League and Cousins was named the Top Rookie Performer, the sensational duo (as well as Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledsoe)returned to Lexington this week for John Calipari's Pro Camp. They all spoke of how great their time was at Kentucky and how much they miss it and how much they look forward to returning here as often as they can.

I know it's only a few months from last May when these four young men finished up classes and left Lexington, but I genuinely believe it when DeMarcus Cousins calls Kentucky his home and I truly believe that John Wall is sincere when he says he dreams of the day that he'll be chosen to do the "Y" at Rupp Arena. Wall and Cousins will remain great representatives for this program. They will come back and scrimmage and help out
with our current players in the summer (by the way, I hear Brandon Knight held his own against John Wall...and Enes too against Cousins!). But most importantly, they'll be tremendous recruiting assets for years to come.

As two of the biggest rising stars in the NBA, these two phenoms will impact Kentucky basketball for much longer than just one season and likely longer than just 4 years. Coach Cal will no longer need Lebron James to sell the program to recruits. Now he'll be able to use his own UK guys. Their impact in Lexington will remain. I'd take these guys over almost any 4 year player, because when Wall and Cousins left Lexington, they never really left. Their heart remains here and they'll continue to support the Big Blue.

(Photo courtesy of Kentucky.com)

Since I last posted...

UK has made history with 5 NBA First Round Draft Picks in the same year. By now, I'm sure you know the teams, the players, and all the headlines that were made. I don't think it was the "greatest day in the history of Kentucky basketball" as evidenced by taking me so long to post anything about it, however, it is special. I understand what Calipari meant by that statement, even if he was a little caught up in the moment. This is a players first program, and it is players that will win Championships for us at Kentucky in due time.

However, giving hope to families and making kids dreams/careers come true might be more important in the grand scheme of things than winning a title. Championships are an easy choice between the two for fans, the state, and the University...but lets be honest with ourselves, would Eric Bledsoe rather have won a championship and then not get drafted and live on the streets the rest of his life? Look, these kids wanted a Championship really bad and they came short. They were all devastated after the WV loss, but in the long run things went right for these kids and it's a reason to celebrate. Congrats to all five of them!

In other news...

• Daniel Orton applogizes to UK fans via twitter.

• Josh Harrelson also tweets that he "has never played against anyone as good" as Enes Kanter.

That's a pretty bold statement considering a year ago he was playing pick up games matched up against Cousins, Patterson, and Orton (3 first round draft picks).

And the saddest news surrounding the program in quite some time comes tonight. Terri Krebs, the mother of UK's Mark Krebs, has passed away. My thoughts and prayers (as well as all of Big Blue Nation, I am sure) are with Mark and his family. Krebs was an absolute class act and a great representative of the program. He walked on for 4 years, played for 3 different coaches (which is very difficult for a walk-on to do), was an Academic All-American, and had a love for UK Basketball as much as anyone you will ever meet. I wish Mark the very best and pray that he gets through this difficult time.

The Facts About Eric Bledsoe

• Neither UK under Gillispie, Florida under Donovan, or Memphis under Calipari recruited Bledsoe until after all the events mentioned in the NY Times story
• Bledsoe's H.S. Coach who may have paid a few months of $400 rent for Eric and his mother, publicly stated that he was disappointed in Eric's decision to attend Kentucky and play for Calipari. He felt that it wasn't the right fit for Eric with John Wall already being there.
• According to the landlord, the Bledsoe family still owes over $3,000 in rent to this day.

There are a lot of other facts regarding this issue, but I personally don't think this is even big enough of a deal to spend much time on. I won't even touch on the grades issue because the NY Times found absolutely no evidence to suggest that Bledsoe's grades weren't legit. They simply stated that it was "improbable" that he would have been able to improve his grades at the rate that he did as a Junior and a Senior. Without any evidence or even a hint of any academic fraud, it's simply ridiculous to assume that the kid didn't just work harder to receive the better grades in his last two years in high school.

With the three facts stated above, one can conclude with some common sense that at least Gillispie, Calipari, and Donovan were not involved in providing any money for Bledsoe's rent because they had not started to recruit him. He was, however, committed with UAB during the course of these events. One can also conclude that it is especially unlikely that the money came from Calipari or UK if Bledsoe's coach publicly stated that he was dissapointed on numerous occasions of Eric's decision to play at UK. Why would the coach speak out against a program if that program was paying him? And the last fact makes it incredibly unlikely that ANY school was involved in providing money for Bledsoe's rent. If any major college basketball program were to pay for Bledsoe's rent, I think they would have at least paid the full amount.

It looks as if the high school coach did not pay a monthly rent, but paid the landlord just enough of it (up to 3 months) so that Bledsoe and his mother would not be kicked out and put onto the streets, which is a totally separate issue that I will tackle another time- should the NCAA punish a poor kid for receiving "benefits" such as food and shelter when they would otherwise be put onto the streets? Is this whole issue something that the NCAA needs to take a second look at how they should handle such situations of an incredibly poor family? Also, how embarrassing must this whole situation be for the Bledsoe family? In more ways than one, their right to privacy was breached, especially when the NY Times illegally obtained a copy of Eric's high school transcripts.

