UK vs Longwood Notes

Hey, it's a win....

It seems that all players improved tonight. Darius Miller continues to look great and Patrick Patterson is starting to turn things around.

Darius has unbelievable maturity and you can tell he's coached very well. He looks like the Randall Cobb of UK basketball! This guy will become one of the UK greats and a fan favorite by the time he leaves. He is a coach's dream.

Liggins continues to gain confidence and Billy Gillispie is forcing him to shoot more. He is just too quick and too good of a floor general to keep off the court. I really think he needs to start soon and Porter needs more time on the pine. Nothing against Porter, but he's just not going to get the job done for UK as a point guard. Keep Liggins in and take some hits as a Freshman. It's going to pay off in the end.

I heard Coach Gillispie talk after the game. He said that Harris and Harrelson need to be tougher. He's always emphasizing toughness and I think this will end up being a fantastic defensive basketball team.

It's good we've got some of these cupcakes on the schedule so we can gain some confidence going into the SEC schedule.

Go Big Blue!

Tyler
Wildcat-Sports.com

UK Basketball Recruiting - It's a Mystery

UK basketball recruiting has not really picked up like I expected it to under Billy Gillispie. Yes, UK has signed Andre Liggins and Darius Miller, but I expected UK recruiting to be getting a lot more interest from some of the top McDonald's all-Americans by this time.

I noticed UK basketball recruiting has involved a lot of junior college players recently. Nothing against these players, but there is just not enough data to show these recruits pay off very often. I guess beggars can't be choosers sometimes. I have no doubt Billy Gillispie is trying to take UK basketball recruiting to the next level.

Nobody has really mentioned that UK basketball recruiting has been effected by replacing a black head coach with a white head coach. Now, this doesn't cause any concern to me. I know that Tubby Smith was treated like royalty at UK and he got the respect he deserved, but I have to believe there are many African American players that may not like the fact UK chose to hire a white coach after Tubby Smith left. I hope this doesn't effect Kentucky recruiting because it shouldn't.

Coach Smith definitely had an advantage with some recruits at UK because he was African American so we will see if Billy Gillispie and UK basketball recruiting can quickly regain some of the top recruits' attention at UK. I know he has already garnered the attention of a few top profile recruits, but this coaching change and its effect on the Kentucky Wildcats basketball hasn't been fully absorbed yet.

I believe Billy Gillispie will start to lock up all the top in-state talent because he works harder than Pitino as a recruiter and his down-home Texas style will be very appealing to many Kentucky high school players and their families. In addition, after watching the improvement of Crawford and Bradley under Coach Gillispie, players are going to soon discover they can elevate their games tremendously under Coach Gillispie who develops talent as good as any coach in America. This will also boost UK basketball recruiting.

Billy Gillispie could form some truly amazing teams at UK once he gets top talent at the University of Kentucky. This could be the best UK basketball recruiting we've ever seen.

http://ezinearticles.com/?UK-Basketball-Recruiting&id=1245577

UK Basketball Recruiting

UK basketball recruiting has not really picked up like I expected it to under Billy Gillispie. Yes, UK has signed Andre Liggins and Darius Miller, but I expected UK recruiting to be getting a lot more interest from some of the top McDonald's all-Americans by this time.

I noticed UK basketball recruiting has involved a lot of junior college players recently. Nothing against these players, but there is just not enough data to show these recruits pay off very often. I guess beggars can't be choosers sometimes. I have no doubt Billy Gillispie is trying to take UK basketball recruiting to the next level.

Nobody has really mentioned that UK basketball recruiting has been effected by replacing a black head coach with a white head coach. Now, this doesn't cause any concern to me. I know that Tubby Smith was treated like royalty at UK and he got the respect he deserved, but I have to believe there are many African American players that may not like the fact UK chose to hire a white coach after Tubby Smith left. I hope this doesn't effect Kentucky recruiting because it shouldn't.

Coach Smith definitely had an advantage with some recruits at UK because he was African American so we will see if Billy Gillispie and UK basketball recruiting can quickly regain some of the top recruits' attention at UK. I know he has already garnered the attention of a few top profile recruits, but this coaching change and its effect on the Kentucky Wildcats basketball hasn't been fully absorbed yet.

