Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
It is a late night here at the Kentucky Sports Radio Compound, thanks to a late ESPN game in Rupp Arena and a rather uninspiring victory by the Cats over Georgia, 61-55. For about eight minutes in the first half, Kentucky looked like a team that could contend for a national championship, scoring on every possession in which Mark Coury did not miss a layup and looking like a sleeping juggernaut ready to burst out on the scene. However the next 32 minutes looked much less inspiring and at times, such as in the last seven minutes when the Cats outscored Georgia a resounding 6-3, downright awful. But a win in a win, and with five games to go and the Cats trying to crawl into the tournament, every win counts. If you saw the game, then you know there is very little to focus on long term, so here are the top 10 postgame notes….
(1) Billy Gillispie was disappointed in the postgame news conference with the performance of his team and the way they “handled prosperity” after their early success in the game. He thought the team made some “pre-December” decisions late in the game and lost their focus. Nevertheless he said he was happy with how they played defensively for the last seven minutes, but said that it was imperative that they have a “sense of urgency” on offense that was severely lacking tonight.
(2) Another great game for Patrick Patterson, who had 20 points and 9 rebounds on 8-15 shooting. After the game Gillispie said that “the battle on the boards was a man’s game and Patrick was the best man.” He looked the part throughout and you could sense a feeling of calm every time he took a shot. When Patterson has the ball, things feel right and Rupp seems to take a deep relaxing breath.
(3) For the second straight game against Georgia, Joe Crawford had a stellar performance. 23 points, including a Tayshaun-like beginning to the game gave the Cats the scoring they needed with Smooth having a cold game shooting. Joe continues to amaze me with his uncanny ability to get a shot up against bigger guys when driving to the basket. The width of his body and his strength make him so tough and his ability to draw contact is simply second to none. Without Joe, this game is a loss.
(4) Wanna know who should take the big free throws toward the end of the game? The initial answer might be Bradley, but watch out for Perry Stevenson, who is shooting 85% in SEC play and hit two big ones tonight. He may struggle when he checks into games (Gillispie said that it was a must that Perry “be focused” when he begins play), but he is smooth on the line.
(5) Speaking of Smooth, yes he made some terrible decisions and shot poorly, but he had 12 rebounds, including some big ones late. Ramel is tough and he noted that “I couldnt do anything else right so I tried to hit the boards”, an attitude that coaches would surely love.
(6) Once again Bradley took a hard hit from Dave Bliss and when asked about it after the game, he smiled and said, “I guess that guy dont like me or something.” He did say however that he wasnt looking for retribution because “this game was too important.”
(7) That was an amazing 19 seconds of PT that Jared Carter received tonight.
(8) As you may have heard, Dusty Mills was kicked off the team after the Vanderbilt game and Jerry Tipton has an interesting story on the whole affair. Tipton’s portrayal of the events certainly makes it seem like Gillispie was very hard on the kid, especially after what may have been an innocuous affair that just happened to be caught on tape. But walk-ons have zero tolerance and Dusty was living the luckiest kids’ dream of all time. Dusty says that he was booted because of the laughing during the Georgia game and not the Vandy game (which makes sense as Williams was also laughing during the Georgia game and was suspended at the same time Mills was booted). Ramel Bradley offered to try and lead a team effort to get Mills back on the team, but he apparently declined and Bradley did say that he thought Gillispie would have allowed such a reversal to occur. Still an odd story and one that is interesting to say the least, even if slightly unclear as to the specifics. The Member by the way was back with the team and there all night.
(9) You havent lived until you have watched the UK players rap during warmups. With various rap hits playing during the layup lines, all guys on the team sort of “sing” the songs to each other and dance while getting ready….some are good (Bradley, Patterson, Dwight Perry), some are ok (Jasper, Harris, Stewart) and then some are….well hilarious (Carter, Krebs and Member). High comedy before a game starts.