Consider this the first of many unsuccessful attempts to bring down Calipari and Kentucky.

Official Press Release on 5 UK Players Entering the NBA Draft

(Photo courtesy of UKathletics.com)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky freshmen Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton and John Wall and junior Patrick Patterson will enter their names in this year’s NBA Draft. All five players are projected as first-round picks.

It marks the second straight season a UK player has declared early for the draft. All-American Jodie Meeks decided to forego his senior season last year to turn pro.

Bledsoe averaged 11.3 ppg while hitting 49 three-pointers and shooting 38 percent from behind the line in his freshman campaign. Bledsoe finished sixth on UK’s all-time freshman scoring list (419), second on the three-point field goals made list (49) and fourth on the freshman assist list (107).

“I never thought I’d be in this position after one year,” Bledsoe said. “Coach Cal pushed us all to be the best we could be and he believes I’m prepared to take my game to the next level. I want to thank the fans for all their support this year.”

Cousins was second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 ppg while posting a team-best 9.8 rpg average, all in only 23.5 minutes per game. He destroyed the UK freshman rebounding record by nearly 100 rebounds and scored the second-most points by a UK freshman, behind teammate John Wall.

The Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year also led the Wildcats in double-doubles this season with 20, the most by a UK player since 1973 and the fourth most in a season in Kentucky basketball history.

“Coach challenged me to grow on and off the court this season,” Cousins said. “I believe my game expanded along with my maturity. This year was the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball and a lot of it had to do with the support I got from our fans.”

Orton served as the Wildcats’ sixth man this season and finished averaging 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds. He was second on the team in blocked shots with 53 and ranked eighth in the SEC in blocks per game (1.4).

“Being at Kentucky allowed me to play with some of the most talented players in the country,” Orton said. “Battling with DeMarcus (Cousins) and Patrick (Patterson) every day helped improve my game. I want to thank the coaching staff for helping put me in a position to be drafted this year.”

Patterson ranked second in the SEC and 12th nationally in field goal percentage (.575). He recorded nine double-doubles this season, fourth most in the SEC, and 11 double-digit rebounding performances. He finished his junior season ranked 13th on Kentucky’s all-time scoring list (1,564) and sixth on Kentucky’s career double-double list with 30.

“I want to thank the fans who have supported me all three years,” Patterson said. “I also want to thank the coaches for putting me in a position to showcase other parts of my game as well as my versatility. Lexington and UK will always be a special place to me.”

Wall led the Wildcats in scoring (16.6), assists (6.5) and steals (1.8) while setting the school single-season assist record with 241. The Adolph Rupp National Player of the Year recorded five double-doubles on the season, three in points and assists, and two in points and rebounds, making him the first player in UK history to record double-doubles in points and rebounds and points and assists.

“I’m not the same player as when I arrived at UK,” Wall said. “I believe I’m ready for the next challenge as Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans were the last two years under Coach Cal. I want to thank my teammates and the fans for all their support this year. I love them.”

“I’ve spoken with all five guys concerning the NBA and have encouraged them to put their names in the draft,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “They’ve all met individually with our compliance office to make sure they have a full understanding of eligibility rules and academic responsibilities. I’m so proud of these five young men, with everything they did for us on the court and the way they represented us off of it.

“It’s extremely unusual for four freshmen from the same team to have this opportunity, but it’s my job as a coach to prepare these young men for such opportunities.”

The Best Two Days in Sports: Day 1

• The Big East is 1-3 in the tournament, with losses to the 7th place team in the MAC and Old Dominion and their only win being a #2 seed over a #15 seed in overtime. Surprised? Nope, not me. You heard it here first: most overrated conference in history.
• The SEC didn't have a great day either, but not bad. Florida lost to a higher seeded team and Vandy lost to a 30 win team that I think has a very good chance to go to the Sweet 16. Congrats Murray!
• Kentucky made 15 three's today (Bledsoe making 8 of them) and continue to show that they CAN shoot from outside. When they do, they're nearly unbeatable.
• The Cats showed the focus of a veteran team tonight, and they clearly look to be on a mission.
• Wake Forest will certainly be a challenge, but I'm very glad we've avoided Texas. Wake is good, but if we shoot and play like we're capable of we'll be just fine. Texas is talented enough to beat anyone even on a good night, and the Cats are lucky to avoid them.
• Is the NCAA serious about this 96 team expansion? That's the worse idea, ever. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Please, do not mess with the best 2 days in sports!

