Even though the Kentucky Wildcats can officially enjoy the #1 ranking for only a few more hours, the manner in which the Kentucky Wildcats came back from the loss versus the South Carolina Gamecocks by beating the Vanderbilt Commodores soundly in Rupp Arena has to make all of the Big Blue Nation feel better.
We have, predictably, seen plenty of commentary on the surly nature of DeMarcus Cousins in the game, and his tendency to make dangerous-looking fouls, and yesterday to pick up a technical foul for back-talking the official. Some are even asking if Cousins is more of a liability than an asset.
With all due respect, I think there is really no question that it's worth the trade off. I think at some point, we just have to trust Coach Cal to convince Cousins to concentrate on basketball and avoid the silly foul, or mouthing off to whomever in such a way that it draws technical fouls.
I don't think Cousins is trying to become the college version of Rasheed Wallace. For the most part, I think he is just young and excitable, and we have seen considerable positive development in his demeanor as well as his game. As he continues to mature, I think we can expect fewer and fewer incidents like yesterday.
But the bottom line is, I am very glad that Big Cuz is on our team, warts and all. The news follows the jump.
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UK notes: Patterson focused on winning, not stats | KentuckySports.com
Note to the idiots making rude comments to Patterson -- Big Cuz wants to remonstrate with with you - alone.
Freshman DeMarcus Cousins expressed his disappointment with fans who posted critical comments on Patterson's Facebook page after UK lost at South Carolina.
"That really made me mad when they were talking about Eric (Bledsoe) and Patrick," Cousins said. "They've played hard all season. We did play a horrible game. We were already down on ourselves. We were looking for support. For fans to do that, for fans to say bad things, it's not right." -
Calipari pushes all the right buttons | KentuckySports.com
Liggins was special. His impact on the game was noticeable and positive.
Liggins was the one who added some defensive bite Saturday. He did a nice job helping on Vandy guard Jermaine Beal, who coming off a 25-point effort at Tennessee, made just six of 14 shots. Plus, Liggins made a couple of shots. "If I have the open shot, I'll shoot the open shot," he said. -
UK football: Phillips hints at a surprise | KentuckySports.com
That wouldn't hurt my feelings at all. -
SEC fans have finally discovered basketball | KentuckySports.com
Okay, when I read this, I looked outside to see if I saw a rider on a red horse with a huge sword.
Another new face, Mark Fox, has energized Georgia, supposedly another outpost far from basketball's center stage. Last weekend the Bulldogs made the most of their first sellout in three years by beating Tennessee. -
UK women ending years of lowly streaks | KentuckySports.com
If only the football team could break a few more streaks.
UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said ending streaks is nice, but the Cats, who are currently second in the SEC behind Tennessee, can't take their eyes off the proverbial prize. - UK women's, men's teams win 4-by-400 relays | KentuckySports.com
- Courtesy of John Clay's blog.
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A "LeBron to New Jersey By Way of Wall's Kentucky" Excercise -- NBA FanHouse
This sounds like a conspiracy theory to me. -
BBL: King James watches Cats shut down ‘Dores John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links. -
BBL: King James watches Cats shut down ‘Dores John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links. - Heh. I'm sure.
- Tamme: Phillips will raise intensity | Vaught's Views
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DeMarcus Cousins leads Kentucky past Vanderbilt with LeBron James in crowd
I always love it when Dick Weiss, the dean of basketball sportswriters, writes articles about the 'Cats. And the lesson here is that you should not talk smack to the Big Cuz. He is a guy you absolutely do not want to motivate.
Cousins, 6-11 and 270 pounds, was impressive as he taught a lesson to the Vanderbilt players who were trash talking before the game to pump up their seven-foot Australian center, A.J. Ogilvy, and tear down Cousins. "They were saying I never played against a real big man, that he was the best big man in our conference, not even close," Cousins said. "That kind of made me mad." -
No. 1 Kentucky bounces back vs. No. 21 Vandy - College basketball- nbcsports.msnbc.com
Interesting.
And they’re getting consistent effort from Cousins, who shrugged when asked if he was nervous about playing in front of James. Having James in the stands is nothing new for the freshman big man, who said James was a regular at several summer camps Cousins attended during his high school days. -
UK Basketball: Vandy coach Stallings impressed by Cats: AMNews.com
Stallings has it exactly right. Vandy didn't play bad, they just ran into a UK team that played much better.
"They were just better than us today. They were quicker to the ball, more physical, played with more purpose, and like I said, they deserved to win. We have no excuses. We got outplayed today." -
Kentucky Sports Radio " Blog Archive " Top Ten Vanderbilt Game Notes
Exactly right. Great observation by Matt.
(1): If I remember this game (and chances are high I wont) five years from now, it will be known as the game the referees ruined. From the opening tip, the referees decided to dominate the contest, calling an absurd number of fouls that prevented the action from ever reaching any natural flow and causing both teams to be in foul trouble throughout. After the game, I was talking to the dean of college basketball writers, Dick "Hoops" Weiss, who said, "when referees start blowing the whistle, they cant stop…its like a disease." If thats the case, then today’s game performance must be characterized as lupus. - The Cards are bemoaning their fate. I must agree, they have been very unlucky this year.
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Wildcat Blue In a Sea of Orange: John Wall's "frustration" needs to be a TEAM matter, and the BBN need not get involved
I admit, as a Kentucky fan, that we have our "lunatic fringe" faction of fans. And as Calipari and Joe B Hall recently said, 99.6% of the Big Blue Nation do NOT fall into these faction. However that .4% minority took to their keyboards, and made their displeasure known and directed their poorly written (I assume) hostility at random 19 year olds they do not even know. But now that Cutler and other are picking up on Wall's frustration and writing stories about it, I am concerned that some of the other 99.6% will try to "help" and send along advice to Wall and help to ease his frustration.
Sometimes, fans can become a team's worst enemy. -
Cousins untouchable as Kentucky basketball powers past Vanderbilt 85-72 | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
"He's a beast," University of Kentucky coach John Calipari said after DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cats (20-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) snap Vanderbilt's 10-game winning streak. "You've got to foul him to keep him away from the glass.'Cousins is a beast, and is getting more beastly by the game.
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Rivals.com College Basketball - Which first-year coach is most surprising so far?
Offered without comment. - Cal on Vandy Win
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The Beast Of The Southeast Leads Kentucky Past Vanderbilt | isportsweb
Heh.
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