The Road Ahead ... and other notes

With a few spare moments, let's look at a few things that have fallen through the cracks.

A Look at the Road Ahead

Kentucky enters the week 14-6 (4-2 SEC), riding a tenuous 4-game win streak. Victories at home over Arkansas (#59 KP RPI) and South Carolina (#74) were hard fought, but crucial. Road wins over bottom-feeders Georgia -- who is surprisingly bad -- and Auburn -- who is just plain bad -- don't count for much, but wins are wins.

UK's struggles at home continue to create the perception that maybe RUPP isn't the best home court advantage. Tubby Smith has not had one season in his nine thus far in which he went undefeated at home. This isn't to say he's been bad at home, just beatable. This year takes the cake, however, as last-second wins over South Carolina and Central Florida keep Kentucky from being a remarkable 5-5 at home (they are, instead, 7-3, thanks to Rajon Rondo). Is it that the Cats do not practice there? Is it the arena feel versus the cozy gym? Is it pressure from the home crowd? Bad sushi in the Wildcat Lodge?

Whatever it is, it's irritating as hell.

The Cats have some tough games ahead, but winning them would create not only some much needed national buzz, but some confidence in the sophomore-dominated squad. Here's what's on tap, and some possible outcomes:

Wed., Feb. 2 -- at Mississippi State (11-9, 1-6 SEC): Rick Stansbury's crew has been decimated by NBA defections and youth this year, and is currently riding a 6-game losing streak. The Cats can ill afford to be caught napping or looking ahead to Florida this weekend. That said, a solid game from Randolph Morris in the middle and Patrick Sparks and Joe Crawford shooting the ball should be enough to carry UK to 3-0 in road conference games. Pick: Kentucky


Sat., Feb. 4 -- at #7 Florida (18-2, 4-2): The Gators are flying high from their weak non-conference slate, and a schedule that has seen them play (and win) 13 of their 20 games at home. This year's edition of the Gators is dominated by young, athletic players, but marked by a newfound toughness. Al Horford could be a problem for the Cats, especially if he creates foul trouble for Morris. Sharp-shooter Lee Humphrey was recently injured in a bike accident and will not play, a rare sort of lucky break for Kentucky, who are prone to reverse-the-ball three-point shots. Taurean Green has played well this year, and is second in the SEC in league scoring (18 ppg). Joakim Noah looks like the kind of Florida player that has crumbled under Tubby Smith defense in the past (e.g. Matt Walsh/Brett Nelson), as he's too emotional and has a precious quality. Corey Brewer scares me to death, so I hope he's not hitting from deep. I think Kentucky can win this game, but it cannot afford to get into a 12-point hole like in recent contests. The home crowd will help Florida tremendously, so it will be key for Rondo and Ramel Bradley to control the Cats' psyches. I smell an overconfident Gators team and one that has had few tests in the last two months. The new Cats have shown up when needed, so at the risk of being overly optimistic ... Pick: Kentucky

Tue., Feb. 7 -- home vs. #13 Tennessee (14-3, 5-1): The current SEC East leaders, Bruce Pearl's Vols have become something of a media darling, as much for the coach's suspenders and personality as for their play on the court. But the play has been good, with big wins over Texas (at UT) and Florida (home). Losses to Memphis and LSU won't hurt them, but I'm not sure how much I believe the long-term success of this year's Vols. Chris Lofton, the much discussed former Mr. Basketball in Kentucky who was not recruited by UK, is a great shooter with some limitations as a defender and all-around player. No one on the Vols is a superstar, but the system works because many of them are effective at their jobs. This game isn't in Knoxville, so there's a temptation to go with the Cats. But RUPP being not as hospitable as it could be (see above), I don't like the matchup much. Pick: Tennessee

Sat., Feb. 11 -- at Vanderbilt (12-5, 3-3): Rematch with Vandy at Memorial isn't a shoo-in, but isn't impossible either. Revenge factor could be high and, depending on the outcome of the above two games, Kentucky could be rolling or stalling. Pick: Kentucky

Were things to play out thus, that would bring UK to 7-3 in the SEC with winnable games vs. UGA, at USC and vs. Ole Miss. Potential losses at LSU and at UT could have the Cats at 10-5 heading into Senior Night vs. Florida on March 5. An 11-5 mark would probably get UK a bye in the SEC tourney. Anything less may not. Worst case scenarios (5 losses to UT, UF, LSU) have the Cats in bubble trouble at 19-11 (9-7), with a marquee win over West Virginia and a fading quality win over a freefalling Louisville.

Let's hope Tubby and Co. take care of business instead and pick up wins over UT, UF and even LSU and make Selection Sunday a matter of seeding, not seething.

The Fallout from Rondo's Ride

The Kentucky Kernel had this interesting nugget today about the aftermath of the Lexington Herald-Leader's extremely questionable decision to run a non-story about the point guard's apparently totally legal choice of automobile:

UK's sophomore point guard, apparently upset over a Lexington Herald-Leader story and paparazzi-style photo that examined the circumstances surrounding his use of a vehicle registered to friend and former UK star Derek Anderson, was intentionally aloof during interviews after Sunday's 78-76 win over Arkansas. ... His answers to long-winded questions from the press mostly consisted of one-word responses and head gestures, prompting a frustrated staff member of UK Media Relations to abruptly end his interview session."

All this begs the question: What exactly is the Lexington paper of record hoping to accomplish by pissing off (a) its readers, many of whom get the LHL solely for hoops coverage, and (b) the only thing it has to cover for four months of the year? Folks at the paper surely would talk about journalistic independence and the quality of their reporting, but I've never once heard or read someone praise the local Knight-Ridder branch as scoop central.

Furthermore, dragging a high profile 20-year-old's name through the mud by insinuating some sort of wrongful behaviour is ludicrously unprofessional. Leave the rumor-mongering and speculation to blogs and message boards, the sort of admittedly ephemeral vehicles that they are. In a just world, Tubby would revoke the LHL's credentials and leave them sulking in the corner for the rest of the year. He's probably too nice to do that, but it would definitely elicit some fan sympathy.