Cats spank Vols, advance to SEC Championship

Thousands of Big Blue Nation's craziest and most passionate fans have packed the city of Nashville, some with tickets and many without them. All of them dreamed of one matchup in this tournament: a rematch with Tennessee. They got just that on Saturday. The 74-45 blowout win with a 90% Big Blue crowd owning the Volunteer State's streets of Nashville is bittersweet for Cats fans. They put together their most dominating performance of the season against a very good Tennessee team that is the only team in history to beat the #1 and #2 teams (Kansas and Kentucky) in the country in the same season.

Today, however, it wasn't meant to be for the Vols. There were no John Wall dance mockery's by Scotty Hopson, only player ejections, as the Pro's defeated the Con's in Round 3. The Cats' dominating performance silenced many analysts who viewed the Cats as "vulnerable" and a poor 3 point shooting team, as Eric Bledsoe stroked five of them in the 29 point victory. The Cats also sealed their deal for a #1 seed with the win. They'll face the winner of the Vandy/Mississippi State game (MSU currently leads by 11) tomorrow at 1 in the Championship Game. Either matchup will be a heated one. Either the hometown Commodores will be playing in Rupp Arena South just minutes from their campus, or DeMarcus Cousins will be receiving more phone calls from Mississippi State fans as they hope to revenge their overtime loss in Starkville. Whatever tomorrow's result will be, the Cats will be a #1 seed. With a Kansas loss to Kansas State today, the Cats will then be playing for the #1 OVERALL seed. What a great day of basketball!

SEC Coach of the Year is...who? Say that again?

As expected, John Wall won SEC Player of the Year yesterday and Demarcus Cousins won SEC Freshman of the Year. Patrick Patterson made the All-SEC 1ST Team, while Eric Bledsoe made the All-Freshman team.

But the SEC Coach of the Year selection is just simply, laughable. Yahoo's Jeff Eisenburg ponders the question: "How did this man not win SEC Coach of the Year?"

Eisenburg was right on. There's no logical explaination other than the SEC Coaches simply did not want Calipari to win. It's hard to imagine that a group of college basketball head coaches could be this silly and immature. Hatred, envy, and jealousy have never been more obvious. But considering that Billy Gillipsie won this award in his first year at Kentucky, it just goes to show how insignificant this really is.

And if the SEC Coaches think they're sticking it to Kentucky and Calipari- they couldn't be more wrong. UK fans LOVE IT when things like this happen because it makes it so obviously transparent that we are hated. When we're hated, things are going very well in Big Blue Nation.

Here's Boogie's thoughts:

Reece Davis Reflects on Gameday

To highlight the interview, Reece says that he admits that most of the fans did not show up to see their show, but to exhibit their passion to the rest of the country, "which quite frankly, is simply unmatched," he says. He also goes on to say that he usually doesn't like to rank Gameday appearances because he doesn't want it to get on the Internet and be a shot against other schools, but in this case, he has not experienced anything like he did in Lexington on Saturday. When he looks back on his entire career, Reece ranks Saturday's Gameday Show as possibly the most incredible thing he's ever been a part of. Reece is one of the few employees of the Worldwide Leader of Sports that truly understands and appreciates college basketball's greatest program and fan base.



Be sure to check back with us here at Wildcat Wrap as we "Wrap up" tomorrow night's battle with Mississippi State in Starkville. Just like the Wall/Downey matchup a few weeks ago, the Jarvis Vernardo matchup with Cousins and Patterson in the post will be another one to take a close look at. One of the few dark spots in the Tennessee win was a single digit performance by Cousins, ending his seven game streak of putting up a "Double-Double". It was Cousins' worst game of the season and he'll need to rebound from it against the nations best shot blocker on Tuesday. If it's another quiet game for Cousins, than Bledsoe and Wall might have to take over again.

DeMarcus Cousins: most dominant SEC big man since...Shaquille O'Neal.

(http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/c1XcxrtUvo_/Long+Beach+v+Kentucky)

Charlie's post got me thinking, and if Patrick Patterson is even remotely considered a role player, than exactly how dominant does that make DeMarcus Cousins? There isn't another big man in the country that could play on the same team as Patterson and make Patrick look like a role player, because Patterson simply isn't or wouldn't be a role player on any other college team except this one. Patterson is an All-American type player and would be putting up some of the best numbers in the country (like he did the last 2 seasons) if he had played on just about any other team. Cousins has had seven straight double double's and all of a sudden has challenged John Wall for National Player of the Year and the #1 pick in next year's NBA Draft. There has never been 2 players from the same school get selected with the top two picks, but it might just happen this year with Wall and Cousins. Only a situation like this could make Patterson look like a role player, which indeed he is, on this team- and on this team only.

