Coury's Cats

We knew the starting lineup for tonight's game might be a little wacky, but I definitely wasn't expecting this (Bradley, Meeks, Harris, Coury, and Stevenson). Patrick Patterson's upper respiratory issues have apparently kept him out of the lineup. However, the biggest issue might be how Joe Crawford reacts to not starting. One would hope Joe takes the benching as a challenge to up his intensity. Given Joe's previous reactions to adversity, I wouldn't be surprised if things get worse before they get better.

On a football note, UK has lost Marcus McClinton for the remainder of the regular season. He might be able to play in the bowl game, if the Cats make it to one.

In recruiting, Chris Singleton has set a date in early November to announce his college decision. The finalist for his services are Florida State and Kentucky. Singleton is supposedly visiting this Saturday to see the Cats play against Seattle. Singleton would be a huge get for Billy Clyde, making the 2009 class of DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller, and Singleton a top ten class. This definitely would be a good start in recruiting for Gillispie. If Kentucky misses on Singleton, expect to hear of a commitment from Garret Stutz shortly after. Stutz is the 7'0 center from Kansas City, but he definitely is not the impact player that Singleton would be.

Starting Five?

The season starts in about 24 hours. Unlike Wildcat squads of the past, there is no clear starting lineup for this team. Billy Clyde's young team is guard heavy, with only Patrick Patterson as a clear starter on the interior. Rumors are that Joe Crawford has not yet met Gillispie's expectations, as well as being hampered by off-season knee surgery. Ramel Bradley is reportedly Billy's appointed team leader. Jodie Meeks is on the verge of exploding into a prime time player. If Bradley, Meeks, and Patterson are definite starters, what other two players will join them?

Vote to your right.

It Begins

With the loss to Mississippi State this past weekend, UK football finally lets the focus of the Big Blue Nation shift to its natural object of affection - basketball. Billy Clyde is probably thankful for the success of the football Cats, as Rich Brooks and company have allowed Gillispie's ascension to the throne be less obsessed over than a normal Kentucky basketball regime change.

On Wednesday, the University of Kentucky begins a basketball season with a refreshed outlook on life. Billy Clyde Gillispie begins his tenure as the coach of the Wildcats. In many ways, Gillispie has already found success at Kentucky. The Wildcats start the season in the top 25. Considering the talent Tubby Smith left behind, being ranked in the preseason is quite an accomplishment. Could you imagine this years team without Patrick Patterson and Alex Legion?

The Wildcats won't have long to get prepared. After the first two games, the young cats will (hopefully) find themselves in Madison Square Garden facing a two game combination of Connecticut, Memphis, and Oklahoma. The rest of the Wildcats non conference schedule will be a mix of cupcakes and top ten teams.

The conference schedule will be a typical one, with the exception of the Florida Gators. The cats should take a couple games from the defending champions, while Tennessee is likely to dominate the conference.

OFFICIAL BLUE DONKEY REGULAR SEASON PREDICTION: 23 Wins, 8 Losses

Halloween Scare

Halloween is almost here, and the Kentucky football and basketball teams have a right to be scared. Injuries are piling up for both squads at an alarming rate. The football team takes on Mississippi State this weekend - a game that UK should win. However, this weekend is not going to be an easy victory. With a healthy roster, the Cats would send the Bulldogs back to Starkvegas with their hide red from a good Wildcat spanking. Take away Keenan Burton, Rafael Little, Tony Dixon, Micah Jones, Paul Warford, and things might be a little to close for comfort. Keep in mind, this is a Mississippi State team that beat Auburn on the road.

On the basketball front, things look even worse. Derrick Jasper is currently moving backwards in his recovery from knee surgery, and he may end up having to take a medical redshirt this season. Michael Porter has a concussion. Patrick Patterson is currently not practicing due to an upper respiratory infection. Crawford is still less than 100% from his knee surgery. Jared Carter is recovering from his double shoulder surgery. Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson have broken noses. Keep in mind, we only have thirteen scholarship players and less than a week before the season starts. -- Tubby Smith would have never let this happen.

The Home Stretch

The Kentucky football team is now entering the home stretch of their schedule. If the Cats can hold off Mississippi State this weekend, a duly needed bye week awaits them. Injuries have been piling up for the Wildcats over the course of the past couple weeks. After the break, Kentucky will play at Vandy, at Georgia, and finish with Tennessee at home. For the final four games, U.K. will probably be the better team on paper. However, two road victories will not be an easy task.

I predict the Wildcats will finish the season winning three of the last four. The Cats will be victorious over Mississippi State and Tennessee, dropping one of two on the road. If I'm right, the Cats finish 9-3 in a season where the schedule was ridiculously tough. Let's have it!

