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OFFICIAL UK BASKETBALL THREAD!!!!!!!


Bunghole

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Exactly. After the first few games, I didn't think I had the stomach to watch these boys play this year. But damn, they look good now.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't put money on them making it to the Sweet 16, I just have a good feeling about them now.
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yeah...this is where I start to cheat a little in my analysis because of Patterson's Injury. For Centers and Forwards, I will look at their season averages compared to UK's last 3 games (ones without Patrick).

[b]TAMU Frontcourt[/b]:
Joseph Jones (f/c): 27.3 mpg, 13.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 spg, .8 blocks pg, 3.4 personal fouls, .552fg%, .781ft%, .400 3pt %
Antanas Kavaliauskas©:28.4 mpg, 11.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .6 spg, .7 blocks pg, 3.1 personal fouls, .554fg%, .649ft%, .375 3pt%
Marlon Pompey (f): 15.9 mpg, 3.5ppg, 2.8 rpg, .5 spg, .4 blocks pg, 2.5 personal fouls, .500fg%, .565ft%, .000 3pt%

INTERESTING TO NOTE: Almost none of these guys who are still at Texas A&M have reached their averages from last year. This could be because they've added monster Center DeAndre Jordan, or it could be because BCG is no longer their coach.


[b]UK Frontcourt[/b] (I just look at 2 guys because who knows what to make of the Coury/Stewart debacle. They add about 8ppg/4rpg/3 personal fouls per game combined, anyway):
Perry Stevenson: 35.3mpg, 11ppg, 10rpg, 1 spg, 3 blocks pg, 2.6 personal fouls per game
Ramon Harris: 34.3mpg, 9ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1 spg, .66blocks pg, 4.3 personal fouls per game

OPINION: If Perry can continue to produce and Ramon can stay out of foul trouble, these guys should be serviceable for a Sweet 16 appearance. I thought we might get 1 win before I compiled this stuff, but I'm feeling pretty good about our chances, right now.


TAMU was a 3 seed last year (if I recall correctly), and so they may not have had as hard of a tourney schedule early on as we will.
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[quote name='#22' post='643222' date='Mar 13 2008, 10:51 PM']yeah...this is where I start to cheat a little in my analysis because of Patterson's Injury. For Centers and Forwards, I will look at their season averages compared to UK's last 3 games (ones without Patrick).

[b]TAMU Frontcourt[/b]:
Joseph Jones (f/c): 27.3 mpg, 13.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.1 spg, .8 blocks pg, 3.4 personal fouls, .552fg%, .781ft%, .400 3pt %
Antanas Kavaliauskas©:28.4 mpg, 11.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, .6 spg, .7 blocks pg, 3.1 personal fouls, .554fg%, .649ft%, .375 3pt%
Marlon Pompey (f): 15.9 mpg, 3.5ppg, 2.8 rpg, .5 spg, .4 blocks pg, 2.5 personal fouls, .500fg%, .565ft%, .000 3pt%

INTERESTING TO NOTE: Almost none of these guys who are still at Texas A&M have reached their averages from last year. This could be because they've added monster Center DeAndre Jordan, or it could be because BCG is no longer their coach.


[b]UK Frontcourt[/b] (I just look at 2 guys because who knows what to make of the Coury/Stewart debacle. They add about 8ppg/4rpg/3 personal fouls per game combined, anyway):
Perry Stevenson: 35.3mpg, 11ppg, 10rpg, 1 spg, [b]3 blocks pg[/b], 2.6 personal fouls per game
Ramon Harris: 34.3mpg, 9ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1 spg, .66blocks pg, 4.3 personal fouls per game

OPINION: If Perry can continue to produce and Ramon can stay out of foul trouble, these guys should be serviceable for a Sweet 16 appearance. I thought we might get 1 win before I compiled this stuff, but I'm feeling pretty good about our chances, right now.


TAMU was a 3 seed last year (if I recall correctly), and so they may not have had as hard of a tourney schedule early on as we will.[/quote]

3 blocks per game for perry... perry's defense is something that is not thought about by most people, but is probably the biggest reason why we've been able to weather the storm of PP...

i don't like to see that 4.3 fouls per game on razor <_<

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The thing is, teams CAN win without a true big man presence. Look at Duke this season.
We have two very exciting and excellent players at guard/forward in Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford (hard to believe now that he was about outta here a few years ago, huh?).

