Rajon inferno! (Breathe, breathe ... )

"Don't take that shot ... Oh, God, No! YYYEEEESSSSSS!"

-- Me, five times on Saturday

Leave it to the Cardiac Cats to give fans one of the more memorable and electrifying wins in recent memory. Heart doctors all over the Bluegrass are going to be doing a brisk business if this keeps up. The 80-78 win at Rupp evened UK's SEC record at 2-2, and may have done serious work towards putting this team on the path it should have been on all along.

Rajon Rondo one-upped his teammate, Patrick Sparks, by draining a falling down three-pointer with barely a second left. Ignoring for a moment all the ways in which the Cats came to be in this predicament, what a gutsy and confident moment for this embattled team.


It took a complete team effort to overcome a South Carolina squad that was unconscious shooting for nearly the entire game. Bobby Perry, whose struggles even got this optimist calling him out on a few occasions, was clutch Saturday, tossing in three treys in six tries and 13 points total, many of them down the stretch as Kentucky roared back in it. Joe Crawford effectively was the offense for a good two minutes, and his 15 points and 6 rebounds led the team. Ravi Moss continued to prove himself invaluable, hitting more clutch shots, including an absolutely crucial traditional three-point play that kept the Cats in it late. Even Lukasz Obrzut chipped in a team-high-tying 6 boards, 3 on the offensive glass. As I've noted before, when (if) it's firing on all cylinders, this group has that elusive quality depth that marks the most successful Tubby Smith teams, including the '98 champs.

And none of this even speaks to the value Sparks showed in this game. The senior continued where he left off (thank Jehovah!) against Georgia, going 4-of-6 from deep and dishing out 5 assists while running the point to perfection. His 29-footer with things looking bleak in the final minute was legendary good, and -- actually finding myself in rare agreement with John Clay -- if this season does in fact go further on the up and up, Sparks'/Rondo's heroics could take on the mythical status of the 2003 Vandy second half and the famed comeback at LSU.

But this win wasn't all perfect, and with some time to stew, it's important that every Big Blue fan pay close attention to how miffed Tubby was postgame.


"We dug ourselves a hole," the head man said. And he was none too pleased at the lack of blocking out and being outrebounded by a smaller team ... again. And though the Gamecocks were on fire in that way that only teams that smell any Kentucky weakness seem to be able to be, some of that has to be attributed to spotty perimeter defense.

However, this team is clearly a work in progress. And I mean that in the most literal sense. The team is finally working hard, running plays and fighting through tough times, exactly like the 12-point second half deficit on Saturday. Furthermore, the team is clearly progressing, though one struggles to imagine where there was to go but up after losing by 27 to a decidedly mediocre Kansas team. No matter, winning sure beats losing, and I'll take a positive learning process over getting throttled on national television any day.

Each of the last four games -- the games with Randolph Morris back -- has shown a new wrinkle, another piece of what I still insist can be a dangerous tournament puzzle.


Despite losing to Vanderbilt two weeks ago, the Cats showed some grit and held the Commodores to sub- 40% shooting. A lack of offense did them in, but Morris proved that he was not going to be the same lackadaisacal center fans got used to last year, and the Cats were active. The loss to Alabama showed some fight and rebounding prowess, if no closing ability. The Georgia victory brought back Sparks' swagger and that most critical of traits, team chemistry. Finally, against USC, the Wildcats finally brought the offense around, and at Rupp no less. The maddening thing is that they have yet this year -- even against Louisville and West Virginia, the season's two marquee wins -- to truly put the disparate pieces of success together at once. Showing the ability to do each of them, however, is encouraging. And proving that they can win with only some of those above factors working is even better.

One can only imagine what this team, were it to play typical Tubby Smith defense, rebound and play big, shoot effectively from three-point range and get contributions from Perry, Sheray Thomas, Woo, Ramel Bradley et al., might be capable of. I do not subscribe to the theory that there is a distinct talent gap between this team and the rest of the country's best. This year's Cats are very top-heavy talentwise, more talented in my mind in Rondo, Morris and Crawford specifically, than in years past. But Moss, Bradley and Sparks are all-SEC caliber, and even Thomas, Perry and Woo are serviceable when they contribute and stick to their roles.

It is imperative that the Cats not rest or try and bide their time until a huge test at Florida in a few weeks. Winnable (and loseable) games at Auburn, at home against Arkansas and on the road in Starkville (Miss. St.) loom large, and a sweep of the three could have the Cats fighting once again for some national recognition, and the SEC lead.

So no time for pats on the back. It's time to see if Tubby's charges are learning from their bumps and scrapes, whether they can take tires, an engine, a steering system and fuel and build a race car ... or whether fans are to be resigned to watching a Pinto with a Jaguar's interior putter into obscurity.