AJ did not blow an assignment. Galloway got screened and AJ went with the ball (as was supposed to do since they were switching). The problem is that Galloway did not stay with the screener. Had AJ not switched, Thornton would have had a clear path to the hoop. Check out Brett Dawson’s blog for verification.

I would concur in Fortunatus’ assessment of the game; we played reasonably well and regrettably lost in the end. The players seemed to have more energy and verve tonight. That is a good thing.

I was at the game and galloway played great D, but the ref did not call a push on thorton. That my friends caused us the game . The switching stuff would not have been a issue if the proper call was made. This is by far BGG best coached game and it’s the first time a true half time adjustment was made. I thing we are in if we get to 20 wins. The SEC will get in UK,LSU,USC,MSU and TENN or UF.

How many shots did he give up? You could hear the crowd’s disappointment every time he had a wide open three and passed it up.

Miller’s three at the end was one of those jumping on the couch kind of moments haha! I just wish Meeks would have hit that last one. Oh well.

Meeks and Patterson (especially Patterson I think) play SO hard. They both seem like they are good kids with good attitudes. so mature and selfless basketball players, I hope they both stay next year.

A loss is always disappointing, but not nearly as disappointing when the Cats play as well as they did today.

People sure are blasting Billy on KSR :(

but I think making the NCAA tournament should be the absolute minimum for UK. Missing the tournament is outright failure IMO. I dont care about excuses. For me the tournament should be academic. I find it hard to believe and almost blasphemous that anyone here could except anything less. UK could still make the tourney but we all know that they will need to win almost all of the remaining regular season games. If not then win the SECT. Does anyone deep down really believe they wlll those games. I don’t mean can win but will will win the games.

Like tru said, (I think it was tru), UK can beat anyone, but they can just as EZ loose to anyone…

the game “may” have been lost, or at least “hurt”, my Jodie’s 1-9 3-point shooting.. argggg

Ramon Harris just didn’t have much of an impact, except for one huge rebound and stick-back. But other than that, he was not a factor at all.

The announcers wrongly credited him with that rebound and put back, it was Miller.

On Kentucky’s defense …

They have guys that can defend you that are 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8. I really got in a grove though and it didn’t matter if they were 7-foot tall, I was going to make the shot

Like I said, for some reason this year, guys are just having their best games against UK…

I thought that one of the tigers got some elbow or forearm on the shot, but I only got to see it replayed once.

I have posted periodically on this site & mostly have been critical of BCG & his refusal to make any adjustments once the game starts. I have done everything but call for his firing. I still support my Wildcats. However, I come to praise Caesar this time. His starters for the second half were water to a thirsting soul. It was the right combination, at the right time & I had to look twice to make my eyes believe it was really happening. Finally, an adjustment, a good coaching move. I applaud you coach. Now, if you would just throw in a little match-up zone periodically, my estimation of your abilities will rise ever higher. I hope this is a line-up for the rest of the year. Good luck Cats against Georgia & Florida.

Galloway is the only player I’ve seen on this team who doesn’t back away from the defense on the dribble off a pick. He is able to keep control of the ball close to the defense. He also, at times, reverses at the point of pick, so that if his defender is overplaying, the pick works in reverse. Sorry that’s not explained very well, but he, better than Porter, Meeks, Miller, Slone, anyone else outside, is not scared playing close to the defense.

Harrelson plays well in the high post with PPat in the low. He’s tall enough to see over the defense and he isn’t afraid to pass it down.

Miller is finally gaining some confidence. He could be the next great KY player if he doesn’t sit for 37 minutes next game.

Meeks is an awesome offensive presence with one exception: He doesn’t handle the ball in traffic well at all. He also forces some shots, but with little backup for him and Patterson, he probably has to do that. More picks for him OFF THE BALL would probably get him more uncontested shots. Picking off the ball rather than when he has the ball enables him to use his quickness to get open without being compromised by his mediocre dribbling.

