Today, on one play Michael seemed no more than six feet away from Meeks at the arc on the right side facing the basket. Michael chose to attempt a pass to Miller clear across the defense to the left side of the basket. He threw it behind Miller and the ball went out of bounds. l don’t know why he would make that pass. Porter is a tough guy willing to play out of position to help the team and two things must be happening:
 * He simply did not see Jodie

• Jodie thought Michael couldn’t help but see him and didn’t yell for the ball.

Michael is now shooting the ball and shooting it extremely well, but when he is on the floor the team has to talk more and let him know where they are. It is just the way it is going to be. Expecting to practice this out of a player at this point in the year is not realistic. It was a nice game, but IMO Galloway had earned the chance to start the game. Tru, I don’t know what the Gillispie Effect, but not giving a player a reward for previously playing well is counterproductive. Sorry I am suffering from a cognitive disconnect between reality of last game and coaching choices about the starting llineup of this game and I am a BIG Coach G. supporter.

Coach starts everygame with the same players and then only subs if needed. It doesn’t make much sense to carry 19 active players and one transfer who know the system and you are not going to play, but that is his choice. This system is extremely hard on JUCOs and freshmen and favors less talented upperclassmen over talented freshmen. At this point, Coach G. may be starting Stevenson over Orton unless Daniel makes “good” by the “cut-off” date.

Nice to finally get a win. Been a rough run.

It may also be his way of maturing young freshmen by giving them some disappointment with which to deal. So far, only Patterson has started consistently as a freshman. “Sorry, Daniel, Perry starts ahead of you”, simply doesn’t make much sense to me. The fact is IMO Jon and G.J. could be ready to start next year.

Here is a You Tube of Meeks going off on Arkansas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0GZFUT7jBk

Galloway was indeed aggressive in the 3 minutes he was in and the Cats would have won by 25-30 if he had 30 minutes. That game was in doubt with around 5 minutes left when Arkansas cut it to 11. I don’t care how he practiced. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…we cannot afford too many more losses. We will likely make the tournament, but who wants an 8 or 9 seed when you could let Galloway burn up the rest of the SEC schedule and get us a 3 or 4 seed perhaps. Patterson being out is all the more reason to put another athlete on the floor. Hell the guy is likely to pull down 12 boards a game plus a ton of offensive put backs if you just let him play. I think Gillespie is an extremely powerful persona and maybe even a basketball genius that is slowly imposing his will on the players, but the Galloway deal is driving me bonkers. Remember the chant the fans got going in Bad News Bears 2 at the Astrodome when they tried to call the game off? “LET THEM PLAY!!!” That’s what Kentucky fans should chant every game…LET WAY PLAY!!!! Though I’m sure BCG would not capitulate, someone needs to do something.

I don’t think many,including myself,realize just the kind of unbelievable year Meeks is having. I been a Cats fan all my life (just turned 47) and I can barely remember Dan Issel,but this is a performance for the ages. I get all wrapped up in all the other things with this team but I think I am going to take the opportunity the rest of the season to just sit back and watch Jodie Meeks play. It may be a long,long time before we see somebody have this kind of season so I just want to watch and absorb it all. It would be great if UK could have a nice run in March,for many reasons,but also so Jodie Meeks can show the country what he can do on a basketball court.

Hope was to review video prior to commenting but was not to be. Thus the early returns are in and it’s a simple story really: Meeks rivals Obama in turning states Blue. First it was Tennnessee, then Florida, now Arkansas, although not quite so successful in the Magnolia State. While it is difficult to ponder, I perceive that taken in its entirety Meeks’ performance in Walton was better than his record-breaker in Thompson-Bolling, and IMO he is improving game by game as evidenced by his crossover move, advantageous use of screens and aggressiveness on the boards. If one wished to nitpick it would be with his penchant for gambling on defense — a tactic that’s sure to prove costly in a future important game.

Other than Meeks my principal question is: Why don’t I feel better about a 16-point win on the road without the services of your second-best — that is now a given, isn’t it — player? I suppose than can be somewhat ascribable to a UK’s fans’ hypercritical — irrational no doubt — evaluation, but I would like to think I can be a tad more, dare I say, objective.

1) Arkansas as it is presently constituted is a dreadful team. Without Fortson it is particularly easy to defend and especially on the perimeter a place where UK has had considerable difficulty thus I was not as impressed with the Cats defense as some were.

2) Perhaps my expectations of Harrellson are too high but his play against smaller and similarly talented opponents was disappointing in performance but also in his passivity. It’s possible that his defensive assignment to Washington contributed to his poor play. Either way it doesn’t bode well for the future.

3) Porter’s shooting has improved but that’s the limit of it. His other aspects of play demonstrate his lack of skills — mental and physical — in leading a nationally competitive team. That he is still in the starting lineup and collecting valuable minutes dashes my hopes that either Liggins or Galloway would have asserted themselves by now. Porter’s presence is proof of, more than anything else, the continued existence of the Coury Syndrome, now known in this iteration as the Gillispie Effect.

4) Harris had, as was described by his coach, his best game as a Wildcat. That his best game was made of quite pedestrian numbers is illustrative of the deficiency at the SF position especially on the offensive end. Harris’ minutes are once again testimony to the seeming immortality of the Coury Syndrome/Gillispie Effect and one is forced to believe that he will be an integral though ineffective part of the lineup for the foreseeable future regardless of the improvement of MIller or Hood.

5) Stevenson had the opportunity to resurrect his performance during the Pattersonless games of last season. Alas it was the same uninspired, nonaggressive, physically weak performance to that which we have become accustomed. It leads to the question: Where will Pilgrim play next year? Oops, forgot the stock answer to that: Coury Syndrome/Gillispie Effect.

6) Finally the controversial subject of the bewildering, ineffable substitution patterns and player minutes. One is tempted to accept the stock response of: coach knows best. But having managed young people for a number of years I know that such ephemeral and capricious personnel policies cannot be maximally effective. Kevin Galloway would be the prime recipient of such treatment.

Perchance upon further review of video I’ll find reasons — other than Meeks — to be if not euphoric at least anticipative.