Vicky Graff Photo
This is NOT Kentucky Basketball…or is it?
For the past 10 years I have packed my bags and headed to Nashville for the beginning of my favorite times of the year. I currently have no bags packed, no rooms booked and no vacation time marked on the calendar at work.
I am beyond the mad stage. I am just sad.
Kentucky will be playing the first game on the first day in the SEC Tournament. Take the time to read the previous sentence again. The CATS are in the bottom of the bracket in the SEC. I am not sure we will even be favored in this game. It wasn’t that long ago that it took a Hail Mary for us to beat LSU.
We have not been at the top or the middle top in years. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting at Tin Roof the whole weekend watching games with no fear. Now…here we are and realistically have been for a while.
Kentucky is one of the Blue Bloods of college basketball. This statement was true for decades but now I wonder if we are even in the top five. If we are, we must be hanging on by a thread. The CATS have not been relevant in years.
No team is intimidated by a team that loses to the likes of Missouri and Georgia on their home floor. I could list the other losses at home, but it only disheartens my soul more. We used to be the team that went to your house and beat you. We would pop our jerseys and wave bye to the opposing team’s fans. It is not fun being on the receiving end.
This past season has been grueling. It has been a chore to watch the product on the floor. There is nothing beautiful or special about watching a team dig a hole so deep they cannot overcome. The post-game press conferences have become more of a therapy session than a professional summary of the games.
The decline has been steady for the past few years. This did not begin with Coach Mark Pope. It started with John Calipari. Slowly the tradition of Kentucky basketball has reached a decline that if a turning point is not made soon the journey back to the top could be a long one.
As Kentucky fans we will cheer loud and be proud because that is what we do. Fans will travel to cheer and say a prayer that the CATS have a miracle in them because that is what we do. The Kentucky fanbase hasn’t changed. Kentucky basketball has.
Again…I am just sad.
9 Responses
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Mary Hopkin
Yes. Pope inherited a listing ship.
One more year of Pope and we will be officially crowned as the next "Indiana".
The beat continues….we just lost another targeted recruit. Caleb Holt #4 player in country went with Arizona. It appears we are still 0-fer. Keep up the good work Pope!
Tyran Stokes will pretend that he likes us for $6,000,000.
Could happen WildWest
I wanted to but just couldnd't pull myself to listen to pre-tourney interview with Pope. I really have lost all hope and he has taken UK to lowest in years.
It’s a new age of Basketball where money is king and Kentucky is a poor state! But for sure the last 5 years of Calipari was not it , Coach Pope give us hope for a new age but we lost three Studs to injury! It is what it is , there are definitely things I would do different. Definitely can’t play BYU style in the Sec .Coaches we need strong assistant coaches with DISCIPLINE skills and this team needs more discipline on the court! Redshirting players or reserving players for the future when we need help now is putting players first instead of Kentucky Basketball first now . Don’t know why we aren’t getting recruits because we supposedly had 22 million to spend! These top guys are one and done any school they go to . So something or someone is not telling the truth about our NIL money because money talks in business and this is a business. I would have to see the 22 million before I believe we had that to spend ! Because this team of players is nowhere near 22m in ROI ! Even if you don’t like Coach for the money you will suffer a season out before hitting the draft! All the guys we missed on would have started with no restrictions. I think someone has black listed our school on recruiting and I think it has to be someone who knows how things work in Lexington. JMI or an AD who has given football the resources to not fail because football pays the bills at Kentucky athletics. That being said Coach pope whom I love must do better next season or Mark Few needs to be bought out of Gonzaga ! JMO
Valid points on all takes Mark