With friends like the Herald-Leader, the Cats hoopsters hardly need enemies.

What would you suffer through?

At roughly the 19:00 mark of the second half on Sunday, around the time that UK gave up an easy breakaway bucket on a turnover to Arkansas to go down by 16 -- 39-23, Hogs -- I had pretty much settled on what I was going to write about. It's a subject I've been stewing over for some time in this, the most unpredictable and frustrating season in half a decade. The subject is one I think resonates with fans of any struggling powerhouse teams, particularly this season at such hallowed programs as Kansas, Arizona and our very own Kentucky.

And then a funny thing happened ... the Wildcats clamped down on 'D' and revved up the offense to score 55 second-half points on the way to a very improbable 78-76 comeback win.

That it took the highest scoring half of the season to beat a game Arkansas team at home cannot be overlooked. And while I'm joyous at the victory, particularly as it keeps the Cats on pace to contend with Tennessee and Florida on the Eastern side of the conference standings, I can't shake the idea that this is all some big test.


Chalk it up to a combination of good fortune (Georgia & Auburn games to revive season), clutch plays (Sparks, Rondo (twice)) and timely coaching moves (Tubby going small vs. South Carolina, Arkansas) that Kentucky is 14-6 (4-2 SEC) heading to struggling Mississippi State. Kentucky could easily be 11-9, with losses at home to South Carolina, Arkansas and Central Florida (!). And yet, they are not.

But all this back and forth, this confounding inability of the Wildcats to move forward without taking steps backward, got me thinking. What would I be willing to suffer through if there were a return to the championship podium awaiting my favorite team on the other side?

It's a purely hypothetical question, of course, but one that has a glaring recent example. In 2001-2002, a year after losing to Penn State in the second round, and fielding a young team minus their NBA departed star Joe Forte, North Carolina went 8-20. A year later, bolstered by the recruiting of future lottery picks McCants, May and Felton, the Tarheels went 19-16 and advanced to the 3rd round ... of the NIT.

Far from even imagining the response of Kentucky fans to an 8-20 non-probation season, it made me wonder what winning is worth. Had you found a die-hard Tarheel fan in April of 2001, asked if he or she was willing to go 27-36, miss the tourney for two years and lose their coach, if the end result was evenutally the school's 4th national title, what would be the response? In retrospect, it's likely the answer would be, "Of course."


But as Big Blue fans lament their fate with a team sporting three McDonald's All-Americans, a coach with a national title under his belt, "struggling" to a 70% winning percentage, I would pose the question thus: What would you, Big Blue Nation, be willing to sacrifice?

• If I told you that Kentucky would crumble this season, miss the tournament and return all of their top scorers for a title run next season, would you accept that?


• If I said that Kentucky would not make a Final Four until 2009, but would win the title that year, would that be OK?


• If I could forsee that Kentucky would chase off Tubby Smith, suffer a losing season, player transfers and bad press, but emerge with two Final Fours in three years (2007-2010) under a new coach, would you allow that to happen?

Yes, these are useless hypotheticals. No, I don't honestly believe that any of these are possible. And, no, there is no reason that one must always suffer through pain to find pleasure. But it does raise the question of the balance between our admittedly high expectations and a borderline unhealthy win-at-all-costs mentality.

I should add that I don't write these things to call out any specific fan element. In fact, I am extremely sick of the negative back-and-forth between overzealous fans on both sides. Tubby Smith is neither destroying the Kentucky legacy nor acing the exam. The players he has recruited are neither collectively NBA caliber nor "midmajor" recruits, as some would mention. As with most of life, there is a middle ground.

But as we scrape and claw as fans through a season we are grossly unaccustomed to -- and it should be added that Tubby's recent success are precisely why we are feeling so out of sorts -- we should ask ourselves a reflective question ...

At what price victory?

Eye, if not bite, of the Tiger

There were times in last night's 71-62 bludgeoning of the Auburn Tigers that Kentucky looked quite possibly the best it has looked offensively all season. It was not, however, in the final 12:00 of the game, when Tubby Smith and his boys seemed to take their foot off the pedal and wait for Jeff Lebo's hack-a-whomever strategy to end the game. Was the game encouraging given the offensive struggles of recent weeks? Yes, it was. Was it a perfect win? Not by a long stretch.

I don't often find myself pining for the Days of Rick, and the reasons have been spelled out here in much more detail previously. To sum it up, while Rick Pitino was a fantastic coach, and was the perfect mix of bravado and coaching skill that a bankrupt Kentucky program and fanbase needed at the time, he made his choices, ran things his way and left town on his terms. Thus, I'm over him.

Additionally, the personality differences between Pitino and Smith being vast, the stamp Tubby has put on the program -- specifically exuding class, teamwork and good sportsmanship -- are much preferred to me over the used car smell of Pitino.

But there is one thing in particular that has always been maddening about the Tubby Smith era at Kentucky that did not exist in Pitino's Big Blue world, and though it ties in directly with those things that I like and respect about the man, it hampers the program at times: He simply refuses to blow people out.

As a general rule, this is, of course, a good thing. Running up the score for show is a useless and demeaning enterprise, something I would equate with a Billy Tubbs or Tom Penders. This is not the BCS we're talking about here, and 7 times out of 10, a comfortable 7-point win is no different than a 21-point win except to fans who like to puff their chests out on opposing teams' message boards or some such uselessness. However ...

One thing that a big win does give a team is confidence and swagger and a little intimidation factor, things that even Smith himself has to admit this year's edition of the Cats could use in droves.

Granted, Lebo's young, awful Tigers took any of the edge out of the game by fouling so often and with so little realistic chance of winning that Mr. Wildcat Bill Keightley probably caught a few ZZZs on the end of the bench in a second half that was eerily reminiscent of a Big Ten 7 PM matchup (SIDENOTE: It was nice to return the favor after years of missing the first 5 minutes of SEC contests while Purdue karate chopped its way to a 9-point loss to some "rival" ... ). But it was abundantly clear that Tubby and his team pulled back and went into dribbling mode to shorten the game.