(10) I would be remiss if I didnt mention the inaccuracy today of a Jerry Tipton Herald Leader blog that reported that Morakinyo Williams and Dusty Mills were both kicked off the team. This was put on the Herald’s website and under Tipton’s byline, both of which I must say make me smile since the Williams news was false. Those of us who do work primarily on the internet (TCP, Kentucky Sports Report, this site, etc) often get labeled as “internet” sources and, at least in the case of this and other blogs, are often derided by major media outlets. But the pressure has come on in recent years thanks to these sites and the Jerry Tiptons and John Clays now do “blogs” as well…..and often find themselves engaging in the EXACT SAME BEHAVIOR that they once derided as unprofessional. For Tipton, of all people, to engage in rumor spreading….especially a rumor that was uncredited and untrue….well it does make me smile.
Big win for the Cats….more later today, including what the players are saying about the NCAA Tournament…..until then, in case you havent seen the two videos below that we posted earlier today, please do….they have had me Cranking Dat Louisville and preparing for a Lions Super Bowl all night….
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February 20th, 2008 at 2:01 am
TRULY INCREDIBLE!
February 20th, 2008 at 2:30 am
You seem to have a soft spots for tards on you boaRD. how many times are you going to link these guys…..
today?
February 20th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Kicked off for laughing?? If that’s true BCG is being childish and should be ashamed.He wouldn’t do that to Bradley or Crawford if they did that.Seems Like Coach is a Dictator and makes up his rules as the season goes.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:02 am
I’d done it the other way around then we’d have that scholly back thats collecting dust,lol. Im just joking….maybe
February 20th, 2008 at 3:07 am
#3 EAD, and matt, why don’t you guys follow through with your project of recording the post games interviews. That seemed like a bigger bust than MM SA PG.
February 20th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Squirrely is NOT needed when a team gets drubbed by 41 points.
Coach watches tape.
Coach sees players acting up on bench after one of their own hit the floor.
Coach sees it fit to get rid of varmints! It’s simple!
I have no problem with this as a message is being sent.
Maybe big-Mike will take the bait….
February 20th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Dusty, we hardly knew ya.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:18 am
#5
SMC and have a Coke!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 7:24 am
Those videos were amazing.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Why is the Tipton article unavailable? Why was it removed?
February 20th, 2008 at 7:49 am
I saw the 2 jackasses laughing while Bradley was lying on the ground. I think Williams will be gone after this year, so both will be eliminated by next year. Screwing around during a game is for 12 year olds. This is not the place for tomfoolery. Yes there are double standards, but there should be higher standards set for walk-ons. They are there to make the other players better in practice, not crack jokes on the sideline during games.
The timing of it was the 1 bad thing. Yes, it doesn’t happen if UK beats Vanderbilt. But BCG is about remaking this team in his mold. This was the way he saw fit to get the team back in line. I am not going to be sad to see either kid gone, especially one that was a mere mascot for a bucket in a home blowout win.
February 20th, 2008 at 7:55 am
You all know it’s the end of February and you’re still asking in the sidebar what we want for Christmas?
Since you asked, I want a final four.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Try this link for the article on Dusty Mills if the one above doesn’t work for you:
http://www.kentucky.com/276/story/323138.html
February 20th, 2008 at 8:24 am
We are lucky that the SEC is terrible this year. If UG wasn’t
so horrible, we would have lost. How many starters did they kick off the team?
UG wouldn’t finish in the top 4 of CUSA.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:28 am
i agree with getting rid of him. williams should be gone too. its bad to ever get rid of people but a team is a team and you should take a little pride in your team even on the bench. oh and mark coury still sucks. i wish we could get rid of him too! worthless piece of crap
February 20th, 2008 at 8:37 am
That a$$ Bliss was also the reason for Patterson’s 3 stitches above his eye. I’d like to play them again and have BCG put the Member in to kick Bliss’ butt.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Ya know, I agree with booting Mills from the team after that, but it could have been handled with a lot more class.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Last night was the first time I heard the new public address announce the starting lineups and all I can say is “man do I miss Doug Bruce”
February 20th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Dude sounds like he made that video in his parents basement and didnt want to wake them up.
