In all the excitement last week, I forgot to mention voting for SEC coach of the year. John Brady from LSU won the award. The voting was unusually tight this year though. Here is how it broke down.
*voting based on the:
Patented Instructor Talent Identification Notice Organization method so popular among a certain fringe of UK fans.
I can tell by looking at the site statistics today that you can hardly wait to see what I have to say about the Cat’s seeding. Well boys and girls wait no longer. They got a tough draw. But they deserved it.
I’ll go ahead and say what I’ve been thinking most of the season. If Tubby can take this team to the final four he should be offered a lifetime contract. Not only would this move be justified but hopefully it would drive away some of the people who call themselves fans (and occupy the good season ticket seats).
2 down -3.293298e-12 to go. Like I said from the very beginning, there are some things that Tubby does that I absolutely do not agree with. One of those things is the benching of people after one mistake. Ramel is one of those players that does not pass go or collect two-hundred dollars when he throws a bad pass, he goes directly to the bench. Tubby has to be trying to teach him a lesson, since Ramel appeared to be such a selfish player earlier in his career. Then there is Patrick. He’s a senior, he’s not going to be changing his playing style at this point.
Case in point: With about 7:30 left in the game today it was tried at 50-50. Patrick gets the ball at the top of the key dribbles over to the side of the court tries to go behind his back and the ball goes out of bounds. It appears, (I say that only because this is what I see sitting at home) that Tubby benches him because of that. Patrick doesn’t return until 2:53 left when we are then down 61-55. I just would have liked to have had him as a shooting option during that portion of the game.
This does not change my opinion of the overall situation. Tubby should not and will not be fired at the end of this season. Even if we lose in the first round of the NCAA’s. It will not happen this year.
Game 3 of four coming up. Got to stay positive, right? The Cat’s are -3.5. Take a look at this thread on the HL forums. Somewhere in there you will see people that say that:
A - SEC Championships don’t really mean anything.
B - If it meant Tubby staying at UK they would rather not win another championship with him.
How can you possibly call yourself a fan of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team if you agree with the second point? It’s beyond me.
Go Cats!
2 down 2 to go. With 15 minutes remaining in the first half, I remarked that they were on pace to score 48 points. And then we laughed. Figured it was just another slow start. Then with around 10 minutes to go I said, hmmm, now they’re on pace to score 24 points. It wasn’t so funny anymore. Then Tom Hammond mentioned the 24 points thing and stole my thunder for that angle.
The second half is what watching sports is all about. It’s a thrill you can’t get from the movies. That wasn’t sitting on the edge of your seat fun, that was jumping up and screaming fun. And then slumped in your chair crushed the next minute when the lead climbed back to 10 for the second time and the game seemed over. The second half was Tubby ball at it’s finest.
I would like to present the Randolph Morris Drinking Game.
Here are the rules.
key:
drink(s) = your favorite (adult?) beverage
If you have any suggestions or additions leave a comment or shoot me an email.
Game two of four up next. Kentucky is, hmm let’s call it -3. Actually have a little bit of range today. Anywhere from -2.5 to -3.5. Go Cats!
One down, three to go.
Someone likes Tubby, they really, really like him! And they have always wanted to play for him. Rondo you say? Nope, guess again. Randolph Morris? Wrong again. It’s actually Missouri star Thomas Gardner. He was asked if he would return to Missouri next year since Quin Snyder resigned last month. Gardner mentioned a couple of coaches he would like to play for including Rick Majerus, John Calipari, Bob Huggins, and most relevant to this site, Tubby Smith.
“Tubby Smith was the kind of coach I grew up liking, kind of following. Tubby Smith, Roy Williams, coaches like that. He has a big name, and he does a great job at Kentucky. It would be an honor to play for Tubby Smith.”
Now that’s the kind of player we need on this team. Someone who knows you have to work hard to be a winner. Dare I say Chuck Hayesesque?
On a completely different note altogether, the line at the top, the “they really, really like him” stuff. I couldn’t remember where it came from, so I searched the internets and found that it was a Sally Field quote from an Oscar acceptance speech in 1984. Except there’s a problem with it. That’s not the real quote. She actually said “I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!” Very odd. Am I the only one that remembers it that way? Thank you internets!
This afternoon against Ole Miss begins the new season. Or so Tubby says. This is either the third or fourth “new season” this season. This probably means that the original starting lineup will return. I understand what Tubby is probably trying to do. He’s trying anything he can to get the team motivated to step up and play competitive basketball. As we’ve seen all season, some of the players just don’t seem to get “up” for games. So I like using the “ “, get over it.
I think the Cats are in almost regardless of what happens in this game unless they get embarrassed by Ole Miss. If that happened, I’m not sure I would still think they deserved to be in at that point. But that will not happen. Got it? That will not happen. Kentucky is -10 today. Go Cats!