Cousins has been so dominant on the boards and in the post that I believe it would be a greater loss if he were to be injured than losing John Wall. Wall is a playmaker and a primetime clutch performer when the game is on the line, but when you need consistent points and rebounds and dominance in the paint throughout the course of a game, Cousins is our most overall dominant performer. Eric Bledsoe can do a lot of the same things on the court that John Wall can, and even though Patrick Patterson is one of the best post players in the country and reserve Daniel Orton would be the starting Center on 95% of every roster in the nation, they still don't impact the game as much as Cousins does, which says a lot. Cousins' only issue is getting in foul trouble, and some say his temper is a problem, too, but it has been less of a problem as the season has matured even though he continues to get physical and verbal abuse from almost every team he faces. His points and rebounds per minute is by far the most impressive in the nation and the numbers compare to great college big men such as Kenyon Martin, Blake Griffin, and Tim Duncan (and you can find the numbers on KSR). You probably have to go back as far as Shaquille O'Neal at LSU to find a more dominant post player in the SEC.

If Cousins stays out of foul trouble and plays for 35+ minutes, than you can count on Kentucky having a comfortable lead without even having to rely on John Wall's last minute heroics. Wall can save the day, but the game is never even in question when Cousins stays out of foul trouble and is on top of his game. The Cats are the best rebounding team in the country because of Cousins, Patterson, and also Daniel Orton- who will be a super sophomore next season. When the Cats rebound, they win. It's that simple, and Cousins is their best rebounder. The only game this year that they have been outrebounded in was against South Carolina, the Cats only loss. They've shown that without John Wall, they can still play some of their best basketball, as evidenced in their 81-55 dominating win over LSU where John Wall only scored six points. In the first few minutes of yesterday's game against Alabama, Wall even cost the Cats as he played sloppy and out of control and made the first several of his six turnovers of the game. It should be noted that Wall ended up having a great game with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block. My point is, however, that DeMarcus Cousins very rarely does anything on the floor that hurts the Cats besides maybe his temper, which hasn't been a problem of late.

Many may wonder if this season has helped or hurt Patterson's draft status. Being around so many stars has lowered his numbers and made him look less like a superstar, but he has actually improved his overall game dramatically. He has discovered his outside shot that nobody knew he had in John Calipari's offense and practicing against Cousins and Orton everyday has prepared him for what it will be like going against the best of big men in the NBA, because Cousins will be one of them very soon. Very few college stars come straight into the NBA without paying their dues and working their way into the regular starting lineup. Cousins and Wall might be the exceptions to this next year, but Jodie Meeks is experiencing it right now and even Tayshaun Prince sat the majority of his first two seasons on the bench in Detroit before leading the Pistons to the World Championship. This season has shown NBA teams that Patrick is okay with not being the star player and will play in whatever role his coach asks him to. Patrick has been in this situation since high school when he played on the same team with O.J. Mayo at Hunnington (WV) High, then for two years at UK with Jodie Meeks, and now with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Patrick doesn't care what role he plays, he just wants to win, and he'll continue to be a winner at the next level.

Pelphrey's Hogs stand in Cats way of #1 Ranking

With a win today vs. Arkansas, UK moves up to the #1 spot in the rankings for the first time since 2003. The key to the win is stopping, or at least containing, the 3-point shooting of Rontei Clark. We saw what Miami of Ohio and a few other sharp shooting teams were able to do against the Cats early on this season. We will see just how much their three point defense has improved today against one of the best outside shooters in the nation. Ronei's weakness, however, is his speed and defense which should be greatly taken advantage of and exploited by John Wall and Eric Bledsoe. If the Cats play their way, up and down the court at a fast pace, the Hogs' only hope is an unbelievable shooting performance by Clark.

However, don't judge Arkansas too much by their 8-10 overall record. They have had an additional 15.8 ppg from Marshawn Powell since he and additional players have returned from suspension and have put together impressive performances in a 9 point loss to Texas, a 2 point loss at Mississippi State, a 12 point win over Alabama, and a 5 point loss against Florida. Today should be no different as Wildcat Legend, John Pelphrey, takes his talented team into Rupp Arena.

News and Notes: 12-14-09

• Kentucky has now reached all-time win #1,998. They face Austin Peay on Saturday and then the December 21st matchup with Drexel will likely be win #2,000. Any ideas on finding tickets, anyone?
• John Calipari was contacted by Madison Square Garden officials about playing an annual home game there, after UK arguably had more fans than UConn and St. Johns combined, in their own backyard at the SEC/Big East Invitational last week against UConn. I would personally love to see a UK/Duke matchup at MSG, since Coach K won't come to Rupp.
• UK moved up to 3rd in both polls today and received one first place vote. #2 Texas faces UNC on Saturday, which could push the Cats into the #2 spot with a Tar Heel win.
• #1 ranked Kansas plays Michigan and California the next two games, then plays a solid Belmont team, then Temple (who just knocked off previous #3 Villanova), and then faces Tennessee on January 10th. Look for the Cats to be ranked #1 after these stretch of games for the Jayhawks.
• John Wall received SEC Freshman Player of the Week honors for the fourth consecutive week. This is a streak that might not last the entire season by John Wall, but I wouldn't be shocked if Cousins and Bledsoe contribute to this award being won by a UK freshman every single week of this season. Which is really, simply amazing.