February 20th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Billy Gillispie turns into more of an asshole every time I read about something he’s said or done.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Tipton’s headline was misleading, but I don’t think he ever said in the article that they were kicked off.
Maybe you should learn a lesson from Tipton when you spread rumors re: players transfering.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Maybe this simply “topped it off” for BCG re: mills. Mills could have been trouble in the past as well.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Does this mean I can have Dusty’s spot on the team? I’m a foot taller and have never been described as squirrelly.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Hit the trail Dusty - and why does anyone care about a walk-on???
Coach has rules and standards - I would bet that Coach BCG told them boys how to behave on the bench. As for Coach BCG having class - UK fans are considered the most class-less in the USA - I think we have our coach.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:58 am
#3 and others, it’s hilarious the conclusions you jump to. Maybe Mills was on a short leash. Maybe he had gotten in to trouble we didn’t know about and this was the straw that broke the camels back?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Some of you fool actually buy the one sided reporting of Tipton?? THere are clearly parts of this story being left out.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:07 am
This could have been handled with a lot more class. It is embarrassing for UK.
It seems like BCG is havy on profanity - didn’t Legion say he left because of foul language too?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:24 am
If he laughed, he should be gone. Simple.
Look, BCG is trying to knock these guys down a peg to inspire their play. Under OTS, they had no effort and we all saw that. A simple thing to look at effort-wise is free throws. We stunk under OTS. Look at our free throws now. Top 20 in the nation and one of the top in the SEC, with Bradley leading the SEC. Why? There has been an effort placed on it where it hasn’t been before, just like in other areas. BCG is a different coach and has a different style and it obviously works because TAMU is on TV a lot more now than they were before he went there……
And I’m sure BCG cusses like a sailor. A lot of coaches do, especially the intense ones. My freshman coach called us a punch of pu***** at halftime once, and we were 14 years old…..
February 20th, 2008 at 10:25 am
That settles it. Like coach, this board should be heavy on profanity.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Crank dat Louisville was funny…as a lifelong, diehard Detroit Lions fan, the second entry made me cringe….
at least the Tigers will be unstoppable this year!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I have no problem with the Mill’s situation, he wasn’t vital to the team, just move on, these players are adults, if they can’t handle a lashing and some foul language then they shouldn’t be playing division 1 basketball!
February 20th, 2008 at 10:45 am
how bout Centre and Gtwn this year, centre #2 in DIII and i think gtwn is number 1 in naia. pretty good for the overall state of kentucky as far as bball is concerned and before you knock em, they are no threat to uk. I’m sure most of the players on those teams are big fans of uk. just tryin to get them some support and the praise that they deserve.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I love the argument people are making that there is a double standard, that Coach G wouldn’t have treated Bradley or Crawford that way… What you need to realize is that Crawford and Bradley wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place. Yeah it was something stupid and minor and I honestly believe Mills’ story about why he was laughing, but the point is there is a level of maturity required at this level. That whole ‘there’s a time and place for everything’ lesson. When arguably your most important player is laying knocked out on the floor, it’s not the time to be making jokes. Good for him for being “responsible” and keeping the other player from going out on the floor, but he still didn’t need to be making jokes.
I have a lot of respect for a kid in his position, undersized and all coming in and scrapping his way to a sport on the team. But I have to question his maturity level based on how he has handled this and his high school coach’s comments about being “squirrely”.