I believe Billy Gillispie will start to lock up all the top in-state talent because he works harder than Pitino as a recruiter and his down-home Texas style will be very appealing to many Kentucky high school players and their families. In addition, after watching the improvement of Crawford and Bradley under Coach Gillispie, players are going to soon discover they can elevate their games tremendously under Coach Gillispie who develops talent as good as any coach in America. This will also boost UK basketball recruiting.

Billy Gillispie could form some truly amazing teams at UK once he gets top talent at the University of Kentucky. This could be the best UK basketball recruiting we've ever seen.

See Original Article Here

U of K Football on the Rise

U of K football is progressing under the same coaching staff that was almost fired a few short years ago. Rich Brooks endured some major pain and heartache with many Kentuckians calling for his ouster after he arrived.

It was unbelievable to me that so many U of K fans acted like idiots with no knowledge of football whatsoever. It made no difference to many U of K fans the U of K football program was in the middle of probation and struggling to regain any kind of recruiting success. Not sure why, but players like Andre Woodson chose to join U of K and help turn around the program.

If it wasn’t for players like Woodson, Woodyard, and Burton, the U of K rebuilding process would have taken so much longer. I know these guys, including Tamme have gotten a lot of praise, but when you analyze the U of K situation a few years ago, they truly deserve all the praise they’ve gotten. Now U of K football is on a different track that should continue to get better with more talent and experience on the team.

U of K football fans are also getting more excited each season with wins over teams like LSU and UL. The fans have also been making a great showing at the bowl games getting behind the Cats for the last two years. Expect more from U of K football. I believe this trend will continue. I always believed U of K football was a sleeping giant because there’s a lot of high school talent in the state of Kentucky.

In addition U of K football has a lot to promote. The Cats have some of the best practice facilities, academic support is great with the CATS center, and the campus is beautiful. Players also graduate at a high rate when leaving U of K football.

U of K Basketball - Is UK Basketball Bigger than the SEC?

I have to believe U of K basketball is on the rise under Coach Billy Gillispie. U of K fans have been frustrated recently with an inability to reach the Final Four. Tubby Smith left the program very dispirited and they’ve been struggling to recover ever since.

Coach Gillispie is knows as a miracle worker, but even a coach with his talents will have a hard time resurrecting a U of K basketball program to nation prominence again. Today, the landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically. For one, the SEC has other top college basketball programs that usually didn’t exist.

Florida has won two national championships under Coach Billy Donovan and Tennessee is a top 10 program now under Bruce Pearl. U of K basketball is not sitting alone on top of a mountain in the SEC. Those days are long gone and they will continue to dwindle in the future. There is just too much money behind many of the athletic programs in the SEC for basketball programs to struggle.

If SEC basketball coaches aren’t winning games, there is enough money in athletic budgets to hire another coach. With more winning, comes more fan support. Places like Florida will continue to solidify quality basketball programs as they win more games and draw more fans to games.

U of K basketball is still U of K basketball though. It will just take more time and effort to dominate the SEC like in years past. The name Kentucky on the front of a jersey is still very appealing to many recruits and I’m sure U of K basketball will continue to grow in tradition with many talented players and championships.

As we know, U of K basketball is bigger than any coach and it will continue to flourish as the top college basketball program with the most loyal fans.


Tyler
Wildcat-Sports.com

UL Really a Tough Game?

I am so tired of hearing about UL football from UL fans. I'm sorry, but UL fans are the most delusional fans I've come across in all of sports. I've lived all the way around the country in several places and I stand by that statement.

This year, UL has both a decimated offensive line and defensive line while UK returns a lot of talent on both lines. In fact, many believe UK's defensive line is the best they've seen since Art Still's team in the 1970s. Couple this with a defensive secondary being anchored by Trevard Lindley and a very talented group of linebackers, and you've got the recipe for a great UK defense.

UK's running game could be one of the best in the SEC with Derrick Locke, Alphonso Smith and senior Tony Dixon. They will be running behind a UK offensive line that was impressive last year and will only get better this year with players such as Zipp Duncan, Jeffries, and Alexander.

