Ok, this is likely to look like a rant. Sorry for that but sometimes this stuff just gets to me.
A look at our most recent poll shows that our readers believe that Patrick Patterson is the least likely recruit to show up at Kentucky next year. In other words, the guy that two high-quality coaches have spent innumerable hours recruiting is less likely to come to Kentucky than Michael Sanchez + The Player to be Named Later. A staggering 58% say Beas Hamga, a player who has never set foot in Kentucky as a UK recruit and whom Billy Gillispie has spent less time on than any other recruit is more likely to be here than any of the rest combined.
This just blows my mind. I understand that some of this is caused by the recent burst of favorable news regarding Hamga, and the fact that Patterson has been holding out for so long. But why are so many people so sure that Billy Donovan is going to obtain the services of Patterson and/or Lucas? We have been recruiting these guys far longer, have far more to offer in almost every respect, yet ...
I have come to the conclusion that it is an irrational fear of Florida. Yes, Florida has owned us the last two years. There is simply no other way to put it. But they are still a football school, and if Billy Donovan had Dean Smith as his assistant coach, it wouldn't change that fact. Is it that we believe Smith screwed up our school so bad that it is no longer a viable destination for 5-star recruits? Is Florida, by dint of two national championships suddenly one of the Great Powers of college basketball?
I just don't get the pessimism. UK has been in front of these guys longer than any recruit in memory, and yet people seem to think that just because Billy D. says, "I want you", all these players are going to matriculate to Florida like zombies under the influence of a mad sorcerer.
So help me here. Help me understand the pessimism, the defeatism, the outright fear of Florida that seems to be manifesting itself in the Big Blue Nation. Are we Kentucky, or aren't we? For God's sake, how about a little friggin' arrogance here? We just hired a new, aggressive, successful coach who is going to run rings around Donovan, or so many have professed to believe.
Well, what do you believe?
This is astonishing. Florida apparently lost money winning two national championships. Sorry, that just sounds wrong.