Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Red, White, Blue and Boogie Edition

Great article by Andrew Sharp for Grantland today entitled Red, White, Blue and Boogie: Your Gold-Medal Game Recap.

In 2010, in Turkey, we saw Kevin Durant go from a great, young player to the leader of Team USA — and, ultimately, to one of the two best players on the planet. He had previously led the NBA in scoring, but soon he was in the Finals, and last year he was MVP. Those two weeks in Turkey were when you started to feel everything click for him.

This year that didn’t quite happen with Davis. The offense didn’t flow through him, so he had trouble getting involved, and the takeover we were hoping for never really got going. Instead we got Boogie and Faried.

Neither player has made an All-Star Game, and they’re both stuck in hopeless NBA situations that compound their shortcomings and make us focus on everything they can’t do. Nobody knows what the Kings or Nuggets are doing, and if there’s no clear plan now, things probably won’t get that much better in the next few years. That cloud of uncertainty (Nuggets) or misery (Kings) makes it much harder to enjoy them all year.

Great stuff, but it’s only a tiny piece. You really must read the whole thing.

Tweet of the Morning

-con't- I'm betting Kentucky coach Mark Stoops is not satisfied with SEC ruling about OT in Gainesville; I guess zero is not really zero

— Rich Spedaliere (@spitzonsports) September 15, 2014

Heh. No, he’s not satisfied, nor should he be.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• There’s plenty to like about Kentucky’s future. I could not agree more. And this:

  Kentucky didn’t lose the game because of the clock non-call — Florida would still have had another fourth down — but you could argue it went a long way toward Kentucky not winning. I think Stoops would make that argument.

  I think this is right. I’ll have more about this later in response to the SEC’s statement, but other than that, I think we just have to let it go.

  Also this:

  UK’s lack of quality depth on the defensive side of the ball was exposed in the second half as Florida’s running game went smashmouth with much success. And yet the UK defense made enough plays down the stretch to extend the game to overtime.

  Yeah, that’s right as well, although one could make a similar argument about Florida, I think. If one is true, the other should be as well.

• Patrick Towles ceiling continues to rise after Florida effort. Towles has looked the part of a quality SEC quarterback all year. I think we should all be stoked that it took such a long time to name him to the starting spot.

• The Leach Report: Takeaways from the Swamp.

• The kick that defied physics. I commented on this in the postmortem. That kick should not have gone through, but somehow it did. I guess there was a gust of wind up there or something, as the atmosphere was unstable in the area. My wife said it looked like the finger of God moving the ball.

• Patrick Towles takes a big step. Indeed.

• Three leftovers from Saturday night at the Swamp.

• USA Today says Kentucky is #71, up 14. Hat tip: @KyleTucker_CJ

• Florida film study. I think this illustrates very well Kentucky’s improvement. The fact that they brought so many blitzes and felt comfortable enough to let their corners be alone on an island with the Florida receivers is a sign of confidence. I think Andy’s right that Florida’s execution could have been sharper, but the example he shows had the receiver well covered. Yes, Florida’s player had a step, but perfectly thrown footballs in that situation are rare, and Driskel was coming under some pressure.

Kentucky basketball

• Big Blue Madness tickets available Saturday, but fans asked not to set up camp too soon.

• Photos from UK Men’s Basketball Photo Day.

• Happy birthday, Marcus Lee.

• 2015 big man Stephen Zimmerman enjoyed his visit with Coach Cal last week. Ben Roberts has more.

Other Kentucky sports

• Volleyball goes 2-1 at Carolina Classic. They lost to North Carolina in a five set thriller.

Links posts

• John Clay’s SEC Links

• The Leach Report: Monday Wildcat Links

College football

• Will Muschamp’s seat stays hot. Yeah, Florida fans were pretty underwhelmed by Saturday. A loss and the pitchforks would have come out, and they still may if the Gators get run over by Alabama.

• Louisville drops out of both polls.

• Matty Mauk has been very impressive for the Missouri Tigers so far.

• Around the SEC: Week three. Consider:

  What we learned - Kentucky has improved, and Florida has not. The Gators were given all they could handle by the Wildcats, finally prevailing in 3 OT. The Gators converted a 4th and 7 in the first overtime, despite snapping the ball after the play clock expired. The Gator’s defense is solid, but the offense couldn’t manage a TD until the latter part of the third quarter. COACH PUNCHO’S seat has to be scorching right now. As for the Wildcats, they continue to impress me with their improvement. The UK/Tennessee game at the end of the year could likely determine the bowl eligibility of both teams. [my emphasis]

  Indeed, that could be the one. So could the Louisville game, though.

• Texas hangs tough with UCLA, but loses 20-17. How long do you think Longhorns fans will give Charlie Strong?

• Ohio State stock market report post-Kent State.

• The Curious Index Has Been Cleared By The SEC Office. Heh.

College basketball

• Will Chris Walker be an impact player at Florida? Well, he’s good enough, but is his mind in the right place?

Other sports news

• Greg Norman almost loses his hand to a chain saw accident. Chain saws require great care to safely use, and every time you use one, you must do so with the most serious, and defensive, mind. I use mine only when absolutely necessary, and make sure I am as well-protected as possible from an accident with leather gloves and multiple layers of clothing or a heavy coat.

  Also remember — familiarity breeds contempt. Just because you’ve used one safely dozens of times, you never know where danger lurks. that branch you are cutting down might have a hidden nail. You can’t be too careful with those things. Sometimes it’s better to labor with a hand saw than risk injury from a chain saw.

• Kyrie Irving wins MVP at the Fiba World Cup.

• DeMarcus Cousins had a big game in the FIBA finals 129-92 win over Serbia.

• Billy Horschel, the best PGA player not on the Ryder Cup team right now?

Other news

• iPhone 6 pre-orderes topped 4 million on their first day.

• Did you know? Schizophrenia is eight different diseases, not just one.

• About one third of family caregivers spend more than 30 hours a week on caregiving tasks, and about a third spend more than $10,000 per year on medical expenses.

• Canadian Air Force raids museum C-130 for parts. They should have just called me. ;-) Via Fark

• The new Miss America is from New York. Miss Kentucky did well too, I think.