Thursday News and Notes

Tim Tebow seems to be doing well on and off the field. Little Timmy and the Florida Gators visit the Wildcats on Saturday, along with the ESPN College Game Day Show. The set for the show will be set up in front of U.K.'s Young Library. The show will air twice during the day on Saturday. Be on the lookout for some creative signs in the background from the big blue faithful.

In basketball recruiting news, Chris Singleton has dropped Tennessee and Georgetown from his lists of schools. That leaves the Wildcats battling Florida State for Singleton's services.
Historically, the Wildcats have not fared well in recruiting battles against F.$.U.

After a lazy performance in a pick-up game after Big Blue Madness, Ralph Sampson III's scholarship offer has been pulled by Billy Clyde.

After visiting last weekend, seven footer Garret Stutz has U.K. at the top of his list. This makes Stutz and Singleton the two finalists for U.K.'s open scholarship left for the 2008 class. Singleton is probably the priority of the two.

This ain't your daddy's Wildcats

Rember that old lady in Poltergeist when she tried to run off those pesky ghosts?

"We have exercised the demons. This house is clear".

What we saw Saturday was a Kentucky team that wiped out every kick in the crotch, rip your heart out, stomp your guts in demon this team has ever faced. When the final horn sounded, Danny Wuerfell's ghost had a silver bullet, a wooden stake, and holy water shoved up it's ectoplasmatic excretory orifice all at once.

And then some.

With Kentucky's win over top-ranked LSU, this year's Cats went from premature Gatorade-dumping hard-luck losers to legitimate contenders for a BCS bowl. Instead of playing the stooge in the top 10 of every "unbelievable game-ending plays" list, they ended the game in the top 10 in the BCS standings.

For years Kentucky fans have seen games like Saturday's happen every week, just not in Commonwealth Stadium. We've seen teams step up and make great plays to win a big game. We've seen programs go through tough times and turn the corner. And now, finally, we get to see it happen to our team. Heck, the whole country got to see it happen to our team. Don't think that doesn't make an impression on recruits. Don't think the current players aren't building more and more confidence with every program changing win this year.

Contrary to what I'm hearing some places though, this was not the "Bluegrass Miracle II". No. This was not a miracle at all. It was a really good team beating the number one team in the country in front of a rowdy home crowd.

If you must give a title to the game, call it the "Bluegrass Redemption", because Rich Brooks has tunneled this team out of probation prison. He has drug them through a river of poor play and bad breaks "and came out clear on the other side."

This game was huge. Biggest in decades. It should turn the program around permantly. And the best part is, I don't think it was a miracle at all.

Big Blue Boring

Big Blue Madness came and went, and I'm glad my tickets were free. There were spurts of excitement, but overall it was rather boring. Kyle Macy and a blond lady were the M.C.'s. I'm sure they did fine, but you couldn't hear them. There were too many videos. Some of them were pretty good, but they were also difficult to hear. Billy Clyde's introduction was exciting, especially for the little kid that caught on fire from the fire works. Rich Brooks also received a standing ovation, which was one of the feel-good moments of the evening.

The recruits were sitting down to my right. They acted like recruits - somewhat aloof. There were a few chants of the recruit's names from the crowd. The cheer for Chris Singleton was the loudest. A well-timed timeout was called with about two minutes left in the men's scrimmage. The recruits and their families left the building to a standing ovation. Singleton acknowledged the crowd.

I was fairly impressed with the team during the scrimmage. Patterson was very solid, and Alex Legion is going to score a bunch of points as a Wildcat. Meeks is going to have a big year, and he seems to be very confident of his abilities - always looking for a shot. Mike Williams was better than expected, and A.J. Stewart is ridiculously athletic. Bradley and Crawford were, well, Bradley and Crawford.

If Gillispie decides to put the best five on the court, the starting lineup will be Bradley, Crawford, Meeks, Legion, and Patterson. In my mind, the key to the season will be getting production from someone besides Patterson on the inside.

Recruiting Madness Begins

Above: Chris Singleton and Ralph Sampson III. Two of the 2008 recruits that will attend Madness this evening.

With Big Blue Madness, an onslaught of potential Wildcats are arriving in Lexington to check out the U.K. program under Billy Clyde. Big Blue Madness is one of U.K.'s best recruiting weapons, and Billy Clyde is seizing the opportunity. The names flying around as potential visitors have been in a constant state of flux for the past week. Including players already committed, there will be no less than ten recruits to take in tonight's festivities. The following is a list of visitors by class:

2008 Recruits
Chris Singleton - 4 Stars - (6-8, 210) Small Forward, Dunwoody, GA - Singleton is probably the best of the 2008 recruits that are visiting. With the commitment of Darius Miller, UK is not in need of a small forward; however, Singleton has the size to help out inside. Singleton's list of schools includes Tennessee, Georgetown, Florida State, and UK.