Last but not least, I want to thank Kentucky Sports Radio for this Youtube video they posted. Really, really funny stuff!

Cardiac Cats Survive in Cancun!

Twelve years ago, Kentucky and Stanford last met in an epic overtime battle in which the 1998 "Comeback Cats" came back from a double digit deficit to defeat the Cardinal in the Final Four in San Antonio.

This time, the Cats and Cardinal met again even further south than the Alamo, in Cancun, Mexico. Scott Padgett made clutch shots in the '98 game. This time, he sat on the bench on John Calipari's coaching staff in another overtime thriller between the two schools. John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, and Ramon Harris all made clutch plays down the stretch and Darius Miller added 10 points as the Cats outscored Stanford 10-2 in overtime to win it once again.

Patrick Patterson had limited playing time in the first half due to early foul trouble, but the Junior All-American came back and played strong in the second half while posting yet another double double, the 25th of his career, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Demarcus Cousins had a solid 13 points and 3 blocks, but made a crucial freshman mistake late in the game that could have been costly for the Cats. Down by 2 at the line, Cousins missed the first free throw with about 10 seconds remaining on the clock. He then proceeded to miss the second free throw on purpose and tried to rebound it to get another shot to tie the game. This was foolish because if he had just made the free throw, Kentucky could foul immediately. Cousins was immediately pulled from the game and chewed out by Coach Cal on the sidelines. Even if Stanford made both free throws, it would be a three point game with plenty of time for UK to tie it up with a three. Now, Stanford could clinch the game if they could make both free throws.

Luckily for the Cats, they missed both free throws and Kentucky rebounded the ball still down by 2 with 9 seconds left. It was now time for John Wall to bail out his buddy Demarcus and take over to save the day for the Cats. He drove to the basket and was fouled with 2.4 seconds left. He nailed both free throws to tie the game up and finished the game with 24 points, including a perfect 8 for 8 from the line. Overtime belonged to the Cats as Eric Bledsoe stabbed the dagger on the Cardinal with a devastating NBA-range three pointer with 33 seconds left in OT to seal the deal for the Cats as they escaped Cancun with an unblemished 6-0 record, only seven wins away from becoming the nation's first program to reach 2,000 all-time victories.

Happy Thanksgiving! Go Cats! Let's FINALLY beat Tennessee!

(Photo's courtesy of bigbluehistory.net and the Associated Press)

Learning and Winning at the same time

Unlike the last two years under Billy Gillispie, the Cats are learning while winning at the same time in November. The 3-0 start is their best since the 2006-2007 season. Their schedule is considerably tougher as well. Last year the Cats appeared to actually be heading towards a good season when they found themselves at 16-4 overall, and 5-0 in the SEC last January. Those 16 wins, however, came in meaningless blowout wins over the likes of Delaware State, Longwood, Lamar, and Mississippi Valley State. They were defeating helpless teams ranked in the bottom 300's of the RPI rankings. After losing the opener to VMI, they followed up with forty and fifty point wins against the worst of the very worst teams in the nation, and obviously they did not improve and it showed in February as the Cats fell apart and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years.

This year, they opened up with a solid win over Morehead State, an NCAA Tournament team that returns everyone from a year ago. Then, they squeaked past the Miami Redhawks who were 15 of 26 behind the 3 point line. Miami is a team that could win the MAC, but more than likely won't have too many shooting performances anywhere close to the one they had Monday night. And then tonight, we saw almost the same story, as the Cats struggled again with perimeter defense giving up 18 threes. This time the overall defense was a little better and actually did do some good things. The Bearkats of SHSU did make 18 three's, but they made them in 38 attempts. They were outscored 48-18 in the paint and only made 11 shots inside the 3 point line the entire game. Their shots inside were blocked by Wildcat defenders 12 times. These teams knew that they have no shot against the Cats inside with Patterson, Cousins, and Orton holding down the fort down low. Both teams' (Miami and SHSU) knew their only chance was to jack up a bunch of three's, and they made a lot of them. Some of them were contested, and some not at all.

It doesn't get any easier on Saturday against Rider, another mid-major team expected to win their conference and go to the NCAA Tournament. According to Calipari, they are a better shooting team than both Miami and Sam Houston State. They lost to Virginia tonight, but defeated #18 Mississippi State in their opener. Then, the Cats travel to Cancun, Mexico to face a Cleveland State team that beat Syracuse and Wake Forest a year ago. Calipari schedules these teams for a couple of reasons. One reason is they end up winning 2o games in their respective conferences, and improve UK's overall schedule and RPI rating, which helps seeding in the NCAA Tournament. This is how Memphis ended up still having top 10 ranked schedules while playing in Conference USA. They did not play any really bad teams outside the conference at all. These teams also help a young team like UK get better, while still being able to win early on while preparing for the big games against UNC, UConn, Louisville, and of course SEC play.