So how could UL be favored to win? Many people around the country just don't believe UK can survive the losses of Andre Woodson, Keenan Burton, and Raphael Little, but they haven't looked very deep into our roster. People, who know UK football know that UK has a lot of talent returning in all spots. The only spot I'm worried about is wide receiver because we are very young at the position.

In closing, I don't even think it's going to be close. UK will win this game running away easily. UK will control both lines of scrimmage and they will run the ball and the CLOCK effectively. UL has lost all of their running backs to scandal, transfer, or injury and I don’t believe their O-Line can protect Hunter Cantwell effectively against UK’s D-Line.

I can't wait to see the UL delusions wiped away with a new pair of glasses once UK wins the first game of the season.

See ya soon,

Tyler
Wildcat-Sports.com

UK Football Players Drafted

Today, I saw that Woodson was drafted by the Giants. I can't believe Woodson didn't go somewhere else. Now, he's behind Manning and Jared Lorenzen. This is unbelievable to me...I just think Woodson is a much better quarterback than what was portrayed today in the draft.

Any quarterback who sets the record in the NCAA for least interceptions thrown while going against SEC defenses has to be a great quarterback. I believe Woodson will prove himself eventually in the NFL. He just needs to be patient and work hard to learn the speed of the game. He will be in good shape once he gets to prove himself.

Wesley Woodyard wasn't drafted. This is a disgrace. I'm really starting to think many of the scouts are totally clueless about evaluating talent. I need to get in that business because most of the scouts are simply moronic. Wesley Woodyard leads the SEC in tackles and he's not even drafted. Please explain this madness to me...Again, the leading tackler in the SEC wasn't drafted.

Keenan Burton and Jacob Tamme will shine at St. Louis and Indianapolis where they'll bring a second-to-none work ethic. Those two guys are coaching dreams with plenty of skill. I believe they'll have healthy NFL careers.

Anyway, hopefully UK continues to produce players like these guys...If so, we'll be going to plenty of bowls and we'll continue to rise in the national rankings every year. I believe we're definitely on our way...

Go Big Blue!

Tyler
Wildcat-Sports.com

Rich Brooks and Confidence

One thing I like about Rich is that he's a straight shooter. Rich Brooks told us the truth from day one. I remember when he first arrived at UK and he told the media and UK fans "we don't have enough players to compete in the SEC right now." I was like "wow"...This guy tells it like it is...He didn't blow smoke up our "you know what".... Some people didn't like him. Some people thought he was too negative.

Instead he hired an excellent staff and started hitting the recruiting trail hard. Instead, he started building a program the right way, without cheating, like that crook Hal Mumme did...Instead, he brought an old time, hard work ethic to the table of a UK football program.

Each year, Rich told us that UK football was in a little better shape. Last year, he said "we're gonna be a factor in the SEC". Well, I seem to remember beating the number one team in the nation, LSU. No, we didn't finish that high in the SEC, but we were definitely a factor.

This year, Rich was quoted saying "some expect UK football to go back to the cellar of the conference. I'm here to tell you, that's not gonna happen. We're here to stay." Many people are worried about our quarterback situation. Rich told us "we can win games in the SEC with Pulley or Hartline".

Rich, you've earned my trust. I think UK football is here to stay. I think we're going to see a UK defense that we haven't seen since 1977 in UK football. Lets start supporting the Wildcats and show our appreciation for the growth of the UK football program.

We need to get more people into Commonwealth. We need to beat UL for the second straight year. We need to lock up the best recruits in the state of Kentucky. We're starting to do these things...The future is bright. I can see us competing for a SEC championship one day. I believe UK will go to one BCS bowl game before Rich Brooks retires in the next five years.

He will leave a solid foundation and a great UK football program to Joker Phillips. I just hope Joker can keep the streak going. Honestly, I'm not convinced just yet. I still think he has a lot to learn from a very experienced head coach like Brooks. It's not an easy job and it takes superb management skills. It's a lot more than just recruiting good players. SEC teams will always have great players. Only excellent coaching will win consistently in the difficult SEC.

