The Big Blue Daily Mail -- UK2K Becomes Reality

Obviously, most of the linkage and news today is all about Kentucky's 2000 wins.

Winning the race to 2000 was a very big deal, and has provoked lots of commentary about what it all means.  I think, from a fan standpoint, it means a lot more than it does in the context of college basketball.  Yes, it is a significant milestone, and I am extremely proud and gratified to be a fan of the team who accomplished it.

To tell the truth, I am even more happy about the way in which it was accomplished -- by the young Wildcats playing their best basketball of the season in front of a huge home crowd that cheered their every move.  Overall, it was a celebration of Kentucky basketball -- where we've been, where we are, and where we seem to be going.

Many non-UK fans will pooh-pooh the accomplishment as little more than a number, but that's fine.  For UK fans, this is a very big deal, and as much as anything, an opportunity to celebrate a great, undefeated start to the season.

News after the jump.

• Kentucky gets to 2,000 wins, but is it really that big a deal? - The Dagger - NCAAB Blog - Yahoo! Sports
  He's right -- we didn't need 2000 wins for validation.
• " BBL: Cats on the verge of a Big Blue 2K John Clay’s Sidelines
  John Clay's Big Blue Links.
• Newton feels no added bowl pressure | Vaught's Views
• NCAA MEN: Kentucky hoops on verge of win No. 2,000 | jacksonsun.com | The Jackson Sun
• CatsPause.com - Calipari, players reflect on chase to 2,000
  "I'm such a small part of the 2,000 wins," Calipari said. "But there is a sense of responsibility when you are in this seat. There have not been many in this seat, but the guys that have been know there is a sense of responsibility that you feel to the state, university, former players and coaches.
  
  I think that's right.
• UK sets record after thrashing rival Cardinals 101-67 : The Kentucky Kernel
  On Sunday the UK women’s basketball team (10-0) notched its 10th consecutive victory to start the season, which breaks the previous school record of 9-0 set in 1980-81, with a resounding 101-67 victory over the Louisville Cardinals (6-5). It was UK’s first win over the Cards since 2003.
  
  Folks, that was a thumping.
• Drexel's 'Bruiser' on Coach Cal: 'He's a fighter' | KentuckySports.com
  Few coaches could be closer to John Calipari than Drexel's James "Bruiser" Flint.
  
  The two talk daily.
  
  Flint succeeded Cal at UMass, so I'm not surprised. "Once in the morning and then at night," Flint said when asked about their relationship. "I put it to you like that."
  
  
• AP writer praises Knight, rips Calipari, UK | Vaught's Views
  Larry Vaught continues to take the war to Calipari's detractors.
• As Kentucky basketball nears win #2000, it appears now that John Calipari gets it | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  "We need to get to one before they get to seven," Calipari said. "You say, ‘Why?' Because this program has created a pride in this state from Eastern to Western to Northern to Southern Kentucky. People have a pride in their commonwealth's team, and it means something to them."
  
  I think Calipari gets it.
• Shooting from the Lip/Dec. 21
• Ex-AD says truth is Calipari's best defense | KentuckySports.com
  Marcum noted that the NCAA absolved Calipari of any personal culpability in the UMass case as it did the Memphis case. Then he added, "People are not interested in a statement by the NCAA. In it, they said the institution did not know and should not have known what happened with Camby.
  
  Seems Bobby Knight got his facts wrong. Who could be surprised by that?
• Hoops on Campus - NY Daily News
• Rush The Court " Blog Archive " UK2K
  Great, as always, from RTC.
• Historical NCAA All-Time Wins Trends
  Awesome work by Jon Scott. (Shameless plug) You can read more about Jon's coverage of the race to 2000 by purchasing your copy of Wildcat Tip-off 2009-10, while it's still on newsstands near you. [Mandadory disclaimer: I am the editor of Wildcat Tip-off and received compensation for my role. I receive no compensation from sales of the Annual]
• 2000 WINS. UK IS FIRST AGAIN - Big Blue Cats.com UK's BBC
• Kentucky Sports Radio -- A Great Night in Rupp Arena
• Wildcat Blue In a Sea of Orange: 2000! It's a celebration of the Wildcat spirit as UK dispatches Drexel 88-44
  Tonight was a celebration of UK basketball and it was a perfect opportunity for a sometimes beleagured Wildcat Nation to stop worrying for once and enjoy the moment.
  
  Indeed.
• Wilmhoff's Wildcat Wrap: TWO THOUSAND!
• No. 3 Kentucky beats Drexel to reach 2,000 wins - State - SunHerald.com
  The Wildcats shot 53 percent, outrebounded the Dragons 45-22 and could have won even more emphatically if Calipari hadn't started substituting liberally with about seven minutes left.
• Xavier deserved a final shot - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
  Mike Miller says the Xavier/Butler game may have been done by the rules, but the rules suck.
  
  I agree. The problem here is that if the proper amount of time had been taken off to begin with, it likely would have impacted how Butler ran their last seconds of offense, and there is no knowing what the outcome of that may have been. You can't go back ex post facto and take time off the clock like that and be fair. The officials' judgment was in error, in my opinion -- you can't play with time like that at the end of the game and still be sure the resulting process was fair. The timing error should have been ignored, and Xavier should have had 1.2 seconds to do whatever.
  
