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The time has come for the Wildcats to take their act away from cushy home games against mid-major conferences and once again take up the gauntlet of the SEC, including its road games in hostile arenas, familiar opponents, and challenging game times. It gets tougher from here on in.
Now, for the news:
Bill would mandate rivalry games between Kentucky and Louisville // Kentucky.com
This is a direct consequence of John Calipari's recent threat-mouthing. Sometimes, Coach Cal reminds me of certain politicians, all full of ideas, most of them better left unspoken. I wonder if he'll ever learn the virtue of not making his every random thought available to the public?
Mashburn Comes Alive! // The Classical
A Sea of Blue founder Josh Weil takes us on a trip into the not-so-seedy underbelly of trading old sports events.
Split Decision: LSU Could Lose Game and Still Win Title // TheLedger.com
Marquis Teague misses Cousy Award finalist cut // The Kentucky Kernel
Not surprising. He simply hasn't played well enough, and I'm not sure he's showing the signs I would expect at this point.
Welcome to 1,000 // Chris Diggs – UK Fan Blog
Kentucky Sports Radio // Fun notes from Chad Ford’s Chat
Steve - o (miami): Andre Drummond is better than Davis.
Chad Ford: He isn’t better than Davis on paper, nor is he in the actual games. He’s got a better body than Davis. That’s about it.
Chad Ford, telling Mr. UConn there how the cow ate the cabbage.
Calipari speaks on first weekly SEC teleconference // Kentucky Wildcats
All-Time Kentucky teams (with a twist) // College Courtside
The Annotated John Calipari: Arkansas-Little Rock game // John Clay's Sidelines
”I think that Anthony (Davis) is way tougher than he was earlier and he comes up with balls and Terrence (Jones) is going to crack it out and I thought that he did better today. He is going after some tough rebounds and they are pulling balls in."
Travis Ford with a 2nd historic recruiting class // CBSSports.com
And not in a good way.
Podcast: Midseason awards; Syracuse is overrated // CBSSports.com
Kentucky going after Class of 2013 star Aaron Gordon? // John Clay's Sidelines
The fact that Kentucky is on par with these teams -- beating the Tar Heels narrowly in Lexington on Dec. 3, and with one, respectable loss to IU -- despite having so much growth potential should make the Wildcats a slight favorite. Freshmen forwards Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis, both All-America candidates, have carried the team while fellow frosh Marquis Teague is still figuring out how to be an effective point guard, and the guy who was expected to be their best player in the preseason, Terrence Jones, has been either injured or shell-shocked. Jones should wake up. Teague should get better. Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist have yet to hit their peaks. Once everyone gets in sync, UK could start to pull away from the pack.
Darius Miller gives Kentucky a senior moment (in a good way) // Beyond the Arc
“I’ll watch the tape on the drive home just to get rid of it because I don’t want to see it,” he said. “The first 40 minutes will be that tape, then I’ll throw it out the window.”
Where Does Darius Miller Rank on Kentucky’s Fan Favorite List? // Rush The Court
Rush The Court asks if Darius Miller will be a fan favorite or not. I'm not sure if he met expectations, considering this is Kentucky, but I am sure he has improved every year since he's been here.
WITH APOLOGIES TO DON MCLEAN // Wide Right & Natty Lite
Duke has issues, but not the ones we’ve been talking about // Beyond the Arc
Rob Dauster is right about one thing -- Duke is flawed because of their lousy defense, for the most part. I'm not sure I agree about playmakers, you generally need only one to get you deep into the tournament, and there is no doubt Austin Rivers is one.