Kentucky Basketball: The Soft Bigotry of High Expectations

I’m not sure if this feature piece has been in the works for some time now or not, but it’s quite obvious that a lot of time and thought went into writing this piece and the timing couldn’t be better, well done.

Gosh, it just makes me want to be a better fan, you know? This piece is a nice reminder that we as fans all want the same thing when it comes to the team we love so dearly — for them to do us proud and succeed. Here’s to handling the frustration better and here’s to you, Tru, for this most excellent piece. : )

When BG was hired, I was very happy with the choice, but admit I didn’t know much about him except for his success at his previous two schools. We were told what a great and tireless recruiter he was. Listening about his love of the game and seeing his energy I figured it would take three years for him to get us to the level where we might get to a final eight and if things fell right, who knows. And certainly we would continue to get better and he would win a NCAA Title. I was and still am confident that he can win a lot of games here. But I am not sure, we fans have the tolerance for his personality and what I perceive and others see as stubbornness. I would not at all be surprised that we do not see the same group of players on the court for the next game that played most of the second half against LSU. Just like Galloway seeing 3 minutes after his Florida game. Yes, the coach is the easiest to bash. It would not matter who our coach is, they are going to have people bash them. But loosing to so many inferior teams IS NOT TOLERATED at UK. If PP and Meeks come back next year and we lose to crappy teams again, then I will raise cane and rightly so. Until then I am going to stay calm. I really am. I can’t believe BG will give up his chance to stay and win here that easy. But if he, in my opinion relies on Porter or Liggins next year to run the point, I just don’t see how he survives. We will continue to turn the ball over and we will not have good execution. Liggins certainly has potential but I see him a couple of years away for us to compete with the best. Did Jai Lucas screw up or not by signing with Florida over UK? I know he isn’t perfect but I wish we had him now.

They are certainly high around here and there is nothing wrong with that. Expectations usually breed a higher commitment to winning and creates a culture of winning. However, there are those whose expectations are too high for anyone to ever achieve anywhere. My expectations are not that UK has to go to the Final Four every year or always be in the Top 5. I do think that UK should be a perenially ranked team 99% of the time and make the Final Four at least twice in a decade. For a program the quality of UK that isn’t unreasonable IMO. With early entries, injuries and some players not panning out, I can take it if UK falls out of the rankings from time to time. The one expectation I have that I think is essential is that UK make the NCAA tournament every season. The tournament takes 34 at-large bids every season and if UK does not get an automatic bid then I believe there is no excuse for them not being one of the top 34 teams in the country. I don’t care if UK didn’t make the tournament a few times in the 1970’s because that is 30 years ago and has no bearing today. So those are my expectations of the University of Kentucky basketball program.

GREAT post, Tru!

…that Tru has such a proper perspective. Wisdom is truly faithful friend.

post tru! I think you are so right on many counts. I hope I make sense in what I am about to say but I feel that too many people rely on these kids to give them a “high”. Pride can make you feel so good and provide that high that many seek. When it doesn’t go their way…….they lash out.

I could be totally wrong on this, but I just feel that there are some issues on this team that we don’t know about. I have noticed at least three of four games that Michael Porter has had Meeks wide open and won’t pass to him. Porter is not that dense. Maybe its nothing but I feel that some issues are going on. Billy has a responsibility to these kids but ultimately its up to them. What is the saying “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink it”.

Kentucky fans at least some of them need to stop relying on kids to give them that “high” that they so need. Find another hobby. You can still love your Cats and be all upset after a loss but if you are still upset to the point of throwing things 24 hours later then you put to much stock in 18-22 year olds. I could be totally off base here but its just a thought.

…. OUTstanding post, Tru.

Thanks for stepping in with another needed dose of rationale. It truly is appropriate that fan is short for fanatic. I found the definition of fanatic quite interesting: marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion. Had to notice the word uncritical, although I think it’s unrealistic to expect a truly zealous fan to be totally uncritical.

We also have to remember that the face of college basketball has change tremendously in the years since Rupp, Hall, and even Pitino. And as Tru touched on, this day and age of technology has changed the face of how we communicate as well as allowed a much greater exposure of “opinions”, good and bad.

Instant gratification does not exist in the competitive world of college bball. It takes a serious amount of blood, sweat, and tears to rebuild on an existing tradition. Ironic the existing tradition leads to such impatience. Maybe we just need to temper our expectations over time.

Thanks again for the post Tru. Very exceptional!!!

While I think that your article raises some very valid points Tru, I don’t think that I can buy into completely. I find no problem with the “bigotry of high expectations”. I have a problem with completely unrealistic expectations as they display a lack of knowlege/intelligence. Your post, seems to be more of an attack on those who would complain about their expectations not being met (either unrealistic or not) and the way that they make those complaints known.

The question that must be asked when looking at high expectations, is whether or not the expectation is realistic or not. Now, this examination, for UK’s part is two fold. Are the expectations of BCG realistic and are the expectations for UK, on the whole, unrealistic?

On the subject of BCG, one needs to look at the situation that he came into. If one believes that he came to a team with a severe talent deficiency (as many on this site have opined) then to expect him to coach those players to a higher level than Tubby (one of the games best strategists and bench coaches) is unrealistic. If the expectation is that the players he inherited should show improvement with seasoning and experience and that the new players brought in should show a higher level of talent (after all, BCG’s reputation was put out as a great recruiter) then that expectation is not unrealistic at all. Personally, I take the later position and am disappointed at the lack of player development but encouraged by the recruiting.

The expectation issue for UK as a whole is completely different. If one thinks that UK should be win the SEC every year and make the final four every year, then that person is unrealistic. If, however, the fan believes that UK should be in a position where, with a little luck, UK can challenge for the SEC every year and be a player on the national stage that other schools must reckon with, then I would argue that this is not too much to expect from the school.

It has been argued on this site, and others, that a coach deserves five years to get his program going. I would argue that this view falls under the category of “low expectations”. Is this fair, perhaps not, but when the coach of UK is being paid more than fifty times this state’s median salary, it is to be expected. There are too many instances of a coach turning around a program, (most in much worse shape than UK was) in less than five years, to expect that a school which devotes the resources to basketball that UK does will be that patient.

I know the arguments regarding the five year period and have heard the analogies, expecially with our own football program. However, using our own football program as our example, how many of you would be willing to accept a record similiar to the first two seasons that Rich Brooks had for the basketball team, and he inherited a much worse situtation (UNC was not with Matt Doherty). Coach Brooks being able to survive those first years is a great example of being somewhere with lowered expectations.

BCG came to coach the Kentucky Basketball team, which is completely different than its football counterpart. In fact, BCG is somewhat a victim of his own accomplishments. He was hired after effecting great turnarounds at two different schools (that had low expectations) in less than five years both times. He came to UK, knowing what the expectations are – win or leave, and accepted the job. As I said earlier, the expectation may not be fair, but it is not unjustified when looking at the turnarounds experienced by other high profile programs that were accomplished in less than five years (UCLA under Howland and UNC with Williams, or, for that matter, Pitino at both UK and Louisville).

Personally, I am willing to stick with BCG even though he was not my first or second choice (and no I was not one of the masses calling for Donovan or one of Kentucky’s former players either). I like some of the things that I have seen of him and am troubled by some others. Many things I just don’t understand, but I would not expect to since I am in a completely different field of work. However, I do know this, when one takes a job performance is expected, and the level of performance is usually dependant on the level of pay. Hence if you are being paid on the level of the best performers, you must produce at the level of the top performers. Grace periods don’t last long in the business world.

… who commented on this piece. I appreciate the kind words.