Some Questions And Answers With Beyond The Arc

And I agree about this years team. I think they could make the FF if they get on a roll shooting from the perimeter and play great defense. But like you said it depends on the draw. Running into a real physical team in the first couple of rounds could mean an early exit.

For those with the interest and time the responses provided as good a description possible of the phenomenon known as UK BB. My favorite team is the 1958 NCAA champion Fiddlin’ Five — most likely because I was a student at the time and passionately, intimately involved.

It was a very thorough and compelling look at the Wildcats and the BBN. I am in awe! :-)

Pretenders to the throne come and go. UK prevails thru thick and thin. I first became a UK fan in 1944 when Adolph took the only great athlete from my tiny high school of Trimble County at Bedford, KY to play four years on his great basketball teams of 1944-1948 (Jack Tingle). As a UK band member I always got in free to Alumni Gym games and gave my tickets to kin so they could drive in from rural areas to enjoy same. They didn’t much care for football and Bear Bryant as most high schools did not play football, but everyone played basketball.

During my 24 years in USAF I followed UK sports like it was a life-and-death matter. Thanks to WHAS radio that was not difficult to do. Although I missed many games in the Memorial Coliseum era, I made up for it in the new Rupp Arena. Since UK games are always on television, I favor the better viewsafforded there instead of Rupp’s rafters.

Low points have been the Eddie (cell-your) Sutton episode, Billie G and late Tubby years. I would have taken Pitino as coach before Cal which would have been a colossal mistake after the Sypher charges. I still think Rick is a better on-court coach, but am perfectly happy with Cal and what he has accomplished so far in nearly two seasons. My jury is still out regarding Joker but I am not optimistic like I am with Cal. It the Lady Cats keep improving, I may yet become one of their fans also.

Without Enes I don’t think the Cats will go beyond the Sweet Sixteen this year. This team puzzles me in more ways than one. One disagreement I have with Cal is over his priorities in running the program: his #1 task should be to field the best basketball team he can assemble within the NCAA guidelines and put the UK program ahead of preparing athletes for professional careers. Careers should not be more important than the program IMO. I think their careers would not be jeopardized too much if they had to stick around for another year or two, and recruits would still be willing to sign up.

I am probably overly optimistic regarding Cats basketball, and maybe just as pessimistic regarding Cats football. One thing I do know for sure……SEA OF BLUE IS #1 WITH ME!

Cal’s #1 priority seems to be to get his highly recruited freshmen signed up for big NBA contracts regardless of whether they are ready or not………….and to heck with making the UK program talented to make the Final Four. I say this because……….not a single UK freshman drafted in the first-round was really “ready.” They needed much more training as evidenced by their performance so far this NBA season. Only Pat Patterson, a junior grad, seemed to be qualified. So the four freshmen are not qualified, are left floundering around, probably doomed for sub-par NBA careers. BUT……under Cal’s guidance, he shooed them to sign big bonuses. If Cal wants to make his players suitable for pro careers, he must first prepare them to their best abilities. If this requires a player to stick around for several years, then so be it. That would enhance the UK BB program as well as best prepping players for BB careers. I think Cousins and maybe Patterson would like to have stayed another year. Merely getting big contracts for players regardless of their pro qualifications should not be his goal. He was hired by UK to run the program and not to obtain huge contracts. He might lose a recruit or two, but mostly he could expect top recruits to still choose UK for their college experience.

Bob’s clear allegiances are with UK, not the NBA. I think his point is made more with his heart than with his head. Let’s allow him that.

I love the fact that instead of tiny “sound bite” clips, you were actually given the chance to make reasoned, detailed answers (and the answers you gave were excellent). It’s nice to see the reasonable, rational side of fan-dom in general and UK specifically. Too often we just get the loud, obnoxious idiot side in the media.