Bottom line is: the Cats need to get much better at perimeter defense if they want to be a Championship team playing in April. It obviously needs a lot of work, but UMass played good defense, Memphis played good defense, and I have no doubts that this young Kentucky team will play very good all-around defense come March. In fact, their athletic ability alone should make them one of the better defensive teams in the country once they get focused and disciplined enough on both sides of the ball. The main issue is communication on the defensive side. Individually, a number of Cats' have solid numbers in steals, blocks, and defensive rebounds. They're just not playing good TEAM defense together and they're not communicating, which makes sense for a bunch of Freshman in November. They're still learning and adjusting to the college game (mainly on the defensive side), but take a look at these individual offensive (and defensive) numbers tonight.

John Wall: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2-4 from 3-pt.
Eric Bledsoe: 19 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 5-7 from 3-pt.

(good to see those two play well together tonight)

Darius Miller: 15 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 block, 3-6 from 3-pt.
Patrick Paterson: 20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block

And the MVP for probably the second straight game with another double double....

DeMarcus Cousins: 27 points, 18 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.


One thing is certain: this team is very, very fun to watch individually. Once they put it all together collectively, they'll be very hard to beat.

I'll also predict this: UNC, UConn, and Louisville will certainly match up better with us inside....but none of these three teams will make 15 or more three pointers against us. It's just not going to happen. Even if our perimeter defense doesn't improve (I'm sure it will), at some point, teams (even the best ones on our schedule) are going to miss some shots and we will win 25 plus games, easily. The difference between a good 25 win season, and what we all expect and want (number 8) depends on how this team learns to play defense together.

What a Weekend for the Big Blue...and oh yeah, WHO DEY!

FRIDAY: KENTUCKY 75, MOREHEAD STATE 59

What a weekend it was for Kentucky sports fans. It all started on Friday night when the Calipari era officially began with a solid 16 point win against an NCAA tournament team that returned four starters and an NBA Draft prospect. They did it without John Wall, and once again, Eric Bledsoe played fantastic at the point and even made the #1 play on Sportscenter. Eric Bledsoe is about the best back-up point guard I've seen since Wayne Turner backed up Tony Delk in 1996. I can't wait to see these two guys play together for the first time tomorrow night against Miami University. If Bledsoe sticks around, this kid is going to be very special. He set a new record for the most points for a UK freshman in thier first game ever with 24 points. Kentucky basketball is back in every way imaginable.

Morehead had the talent to pull another Gardner Webb or VMI, but those days are over. This was a game the Cats could have lost in the past two years playing nervous and mentally stressed from the mind games and coaching tactics of their former coach. This year, you can sense that everyone is just having fun and playing loose, and letting their talent simply take over. They know that the pressure and expectations are as high as they possibly could be, but it's just not bothering them in any way. The expectations of having to win every game is not anything new to Calipari's teams. At Memphis, his teams were expected to win every conference game, and they did. They were circled on every team's calendar in Conference USA as the biggest game of the year. Things are obviously no different at Kentucky. And not once, after UofL, Cincinnati, Marquette, Depaul, and South Florida left the league, did Memphis ever get beat by an inferior team in the conference. Not even a solid UAB or Houston team ever walked away with a victory over Memphis during that stretch, even though those same two teams were good enough to beat a Kentucky team filled with 4 and 5 star recruits in 2007.

It was also great to see Patterson stepping up and scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds after struggling in two exhibition games. He must have seen that I picked Jarvis Varnardo over him in my 1st Team All-SEC selections. If true, I actually feel like I had an impact on his play for motivating Patrick to prove me wrong! You know when he recently said that KSR was his most visited website, he was actually probably confused and meant to say that it was Wildcat Wrap.

SATURDAY: KENTUCKY 24, VANDY 13

For the fourth straight year, Kentucky football will be playing in a bowl game. That statement has never been made in the history of this program until Saturday when the Cats reached bowl eligibility for the fourth straight year with a win at Commonwealth Stadium Southwest. There was a sea of blue in Nashville to watch the Cats make history against the Commodores. With a

couple of big but attainable wins over Georgia and Tennessee, the Cats could even be playing in a very large and meaningful bowl game. If they're able to win one of the last two, the Peach Bowl is a likely destination on New Years Eve for the Cats in Atlanta. If they win both, it's possible that they could be packing their bags for Tampa for the Outback Bowl against Penn State or Iowa. To even be in this position is impressive with everything that this team has gone through. They went through a brutal 3 week stretch early on against Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina and came out of the first five games with a 2-3 record.