  Would that have been fair to Butler? Sure, they got an extra second to get into their offense, which could have been critical to the outcome.
• Around the Top 25: UK2K is pretty damn catchy, you must admit | College Hoops Journal
  Hey, it’s a big milestone and could add to a very special season if John Calipari manages to get this team to a Final Four and doesn’t get it vacated in the process. (That’s not even a joke.)
  
  What can you say? Some people will never let up, fairness be damned.
• Quietly, Jemele Hill is forced to apologize to Kentucky for Charles Manson reference | College Hoops Journal
  What can I say? HIll made a stupid, insensitive remark, and had to apologize. That seems right to me.
  
  Bob Knight, on the other hand, insulted Calipari. Calipari chose not to take umbrage. That seems right to me.
• Bank sues ex-Duke star Hurley over loan - Latest News - Kentucky.com
  What is it about Duke players that makes them want to take out loans in Kentucky and then default on them. First Laettner, now Hurley. Hat tip: Rush the Court.
• Kentucky stomps Drexel for program's 2,000th victory - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com
  DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson scored 18 points apiece and the third-ranked Wildcats became the first team in NCAA history to reach the 2,000-win plateau with an 88-44 romp over Drexel on Monday night.
• Kentucky impresses Drexel coach | Vaught's Views
• PRP lineman following Pryor, Peters to Kentucky | Vaught's Views
  I love getting players from Louisville.
• FOX Sports airing 60-minute Calipari special | Vaught's Views
• Bowl workouts offer UK look at young RBs | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  University of Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks has been hesitant to single out his younger players in preparation for the Music City Bowl, but much focus in practice has been on players not on this season's two-deep chart.
• Eric Crawford | Bob Knight episode should put spotlight on ESPN, NCAA | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  On Nov. 19, 2004, the New York Daily news published an excerpt of a letter dated June 8 of that year from Tom Yeager, the chairman of the NCAA committee on infractions at the time, to Calipari. In part, it read, "The committee fully recognizes you had nothing to do with the violations of Marcus Camby during the 1995-96 season. In a sense, you were an innocent victim."
  
  That doesn't fit the narrative, Eric. Shame on you.
• Intentional Foul " DeMarcus Cousins Is Ready For Winter
  Heh. Funny.
• Intentional Foul " Double Alley Oops Are Always Fun
  This one is worth revisiting.
• A bunch of hoops nuggets
  Jody Demling has a ton of stuff.
• Tom Leach - Kentucky Football, Kentucky Basketball, UK Football, UK Basketball
  Some new stuff over here, be sure to check it out.
• Milestone belongs to Cats past and present | KentuckySports.com
  "The fans are the ones I've heard talking about this," Kentucky forward Darius Miller says of UK2K. "They're the ones who told me about it, really. (Two-thousand wins) means a lot to them."
• Mashburn makes return to Rupp | KentuckySports.com
  Mashburn looks back fondly on his playing career for Kentucky. With UK on probation and banned from post-season play the following season, Mashburn took a chance signing with the Cats.
  
  Then-coach Rick Pitino and his NBA background were the reasons. "What he was selling had to be his honesty," Mashburn said.
  
  Great to see Mash back in Rupp.
• The Big Blue Nation Report
• Hypocrisy shows in Knight's criticism of Calipari | Sports - MassLive.com -
  Heh. Some telling comments here.
• South Bend Tribune: NCAA should listen to Knight this time
  This is a perfect example of a writer who does not understand the concept of fairness. He is all about anything that will bring coaches into focus, regardless of their actual culpability. The reason? To "get" guys like Calipari.
  
  I wonder how Knight feels being the poster child for logic-free expositions like this one? Hopefully, really bad.
• Knight Preaching to Choir on Calipari Dirt -- FanHouse
  Undeniably, he was a bully and a blowhard, an ogre who threw a chair, choked a player, head-butted another player, kicked his own son, said a woman should "relax and enjoy it" if "rape is inevitable," lost his job at Indiana when he grabbed a student's arm and berated so many referees and reporters that scorch marks were left in arenas across America. Yet there was one thing you never, ever could call Bob Knight.
  
  A cheater.
  
  Great pioint, Jay. You know what? You can't call Calipari that either. But you will, because you are an ethics-challenged, unfair person with an axe to grind. Grind away, just mind that the edge doesn't cut you.
  
  Bob Knight is a jerk, behaved like a jerk, and treats nobody with respect. I think a reasonable person would reach the conclusion that he is an unfit messenger with a questionable message. You should read my comments on holding coaches accountable, because that isn't what you want -- you want to hold only the coaches you don't like accountable. That's reality.
• John Calipari: Fact or Fiction. " …
  Corey Graham takes Jay Mariotti, Jemele Hill and everyone else to task for the double-standard being applied to John Calipari. It's a long read, but absolutely worth the time and effort.
• Kentucky Sports Radio "  Josh Selby: Let’s Clear Things Up