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You know there is not much media love for the gridiron Kentucky Wildcats. This evening, I went searching for treasures without a treasure map. I wanted to share what I found for all of you that are interested in football. Even if you don't like football, you should appreciate this first story.
Just like last year, the Joker Phillips and company awesome goodwill trip to Ethiopia is barely mentioned, mostly not at all. This year, accompanying Coach Phillips are team members Mikie Benton, Matt Smith and Larry Warford. Matt said he didn't even hesitate accepting the chance to go after hearing Danny Trevathan and Stuart Hines talking about their experiences last year. Larry hesitated leaving the US, at first, but didn't pass up the chance. I know everyone here doesn't have a Facebook account, but if you do, check out Joker Phillips' Fan Page for lots of photos. I am so sorry if you cannot access them, just be patient. The local media probably will cover this eventually sometime this summer.
I found this interesting little article from Larry Vaught. An unnamed former UK football player shares his thoughts on Joker's uphill climb.
Look at Kentucky basketball. Four straight No. 1 recruiting classes with players from all over the country. SEC basketball teams can’t compete with that. It’s the same way for UK football.
Three great coaches combined (all at Kentucky) couldn't compete for the top recruits against the historical SEC powerhouses. (Maybe Cal might want to rethink that non-traditional thing, just a little bit.:))
And this on good people needing to make life decisions,
Look, our best recruiter, Tee Martin, comes and does a great job. No argument about that. But he gets an offer at USC and what did you expect him to do. I do not say he’s a traitor. If someone comes to Kentucky and does really well, you do not expect him to be there long unless it is somebody like Joker that is a Kentucky guy.
I think he is pretty spot on. Tee Martin was a UT guy. Joker is a Kentucky guy. No doubt about it, Joker has his work cut out for him, especially since most UK fans want to win at all costs. Not many coaches would suffer through just the trials of trying to take the football program to the next level at a basketball school. I still think we should consider that, for now.
Forgive me now, other obligations are are demanding my time as well so I must cut this short. Discuss the football program, rant, or even rave. You know my MO, post more links if you have them. To be continued ...
Go 'Cats!