Kentucky Basketball: Anthony Davis Speaks

He has no reason to lie.

Like you, I think everybody gets a little glazed from the constant flow of ‘coach-speak’ and its derivative form, ‘player-speak.’ But there is a reason coaches and players have such uninspiring vanilla dialogues with the media – anything they say can and will be over-analyzed and, many times, distorted to form sensational headlines or fit preconceived sophistries to the detriment of themselves, their coaches and teammates.

I’ll give you an example, the companion piece to the one linked above by you was an AnthonyDavis interview by Jerry Tipton (Click Here) about the team’s aspirations to win a national championship. In it, Tipton dealt with the same type of ‘fan-interest’ questions and Anthony answered them in the same non-descript fashion, “If we work hard, we can be a national champion,” he said. “It’s all about work ethic.”

Tipton then goes into Davis’ success at last summer’s LeBron James Skills Academy. When asked how the Skills Academy can help him improve, Davis said, “First of all, I need to get stronger. Playing against these guys, they’re way stronger. They use their size. That’s one of the main (things) I’m working on.”

And then, Tipton-being-Tipton, he brings up the Chicago Sun Times’ atrocious rumor about Kentucky paying $200,000 for Davis’ commitment. To which Anthony replied, " "I instantly called my dad (and asked), ’What’s going on?’ "
 
“His father, also named Anthony, said he would deal with the newspaper.”
 
“That was it,” Davis said. “I’ll let him handle it. I didn’t worry about it anymore.”

End of article. But then it immediately gets a comment from a knucklehead Kentucky fan named, of all things, HappyCat. I give his comment in full:

HappyCat
 
This is the reason the silent majority in Lexington and across the BBN have never completely meshed with this hire. Look we’re getting Davis, there’s no doubt about that. He’s a Cat. Probably the #1 pick in the 2012 draft.

It’s the mentality that Cal brings here. We all knew what was happening at Memphis when Cal was bringing in his stellar recruiting classes. We all talked about it.

Davis is a good kid here and he will make a fine Cat. But this is not Kentucky basketball.

Reread the story. Tell me that he didn’t just say something to the effect of “I’m just waiting for the season to be over so I can talk to my family and coaches.”

This is why, as long as Cal’s NBA machine is here, we will have an atrocious time winning a national championship, much less getting back to the Final 4; every injured-risking NCAA tourney game these players play puts their draft stock in suspension. Whether we want to admit it or not, that’s what’s happening. NCAA teams inside the final 32 are intense and well coached.

If even one player on our team realizes, advancing further in the tournament can actually force them to lower their draft stock… We’re done.

Look what happened in 2010. And 2011. Great teams. But look at those final losses. Most of our players wanted to win. But not everybody’s heart is in it as much as a UConn team coached by Calhoun. Coach Cal is a players coach. A players coach. A players coach.

He most certainly will always get the best, as long as he’s here. But at what cost?

We have lost our integrity BBN. It doesn’t have to be this way.

College basketball is a four year sport. Four years.

I’m excited to see Davis play next year.

But if you don’t get it yet, what do you think he is really waiting for next year? How about a hint; it’s the same thing Cal declared as “the best night in UK history.”

(oh by the way The Chicago paper had 2 sources and were threatened a lawsuit by UK. Not only would the Chicago paper not take down the story, they did a follow up story a few days later. If any of our extremely loud BBN vocal minority think they know how this works in recruiting, if a player comes down and his name is on ESPN for taking money, and the only conversation that is had between father and son is “Dad said he’d go talk to the paper and I never thought of it again”, then ladies and gentlemen, I love UK basketball like a love my grandchildren, but that’s not exactly a “real world” answer. There’s more here and yet again that’s what scares the BBN silent majority. What else was really said between Davis and his father?)

This sideshow of the Cal NBA stepping stone is getting old really fast…. Bottom line; you know it. I know it; we will not win a championship this way (and now listen to Cal’s new “talk” from Barnhart filter into the kids heads… “all you have to do is work hard to win a national championship.”) OK….. Hmmm. Nice job Barney. Way to force Cal’s hand into building extra nerves for a bunch of 18 year olds who have trouble shooting past the sweet 16. Nothing like “extra pressure” when you’re a freshman. If it was ever gonna happen with Cal, it’s gotta happen naturally. Not when our signed recruits are putting bullseyes on their backs in July.

Bring back the dignity & UK tradition to Lexington, BBN!!!

Bring back Travis Ford!

With these types of media members and fans, the less grist for their mill you can give them the better. They may be a minority (he doesn’t think so), but how many do you need before you learn the life lesson of keeping your remarks sports-pc and avoid feeding controversy, even inadvertently.

I feel your pain but, in the world we live in, I don’t see much of an option for young inexperienced athletes – if they leave the script, they’re meat.

I prefer to take a man at his word until given sufficient reason not to. Maybe Davis dreams of the NBA all day long and maybe he doesn’t, but the actions and statements of other high school stars don’t offer much insight to it.

On another topic, it’s great that he loves defense – it should be very exciting to watch him and Terrence defend the post.