I have cautious faith. I think teams don't want to play us now. We've suddenly become pretty damn good. There was that Vandy meltdown, to be sure, but...anything can happen.

A Sweet 16 appearance would be astronomical given the odds we've overcome with injuries to key players and a very poor showing the first half of the season.
You never know, boys and girls...sometimes teams "peaking" at the right time can do some damage...and we are "peaking" right now.

I recall when we were the overall #1 seed a few years ago and were beaten by a faster UAB team in the 2nd round of the tourney. I was so disappointed, but now I think about how loaded we were with big men and we played a s l o w halfcourt under Tubby.
Now we're guard-heavy and FAST.

Anything can happen. You don't always need a true big man under the rim.

My biggest concern would be foul shooting and foul trouble. We looked like shit from the charity stripe against FLA, and had we done better, the game wouldn't even have been a contest. And we need to make our share of threes, too, which never seemed to click all that well under Tubby after being spoiled as a there-shooting team under Pitino, Tayshaun Prince excepted.

Of course, a poor showing in the SEC tourney may take some wind out of our sails...or give us that mythical loss that we "need" in order to be grounded for the Big Dance.

Stay tuned!
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I loved Heshimu Evans back in the day. Didn't he go to the same High School as Shagari Alleyne?




[quote]Now we're guard-heavy and FAST.[/quote]
I have to disagree, here. We aren't anything-"heavy." Ramel, Joe, Jasper, and Porter is not the deepest backcourt in the world, and we don't play very fast, either. The UT game was agonizingly slow, but that was CBG's strategy to beat a fast team (and it worked pretty well),

If you look at the athletic, 6'6" passing guards that Gillespie is recruiting and bringing in, though, you can see that he is trying to build a stable of horses like Memphis has this year. I'm pretty excited for the future.
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[quote name='#22' post='643231' date='Mar 13 2008, 09:10 PM']I loved Heshimu Evans back in the day. Didn't he go to the same High School as Shagari Alleyne?





I have to disagree, here. We aren't anything-"heavy." Ramel, Joe, Jasper, and Porter is not the deepest backcourt in the world, and we don't play very fast, either. The UT game was agonizingly slow, but that was CBG's strategy to beat a fast team (and it worked pretty well),

If you look at the athletic, 6'6" passing guards that Gillespie is recruiting and bringing in, though, you can see that he is trying to build a stable of horses like Memphis has this year. I'm pretty excited for the future.[/quote]
I loved Heshimu too. He was one of my favorite players. So was Rodrick Rhodes, although he flamed out. If I had to pick ONE favorite player from any UK team (and I've only been a fan since about 1992), I'd probably say Derek Anderson. He was my guy, and I was heartbroken when he was hurt in the 1997 season. Him being trotted out to shoot a couple free throws in the ARI game bummed me out although I agreed with The Rick's decision to not play him.

I think he could have made a world of difference guarding the Mike Bibby's of the world in that 1997 game. I also really liked Tay-Daddy. Unique height, dribbling ability, frame and outside shot. But there are so many that I liked. I even liked Jules Camara, when he wasn't cross-country skiing his way along the court during a fast break.

I may have misspoke regarding team speed. I guess I meant "fast" as "faster" than what we'd become accustomed to under Tubby. I always hated Tubby's deliberate style of half-court offense, especially with the goddamn center always handling the ball at the top of the key. It never worked, especially when Tubby had a lack of true outside shooters (Kelenna Azuibuike, Keith Bogans) for the most part and undeserving scrubs playing for our team (Bobby Perry and Saul Smith immediately spring to mind).

Now we have a team. I love it. And the recruits are lining up, too.

Glorious.

I also liked Gerald Fitch, fwiw.
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Pitino has turned into a piece of shit over the years, but what he did his last year at UK with Derek Anderson is one of the more noble things I've ever seen a college coach do. Pitino knew his job was safe, I guess, and that there was no scorched earth policy required to win the NCAAs that year, but still. You don't rush back your best player from a serious knee injury to help him get drafted higher in the NBA? I heard that DA was still their best player in practices, but Pitino refused to get this kid injured for life so that he could win back-to-back championships.

