Cursing the Darkness

Just fabulous. I feel bad that I don’t really have anything else to add, but I just wanted to say that I though this piece was wonderful. It was very much appreciated by me this morning. Thanks.

I will admit that I felt a little sad for the team while watching last night’s game and actually shed a tear (and I am not a crier, I didn’t even cry at my own wedding for goodness sake) after the game was over because of some of the comments I had read and for the comments I feared would be coming. Criticism born from frustration and anger really isn’t constructive, IMO. If only half of the BBN reads this great piece and takes it to heart, well, that too would be fabulous.

But I’m not sure I agree with your basic premise.

First, offering solutions on a blog (even one as erudite as ASoB!) is akin to pissin’ in the wind. Gillispie isn’t trolling the comments section for solutions to this team’s problems.

Second, I think fans are willing to accept the possibility of negative returns, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. I think the analogy to the stock market is faulty, in the sense that as a (financial) investor, you have discretion about where to put your money, your view on risk/reward, etc. But let’s face it, most of us were born/bred/educated into UK fandom – we don’t really have a choice. Switching allegiances (i.e., changing my investment) would be as unnatural to me as speaking Chinese. In financial terms, I have all my investments with one hedge fund, and it has a lifetime lock-up. Ergo, when things go south with that investment, I will be upset.

Third, before anyone can “further the dialog” or “understand our current dilemma”, sometimes you just need to vent (case in point: the team’s “heart-to-heart” after the game). We’re 12 hours removed from a pretty crappy defeat, so I think a little unbridled anger/disappointment is not unreasonable. Do we need to move on at some point? Yes, we do. I’m just not sure now is that time. Catharsis is good for the soul.

Lastly, anger in the fan base is INFINITELY better than indifference. It is because fans are so invested in the program that they get so upset. None of us is willing to bail on the program. But quite frankly, what can we do? There is nothing the fan base can do to actually make the ball go in the hoop. I thought the fans were quite enthusiastic as UK was making its run in the 2nd half. But sometimes, it’s just not enough. And that powerlessness, in something one cares so much about, can lead to frustration.

We’re a family. We bitch and complain about/to each other. It’s what we do. But at the end of the day, we’re all pulling in the same direction, even if it doesn’t appear to be the case. And I think the team and coach know that.

I agree but I have to say Im tired of seeing the same thing on my tv screen game after game. I feel like I play ball with guys who while (obviously arent anywhere close to being as good as UK players) are smarter basketball players.Im not going to pretend I dont care about the lossed but I do want to see some type of improvement as a team or in individual players. Last night we saw it in the two freshman but I expect more from Juniors. I agree about Liggins. I was frustrated with his shot selection BUT he is doing something. That cant be said about everyone. We will hang in there with this team. Im not sure how I feel about the boos. They clearly arent good but IMO these players are paying too much attention to the fan base. We all need to cool it so they can focus on basketball.

But my frustration arises from the fact that we could take much of our comments and criticism from December of 2007 and just copy and paste it here. Its that lack of change or the perceived inability to adapt that bothers me.

I really see the effort. I thought Ole Miss just wanted it more than us but I thought we played hard last night. Humans arent robots though. We should be smarter than that. G should be smarter than that and his players should be smarter than that. There may not be any options left for them to try though. I wouldnt have minded seeing a 3-2 zone last night. They werent killing us inside and while maybe it would have alllowed state to penetrate easier than the man at least we would have defenders out on the three point line. I like Billy and still think he can do a great job here. Rome wasnt built in a day but I expect him to become more flexible.

but i don’t see any real problem with the boos. i don’t support the booing of an individual player, especially when it is obvious he is giving his all (we all know of whom i speak). however, the fans invest a lot into this team and should be allowed to express their dissatisfaction with the play on the court. it wasn’t like UK was playing great ball and losing. the team was not playing well and needed to be woken up. if a few boos does that, then i can’t see that as a bad thing. i personally do not boo, but i won’t criticize those that do in that circumstance.

how else does a fan base express to the players or coach that we won’t accept uninspired play?

the key is that the fans support the team when they are playing well and encourage them to make that move and i heard that last night. during our solid 5-10 minutes of play, the crowd seemed pretty upbeat.

i will be at the UF game and I can promise that i will be a very vocal supporter from the moment the cats leave the tunnel.

SB- That is exactly how I saw last nights boos. I didnt agree with the Sheray or Porter booing but last night I want quite sure. I would feel uncomfortable booing but I feel like the fans were just letting the players know they werent getting it done and werent critisizing anyone in particular. I feel like the players pay too much attention to the fans and need to be a little tougher mentally.