Now, Smith knows more about coaching basketball than I -- or anyone who reads this -- will ever know. I'll accept that he's neither reading nor caring. But even a fan knows there is something to be said for (a) instilling your future opponents with some sense of fear or hesitancy after a wimpy SEC start and (b) providing the media with something to chew on when your team is unranked and is barely being covered.


This isn't to say that I favor running up the score. Far from it. Were Auburn to have gone into a spread zone last night, then by all means wait for the fouls. But they weren't. They were trapping and playing defense without fouling for a good three minutes late, and Tubby still sort of avoided the goal. Some of this points to a Tubby trait that I guess we just will have to grudgingly accept is not part of his makeup. The man is media unsavvy.

He (most likely) does not care what anyone thinks of his team except himself. And while that may be admirable in a personal sense, it's aggravating from a fan's perspective. Even at a name school like Kentucky there is such a thing as "selling the program," and where Pitino probably goes overboard in this regard, Tubby stubbornly refuses to even come above deck. So long as the wins pile up, it remains a semantic argument, I suppose. But I don't think I'm alone is believing that winning is very much a state of mind, and that uber-confidence of the sort that puts the Wildcats back in the tournament picture may require more than competent victory. It may require a little edginess on the part of Smith and his Cats. Something tells me that his team would love to bury a few people after suffering embarassing losses to Kansas and Indiana.

But after watching his teams generally coast with big leads now for going on nine years, I'm sorry to report that it appears that edginess simply is not part of Tubby Smith's universe. Oh, well.

None of this should detract from what, ultimately, was a satisfying win. Continuing with a theme I began a few games ago, this team keeps showing its potential in fits and starts. Despite allowing 50% shooting in the first half, the Wildcats played good all-around defense in forcing already error-prone Auburn into 11 first-half turnovers and holding them to just 28 points. Kentucky shot 71% (17-24) on free-throws in the second half when Auburn tried to (and did) get back into the game by fouling incessantly. The Cats also held Auburn to 36% shooting in the second frame. Getting outrebounded 35-34 for the game, however, is unnacceptable. Morris' illness probably contributed to his 0-rebound performance, though it probably didn't contribute to Sheray Thomas or Patrick Sparks' nils.


Joe Crawford had perhaps his best game as a Cat, tallying 23 points on 4-6 three-pointers and a whopping 9-of-11 at the charity stripe. Such is the sort of potent scoring that Crawford is both capable of and expected to provide. It marks the second consecutive game (and win) in which Joe C. led the team in scoring. For Kentucky to have any sort of SEC and/or NCAA tournament future, it will be imperative that Crawford continue to develop into a reliable 15 points a game man. With Sparks running the point (5 assists), Rajon Rondo providing the glue (12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists), Randolph Morris giving the Cats something in the paint (8 points in a foul-plagued, playing through sickness performance) and Ramel Bradley and a suddenly effective Bobby Perry (7 points, 4 rebounds), a dangerous and hot shooting Crawford could elevate UK's overall strength tremendously and, as my optimistic side has stated on these pages before, have the Cats as a potentially nightmarish mid-seed opponent in the tournament. I, for one, thought that Perry infused last night's start with some much needed energy, and believe that Tubby should consider that starting five again, as it was the best start energy-wise since Louisville.

Nearly everyone -- many Cats fans included -- is writing off the Cats' chances after the 0-2 league start. While a run of the table the rest of the way seems impossible, there is no such thing as a loss until a loss happens. As it stands right now, Kentucky is exactly one-half game behind the SEC East leaders, and with 11 more league games remaining (12 for West-leading LSU), the title is still there for the taking. I, for one, don't have any belief that John Brady can go undefeated in the SEC. And Billy Donovan's Gators still have to beat UK twice to win the East. It says here that Kentucky is in the hunt and, after the league start it had, that in itself is something to build on.

It's good to see Kentucky growing some fangs. The 18-point bulge at the beginning of the second half was the sort of thing everyone expected in annointing the Cats a top-10 team to start the year. That it has taken such a circuitous route to get there is immaterial in the long run. But winning effectively is just one part of the equation -- just as Crawford's scoring and hopefully some improved UK defense are -- and no UK fan will truly feel relaxed and confident in this team until, for one full game, the Cats can put all these pieces into a whole.

I, for one, am encouraged by the signs. I'm just itching to see when, not if, things come together.

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.

Pieces & parts after many false starts

It needn't be overstated that (a) one win does not a season make but (b) one win can right a season.

It remains to be seen whether Tuesday's feel-good 69-54 drubbing of the Georgia Bulldogs fits either category, though it's hard to imagine how the outcome could have been better for a team struggling though poor shooting, a slumping senior starter and needing a win. On national television, Kentucky managed to affix big, fat band-aids on all three of those trouble spots.

Coach Tubby Smith -- he of the former Georgia head coaching job -- probably slept better last night than he has in weeks, particularly after shedding roughly 15 pounds in water weight sweating through a tense first half and a powerful, rehabilitating second. Though it's impossible to know yet whether his boys finally found their groove or located any true grit, a few potential calling cards stood out, especially in the second half.

Excepting the atrocious games against Indiana and Kansas in which the tide of defeat seemingly swept over the Cats early and often, this team has shown -- especially since the return of Randolph Morris -- a strong defensive presence. That they had a chance to win both the loss to Vandy and the loss to Alabama despite playing offense like a one-armed man plays Mozart is testament to the fact that the defense has been sound, if by no means spectacular.

After surrendering just 36% field goal shooting to the Bulldogs (29% on threes), Kentucky is only allowing 40.5 % on the season, including those blowout losses and the 70% second half Bama got. While that's hardly earth-shattering, it does point to a possible team strength, something that at this point is worth taking stock in.