That's pretty selfless, in my opinion. Can anyone think of more than 3 or 4 ncaa coaches that would sacrifice a national championship for the health of 1 player?

Anyway, I've also been a big fan of Jules Camara (because he put up some truly legendary dunks IIRC), Chuck Hayes, Ravi Moss, Gerald Fitch, Anthony Epps, Tayshaun (who I always charged with under-achieving), and Patrick Sparks for his knowledge of the game. If Patterson stays even one more year, he'll go up on my list in a hurry. If Kelenna would have stayed his senior year after that [b]awful[/b] Michigan State game, he'd probably be my favorite. I also got to go with the home town boys John and Truett Demoisey (way, WAY before my time), but one was Rupp's first AA, and the other was close friends with Happy Chandler. How much more Kentucky can you get?

Anyway, optimal situation for the cats tonight. Georgia (with 9 players) played a rough game last night that went into Overtime, so those guys are worn out. We match up well against them, and CBG and his staff watched the game live, and then went back to their hotel rooms and watched the tape of it.
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Right now, i go:

1. Chuch Hayes (I love a big man that can bring the ball up the court during the press... hayes did that constantly)

2. PP (already on my list... he'll be number 1 by next year probably)

3. Tayshawn (how can you not like prince? He and Jamal Mashburn are the best UK players i've seen play, but i just like the styles of both hayes and Patterson better... i love Tay though...)
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I am still only cautiously optimistic that we get in. We simply cannot lose tonight or I don't think we make it. It might even be a stretch to say that we'd get in if we win tonight and then lose tomorrow. We'd be 19-12 if that happened, and despite our 12-4 SEC record, there would be hell to pay if we got in and say a Syracuse did not (they got f'd in the a last year IIRC) with 20 or more wins, and people would be screaming that "we only got in because we're Kentucky!" and they may be right in their sentiment.
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yeah, I agree. We'd survive the first round, and get a better seed than last year.


Someone on ESPN has the Bracket listed right now so that we'd get Kansas State in the 1st, UNC in the 2nd, and that Georgetown would be the #2 seed in our region. I really, really hope it doesn't turn out that way.
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the SEC is royally fucking this up!

UK is scheduled to play tomorrow at 12:00, and then (if we win) again at 3:00 against MSU. The anti-UK element on ESPN (Gottlieb, et. al) said that this isn't a big deal-that AAU teams play 4x a day. That's the most ignorant bullshit I've ever heard, but it looks like barring a Co-Champion situation, we have to deal with this.

unless BCG tells the players to get back on the bus and tells the SEC where they can stick it.
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[quote name='steggyD' post='643615' date='Mar 15 2008, 08:48 AM']From what I heard, they'll play again at 8:30, if they win. That still stinks. If we win the first game, there's no way we win again. I hope the comittee takes this into consideration on Sunday.[/quote]

this is what i heard... still sucks, but not nearly as bad as practically 4 straight half's...
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[i]Best story though comes from Brett Dawson of the Courier Journal who was standing with Coach Gillispie when it happened. He told me that Gillispie took it in stride and said, “I just thought it was the Kentucky fans coming in.”[/i]

:lol: I love coach Gillespie..

[url="http://blog.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=5218"]http://blog.kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=5218[/url]

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[quote name='#22' post='643698' date='Mar 15 2008, 01:17 PM']Hard to say, but I like their NCAA chances. They got absolutely fucked on calls in that game, though[/quote]
What other team in the nation would get in with an 18-12 record despite their good conference record?
I think there are just going to be too many 20-win teams to justify giving UK a bid.
I personally think that if they get a bid, it should be in the play-in game. Make them prove they belong on merit rather than reputation.
But, I honestly think we miss the tourney for the first time since Eddie Sutton left us on probation.
Somewhere, Tubby and the Gophers are laughing at us.
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UNC went to the sweet 16 in 2002? with 18 wins. Georgia got in a few years back with 16 wins iirc.
Our SOS and Last 12 figure heavily into the discussion, and Rivals.com still has us as a 9 seed.
I've also heard that because of the snafu in Atlanta, the NCAA selection committee aren't going to place very much weight on these games.

When is the last time a team with [b]12[/b] wins in a power conference didn't get in? We're 2nd in the SEC East and if they send 4 teams, we HAVE to get in.

Quit worrying about it.
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