Patterson is Patterson. Unbelievable. Somebody above said “a man among boys.” Amen.

Feed Stevenson some gunpowder. Ability is OK, motivation isn’t, apparently.

Liggins is uncontrolled ability. If he doesn’t get it under control, he’ll probably follow Alex Legion.

Harris, Stewart, et al are not versatile enough players except for role players. Harris’ defense makes him the best of the rest, IMO. With FOUR other offensive threats, he wouldn’t be such a liability on our end of the court and would be able to contribute his considerable defensive skills.

Gillispie coached to his players’ talent level better in this game than I’ve seen this year. As a result, we had the best 15 minutes of the year from 5:00 first half to midway through the second.

Sorry to be long-winded, but I had to sleep on this one first, and I dreamed a lot of words.

…to look to next year, Tru, so don’t worry about it. I think we all knew coming in that we were going to have problems, but I, for one, was sucked in early by the promise of the return of gaudy uniforms. ;-)

We just don’t have enough of the right pieces, period. Thing is, it’s not that big of a deal. Why do I say that? It should temper our expectations. Our tendency so far has been to look for blame for this or that loss, but when we match expectations to what we’ve got on the roster, I think it becomes clearer that we just had to expect less…and that there’s not as much blame to go around, either to a coach dealing with two great players, three developing new faces, and a lot of middling talent, or to a group of players that included only three regular starters from last year (one of whom was on the bench for the final month) trying to find their way together. Given a team of that description, what should we have expected?

That said, you’re right that help is likely on the way next year: Pilgrim’s been in the system a year; Miller, Galloway, and Liggins will all likely be better; Jodie and Pat might come back; and anything out of the new guys will be a bonus, rather than a critical part of our chances to win, as they were this year. That’s definite reason for optimism.

Finally, sometimes, I wish we used our passion not for anger but for patience, because that’s what we need right now. Not to write this season off—-never—-but to know that we’ve got to wait a bit before we’re back on top.

And we will be. No doubt.

:-)

2/14 @ Arkansas — 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
2/17 @ Vanderbilt — 7 points,1 assist, 1 steal
2/21 Tennessee — 17 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 block shots
2/25 @ South Carolina — 5 points, 4 assists
2/28 LSU — 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 block shots

It was really evident after the TN game at Rupp that Miller had gained a lot of confidence and made some great strides that weren’t “temporary”. Galloway has shown strides too but he hasn’t had the PT to really showcase that more (until yesterday).

Porter has been playing PG, but we all know it was because we had no one else anywhere near ready to step up to the plate. I think Miller and Galloway have now proved their worth and could actually share PG responsibilities together. Plus they just honestly have oddles more athleticism than Porter. I think it would take a lot of pressue off Porter’s head to sit him at the beginning and let him sub in the SG position throughout the game. He’s obviously much more comfortable in that position.

That being said, we all wanted Billy G to surprise us for once and he came through yesterday. There is a definite chemistry with Miller, Galloway, Meeks, Harris, and Patterson on the floor. I saw much better ball movement and I believe that lineup would cut down on turnovers too. It’s actually quite shocking to realize I didn’t have to pay attention to turnovers!

A couple of stats that leapt out at me: Miller, Galloway, and Harris combined for only 3 turnovers and Miller/Harris played almost 30 minutes apiece while Galloway played 20. Those three also combined for 6 of the team’s 18 assists. That’s very encouraging!

You can say what you want about Harris but I recently read a New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html?_r=1) on Shane Battier that made me step back and wonder about Harris in a new light. It’s a long read but very interesting and insightful. I do believe that Harris adds a certain something that can’t be discerned by looking at the stat line. He does add a defensive presence that isn’t reflected in the numbers. For instance, LSU had 11 turnovers yesterday. I wonder how many (if any) Harris may have caused. I’d be curious to see.

