Vicky Graff Photo
In my younger years I loved roller coasters. The slow rise to the top anticipating the first drop was exhilarating. The anticipation of what was to come was half the fun. Once the ride ended there were no more highs or lows, it was just over.
Kentucky basketball has become a roller coaster ride this year. This team has slowly risen to the top of the hill with the anticipation of great things to come. Then comes a sudden drop that takes you farther down than you ever anticipated.
The Cats “almost” beat Kansas (we are climbing up). The Cats get beat at home by UNCW (start the climb over). The Cats lose three home games (start again at the lowest point of the hill). The Cats drill ranked Auburn on the road (the climb heads straight up the hill). The Cats lose at LSU (here we go again).
I haven’t ridden roller coasters in years and I am struggling with this ride the BBN has been dealt.
This is the time of the year plans are made for the upcoming SEC and NCAA tournaments. I will admit that after the Auburn game I started looking at Pittsburgh, Charlotte and Memphis NCAA sites just to get a gauge of where I might be spending a few nights. I confirmed my stay in Nashville with an arrival date of March 15th for the SEC Tournament.
Then the drop from the hill on the roller coaster happened.
This morning, I checked airfare to Spokane for the opening round of NCAA play. That is not going to happen. I remember the good old days when a 1 or 2 seed was the only question for UK at NCAA time. It is now how far will the Cats drop in the seeding on Selection Sunday.
I didn’t change my hotel reservations for Nashville. I did, however, make sure I could cancel without a charge if the Cats lose on Thursday night. In the past it was a question of where I could park to beat the traffic after the championship game on Sunday.
The coaster is at the bottom of the hill after the loss to LSU. The Crimson Tide rolls into Rupp on Saturday. Is there still hope for a climb to the top again? Sure, anything is possible.
There is only one thing for sure … if the Cats win Cal will swag to the postgame presser. If they lose he will answer two questions and abruptly exit or not show at all.
That is where we are with Kentucky basketball and it’s not good.
12 Responses
We are no longer in a conference that ignores basketball. This same team would have had 3 or less losses 10-15 years ago. IF the D improves they can still go on a deep run. I definitely think the in-game coaching can improve.
That’s definitely an understatement.
Not in a conference that ignores basketball. But the other conference teams don’t have a Hall of Fame coach. Several Macdonalds All Americans. Number 1 recruited class in the country.
So that excuse is not that great.
The Calipari way just doesn’t work anymore thanks to the transfer portal. Seasoned players are schooling his OAD NBA wannabes.
Absolutely correct sir.
Currently, without Mitchell, I would have to look at a lineup of Onyenso and Thiero up front and play 3 guards. You can’t keep giving Edwards all those minutes. I think the kid tries hard, but when you can’t be counted on to get 1 rebound or 1 assist or 1 block or 1 steal in conference games with the minutes he is getting, I’m sorry but your time on the floor needs to be less than 5 minutes per game until you can do more than score single digit points. I am not putting UK’s losses on Edwards, but he is not doing much of anything to help this team improve. If he wasn’t a 5 star HS player, he would not be getting the minutes he is. Theiro did a lot more with his minutes last year, but he still didn’t get all the opportunities that have been afforded to Edwards.
Neither Wagner nor Bradshaw are living up to their hype but coach Cal went after them hard and he is bound and determined to get them to the NBA no matter what. Cal’s days as the king of the hill are long over. Cal may want another Championship but he will settle for having multiple players drafted. That’s mainly all he has to brag about now. As Jay Williams is fond of saying Championships are what measure greatness not an over paid coach.
Jay Williams is also the guy that said Cal will figure it out. He hasn’t for years now and I doubt he will.
I feel the jury is still out on Ony…couple games back looked very qualified…kinda been a yawner since them. Believe he only had 1 block game. Cal has been recruiting a lot more bean poles with little to no physicality the last 5 yrs or so. Am hoping that changes with next year’s commit. It looked like we were going to have a little nasty this year before he realized he would get better coaching and less drama in Lawrence, Kansas.
The 2 bigs that are coming in have more bulk and 1 of them must play 2 years of college ball.
It does not matter who was on the roster for this fraud any of the last 5 years, who is on the roster this year, or who will be on the roster next year. So long as the fraud remains in that seat, the UK program is not the priority, the NBA draft is. So long as the fraud remains in that seat, mediocrity is the plate he serves up for the BBN to "enjoy" and from the fraud’s own mouth, fans will "enjoy" or THEY ARE NOT FANS
💙🏀💙 GO BIG BLUE 💙🏀💙