Tubby Smith's boys are allowing a paltry 61.8 points a game, good for third best in the SEC at this early stage. Again, this isn't to say they are quite the shut down team that the 2003 Wildcats became, but there is a lot to work with there, and with a proven defensive stopper in Rajon Rondo and an emerging force in the middle in Morris (2 blocks per game thus far), perhaps defensive pressure could catapult this team into a winning streak.

Kentucky's season-high 56% shooting was a blessing after a slew of clunker offensive games. Patrick Sparks' return to normalcy probably bodes as well as anything has for several weeks, since it's abundantly clear that as the streaky kid from Central City goes, so go the Cats. Sparks got going in the second half, canning a pair of catch-and-shoot three balls and flashing a grin unseen since the long forgotten days of 2005. A flashy (however unnecessary) between-the-legs pass and subsequent short jumper only further illustrated the senior's mood. Pundits, fans and coaches alike pointed to Morris' return as a salve for struggling UK shooters, and perhaps that is finally taking hold, as teams will have to key down low on Morris defensively, opening up deep shots for Ravi Moss (2 threes, 1 spindly moustache) and Sparks. The return to form of a healthy Joe Crawford would further deepen the Wildcats' arsenal. No one said the Cats would be a three-point laden club, but there's no way they should be shooting so poorly from deep with the streaky, but talented, gunners on the roster.

To me the best sign on the evening wasn't Sparks' reemergence, though that was extremely welcome. It was the display of all-around guard strength that will, I believe, be the propellant for this team to make any run they are capable of. Morris, with Woo spelling him at times, looks to be on his way to a consistent 14 points and 6 rebounds a game, which is exhilarating after watching the other three centers flail their way to 3 points and 3 boards maybe.

On Tuesday, Rondo -- who has been unfairly beseiged by a segment of fans desperate to find an explanation for recent poor play -- quietly played one of his best games of the year, scoring 12 points on a variety of strong drives, dishing out 7 assists while turning it over only twice and consistently disrupting the Georgia offense either with steals or deflections. In short, Rondo looked like the Rondo UK fans expect to see game in, game out. Tubby's insistence on making Sparks the ballhandler clearly freed up Rondo to exploit his strengths and to gamble more on both ends. Credit the Tubster for sticking with his initial game plan, talk shows be damned.

Sparks chipped in 6 assists, part of a stellar 17 assist effort (on 28 made baskets) on the part of Kentucky. That, as much as anything, should be the focus of the Wildcats offense. Lacking a dead-eye shooter, but owning a cadre of talented combo guards, passing and getting good shots in the paint can turn this team into a winner.


Another good sign was a continuation of Saturday's surprising rebounding prowess. Sheray Thomas grabbed 7 boards and, despite not scoring much, made his presence felt throughout. In all, the Cats pounded the glass to the tune of a 35-18 (+17) advantage, an eye-opening number given Georgia coach Dennis Felton's reputation for brutish play. That puts the Wildcats +30 in the last two games, over two teams that pride themselves on tough inside play.

Finally, a huge debt of gratitude to guard Ramel Bradley, whose combination of 11 first-half points off the bench and Brooklyn-style passion clearly sparked his teammates. Bradley could be seen clapping, cajoling and slapping his teammates throughout the game, particularly his main competition for starting minutes, Sparks. That Bradley's focus was so clearly on the team and on winning the game was as welcome as it was impressive. Bradley even stepped into the fray physically in the second half when, after witnessing Bulldog center Younes Idrissi bumping Moss after a foul call, Bradley stepped in and gave a shove, drawing a technical foul. Tubby Smith, irate at the call in the first palce, seemed hardly to mind. And the combination of a fired up Tubby and a team-focused Bradley sure melted the frozen hearts of the Big Blue Nation. Said Bradley afterwards, "I felt like the guy threw an elbow in Ravi's face. I wanted to show my teammate that I had his back."

Just the sort of togetherness this team has been needing in the worst way. If the Cats can build off this win and continue to show just the sort of all-around depth and sound decision-making they did on Tuesday, a few weeks from now UK fans may be seeing a return to the rankings for the Cats. As I said, one win does not a season make ... but now let's see if this win can be the turning point that alters the Cats' future.

No Sunday Silence: Myths & Truths

It's become next to impossible, even for a blue-tinted optimist like myself, to remain positive about the state of the Kentucky hoops program in recent weeks. After a third straight loss -- the first time in five years that has happened -- on Saturday, 68-64 to a depleted Alabama, things in the Wildcats' den went from bad to worse. And then from worse, they went to downright depressing.

But once again, instead of seeing a fanbase concerned with how this year will shake out, I have witnessed a piling on of titanic proportions. There is little doubt that Tubby Smith's job has gotten beyond difficult for, were it not bad enough to have a team lacking confidence and focus and desperately in need of some direction, now he has a daily call for his job, something that were it even feasible would not happen for months.

For a group of die-hards as generally knowledgeable and involved as those of UK, this myopic focus on what isn't going to happen is kind of sad. Tubby will not be fired during the season, thus making the incessant crowing about his being fired something just beyond useless. This isn't to say folks aren't well within their rights to call for it ... it's just not going to change anything right now.

But this post isn't another attempt to equate message board fans' behaviour with any real and tangible results. Among the greatest myths surrounding the UK program is that fans complaining to 500 other fans, many of whom don't agree with them, are changing much of anything except perceptions about their mental abilities. Fan forums are just that, forums for fans. While the occasional player's mother or lazy sportswriter may stop by, it's 99% other folks with a need for an outlet. And count me among them.

All that said, the clamoring for a coaching change is not going away, so maybe better to focus on some reality, rather than the dream state that pervades so much of the projection. A few ground rules: (1) the grass is always greener not necessarily bluer, (2) the truth of unreal expectations cannot be ignored and (3) the myth that one man makes the program has to die. With that, here's my take on the irritatingly ubiquitous debate before Big Blue Nation. ...