All that being said, since we are playing GA next I fully expect Porter to start. We have to beat them or our NCAA bid is definitely out IMO. Just remember Billy G……..change is good…………change is good.

is Miller could share ball handling with Galloway. I think he backs up the PG well. Exactly on Porter. Plus having him on the bench keeps him fresh instead of wearing him out right out of the gate.

would be a good sub for Meeks when he needs a breather.

…then the bottom fell out, so a moral victory this was not…as this season has showed us the ALMOST NOTHING carries over from one game to the next… I remain patient until I decide if i’m completely on board with BCG being the man to lead us back to the top, as I truly hope he is….. if things remain rocky after 2 more seasons, well, then things should be re-examined….but we should be focused and hopeful for the future. Didn’t mean to get off course there, lol

You’re right, it wasn’t a moral victory because of the thumping we received in the previous game. BUT we did see an adjustment as we have not seen before. And holy crap, it was working! Whether or not that kind of strategy was just one game or not, we’ll see.

If Meeks and Patterson return next year, it will be the defining season for me. The team will have a much better shot at succeeding with the game plan that BCG is so adamant about.

But for now let’s hope there are still some rabbits left to pull out of the hat. You never know…..

At least we finished hard, but once again, not smart. Letting a guy come down the lane untouched, grab a rebound over three defenders, score and draw a foul is pathetic. Meeks is still forcing things too much, he basically cancels out his scoring with the turnovers and bad shots. I was glad Galloway finally got playing time. I’ve been saying he’s the key all year, why did it take so long to figure that out?
As for Billy G, the dumb play extends to him in the form of bad coaching. Why would you put stewart in to guard at the end of the game when the guy has basically been sitting the entire half? Why would you put Miller at point guard at the end? Why are teams constantly getting wide open three point looks against us?
At the end of the day, we’re just not very good. We have underachieved this year to this point. This team has more talent than to be fighting for a tourney bid this late in the season. I hate to say this about traitor Rick, but what kind of record do you think he would have had with this team? I think close to 25 wins.

Good article in today’s Lexington Herald about Barnhardt backing BCG. I think it was definitely time for him to come out publically and back our Coach.

who do we want to win in today’s Tennessee v. Florida matchup? Or does it matter?

well don’t cheer too much because I may be wrong about this. I am working and watching the game and on asob, so none of the 3 are getting my real attention. btw, do you feel better 2day?

don’t worry about last night. I have cried over plenty of ballgames in my life.
I would love to me you too. we will figure out a way to have a “family reunion” for asob!

So glad you are feeling better today. You mentioned that your hubby is not quite as passionate as you about our Cats, I had the same situation with mine when he was living. I swear he could make me so irate at times because he could not understand why I yelled and cheered to a TV. Oh well.

I think it would be great fun to attend a basketball game together next season. We will need our ASOB tee shirts (hint hint Tru ;-)) I feel sure he is still working on that.

Ya’ll have a great day! The sun is shining and Spring is coming shortly.

as it pertains to the NCAA tournament and where UK stands. The tournament committee looks at several aspects and I would like to see a breakdown of how UK looks in those areas. I can find those things on some sites but they seem to differ in the rankings etc. I am not sure which RPI and SOS rankings they use and whether it is available to the general public for free.

Areas such as:
RPI
Strenght of Schedule
Wins against RPI Top 50 and 100

They also look at last 10 or 12 games annd overall record but that is readily available. In the age of the 64 team tournament, I believe there is no excuse for UK not making the tourney every year (short of major injuries or some sort of probation). I have mentioned this before but making the tourney is very important to me and I can’t believe we even have to have this discussion. Thanks.

Tennessee leads 59-46.

11 min left in the 2nd half

Slidenank’s observations are akin to my own re Porter and Miller. Porter is not a natural point guard. In point of fact, we don’t have a point guard. He is, however, a good player; he should be a shooting guard. Miller will emerge as a good small forward.