Cross posted at a perpetual state of bliss (updated and new and improved!)

With the majority of the season over, UK is currently in 3rd place in the SEC East, with an 18-7 overall record.  Most UK fans, myself included, believed from the early part of this season that this year would be different.  Surely we had become a better team than we were last season, with the deflections of several players, and losing Rajon Rondo to the NBA.  There was no way what happened last year would carry over.  This year was to be different.  Alas, our hopes and prayers proved to be in vain.

Instead, we watch more of the same from a season ago.  Again, this team plays uninspired basketball at the beginning of games, tries to make a valiant comeback, and only to come up short.  Our Junior class continues to struggle with their respective roles, and with the sole exception of Randolph Morris, and only in short and brief intervals, none seem to have gotten any better.  What do we do now, and more importantly, where do we go from here?

I have been a "Tubby apologist" for quite some time.  Before the season began, I was willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt.  I certainly wasn't going to go the route that some other "fans" have gone.  No college team could sustain the level of success we had fom 96-98, and obviously there had to be some period that we regressed (see Duke, Michigan State, Indiana, Louisville, Arizona).  I certainly didn't expect that the rebuilding period would be measured in years (the plural) rather than year (singular).

This year, thus far, has proven to be yet another one of those rebuilding seasons.  To put it bluntly, Tubby's lack of success, or perhaps even more realistically, his outright lack of effort, on the recruiting trail have come back to bite him in the ass.  The Senior class has proven to be nothing more than role players, whose role apparently is to frustrate the fanbase into submission (a task at which that class is performing remarkably well).  The Sophomore class, Jared Carter, was injured early, and has taken a medical redshirt.  His contributions to the program remain to be seen, but from what he have seen of him, he certainly does not seem to be the answer we are looking for at the center position.  The Junior class, while highly touted coming out of high school, continues to believe that they are playing high school players, and can afford to take time off in the middle of the game, believing that their talent alone can bring them back.  We have seen in the past few games how that has worked out.

The one bright spot has been the Freshman class.  Meeks is doing everything everyone thought he would, Jasper has proven to be a capable point guard who is going to only get better, Stevenson has to be the most efficient player in the country given his stats in about 5 minutes of play per game, and Porter has shown that what he may lack in pure athleticism he makes up for in sheer desire and dedication. (Note: I personally left off Ramon Harris because it's not really possible to critique him as of yet, considering he hasn't played a full half of basketball if you added all of his minutes together).

The second bright spot is Tubby's rejuvenated efforts on the recruiting trails for the 07 class and beyond.  Hardly a day goes by that we don't read about Tubby being in the Huntington High stands, watching Patrick Patterson play.  I also think UK fans will be pleasantly surprised with AJ Stewart and Mike Williams (who is better than most give him credit).  We have had players make early visits, like Kenny Frease, Philip Jurick, Carter McMasters, and Jacob Jenkins to name a few.  Now the key part for Tubby Smith and company is to get these kids to sign their names on the dotted lines.

Tubby Smith has gotten himself into this mess, and despite all of our wishes, the man cannot turn it around overnight.  Surely he realizes that he has made mistakes in recruiting, and that that is the main area that is hurting the Cats.  Now it is up to him to rectify the situation, and rediscover that energy and passion he had early on in his tenure at UK.  I, for one, miss the days of Tubby sweating through his shirt, stomping down the sidelines, with his eyes sticking out at least 3 inches.  Now, he sits back on the bench, hands cupped together.

While Tubby works on this, I propose that the fans make up a bunch of rumors and speculate for the next few weeks. (See here, here, here, here, and here.)  That can only make the situation better.