Now Mitch Barnhart doesn't look so dumb....does he?

Go Big Blue!

Tyler
Wildcat-Sports.com

Blue - White Game - A Bird's Eye View

Who is ready to lead UK? I don't think we found out from the blue / white game. Pulley and Hartline did some good things, but neither of these guys took the bull by the horns and showed that they're the man. Rich Brooks seems to be relatively pleased with the game and he continues to give some praise to both Pulley and Hartline, but I can't imagine he doesn't have some major concerns about the quarterback position. We've got to have one of these guys step up and take the lead in this competition. I believe that Hartline is our best choice because we could get Pulley on the field as a wide receiver. That way, we could get both of those guys on the field. I just don't think Pulley will ever be able to stretch the field as a passer and SEC defenses won't respect our passing game. They would then just stack the box against our run and we would be in trouble. If Hartline can learn to not commit turnovers and protect the ball, we'll be a good football team this year. Our defense has the ability to be special this year. The scrimmage showed that....according to my Dad who attended the game. He said our defensive line looked very good and our linebackers cover a lot of ground FAST when getting to the ball. We are just more atheletic than we've been in a long time at UK. This is good. It shows UK football is here to stay and we're climbing the ranks in the SEC. I think we can get to another bowl game if we can find a quarterback who won't turn the ball over and make stupid plays. Our running game will take care of the rest when it comes to our offense. I have confidence in our running game. Alphonso Smith is primed for his breakout year...It's gonna be fun to watch!

2008 UK Defense

UK Wildcats need a defense to step up this year. I was pleasantly surprised last year with UK’s step forward in defensive production. If we take another step this year, we should be in good shape as a team. I think our offense will struggle with losing Woodson and so many other key offensive weapons. That makes it paramount that our defense takes a step forward if we want to get to another bowl game and keep UK’s football program moving in the right direction.

Linebackers – this is the group that I’m so excited about…UK’s linebackers should be more than adequate in the SEC. Micah Johnson, Braxton Kelley, Johnny Williams, and Sam Maxwell have plenty of experience to help us stuff the run.

Defensive Line – Some people are worrying about the depth on our defensive line, but I think we’ll be o.k. In addition, I think Ricky Lumpkin could finally become a real factor on our D-Line. Rich Brooks has always commented about Lumpkin’s potential and it looks like he’ll finally be able to get past the persistent hip problem as a result of a successful surgery. You add his presence with Myron Pryor, Corey Peters, a few other solid contributors, and we should be in good shape.

Defensive Backs – Trevard Lindley is the best cornerback in the SEC. That’s my biased opinion. But after watching him perform like Superman the last two years I don’t know how many could argue with me. Cobb is the hardest hitter on UK’s team at safety. Paul Warford is very speedy and made some incredible plays last year including many in the bowl game. Paul doesn’t have the ideal hips for a cornerback, but he’s doing an excellent job and should only get better this year.

In conclusion, Coach Brooks has always been a straight shooter. You can see Rich’s excitement about the Defense whenever he’s asked about it. In return, that excites me…Because when Coach Brooks flat out says we’ve got more depth and talent on defense than we’ve ever had in the past five years, you know it’s going to be a fun year.

This could just be the year that UK’s defense carries the load in football. When was the last time that happened?

Go Kentucky Wildcats!!

Tyler
Wildcat-Sports.com

Hartline or Pulley?

That's the question right now...I believe Hartline brings more balance to UK's offense by being a pure passer. We don't want an offense which has a running QB. UK has to threat with a deep ball once in a while to free up it's running game.

Or else, teams will just stack the box against us...It will be interesting to see how this develops into the Fall. I trust Randy Sanders and Rich Brooks to develop a QB who will play smart and not turn the ball over.

Rich Brook will not put up with a QB who turns the ball over. We saw how Andre Woodson eventually developed into a great QB who didn't throw interceptions. That's what we need so we can establish our solid running game with great running backs this year.

I can't wait to see the potential of our offense unfold. I have no worries that our Defense will hold up its end of the bargain this coming year.

Go Big Blue!

Tyler
Wildcat-Sports.com