They had one of the worst quarters you could ever imagine against Florida, but they battled back to make it a respectable final outcome. The next week, there were more than a few questionable calls that went in Alabama's favor that if not made, would have been a totally different game. The week after that, the Cats' led almost the entire game and Mike Hartline was playing his best game of his career. Then, he got hurt and the Cats let one slip away in a devastating 2 point loss to South Carolina. Just as Hartline had finally solidified himself as "the guy", he gets hurt and the Cats are forced to switch to a three quarterback rotation. Amazingly, the three headed quarterback of true freshman Morgan Newton, Will Fidler, and Randall Cobb each had a rushing touchdown and shocked a 5-1 Auburn team on the road. Morgan Newton would eventually emerge as the primary quarterback as a true freshman and has struggled at times like a true freshman in the SEC should struggle (remember when Matthew Stafford lost to UK and Vandy as a true freshman in 2006?).

But, in the end, Newton has won 2 out of 3 SEC games with the help of Randall Cobb doing just about everything except kicking field goals. Cobb and Derrick Locke combined for 144 rushing yards after the duo both sat out last week's game against EKU. Locke even completed a pass for a gain of 41 yards to Morgan Newton who was lined up as a receiver while Cobb was under center. Cobb made a reverse handoff to Locke, and then Locke found Newton wide open down field. On the very next play, Cobb was in the "Wildcobb" formation again and ran it 21 yards into the endzone to give the Cats a 7-0 lead. Plays like these are ones that need to be called more often from Joker Phillips for the next two years with Randall Cobb. If he's utilized to his full potential, he will emerge as college football's best player by his senior year.

Along with the heroics of Randall Cobb and Derrick Locke, Newton has stepped up when his number was called as a freshman quarterback and put UK in a position to possibly play in a very big bowl game. With the announcement that Hartline will have season ending surgery, Newton has the chance to do something that hasn't been done in Lexington in a very long time: beat Tennessee.

"It is a huge step and you can't downplay that in my mind because it's never happened," UK coach Rich Brooks said about reaching a fourth straight bowl game. "But at the same token we're not happy with where we are at this stage. We had a close one get away at South Carolina and we didn't play as well as we're capable against Mississippi State. We'd be looking a lot better right now if we had won one of those. Those were very tough losses but I'm proud of how the team has bounced back. Now we just want to climb the ladder a little higher."

Beating Georgia and Tennessee to cap off the regular season would certainly help the Cats climb up that SEC ladder that Coach Brooks keeps on talking about. In a few years, when Newton is a junior and Randall Cobb is a senior, hopefully the tandem will take this program to the unimaginable next level: the BCS.

"It's significant. We won't be satisfied with a 6-6 finish but we've taken one step from the bottom of the SEC to the middle of the pack and now we've got to build toward the top," senior defensive tackle Corey Peters said.

SUNDAY: BENGALS 18, STEELERS 12

(Photo courtesy of Cincinnati.com)

Last but certainly not least, I absolutely have to give a shout out to WHO DEY NATION! The Bengals completed the sweep today against the defending Super Bowl Champs, and it is in no way delusional now to start talking about the Lombardi trophy coming to Cincinnati. With games coming up against Oakland, Cleveland, and Detroit...the Bengals could be looking at a 10-2 record. Yes, 10-2, (could be 11-1 if not for the immaculate deflection in week 1 against Denver). They could also complete an undefeated season in the AFC North with a win against Cleveland. Then, if they're able to knock off Brett Favre and the Vikings, the Bengals could seriously win out.

Calipari unveils his new Cats in a 74-38 win

Darnell Dodson continued to impress tonight as he led the Cats with 19 points and 6 rebounds. It also looked as if the Cats were led by an All-American point guard and his name was not John Wall. Eric Bledsoe dominated on both ends of the court with a number of steals, blocks, assists, and points. It's amazing to think that this guy isn't our starting point guard and that our starting point guard and best player, didn't even play.

Daniel Orton also played very tough tonight. It's also amazing to think that he will be coming off the bench this year. All of the newcomers, even without Wall, looked like the best recruiting class in the nation as they scored 46 of the first 62 points and 26 of the first 40 rebounds in the game and led the Cats to a 43-11 lead three minutes into the 2nd half (yes, that's correct...the score was 43-11 with 17 minutes to go in the SECOND half).

Not only did Orton play very well, but he played very hard nosed and passionately, with a purpose. Daniel is a guy that could be here for four years and the love affair that this fan base will have for him will run very deep. This is what Daniel wrote today as his facebook status getting ready for the game:

"First game tonight.....yea im nervous but ready. A lots going through my
head right now. Going over the plays, my post moves, and what coach has
been talking about. Main thing i cant stop thinkin about my mom. I know
my mother wanted to see this day its somethin ive been thinkin bout all day.
I know i'll be playing for her tonight..."

Big Blue Nation, we are going to love this kid, on and off the court. As much as he and Cousins dominated an undersized Campbellsville squad down low in the 1st half, most of the second half the Cats focused on improving the outside game. They weren't worried about scoring 100 points, but improving in other areas and focusing on defense, perimeter play, and learning the dribble drive offense according to Patrick Patterson in a post game interview.

