Ah, the disco classic from Andrea True Connection.  So smooth, so ... unforced.  For those of you who went through that era like me, no song could be more appropriately representative of Jodie Meeks' marvelous Rocky Top Eruption.

TCP/IP packets are still flying around the Internet at near-lightspeed, talking about you-know-who, the man who would supplant Tyler Hansborough, Blake Griffin, et. al. as a possible NCAA basketball player of the year.  Dropping 54 with a line like Jodie Meeks had last night will get some attention, and we can consider that attention got.

I just got back from watching the play Wicked, a modern prequel to the Wizard of Oz.  Great show, but I felt the need ... the need for Meeks!

Here is a little ditty written last night by member johnr, to the tune of "Rocky Top":

Once we had a guard named Jodie Meeks
Half god the other half cat
Fifty-four record points he dropped
We'll always dream about that

JODIE MEEKS, YOU'LL ALWAYS BE
SWEET STRING MUSIC TO ME
GOOD OL' JODIE MEEKS
RAINY DOWN ALL 'EM THREES

Many Vols tried to guard Mr. Jodie Meeks
But he just imposed his will
Found that they can't stop ol' Jodie Meeks
Reckon he's scorin' still?

JODIE MEEKS, YOU'LL ALWAYS BE
AUTOMATIC TO ME
GOOD OL' JODIE MEEKS
LIGHTING UP TENNESSEE
LIGHTING UP TENNESSEE!

Oh, hell yeah, my feet are still tappin'.  If you don't like that song, you might be a Vol fan.

One of the Big Blue Nation's favorite whipping boys, Andy Katz, has a piece on the UK-UT game last night, but mostly from the perspective of Tennessee.  But Miami (FL) coach Frank Haith was quoted thus:

"We were fortunate that he had an off-night against us," Miami coach Frank Haith said. The Hurricanes switched defenses against Kentucky that night to attempt to keep Meeks out of sync.

"Jodie has done a great job developing into being a well-rounded player," Haith said. "He's not only a shooter, he can score off the dribble, a good defender and they've got a great inside-out combination. [Forward] Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks are pros. That Kentucky win we had was a good win. Some people said Kentucky was subpar or that this wasn't a normal Kentucky team. They've got two pros. They're good."

That Miami game still galls me.  Imagine if we had won that and the UT game.  We would surely have the full attention of everyone instead of playing the role normally played by teams like Florida State and Georgia Tech -- you know, the dangerous teams that don't get any recognition until the play one of the "big boys."

Your Team Stinks says that Tennessee clearly forgot to bring the Kryptonite.  I'm not sure that would have helped against Bizarro Meeks.  The article also tells me something that I wasn't really aware of -- Meeks has set two arena scoring records this year, at Freedom Hall and at Thompson-Bowling Arena.

John Clay says that Jodie Meeks is now getting player of the year attention, and of course, that's what we have all been talking about for the last day and one half.  But Mike DeCourcy poured a little cold water on the whole "Meeks for POY" deal:

"I do think the current malaise in SEC basketball could hurt Jodie's chances," DeCourcy wrote. "He'll get the opportunity to do impressive things on TV, like he did against Tennessee, but it's unlikely there'll be any one game that carries the weight of a Duke-North Carolina or Pitt-UConn. That does make a difference."

"Malaise in the SEC?"  Mike, you're one of my favorites, but c'mon.  The SEC isn't the Big East, but have you never heard of a rebuilding year?  They may surprise everyone by year end, so don't tempt us to saw that limb off from beneath you.

Of course, we can count on Jerry Tipton to produce the most offensive headline of the day:

UK's win over Vols turns SEC upside down

Since when is Kentucky leading the SEC, "upside down," Jerry?  Granted, UK isn't North Carolina this year, but anyone with a hint of basketball IQ knew the 'Cats are on equal terms at least with any team in this league.  Get real.  He goes on with this risible blather:

An opening-night loss to Virginia Military Institute seemed to confirm UK's status as an also-ran. So did the continuation of a streak of losses against ranked teams that reached six games.

Then Kentucky beat No. 24 Tennessee.

Jerry, you're killing me here.  Did the two excellent neutral court victories in Las Vegas somehow escape your notice?  How about the last-second loss to a miracle shot at Louisville?  The comfortable win over a decent Vanderbilt team?

I guess so.

Dan Issel seems to be taking his new status as second-highest point scorer in UK history in stride:

"I watched every minute of it. I told my wife (Cheri) before halftime, that he's got a chance to break it," Issel said of Meeks having 26 points at the half. "I guess you probably hope that it's not going to be broken. But, quite frankly, I was surprised that it took 39 years for it to be broken."

No surprise there.  Dan has always been a class act, and it's an honor just having his name associated with Kentucky.  And another well-known class act formerly associated with Kentucky had some nice things to say, as well:

"When you think about all the great players that have gone through Kentucky, that's just a remarkable feat," Smith said. "And to do it at Tennessee -- oh, wow! That's the best gift to the Bluegrass I think in years."

That's right, it's former UK head coach Tubby Smith, they guy responsible for bringing Meeks to Kentucky.  Thanks, Coach Smith.

Finally, if some of you are wondering (and I know you are) if that little school 75 miles down I-64 has ever had a similar offensive outburst by a player, ask and you shall receive.  Mike over at Card Chronicle lists the most historic U of L individual performances, and you will most certainly recognize some of those names.

The most interesting thing, though, is that only one Cardinal has gone for 36 points or more in the era of the 3-point shot.  Check it out to see who that was.

Good night to all.  More tomorrow.