(1) Rick Pitino will return to coach Kentucky: MYTH

Ever have a friend get left by a girlfriend for his best friend and he can't shake the feeling that any of his new girlfriends aren't as good as the old one so he starts to fantasize about her friends, and about girls who look and dress sort of like his ex-, but ignores the girlfriend he's got until she starts to feel neglected and leaves? And the more he pines for the one that got away, the sadder it gets because everyone else can see that he's not getting over it and she's moved on and is married with a kid with some other dude but still your friend leaves her messages and eventually she agrees to have coffee with him but it's really awkward and she has to tell him, "Look, those times were great ... and I had a lot of fun, but I've moved on now and you need to as well."


That's what happens when folks tote "Bring Back Pitino" signs to games on national television. You make us all look like that depressing guy. Time to move on. We may get a new coach, we may not ... but we won't get our old coach back, no matter how much you wish it will happen. And the sooner this idea dies, the sooner the non-Kentucky universe will be able to stop laughing at the depressing guy.

(2) Mark Few will bring his recruiting and coaching prowess to UK: MYTH

The Gonzaga phenomenon has become rather baffling. Would that any program could grab a preseason top 5 ranking, an annual darling status and the devotion of the basketball punditry all for the following: 2 Sweet Sixteens since 1997 (1 since 2000), 1 Elite Eight since 1997.

First of all, Few is not a recruiting genius. He has done well to maintain and build on the small school success started by Dan Monson. But his best players have been great diamonds in the rough, not stellar names. Much akin to Tubby, Few does great things with good players, rather than the other way around.


There is no denying that Few's club is fun to watch. They run, they rebound, they shoot a lot. Defense is not paramount to them, but with offensive talents like Adam Morrison and Ronny Turiaf they can hope to simply outscore the opponent.

But where's the beef? Is Tubby Smith's style so bad that Kentucky fans are willing to toss him out for a guy whose biggest wins come in December and whose postseason resume reads worse than that of some MAC teams? If so, those fans to whom style circumvents substance need to seriously examine what they need from their basketball team.

(3) The program is suffering in national prestige: TRUTH

Most who have been around me for a few years know I'm a fervent Tubby apologist. But one thing is hard to ignore -- Kentucky is not feared in the same way it was in 1998. The reasons for this are many and varied, though -- despite the hand-wringing and screams of a few -- much of it is not Tubby Smith's fault.

From 1993-1997, Pitino worked his media magic as much as he did his Xs & Os. One thing that made Kentucky a haven for recruits and pundits was The Don's ability to convince everyone he had his own camelot. That included his teams. The 1996 team was loaded with good pro players, and yet there remains exactly one NBA All-Star on that squad (Antoine Walker). The rest of the draftees (Delk, McCarty, Mercer, Pope, Anderson, Mohammed*, Padgett*) are NBA vagabonds and serviceable players at best. Is this because they weren't talented? No. But it probably says something about Pitino's motivational techniques. When Pitino left, A.D. C.M. Newton made a bold and strong choice in tabbing Smith as the new head man.


Tubby is a totally different kind of person from Pitino. He's humble where Rick is brash, who's savvy where Smith is quiet. Rick is gaudy where Smith is understated. In short, he's style over substance. This difference is much preferred to many UK fans, and much perturbing to others. But it's reality.

However, Tubby's weaknesses in media and salesmanship do hurt in recruiting and coverage. In an ideal world, perhaps steady stewardship and humility would be the hallmark of great coaches and great programs. In this world, they too often seem to leave UK in the lurch with 18-year-old recruits enamored of ESPN highlights and flashy media coverage and wanting when it comes to free exposure via that same cable sports cabal. Again, this isn't right or wrong so much as it is reality.

From a performance perspective, it's hard to justify that Tubby Smith's UK tenure has been a failure by any stretch. That he hasn't lived up to a legacy immediately preceding him is hardly surprising. Few could.

That he hasn't lived up to his own first season is tougher to swallow. That he hasn't lived up to the expecations befitting a program coming off two NCAA titles in three years is unfortunate, if not damning. Much has been made of a Bogans twisted ankle and a series of Spartan offensive rebounds being the difference between two potential titles and two Elite Eight finishes, however that's part of the deal. You earn breaks and you take advantage of good luck.

But the bottom line in all this is that for all Tubby Smith's strengths, it's his weaknesses in the job that provide his critics with a bullseye target to shoot at. And in many real ways, those weaknesses are starting to become a bigger problem, as recruiting misses become suspect upperclasses and a lack of media savvy equal a lack of requisite free advertising courtesy of the national press.

(4) Tubby Smith is the one and only coach to lead UK: MYTH

One myth that is equally perpetuated by the pro-Pitino crowd and the pro-Tubby crowd is that either is the difference between success and failure at UK long-term. Both have had their glittering moments -- Rick the Unforgettables and '96 title, Tubby the '98 title and 26-game streak in '03 -- but both have also benefitted heavily in stature from the UK program. Pitino was a good pro coach with a reputation with small schools. Tubby a midmajor star with a bright future. Now both are potential Hall of Famers.


By the same token, while I naysay the idea that Mark Few is an upgrade over Smith, it's highly likely that the combination of Kentucky's prestige and Few's offensive focus could have unforseen successes. In other words, the program makes the man as much as the converse is true.

To that end, I hope that Kentucky fans will soon realize that the best way to react to this year's struggles is through examination of the things that can be fixed to salvage 2005-2006, not to obsess about what could happen in 2007 and beyond. Otherwise, fans stand to make a long year even longer, and to be bitterly disappointed if they end up with a joke like Bob Huggins, P.J. Carlissimo or John Calipari as the new coach. At what price style and change for change's sake over status quo?

Here's to hoping Tubby Smith can make all of this talk go away.

Choices, and the will to live

It took me until today to be able to sit and think competently about the state of the Kentucky program. Reading a few fan responses did little to inject any sense of hope, excitement or even goodwill into my thinking. In fact, the more I read, the less I enjoy being a Kentucky fan. And yet, I still read.

