Basketball for breakfast

by Glenn Logan on Mar 7, 2007 7:59 AM EST in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

As bereft of good reading as the web was yesterday, it is only fitting that writers make it up today. And they do, at least to a large extent.

First on the docket - lots of "glass half-full" articles warning us that Kentucky has a good draw in the SEC tournament and should not be counted out. First place in today's lineup goes to Ryan Ferguson at AOL Sports Blog, who has an excellent analysis of Kentucky's chances:

Should Kentucky beat Alabama, they'll play Mississippi State -- a division co-champion, but only on the strength of an 8-8 record. Mississippi State doesn't have Kentucky's talent, but they do have grit and fresh legs. It's another winnable game.

Assuming the 'Cats can manage such a feat, that leaves an excellent chance of facing Vanderbilt for the third time this year. Vandy has had the Kentucky's number as of late; they've won 4 straight over the 'Cats. But beating one team three times in a single year is an awfully tall order; one would think that Tubby's kids would have to be highly motivated to beat Vandy if for no other reason than to end the streak, not to mention make it to the finals.

Did I mention that Kentucky will have home-court advantage in every game they play?

Read the whole thing.

Next up: Louisville Courier-Journal talking head Eric Crawford has a much more cynical and jaded article than Ryan, but essentially reaches the same conclusion:

I'm calling it now -- UK will be in the SEC title game.

And on what revelation do I base this? Confidence in the Wildcats' capacity for a turnaround? Belief in the motivational prowess of Tubby Smith? A hunch that the Cats have been close all season and that they're about to turn a corner?

None of the above.

Well, you'll have to read the article to get the rest, but I think it's safe to say that "damnation by faint praise" is appropriate here.

It seems that Joe Crawford noticed the same thing about the officiating that JL and I (among others) bemoaned in the Florida game:

After Sunday's game, UK junior guard Joe Crawford told reporters not-so-slyly that he was excited to leave Florida to play in this week's SEC Tournament.

"It's great to be on neutral turf," Crawford snipped.

What Crawford meant was never revealed, but it could have had something to do with calls from the referees that didn't seem to go in UK's favor.

Don't worry, Joe - even the Florida fans noticed.

These days, of course, no blog post about Kentucky would be complete without at least some commentary on the coach, and this one is no exception.

First up is Jason Brubaker from CollegeHoopsNet:

So what's the next step for UK? Barring a deep postseason run, the Tubby bashers will be louder than ever in Lexington this year. Granted, not all of UK's problems can be attributed to Tubby, but at some point, the head coach has to be responsible for the direction of the program.

I think he's right about that, but there's lots more - read it if you have the time.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports on Smith's comments on an ESPN radio program yesterday:

"Expectations are always high," Smith said yesterday when he appeared on the ESPN radio show Mike and Mike in the Morning. "And I know I'm the guy for the job. Because I've done the job. And I know I'm capable of doing the job. We've done it every year."

As we have seen, there are many who disagree with that assessment. But this does seem to indicate that Smith will not go quietly into the night, or at least that the oft-heard demand that he resign as the "honorable" thing to do will not be happening, at least not this year.

Smith was watching Patrick Patterson at a Huntington High game last night. Seems the fans of Patterson's high school are big Tubby Smith fans, as the Huntington News reports:

University of Kentucky Head Coach Tubby Smith was watching with interest. The Highlander fans at one point started yelling his name, "Tubby Smith, Tubby Smith." Coach Smith found himself the center of attention with autograph seekers and many fans wanting to take his picture.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that Jodie Meeks has fans, and some of those fans are famous:

She's one of Hollywood's most beautiful actresses, known all over the world.

But even Ashley Judd knew all about Jodie Meeks.

The freshman from Norcross admitted to being surprised when the renowned Kentucky basketball fan approached him after a game to introduce herself.

"I knew who she was, but I had no idea she knew my name," Meeks recalled this week. "It was pretty exciting --- a movie star knew my name."

Get used to it, kid - Ashley knows every UK player. She's one of our main perks for coming here, and if you are just getting around to figuring that out ...

Then again, maybe that's why Jodie is so effective - if you can block out Ashley Judd, blocking out other distractions should be easy.

Finally, lest we think that Kentucky is the only place in the SEC angry with it's coach, check out this post at the BamaHoops blog:

I don't want to hurt the players. I don't want to hurt the team. I don't want to hurt CMG. What I do want is for CMG to come to his senses, realize just how badly he has mismanaged this team this year (and pretty much for five of the last seven years), call someone who knows more about how to lead a basketball team and program than I do, and get some help. Next year will be too late, in my opinion. It's already too late to really salvage this season. Even if they get invited to the NCAA Tournament and make a run to the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight, this season has been a disaster!

I don't want to harm anyone. But I want CMG to know that I will not accept this sort of performance and I don't think any of our other real fans will either. This is my last chance to express myself to him in any sort of language that he speaks. I will boycott tonight's game which I deem relatively meaningless in the over-all scheme of things.

If you haven't figured it out yet, CMG = Coach Mark Gottfried. Ouch.

Well, there you have it. Plenty of things to read while you drink coffee, or to fill up a boring lunch at Wendy's.

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