UK Basketball Wildcats
I want to talk a little bit about the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, specifically the men’s team. I have been thinking it for a while and have said it to a few close friends. This is what you get when you recruit a strong class of one and gone type of players. You get a team the following year with no continuity and certainly no one has been around for two or three years that can step in and take on the leadership role, even if it is the silent encouraging leader. I mean come on, this is a team that has lost pretty much every road game that has even thought about being close and they have quit playing way to early enough times at home to make what should not be close games be way to close for comfort.
What truly amazes me about this whole thing though is the local media and their apparent conviction that they are still a worthy team to go far with things. I will first step back to right have they did a trouncing on Tennessee at home, of course this came after two close losses that should not have been such on the road. A certain Alan Cutler came on the news the next day and went on about how if this was the Cats for the rest of the season they were going to be awesome and go far. What the heck? At that point, it was more a fluke win against a team they actually do get hyped about and apparently do care about getting the win. Also consider it was Bruce Pearl’s first game back after a long suspension and certainly the Vols could have been (and apparently were) a bit out of sync.
A few games later and Kentucky drops another close one at Arkansas. What the heck, again! Typically very few UK alum ever manage to beat big blue and yet Pelfrey does it with a team that realistically should not even be thinking about having the ability to compete with UK. And what were the local media saying the next day? Extremely tough loss but this will be the one that gets the team to pump it up and prepare them for the final weeks of the season. And who knows where they will go after the tourney.
Granted, they did then win against Florida, though keep in mind that was at home. It was a pretty good-looking game. But they lost to Arkansas. And the ESPN pole moved them back? No, they moved them up with the win over Florida at home. The coaches pole got it right and moved them back, but only by one spot. I am sorry, but any other team with the number of losses that the Wildcats have had against minimum talent would have dropped them out of the top twenty-five for sure.
One more thing and them I am done? Who is really still thinking that Kentucky will go far in the tournaments after the season ends right now? Here is what I am thinking about it. Tournaments are notorious for ended up with close games, especially after the first round is done. Guess how many tournament games are going to be at home? Just in case you are wondering, it is zero. Oh, and get this, after the Florida win the local media was starting to say with the way UK fans travel it will be like home games for them in the tourneys. What are they thinking? Sure, we may end up with about a quarter of the seats on occasion, but that is not like 90% or better. You think some of the bigger named contenders don’t travel about as well? It is also a little bit more than just the fans, it is playing where you are familiar with everything and so much more.
Looking on the bright side, very likely that will have a pretty good team of one year veterans returning next year!
** – Image from UK Mens Basketball website.
