Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Classy Cardinal Fan Edition

Last night when Petra and I went to dinner at Rumors in Middletown, a Louisville fan came up to me, shook my hand, and congratulated me on the win. That was a very nice gesture that deserves acknowledgment.

We all have stories about how rival fans have disrespected us or said something classless, so I thought an act of classy respect and good sportsmanship deserved to be highlighted as well.

Tweet of the Morning

BBN, be very, very thankful @AaronICE2 & @DrewRoc5 made the decision to attended UK. Show them your appreciation by your action & words.

— Oscar Combs (@wildcatnews) December 28, 2014

This needed saying. We’ve been seeing an increase in hate directed at the twins from supposed UK fans, especially at Andrew. Those thinking along those lines here would be well advised to reconsider.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• This has been mentioned in the comments already, but Damien Harris has cut his list to three schools: Kentucky, Alabama, and Ohio State. How great would it be if we beat those two members of football royalty for a running back? Also, apparently Michigan is off the table, no matter who their new coach is.

Kentucky basketball

• Trey Lyles was never “almost a Cardinal,” according to Devin Booker. Louisville recruited him very hard, but without meaning any disrespect to Rick Pitino, its very rare that somebody beats Coach Cal in a heads-up recruiting battle.

• Freshmen come through for Kentucky yesterday. I must say, they were all terrific.

• Rick Pitino calls Kentucky’s defense “one of the greatest defensive teams I’ve seen in my 40 years.” That’s quite a compliment.

• Devin Booker says that Kentucky isn’t focusing on an unbeaten season. Good, because that’s way too macro for a basketball team’s players, and even the coach, to be thinking about. The objective should be winning the next game.

• KSR on the joy of beating Louisville:

  Thus while I get virtually no joy out of the actual game itself, when it is over and Kentucky comes out on top, the sense of relief/elation after a win is exhilarating. At no time during the regular season series between the schools was this more true than yesterday. While the stakes were not quite the same as the 2012 Final Four or the 2014 Sweet 16 (when the two teams probably should be separated from having to play each other by state, or if necessary federal, law), for Kentucky fans it may have been the most "at risk" game of the regular season series in a generation.

  I get joy out of the game, particularly when UK wins. I’m afraid I didn’t see this as much of an “at-risk” game — I don’t buy the undefeated talk, and really, to see the game that way you have to be buying into it. But I can see the argument that Kentucky wouldn’t want Louisville to play the role of spoiler to an unbeaten season, the way Indiana almost did in 2012.

  Still, to me, I really don’t care about an unbeaten season. Last year purged that desire from me utterly. All I want is championship #9, and I really don’t care if we drop zero, one, or even five games on the way to getting that done. It’s kind of like getting falling-down, commode-hugging drunk on some particular booze — after that, you don’t want to ever drink that stuff again.

  No matter what Kentucky does, there will always be debate about whether or not this team was truly however great it turns out to be in the analysis of people like Matt and I. You aren’t going to convince many people who played on the 1996 team, or the 1978 team, or the 2012 team that this team was better than them. It will forever be academic, and that’s as it should be.

• Tyler Ulis named MVP of the Louisville game. Nobly won, Tyler.

• Trey Lyles had his jersey retired the same day the Wildcats defeated Louisville.

• DeMarcus Cousins was not impressed with Chris Jones’ flop on Saturday. SB Nation has the flop in claymation form.

Other Kentucky sports

• Matthew Mitchell says he needs more from Alexis Jennings. He really does, after the close call against Tennessee State.

Links posts

• The Leach Report: Monday Wildcat Links

College football

• It looks fairly certain now that Jim Harbaugh will be the next coach of the Michigan Wolverines.

• South Carolina escapes the Miami Hurricanes in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl. Really, these corporate names are just becoming weirder and weirder.

• Jameis Winston — “I’m talking and I can’t shut up!”

College basketball

• Stonybrook dismisses formerly unbeaten Washington from the ranks of the “and 0’s.” The Huskies are still very good this year.

• Florida has apparently picked up a high-quality walk-on who used to play for Stanford. And it’s right where the Gators need help; in the front court.

• Alabama defeats UCLA 56-50. Bruins Nation is displeased. Roll Bama Roll barely noticed their team’s most significant victory this season, being focused (understandably) on football.

Other sports news

• Former Louisville football player demonstrates why second chances carry risk.

• Just in case you missed Wall’s 360 against New York the other day, he reprised it against the Celtics:

• Did you know DeMarcus Cousins was pretty good?

• Speaking of former Wildcats, Anthony Davis is getting a lot of MVP hype. Deservedly so.

• Dick Vitale talks about the V Foundation.

Other news

• Hawai’i lava creeps closer to a shopping center. Yeah, the travails of living in paradise.

• Trailer for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”