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Deconstructing Pat Forde

By Glenn Logan

Pat Forde has a new article up today, and purports to be an analysis of the Kentucky and Louisville seasons so far.  Essentially, Forde spends most of his time smacking mostly Kentucky (but also throwing in a bit of Louisville) around for their disappointing seasons so far.  Forde posits four theories as to why both schools have started so poorly:

  • Injuries - Both teams have had significant contributors injured.
  • Recruiting - All about Tubby Smith, and he even goes so far as to resurrect Chris Lofton for the 1,546,297,254 time.
  • Indecipherable player rotations - Both teams get a few questions here.
  • Point guard play - both teams get questions here, as well.

I think Pat and I can agree on injuries and point guard play for both teams.  Sosa has been extremely temperamental, inconsistent, and has not played good defense.  I don't need to tell you about Ramel Bradley -- suffice it to say that Ramel simply isn't a point guard.

As to recruiting, I have commented on that enough.  Player rotations may be hard to understand right now, but I think Gillispie deserves the benefit of the doubt on those.  I just wish he would be a little more forthcoming on his reasoning, but no matter what, I see that as something that is beyond contestation.

But this:

Some Kentucky fans have begun publicly wondering if the school shouldn't capitalize on Gillispie's curiously unsigned contract and cut its losses. Now. Or, at the very least, in the spring.

(It seriously would behoove the man to sign the deal, because he has a shot at losing 20 games this season. And that can get anyone fired at Kentucky.)

is seriously baffling.  Yes, 20 losses could get you fired anywhere, but not in your first year, even at Kentucky.  The number of people suggesting it would be a good idea to cut our losses and lose Gillispie is vanishingly small, too small to merit discussion unless it be a few words of derision.  Surely, it isn't enough to seriously suggest that there is some kind of groundswell for throwing our newly-minted coach under the bus.

Forde has increasingly lost touch with reality at ESPN, and this is just one more example of how far he has fallen when it comes to writing about the two teams he used to cover for the Courier-Journal.  I suppose that the last few years of dwelling in Barad Dûr have had a predictable effect on him.

I think Erica Jong said it best:  "No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool. Writers, alas, have to be fools in public, while the rest of the human race can cover its tracks."  Alas, indeed.

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