clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Lynn Bowden NFL Draft Edition

Lynn Bowden is leaving for the 2020 NFL Draft, a not-unexpected bit of news. But he’s not leaving until after he takes care of some remaining Kentucky business in Charlotte. Look out, Hokies, here comes the Kentucky Wall with Bowden and the other UK runners behind.

By Glenn Logan
NCAA Football: Kentucky at Vanderbilt Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, and welcome to the Tuesday Morning Quickies.

A few words about the football team: While I was a bit disappointed we got shuffled out of the Gator Bowl by the SEC, a moment’s reflection revealed that we have absolutely no right to complain. We had Tennessee beaten, and we let that game slip away. This is just the price we all pay when the team fails to close out a game in hand. We can make the exact same complaint about Florida, and observe that if we had closed both those games correctly, we might be partying at our second New Years Six bowl in a row.

So I’m over that. Tennessee deserved the option, and the SEC was right to let them have the call. The Belk Bowl looks like a good destination for Kentucky and the opponent is hardly a slouch with no tradition — next to Clemson, Florida State and Miami, Virginia Tech may have the richest football tradition in the ACC.

Finally, I can’t help but continue to be impressed with Mark Stoops. He isn’t flashy, he’s not building the program overnight, and he’s far from the sexy first choice of any major team looking for a new coach. But he’s building the program from the foundation up, and we see the results. A weak foundation has been the major reason Kentucky has been hit-or-miss, and mostly miss, when it comes to football success.

He may not be Urban Meyer or Nick Saban, but he is setting Kentucky up for future victories by focusing on the important work of keeping our foundation strong and developing the kind of traditions and consistency many SEC programs should envy and all should respect. Recent recruiting successes are a testament to how consistency and fundamentals are as important to building a program as they are to team success on the field.

We’ve waited a long time for this, and it sure feels good.

And now, your word for the day for the basketball Wildcats: effort.

Kentucky’s recent effort has been both excellent and hit-or-miss. We see a consistent effort on offense, and the result has been improved efficiency and execution.

But the defense, despite some gaudy stats, has suffered from a lack of consistent effort. The biggest culprit, in my mind, seems to be in the back court, where defensive effort has been the most inconsistent, going from outstanding to meh several times within games.

That effort doesn’t matter as much against markedly inferior foes, but the days of feasting on lesser opponents is about to come to an abrupt, and potentially painful halt. We need more consistent defensive effort, especially from the back court.

Tweet of the Morning

Two words: The man.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football
Kentucky basketball
  • Could take a while...
Other Kentucky sports
Links posts
College football
College basketball
Other sports news
Other news

More From A Sea Of Blue