After sifting through the detritus of Tuesday's disappointing and thoroughly will-sapping 57-52 loss at home to Vanderbilt, several major items emerged as either potential changes, possible suggestions or basic options for the rest of this season and beyond. None of them is perfect, and some of them are downright aggravating. But with the Cats at 10-5, 0-1 in the SEC, lacking support at home or abroad, seeking a soul and getting hammered -- and understandably so -- by everyone from the usual suspects (Decourcey, Forde) to the newer suspects (embarassed fanbase), it's time to at least entertain the unthinkable options, including the dreaded 'nuclear option.'

(1) Tubby Smith should be fired immediately and replaced by Richie Farmer

It's true that Richie didn't play as much as he should have. I mean, that moustache alone was worth the price of admission. Throw in his five o'clock shadow at halftime and there's clearly enough manhood piping through those veins to turn Brandon Stockton into a 20-10 guy. Richie may not have any collegiate coaching experience, knowledge of defense, recruiting skills or free time (there is still that Milk deal, and the much-anticipated follow up to his "book"), but he does know what it means to give everything you've got to the jersey.

Plus, all that free milk would keep the boys in blue bone-hardened.

(2) A roster shakeup is needed

In all seriousness, I endorse this option. The current lackluster play points to a combination of poor chemistry and slumpsville. The starting five Tubby has stubbornly stuck to has got to be scrapped, and it doesn't take a rabid fan to see this. I appreciate what Patrick Sparks has given the Cats, including sacrificing his scholarship for a year, but sometimes you go through slumps and this one is absolutely killing the Cats right now. Ramel Bradley isn't perfect, and he isn't shooting all that much better of late either. But he is a more athletic and varied player with better defensive skills. Perhaps Sparks' shooting touch would return and be more effective coming in as a streaky guy off the bench rather than a turnover machine shooting blanks in the first 5 minutes before being pulled for Bradley anyway.

That Randolph Morris did not start Tuesday is unthinkable. OK, fine, the kid made a mistake. He has been duly punished. But whatever energy Wookash brings to the table (and that's about all he is bringing) is only effective for a few minutes, and the start the Cats got off to on Tuesday can be linked directly to the fact that their starting center WASN'T STARTING. Tubby is a strong father-type coach, and that's one of the reasons I refuse to throw him under the bus like so many other frustrated fans. But you punish the whole team by continuing to focus on what's not working.


Bottom line: Rajon Rondo, Bradley, Morris, Joe Crawford and either Rekalin Sims or Sheray Thomas is the best combination of talent and enthusiasm the Cats can put on the floor. Maybe it doesn't work, who knows. But what are they gonna do, lose to Vandy with that lineup?

(3) Tubby Smith can't coach at UK and must be let go

There has been, since the day he was hired, a contingent of fans that didn't like Tubby Smith. Whether it was related to his game-calling, his strategy, his demeanor or the fact that he wasn't the previous coach, the bottom line was Tubby was a bold hire and one with potential unknowns. Unlike grabbing a coach already familiar with being the head man at a program with the fervent fans and media spotlight of a Kentucky, C.M. Newton thought outside the box and brought in an overacheiving up-and-comer. That he was African-American only added to his fit for the job.

However, UK is not Georgia. It's not Texas and it's not South Carolina. There is no football season (c'mon, people, seriously...). There is basketball season and basketball recruiting season. And Tubby's strengths as a coach have occasionally masked his weaknesses in other areas. He never had the wherewithal or resources to recruit as a head man at Georgia or Tulsa the way he does at UK. And many times, it seems like Tubby's experiences recruiting elsewhere have bled into his recruiting at UK. Which, to a degree, is fine. Why give a man who drives a NASCAR Ford as well as anyone a Formula 1 car? The logic makes sense, and witness the 2003 Wildcats, one of the most successful, enjoyable and root-worthy teams in decades. And it was a Tubby team to the nines.

But to watch Smith struggling so mightily with a team that features now three McDonald's All-Americans, an All-SEC player in Sparks and an NBA-caliber talent in Bradley seems odd, to say the least. I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- pile-on broadcasters be damned -- there is talent in the stables. They're unfortunately running the wrong race. Any fan who wants to agree with Dick Vitale, who watches Kentucky exactly five times a year, or Eddie Fogler, whose coaching resume at this point includes several years coaching the Local Radio All-Stars, or Jimmy Freakin' Dykes, whose basketball acumen and knowledge of the UK program can be summed up in three words -- Big West Conference -- is welcome to do so. I tend to believe my eyes, and I've seen Crawford, Sims, Bradley, Morris, Sparks and Rondo all have big games on big stages in the past. They can do it ... they just aren't doing it.


Thus, the issue becomes one of coaching, and to my mind Tubby Smith has more than earned the right to fix this mess. There are recruiting shortcomings. There is a lack of ability in the frontcourt, and the junior class is not among the strongest in UK history (to say the least). However, the list of talented juniors in the nation is not an impressive one. Darryl Watkins? Leon "six knee surgeries" Powe? The best juniors are all hidden gems: Morrison, Fazekas, Diaz, Boone, Stinson, Dudley, Tucker. Hardly a prep All-American to be found.

No, Tubby has his work cut out for him, and he hasn't been perfect. But the idea that a coaching change somehow fixes the program in the short- or long-term is wishful thinking. Worse yet, it's "grass is greener" thinking. None of the names listed as people's choices has a better shot of winning at UK except in theory. And in theory, lots of things work great.

(4) Tubby needs an offensive assistant

Now, this is an interesting idea. Scuttlebutt tends to be that Tubby is a bit of a control hog and that his assistants, excepting David Hobbs, are given short leash. Unlike what most people think, that is probably generally a good thing. It's often overzealous assistants who get programs into trouble recruiting illegally to try and impress future employers.

But no one can deny that Tubby is a defensive coach of the highest caliber. It's why he's so sought after. It's why he's worth the pain. However, the Cats' struggles on offense are not new. Even in the best of times, the Cats struggle to score. And when they do score effectively, it's usually because of strong defense. One idea that has been floated which I find extremely intriguing is the possibility of bringing in an assistant whose job is principally offense. One name that I find particularly interesting is current South Alabama coach John Pelphrey.

