Kentucky fans count on Kentucky doing well at tournament time. (Vicky Graff Photo)
I get knocked down. I get up again.
Before you begin reading this please understand there will be no game recap, no statistics and no quotes. This may even be defined as a rant. You have been warned.
Kentucky basketball does not lose in the first game of the SEC Tournament. Fans save their money and take vacation time to travel to Nashville and spend a weekend celebrating the Cats at the arena and Broadway. The Cats are always in the hunt for the SEC Championship. More times than not they are regular season champs and run through the tunnel on Sunday to defend their SEC title. Fans did their part this year. Kentucky basketball did not.
When the schedule is released, a W is placed beside the Vanderbilt games both home and away. Kentucky basketball does not lose to the Commodores. This year Vandy has owned the Cats. It was not a fluke the Cats were beaten at Rupp on Senior Night. Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse used the same game plan and repeated the win nine days later in front of a 90 percent blue Bridgestone Arena.
Kentucky basketball is a staple in the NCAA tournament. Fans look at the sites and make plans accordingly to make sure they do their part to be there for their team on the road to the Final Four. A few weeks ago it was questionable if the UK’s name would be read on Selection Sunday.
I left the arena Saturday night in Nashville feeling gutted. Instead of celebrating on Broadway, I went through McDonalds and got a diet coke and apple pie.
Twenty-fours hours later I am sitting on my couch trying to decide if this past season is the new Kentucky basketball or next year will be back to what I have always known as normal.
Are some of the issues on Cal? Yes they are but he can’t be blamed for everything. Is it the players? There are issues I am sure, some of which we never may know.
The 3-hour drive home from Nashville allowed me to settle my emotions somewhat. When I left Saturday morning my mind was made up to not travel next weekend to the NCAA. I was done.
Thanks to an episode of the podcast “Steam Room” and a playlist of Elton John, I am back up again.
The necessary items were left in the opened suitcase on the bedroom floor ready to be filled for its next adventure.
I get knocked down. I get up again.
6 Responses
Tina, we are in grave danger of becoming the next Indiana simply because we don’t have the stomach to let go of a coach who has truly lost his grasp of the game. Bob Knight could still coach, but not at Indiana. He went to Texas Tech and redeemed his reputation to some extent instead of hanging on to a program that he had obviously lost control of. The same is true of John Calipari. He has lost control of our program and needs to retire or move onto something else if he still wants to coach. Texas would welcome him with open arms and he needs to go there. I know a lot of people want to avoid the ugliness of making a coaching change, but this would be in the best interest of all. I also know that many people would bristle at the thought of bringing Rick Pitino back to Kentucky, but I think he is the only one who can right this program in just a couple of years. He is available and wants to step back into the spotlight again. I would give him a 3 year contract with the understanding that his son, Richard, would replace him at that time. I would go so far as to bring Richard in as the head coach in waiting to acclimate him to UK and make the step up to head coach in 3 years a seamless transition. I truly believe that this is the only way to avoid a decade long hiatus of being an unproductive program.
Nobody can argue that we don’t have a crisis to deal with. You don’t call for a change unless you have a plan to correct the course. This is the plan that has the best chance to not only keep our program relevant, but to take it back to the top of college basketball. It has to start now. Waiting another year will be the death knell of Kentucky basketball.
I’ve stopped wasting my money while this fraud coach is still at UK.
I don’t even buy UK gear anymore.
I buy blue because it’s my favorite color but noting with UK on it.
I guess I have a different viewpoint of the definition of a fan. It’s easy to support the team when things are going well and they are winning. You have to dig a little deeper to support them when things are going bad but you still support the team. Just my opinion—make of it what you will.
Nice job, Tina.
I am not a Calipari fan or Pitino fan, and if Pitino is the best option UK has as a potential replacement to lead their basketball program, then UK is surely in deep trouble. Calipari bent the knee to our flag, and along the way belittled the UK football program. What did that get him? Ticked off UK football fans is all. Now he is floundering in back to back losses to Vanderbilt. One never knows what team will show up with a Calipari coached team.
Some words to the brokenhearted basketball bennies….try to digest that UK is no longer the "gold standard" in college basketball Calipari mouth’s off about all the time, or even king of the SEC anymore. This demise has happened on Calipari’s watch. Tubby got fired for less. Calipari has brought in more talent than any program in the country but he has failed too produce championships. UK has fallen behind Kansas. Calipari’s redemption lies is in this year’s NCAA tourney, but I won’t hold my breath.
I would love to have Pitino back. I never blamed him for following his dreams. He gave us his best while he was here and made us relevant again. Look what he has done at Iona. There is something toxic in our locker room that we will never know about but I am not optimistic about our future with our current situation.
Toxic is spelled Sahvir Wheeler.
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