But from the 17 minute mark on in the 2nd half, it had became more clear that these Cats aren't quite ready to be crowned National Champs just yet. Possibly they were a little sluggish with the big lead, possibly their conditioning is not yet where it needs to be with just two weeks of regular practices. But they're just not quite ready to be mentioned in the same sentence as the 1996 Cats, for right now anyway. There is a lot of work to be done, but there is without a doubt the talent there to accomplish everything that that the 96 Cats did and dominate in that very same fashion. The 1st half was a glimpse of what we could expect and the 2nd half was a realization that this is a young, inexperienced team learning a new offense. A team that come around March, could be nearly unbeatable, but could have some hick-ups along the way.

Blue/White Scrimmage

Before we get into the official "Wildcat Wrap" of tonight's scrimmage, here are some key stats...

Darius Miller 14 points and 5 rebounds
Darnell Dodson 26 points and 7 rebounds (four threes)
Jon Hood 14 points and 5 rebounds
John Wall 25 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists
Demarcus Cousins 16 points and 9 rebounds
Eric Bledsoe 14 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists
Daniel Orton 14 points and 8 rebounds
Patrick Patterson 24 points and 8 rebounds (11-15 from field)
Josh Harrellson 11 points and 15 rebounds
Ramon Harris 12 points and 7 rebounds (4-7 from field)
Mark Krebs 5 points and 2 rebounds
Perry Stevenson 2 points and 3 rebounds
Deandre Liggins 0 points and 4 rebounds

Ladies and Gentleman, your first official "Wildcat Wrap":

One of the biggest concerns of this team throughout the preseason, other than youth, has been whether or not the Cats would be able to find someone to replace Jodie Meeks as a premier three point shooter. Nobody questioned the team's athleticism and ability to drive to the basket in Calipari's Dribble Drive Motion Offense, but who would be able to step up and make a three when needed late in the game, Mark Krebs? Well yes, Mark Krebs has the ability to come in and make some shots. But out of the regular core of players that will be playing 25 or more minutes a game, Darnell Dodson showed that he could potentially lead the team in 3-point shots this season as he nailed four of them tonight and also added seven rebounds and 26 points.

Dodson, a Rivals.com 3-star junior college transfer, has been lost in the shuffle of the nation's top recruiting class this preseason that includes #1 ranked recruit John Wall, #2 ranked Demarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and Kentucky Mr. Basketball, Jon Hood. Darnell wins the award for the most pleasant surprise in tonight's scrimmage, but he wasn't the only one knocking down three's on a team that supposedly couldn't shoot. Ramon Harris shot well from outside and scored 12 points and even big men Patrick Patterson and Daniel Orton combined for a perfect 3 for 3 behind the arc, with Patterson hitting two of them!

While Dodson was the biggest surprise, Patterson was the most impressive tonight as we finally got to see him play his natural position and not with his back to the basket. If you thought Patterson was good before, you have seen nothing yet! Patrick will be a totally different player in the Dribble Drive Motion Offense, where he will no longer be forced to have his back to the basket as he did in Gillispie's high/low offense, which usually resulted in the Cats' inability to even get him the ball. With big men Demarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton now on campus, Patterson has now also moved to his natural NBA position at Power Forward. Tonight, we saw a much more flashy Patrick Patterson who drove to the basket and even knocked down two three's. These were things that were nearly impossible for Patterson to do last year while his back was to the basket and Michael Porter was responsible for getting him the ball. Now Patterson relies on projected 2010 NBA Draft #1 pick John Wall, as well as Eric Bledsoe, to dish him the ball.

In the first half of the scrimmage, Patterson got to play alongside Cousins in a lineup that seemed to feature Cal's projected starting lineup on the Blue team which dominated the White in an un-evenly matched 1st half. In the second half, Calipari switched things up and put Cousins on the White team. Patterson was now playing against big men Orton and Cousins who were both on the White team but it didn't seem to matter as Patterson finished with 24 points. Calipari also switched things up in the 2nd half by moving Eric Bledsoe to the white team. Instead of Bledsoe and Wall playing with each other, they were now playing against each other, and let me tell you...we won't miss one beat without John Wall for 3 games. Wall is every bit as good as advertised (25 pts, 7 rebounds, and 11 assists tonight), but Bledsoe is much better than advertised and would start on almost any team in the country. The best thing about Bledsoe is that we can expect him to be here at least a few years (Daniel Orton too).

Last but certainly not least, it was so great to see all the former Wildcat legends in the record crowd tonight in Rupp for the scrimmage. Ron Mercer and Wayne Turner were in the stands, Tony Delk and Scott Padgett are on staff and were shown numerous times on the video boards while receiving big cheers, and Joe B. Hall even sat on the bench for a while and chatted with Calipari. The program is back in every way. Everything that UK basketball hasn't been in the last 2 years, it has been and will continue to be this year. It's basketball time in Kentucky folks, buckle your seat belts and enjoy the ride!