One of the best I have read in a long time. thanks for this.

but I feel that the frustration being seen here & in other blogs is the perception that BCG is stubborn, inflexible & so blinded to his so-called system that he is not getting the most out of the “talent” that he has. He also reacts badly to criticism of his methods & seems to feel that us fans are unknowledgeable (is that a word?) & wouldn’t know a rolling pick from a match up zone. If he would just give us a little something, if he would just bend a little bit to show us that he truly knows what he is doing & has some kind of master plan for UK basketball, if he would explain some of his substitution patterns, his penchant or rather blind adherence to man-to-man, even when we don’t yet have the personnel to play it properly then, I think you would see the BBN give him as much support as we could muster. Instead, IMHO, he deigns to look down on us “rubes” who have 40 or 50 years of watching quality teams, under quality coaching play quality basketball. I know the difference & quite frankly am not seeing it under this coach.

With all that being said (venting) I have not called & will not call for BCG’s firing or resignation. I want him, with all my support, to turn this thing around. Where we find ourselves today, in the basketball world, is UNACCEPTABLE & must change.

Please coach, give us, the truly committed fans a little something to let us know that you’re the man to lead us back to glory or if you’re simply a pretender making a huge undeserved salary.

…and extend it to a company that is struggling and shareholders who are nervous & upset. Shareholders don’t care about effort, they don’t care about issues, they don’t care about whether or not the talent within the company is up to standards…they care about results. They really care about they see a downward trend.

So how do you settle down the shareholders and build their confidence…you get the CEO out there to communicate, to share the plan and vision, and to build confidence. I have said for awhile that this is one of Gillispies biggest challenges as a coach. UK is a predominant program…maybe the predominant program…and as their coach the responsibility of this postion is broad and deep.

It’s more than what is going on behind the doors at practice. His leadership, if you well, extends beyond the team. He is the face & voice of the team to the shareholders (fans). He needs to do better in this area. He better do better. The streets are filled with leaders who may have a great plan but couldn’t or didn’t communicate it.

The gripe is we just ain’t got the horses. When you only have two players on the team who aren’t afraid to shoot, you have two basketball players.
Suggestions
1-Run like there’s no tomorrow. People say defense wins championships, that’s a football saying. You have to score in this game. We have absolutely no half court offense. I don’t count patterson grabbing a loose ball or Meeks hitting a miracle as that, so run, run and run some more.
2-Bench Harris, maybe forever. Start Galloway, he has an aggression we need on offense.
3-Start Liggins and Miller, like suggested above. Liggins, Meeks, Galloway, Miller and Patterson. That’s my lineup right now. Our defensive rebounding sucks right now anyway.
4-Press more-speed up the tempo on D
5-For fans, be patient. This team is not a title contender. They may be a sweet 16 team, but we need more recruits before we can challenge for a title. Orton and Hood next year coupled with what looks like now the likely return of Meeks and Patterson, we could be getting there.

i in no way want to argue the statement that the SEC is down, but has anyone looked at why arkansas beat two top ten teams at home and then started conf play 1-4.

its all i can do to keep up with uk basketball, football signing and -oh yeah – work. if anyone has looked at the ark situtation, i would be curious

With a young team and a young coach there are going to be many ups and downs. May not seem like it right now, but I think we’ve seen more ups than downs this season.

I also think there is currently some internal strife with this team and from what i read above it sounds like they may be getting addressed now. I really think this team is going to get it turned around soon!

I HATED last night’s loss with every fiber of my being. I hated it for SO many reasons. I know it may sound silly but for whatever reason I feel compelled to defend our Coach and – believe me – I have quite a few people that seek me out simply to bash on him and let me know that he just doesnt have what it takes and will never get it done. Well, I happen to really believe in Billy G. and DO think that he has what it takes and think that he WILL get it done. So, after last nights loss and having to go through my Gillispie-defense I had a little (much) wine and made a late night critical post and blamed our players. While I do feel SO much frustration with the games of late, I am not usually one to make such a negative and critical post. I am usually the one telling everyone that it will be ok and to just hang on, but last night I just couldnt do it. I LOVE Kentucky basketball and always will. I love our players AND our coach. It is just SO frustrating to watch them (all) just not getting it done when they should be more than capable of doing so. Anyway, Tru’s post here made me look into my “reasons” and I guess I dont really have a good one – I just couldnt do anything else. I also think that the “incident” in the locker room really may end up being a blessing in disguise. Sometimes it takes the players themselves to get fired up and passionate and take eachother to task for what is (or is not) happening rather than it being just the coach reaming everybody out. I dont know. Just a thought…..