Ralph Sampson III - 4 Stars - (6-11, 220) Center, Duluth, GA - Sampson could fill a big need for the Wildcats in the 2008 class. And yes, he is the son of the NBA star Ralph Sampson (who UK also recruited). Sampson steadily improved his game and his ranking continues to climb. Sampson is also being recruited by Georgia Tech and Minnesota.

Garrett Stutz - 3 Stars - (7-0, 225) Center, Kansas City, MO - Big guy, project. See Shagari Alleyne and Woo. I recommend passing on this guy.

Verdell Jones - 3 Stars - (6-4, 160) Point Guard, Champagne, IL - We need this guy like we need another point guard. -- We don't.

2008 Commitments in Attendance
Darius Miller - 4 Stars - (6-6, 215) Small Forward, Maysville, KY - Miller was a good in-state pickup for Gillispie.

DeAndre Liggins - 5 Stars - (6-5, 190) Chicago, IL, Point Forward - DeAndre was Billy Clyde's first 2008 commitment. We didn't need another point forward, but he is too good to not take.

2009 Recruits

Jon Wall - 5 Stars - (6-3, 175) Point Guard, Raleigh, N.C. - Probably the most talented player visiting. This kid is good, and he would fit nicely into Gillispie's all point guard lineup.

Jon Hood - 4 Stars - (6-6, 185) Shooting Guard, Madisonville, KY - Good in-state talent. Duke and UNC are showing interest as well. Gillispie has travelled to M-ville to visit him. Recruiting is heating up with Mr. Hood.

2010

Dakotah Euton (the youngest player to ever commit to U.K.) will be in attendance. He is bringing his high school teammate Chad Jackson with him.

Legal News and Notes

Scott County basketball star Bud Mackey was arrested last week and charged with possession of crack cocaine. Mackey, a high school senior, had committed to play basketball at Indiana University next year.

At the University of Tennessee, sophomore forward Duke Crews has been suspended from the basketball team after being charged with possession of marijuana.

The University of Minnesota is being sued by former 'almost' assistant coach Jimmy Williams. Williams, who left Sean Sutton's Oklahoma State staff, was Tubby Smith's first 'almost' hire at Minnesota. Tubby Smith had essentially hired Williams, but the university denied his employment because of a previous affiliation with a program that was sanctioned by the NCAA for violations. Since Williams had already resigned his job at Oklahoma State to take the job at Minnesota, he is now filing a lawsuit. Saul Smith had no comment on the situation.

At the University of Louisville, no football players have been arrested this week. A celebration is being planned for Saturday.

Big Blue Badness

First, let me say that I generally am an unconditional supporter of UK athletics. There are few exceptions. The Midnight Madness ticket distribution debacle on Saturday was an exception.

5:30 a.m. - I wake up feeling pretty good, considering the previous evenings beer intake.
6:30 a.m. - Arrive at Memorial Coliseum. The line looks ridiculous, so I decide to try online at
my office. My wife, who also woke up early, is at home trying to get tickets online as well.
7:05 a.m. - No luck online for me or my wife. Ticketmaster is giving the impression that all the
tickets are gone, but I know this cannot be the case. My wife checks out what people are saying on the Catspause message board. No one on there is able to get tickets through Ticketmaster either.
7:15 a.m. - I decide to walk to Memorial to try to get tickets. The line is still fairly
long, but it is moving pretty fast. I notice that the people who just got tickets are
getting back in line to get more. A guy behind me says that it his sixth time to go
through the line.
7:25 a.m. - I am about 15 feet away from ticket booth. Sandy Bell is standing there and is
checking vouchers.
7:26 a.m. - What the hell is a voucher? Do I need one? I walk past her and nothing is said. I
proceed to the ticket window. The associate asks me for my voucher.
7:27 a.m. - What the hell is a voucher? Do I need one? The girl won't give me tickets. I tell her
that I started in the back of the line. I have waited in line. No one gave me a
voucher. Where am I supposed to get this voucher. I am sent to the back of the line.
7:35 a.m. - I start through the line again. The line is about 5 people wide. About half way
through the line, there is a non-official looking person on the left side of the line
handing out little pieces of paper. If you were on the right side of this line, this is the
guy that you did not see.
7:40 a.m. -I am second in line at the ticket booth. The guy in front of me gets the last available
ticket. As I walk away, a UK athletics official looks at Sandy Bell and says, "I think
that went pretty well."
7:41 a.m. - If that went well, I would hate to see it go badly.
9:00 a.m.- UK Athletics website posts that Ticketmaster is having problems. We are never
able to log onto Ticketmaster.
10:00 a.m.-We go to a Kroger to see if the Ticketmaster booth inside has any tickets. They tell
us the event is sold out.
10:01 a.m. - I start cursing.

At the time of this writing, I am still cursing.