Best of luck Dusty. If you need someone to talk to, Tipton will always be a shoulder to cry on.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:06 am
As usual, Tipton never ceases to amaze me. For a beat writer he is one of the most negative people towards UK. That’s pitiful considering he works for the hometown newspaper. Just look at the difference between him and Chip Cosby, the beat writer for the football team. Tipton has an agenda toward UK and he will write a negative article any chance he can get. Thank goodness for KSR and TCP, at least they try to be fair.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Mills’ high school coach said he was squirrely. Gillispie said he was “sick” of him. Sounds to me like this isn’t the first time Mills has acted immature, in which case Gillispie gave him every chance because he had a zero tolerance policy regarding walk-ons. I don’t care if a coach uses foul language. They’re just words, and a persons personality decides whether they’re bad. A weak personality gets offended and hurt. A strong personality takes it in stride. We need strong personalities.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Im gonna disagree with anyone who blasts this kid as being immature, squirrely or anything else. Remember this is a 18-19 year old kid. Have anyone of you played sports?? Have you not laughed before. Do you really blame a guy who sits at the end of the bench for LAUGHING?????? Seriously, Laughing??? It was not the right time or the right place, and Gillespie’s handling of the situation is what it is. So please accept this kid made a mistake, a very minor one, and dont act or post that it was some terrible sin. I
February 20th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Yeah, he’s an 18-19 year old kid, and he is by all accounts somewhat immature. Sometimes immaturity catches up with you, especially if you have no concept of time and place. He’s been held accountable and maybe learned a little something from it (doubtful, by the way he spilled his guts to Tipton). I absolutely agree that in this case Mills made a very minor mistake, but sometimes the smallest mistakes are what leads to your undoing. If you honestly believe he was kicked off for nothing more than this, you’re very naive.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Poor little Dusty, this is what happens when you do something stupid. He should have let Williams go, because that is the only action he is going to see in his career. For everyone out there who thinks only kicking Dusty off is unfair, well Dusty is (i mean was) a walk-on, and Williams is wasted scholarship. So, yeah make an example to all other possible walk-ons in the future.
As for Gillispe using profanity, God forbid. You people are so sad who complain about that, because no one was complaining when Pitino was here. Get over it!
If Gillispe wants to be a dictator more power to him. It is much better than having your players getting arrested like Tubby’s players. Our fans are just not used to having a coach with a pair of balls. Our new coach demands perfection, demands respect and demands hard work. If you want a nice person that gets pushed around like Rondo, Morris and several other players did to Tubby, then you will never win. Unless of course you are lucky enough to inherit someone elses disciplined players. I know everyone hates to hear that again, but sometimes the truth really hurts. Just like Tubby hurt our once dominating program. We are in another period very similar to probation, so it takes a special coach to deal with the crap he has been dealt.
February 20th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
i was wandering why i have been seeing mills at the johnson center the past couple of days….
February 20th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I posted a comment regarding the laughing incident while Ramel was down (right after the game was over), but I didn’t notice Mills. I did notice Williams though. I figured maybe his apparent immaturity was one reason why he wasn’t playing. Who knows? But I will say this - we ,as Kentucky fans, can’t have it both ways. You want a disciplined team? Then that immature crap cannot be tolerated or excused. Williams should not be back next year.
February 20th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
W-O-W! I fail to understand how anyone would think that should be shared in any way shape or form.
Did the kid really watch what he had done and think to himself, ‘Self, that was really off the chain. You are the man. You should share that with the world’?
February 20th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Hey Bald Knobb, heres what kind of asshole Billy clyde is. Last week on a call in swap-shop type of radio show in Western Ky, a lady called into the show wanting to sell her car. She needed the money so she could go to Cleveland to attend her dads funeral, didn’t have the money. A few calls later, a caller named “Billy” said he would like to have the ladies number, maybe he could help. It turned out to be Clyde. He gave the lady enough money to make the trip. I wouildn’t be so quick to coin a phrase when your knowledge of someones character is based around some media shmuck saying he uses too much foul language while trying to motivate and teach his players. He sounds like my kind of coach and person. Of course no one heard much about his good deed, they would rather make up horse shit about him. They can all suck the trunk. Film at 11:oo