But the last stretch of games ending with UT has me wondering. This team really hasn’t gotten better since that first loss to VMI.

i like billy but i havn’t figure him out . i still fill he loses to sent a point to the players but last night he was just out coached. the plan was to let porter and the rest of the beat them its just isn’t going to happen. miller still looks over his shoulder to see if it ok to shoot and by the time he checks it too late. harris and porter couldn’t play for our high school team missing wide open threes and lay ups. i didn’t like the boo’s we need to stand behind our cats and not be like other schools booing our own team. go cats

being a big blue fan fo over fifty years I’ve seen the good, bad and ugly. Every time we have a bad game or three bad games I bleed blue. Hoever I have never stopped loving Ky. basketball. We are young, this can explain some things. We have a young coach, that explains some things. With that combination we will see ups and downs, I just want to see the ship get back on course and I think it will. Time is on our side ( Ihope ). We just can’t get too down on the players and coach just yet.

are not walking through that door. UK has some offensive issues that need to be worked out by season’s end if they want to win a few games come tourney time. Whether it is turnover issues, 3 point shooting (outside of JM), confidence in taking shots, scheming to get players in positions to get good shots or developing new ways to score outside of the big 2, some new ideas will need to be forthcoming. When UK is not turning the ball over they are usually able to shoot well as a team, however teams are starting to figure out how to defend them (particularly Meeks and Patterson).

It is one thing to say the players just need to execute better and that is certainly valid. But sometimes a coach needs to think outside the box and create new strategies to give them confidence that allow them to be successful. That is coaching 101.

except for me I become irrational when it comes to Kentucky. All sanity leaves my head. My emotions come first. But I do like your thoughts and I say that they are not just for Kentucky but for our lives in general.,

I think that losing three in a row just has some of us scratching our heads. We know we are better then that.

Something I have been posting for a while.

Thanks for the enlightening post. I was fit to be tied and ready to post negatively tonight. That won’t be the case now.

Thanks for parting some of those dark clouds.

    I agree 100% . I have been a fan for 30 years now and there have been worse seasons than what we are gonig through. This team is far from done and I say that because of the talent we have. I’ve aways said to my none UK and UK fans that there’s a diifferent between a good team playing bad and bad team playing well. We are that good team playing poorly right now and with thae reported yelling match in the locker room afther the game this team will see itself coming together. It takes the airing out of your thoughts among your teammates to bring teams like ours together. Coaches cant’t teach heart, but they can allow you to find that heart through defeat and let you express it in an open forum. It takes heart to tell your teammates when you don’t do your job and when I dont’t do mine we all suufer. We did not become UK over night and we did not become UK without some bad years, so please understand that and the good times we will enjoy .

The play I saw in the first half didn’t give me confidence that they would get it done in the 2nd. I used the excuse that I wasn’t feeling well, I have been trying to unsuccessfully ward off a cold, and bailed on the game. I NEVER do that, but I was so disgusted by what I saw that I felt that I would hurl if I stuck around to watch the 2nd half. I never have nor will I be a fair weather fan, I came to work yesterday wearing my UK blue even after the defeat. I wanted to post some suggestions yesterday but I was doing well to make it to work. I am glad I waited because I am sure most of it would have been negative.

Tru,thanks for posting an article that breeds positivity and thoughtful discussion. For the rest of you posters, great job on some well thought out dialogue.

GO BIG BLUE!!!!

For this most excellent commentary.

I have waited to say much after the most recent loss because I was so upset at the negative comments from just a few on the open thread. Those comments actually upset me more than the loss. That is just the way I am about my Coach and team. I would never say anything negative when I know those young players are trying their best to win and that they hate the losses as much as we do, as does Coach.

I realize many commenters were spoiled by the success that Pitino had at UK, possibly because they are in their mid 20’s and 30’s, and just lack the patience needed to support our players and Coach through the losses.

I absolutely love this site but sometimes I just have to remain quiet. I have much more patience for our program than I have for the few who would rather severely call for Coach’s firing, and I will not mention names, as the few know of whom I am speaking.

Thank God for the older generation here (of which I am included) that understand the infinite quality of patience with a new coach and some young players this season.

Go Cats!

I just would like to add my 2 cents…..We expect our coach to conduct himself with dignity…we will not tolerate our players to acts of thuggery. We expect them to represent the team on and off the court. NEVER SHOULD WE stoop to booing our team…..that is placing ourselves along side the mediocrity of other low achieving teams….