Pelphrey, a name synonymous in the Bluegrass with hard work, shooting and bleeding blue, has not exactly wowed anyone at USA. In fact, before this year's improved 10-3 early record, Pelphrey's teams have been average at best. This may be because it's South Alabama, or it may be because Pelphrey is not yet ready for the big time. South Alabama under John P. has scored plenty, they just haven't won. So what would the Billy Donovan offense-trained Pelphrey combined with the Tubby Smith defense-trained Pelphrey look like?

The next Kentucky coach.

Pelhprey as is cannot be even considered on the long list for the job. But were he to bring his offensive-minded Pitino/Donovan skills into the fold, become associate-level head coach and groomed as Tubby's successor, there would be few who could argue with a Kentucky-born legend with that pedigree. There has been zero indication Pelphrey is looking for anything but a head job. And it's a typically Kentucky fan's arrogance that says a head coach would want to become as assistant again at UK. But if the UK job is Pelphrey's dream -- and here's betting ten bucks it is -- he's a long way away toiling at South Alabama.

As for the viability of having a Hobbs defensive coach and a Pelphrey/Reggie Hanson offensive coach, it's hard to say. Big time college football coaches are more like CEOs, mastering the art of delegation and being more of an overseer and big picture guy than making every decision. But if there was any basketball program where it could work, it would be Kentucky, where the demands of the job include media scrutiny, job training and pressure unparalleled on the college level.

(5) It's time to cut some players loose who aren't getting it done

The final "option" which is most often whispered among the Big Blue Nation is a personal pet peeve. While it remains the policy that scholarships are yearly renewed or not, there is a distinct difference between a collegiate basketball program and a professional basketball factory.

One of the primary reasons this writer respects Tubby Smith over Rick Pitino is that Smith has run this program with a strong, but ultimately gentle hand ... occasionally to his own detriment. Giving second, third and fourth chances has both paid off (Fitch) and burned him (Carruth). But unlike Pitino's waiver-wire recruiting philosophy -- which as an educator and UK grad was personally embarassing to me -- where players are meat to be exchanged or not so softly jettisoned, Smith runs the Cats like a family. There are no Toomers, Timberlakes or Rhodeses under Tubby. None of those guys were in trouble with the law or with academics, so far as any of us knew. They just weren't as good as Delk, Dent or Mercer, respectively.

That's not collegiate basketball. That's a pro team, where players are "signed" to perform and when they don't, they are "waived." Some UK fans will say this is the nature of big time hoops, but look around. Who else does this? Who else among the game's elites gets rid of players who don't perform? No one not named Pitino or Calhoun. And I don't think for a second UK, and Smith, should start.

Shagari Alleyne has nearly academic-ked his way off campus. And if he does that, he does that. But sending him packing to free up scholarships is lame. And it would be lame to do for any of the lesser profile players. If that means Tubby's recruiting hasn't paid off, then so be it. He, and we, will live with the consequences.

But despite the fact that my ego takes a gut punch every time someone else hoists the NCAA title, I will not -- and no self-respecting UK fan should -- sacrifice good morals for winning, or understanding for material success or fatherhood and learning for basketball.

And with that, I go off to call Richie Farmer ...

Realism vs. Optimism after Black Saturday

Hard as it seems, it may have been easier to stomach Kentucky's humiliating blowout loss to arch-rival Indiana in early December, if only because it was to a probable Big Ten contender in Indianapolis in early December.

By contrast, Saturday's 73-46 obliteration at the hands of a talented, but decidedly mediocre, Kansas team was a hard dose of reality for both the diehard fans and, even moreso it would appear, to a Wildcats team still searching for its soul.

With Randolph Morris returning for Tuesday's SEC opener at home against Vanderbilt, such a lopsided whipping opened eyes across the country, and not just among UK fans. The media, already convinced Kentucky was only the 19th best squad in the land, have been relatively tame in their assessment of this year's edition thus far, eschewing the urge to stick the knife in a little deeper and taking a wait-and-see approach with a Morris-led Cats.

That's where the reality sets in.

Unless Morris has a hidden passion yet unseen with which to motivate his teammates, it won't matter all that much whether he's improved or not through his tumultuous ordeal. Despite the kneejerk reactions of a few overzealous, negative fans, talent alone is not the issue with this year's team.

With three McDonald's All-Americans in the probable starting lineup, a former All-SEC performer in Patrick Sparks and several top 100-rated recruits in guys like Ramel Bradley, Bobby Perry and Rekalin Sims (JUCO), there is more than enough in the cupboard for a tasty Final Four stew. While in hindsight Tubby's two-headed project The WooShag has not progressed as hoped after 2 1/2 seasons, role players are role players and despite the protestations of those fans who seem to recall an era in which Kentucky had top 10 players three deep across the board (never happened, folks), every team needs glue guys who don't need the limelight.

That said, what therefore shocked and awed Big Blue Nation on Saturday was the lack of enthusiasm and effort displayed by the Cats. Beaten off the dribble, beaten to the ball, beaten in the lane, beaten on the glass ... beaten. The reason this amazed folks so much? It never happens to Tubby coached teams.

It did happen to Pitino teams from time to time, where the shots didn't fall and the press didn't work and thus the rest was academic. However, one of the positives to the Tubby Smith system is that -- in theory -- even if the offense is offensive, the defense and hustle keep you close until a few key shots fall. To wit, a 20-win season out of a transfer-depleted Jamaal Magliore/Tayshaun Prince team that may be the least talented UK team in 20 years (again, this year's team has talent, even if it is not showing).

"It disappoints me that we did not defend very well," Tubby said after Saturday's loss. "Not scoring is one thing. When you don't defend at the other end (his voice trailed off).

But right now the talk shows, water coolers and message boards are aflutter with self-proclaimed "realists." According to this view, the realist looks at this team and sees nothing but the negative -- no talent, no coaching, no future. The realist, if ascribing to this theory, cannot see potential growth because there is no seed to grow. According to this view, a realist is focused only on what cannot happen, seeing all that is not there.

