Valiant, but ultimately losing, effort
by JL Blue on Mar 19, 2006 5:27 PM EST
in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball
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PrintCan't put into words how hard the Cats played down the stretch.
Patrick Sparks left it all on the floor, seeming to take personally his first-half defensive problems. Finished with 28 points, 3 boards and 5 steals.
Randolph Morris played hard, until he was totally exhausted. 14 points and 5-5 from the line for the big guy.
Bobby Perry showed that if he believes in himself, his senior year could be a special one. Kid put up 45 points and 14 rebounds in two tournament games. Hard to slag on that.
Sheray Thomas stepped up and his a huge three and played crucial minutes.
Rajon Rondo looked great for stretches and generally ran the floor. 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists (only 3 TOs) for the man we hope smartly returns.
Not all good notes -- hell, we lost -- but for this one minute, given that I full anticipated a 20-point loss, being anything but gracious in defeat would be beneath us.
Cats will live to fight another day.
Still didn't see that goaltending, by the way.
Update [2006-3-19 18:42:31 by JL Blue]: Some early post-game comments from a supposedly calm, but stern and concerned Tubby Smith:
"Going forward, those players have to understand the standard set at Kentucky. We won't be bending in any way how we have to do things (to reach it). The team, staff, all things will be evaluated as we go forward. Those who want to be a part of something special need to make a special effort to change and improve."
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Tough game
Smith did the unconventional after all, and played Allene and Morris together in the first half. It worked well, too - at least one score by Morris was directly attributable to the presence of a 7'3" guy near the rim. I would have liked to have seen more of that.
Joe Crawford was a no-show for the second game in a row. Early foul trouble and the jumpshot not falling kind of took his steam away.
What can I say about Sparks? I have had plenty of criticism for the guy, but he paid for most of it today. Sparks' performance was worthy of a Wildcat, and he earned as much respect as he wants from me.
Morris played hard and well. UConn will not soon forget him.
Bradley joined Crawford with a poor performance, clanking most of his shots and jacking up more than a couple of bad ones. Just not his day, I guess.
Sheray Thomas surprised me. I thought the UConn front line would embarass him, but he showed up strong. If he can improve a little, the junior class may yet claw its way out of ignominity.
Rondo was Rondo. He could have played much better defense on Williams, and his confidence wrote several checks his ability could not cash. Still, not bad and certainly not the reason we lost.
I thought the zebras, on balance, called a favorable game for UConn - but only very slightly. In my judgment, they weren't the reason we lost, but let's face it - we needed neutral or slightly favorable officiating - UConn doesn't need help to be tough. The goaltending call and the one at the end of the game that replay clearly showed the UConn guy loosing it out of bounds were unfortunate.
Overall, a fitting ending for a difficult season. We played UConn way tougher than the skeptic in me expected, and not quite well enough for the K-E-N-T-U-C-K-Y on my chest and theirs. Still, I have more reason to hope than I did going into the tournament that we may be a contender next year.
I just looked at the stats
Bobby Perry has become a senior, and is sending a message to the juniors nee sophs - "I'm gonna lead this team next year, and you guys are gonna follow or get the hell out of my way". You go, Bobby!
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