Or better, perhaps, to say that the "realist" fan opposes in this imagined universe the optimist, the Kool-Aid drinker, the "blue tinted" glasses/blindered fan who sees nothing but hope in the face of pain, who sees Tubby winning, not losing, in the end. A bit overhappy and unrealistic, perhaps. OK, for sure. But a realist is not a pessimist. A pessimist opposes an optimist, refusing to see anything but what cannot, even will not, happen.


By its nature, a realist clearly sees Reality. Reality dictates that there are talented, if underperforming, players here. Reality dictates that this coach has a national championship -- something only 10* other active coaches can say (* if you count Steve Fisher). Reality dictates that a post presence traditionally gives shooters more room to breathe, that a motivated Tubby Smith has produced a 26-game win streak, that one win can change a team's fate (Vandy, 2003).

The pessimist cannot see these things because they attest to the power of faith and hope in a fan, and a pessimist has neither of these. A realist, therefore, deals in truth, in precendent, in the known. Missing the NCAA tournament? Less than 20 wins? lower than a 5 seed in March? Tubby's history at UK offers none of these things, and therefore it is the pessimist who renders them not only possible, but likely.

One myth that really must end is the idea that subjective opinion can be equated with truth, even if it seems consistent with reality. Opinion is never truth. Opinion can be proven prescient, sure, but cannot be truth. Opinion, like anything subjective, requires context and nuance, whereas truth lives in fact. And any concept of the Kentucky program sliding off the map, becoming a "midmajor" team, losing its luster with recruits, is not fact. It is opinion, which anyone is certainly entitled to.

Despite the immense job facing Tubby Smith, and the huge task he and his team face of turning around a team in the proverbial wilderness, the UK fanbase should dispel itself of the idea that heated opinion and subjective observation in the immediacy of an embrassing defeat on national television is the same as truth and fact.

It's not. Despite what that caller from Radcliffe or the message board poster from Lexington may say.

That's Entertainment?

Tuesday's uninspired, but Rondo-thanking last-second victory over previously 6-5 Central Florida, a Conference USA newcomer whose marquee win this year to date is a 13-point triumph over Bethune-Cookman, sent the always jittery Kentucky faithful into convulsions once more, igniting what is one of the more ridiculous and persistent arguments the Big Blue Nation has with itself:

What role does entertainment value play in the Kentucky basketball experience?

While it's a fairly valid argument given that we're talking about something as ephemeral to the day-to-day realities that face most Kentucky fans -- not least of which are job loss, hair loss or spouse loss -- the all-or-nothing schools opposed therein certainly don't add much to the debate. Were a casual observer to stand amidst the din of a UK hoops message board universe, it would be hard to discern whether the correct answer is "It doesn't matter how we look ... just win, Baby." or the equally useless "I can't watch this team anymore, so wake me when it's over."


It could be argued (and it certainly is) that Tubby Smith's unabashed substance over style philosphy is a tough fit with a post-Pitino UK fanbase. Having become quite enamored of Rick's flash and pomp -- all of it consciously self-absorbed, mind you -- more than a few UK fans pine away, often openly, for the King's return. Despite Smith's impressive win total, and maybe at times in spite of it, some folks just aren't entertained anymore. It's not enough to win, like the Brazilian soccer fan, a particular UK fan has to win while looking good doing it.

Granted, this year's edition of the Cats has tested the resolve of those with a win-is-a-win mentality, be it missed layups, lackadaisacal second-half effort or an offense that too often resembles a glorified breakdance circle. The easy and overplayed rationale has something to do with talent, which conveniently ignores that there are two McDonald's All-Americans and an All-SEC performer in the Kentucky starting lineup. The more reasonable and unargued explanation is that in a visible absence of an inside game, there is simply no reason for the opposing team -- be it Louisville, Indiana or High Point -- to double down or play off the Cats' talented guards, more or less inviting forced shots and a load of standing around. This particular issue should be alleviated markedly in less than a week, when Randolph Morris returns to the fold. And while it will no doubt take some time for Morris & Co. to get reacquainted into game speed, the results of his return should be visible immediately.

However, Tubby's offensive schemes won't change, and that means the eternal argument will rage unabated. Some folks simply don't like Tubby Smith's coaching style, win or lose. Those people won't be pleased until the day Smith hangs up his UK blue Nike jacket. But even the most avid Tubby fans -- and I probably have earned that distinction over the past few years -- have to get frustrated watching talented offensive players like Rajon Rondo, Joe Crawford, Ramel Bradley and Rekalin Sims pushed into a system that, quite frankly, doesn't seem to maximize said talents. This isn't to say that Tubby's offensive philosophy (a) can't work or (b) can't adapt. As the UK radio team acknowledged during the Cats' one solid run in the first half Tuesday, the Cats looked to be running more than at any time during the year. A few missed shots and some questionably unselfish decisions (Bradley's pass to an already moved Rondo comes to mind) negated that speed advantage, reducing the Cats to a second half of sluggish, half court meandering.


One myth that needs to die is that recruits see the same game that those grumpiest fans see. More than a few top recruits, including some that choose other schools, praise the Wildcats' defense-to-offense style -- including some notable 07 big man targets. The best players enjoy defensive pressure, because they know it leads to open looks and dunks. And Tubby's teams do run off defensive stops as much as anyone. What they don't do is trade two shots for one, a la Pitino. Perhaps much to the surprise of those reamining Pitino-enamored Big Blue fans, neither does the Louisville version of King Rick anymore.

None of this is to deny the basic premise that basketball is a game, and that it should be entertaining precisely because that's what it is: entertainment. It's not saving lives, taking them or destroying them (hopefully). Winning is, however, a Kentucky hoops tradition, and as such is subject to the whims and quirks of the fanbase that makes the program capable of paying its head coach $2 million a year. Just as a CEO can and will hear complaints about the company he oversees, Tubby can't avoid his product.


However, there needs to be some serious perspective on what, exactly, that product is. The lack of a recent Final Four appearance is overplayed. The argument that UK's program is somehow "second tier" or "nearly midmajor" is absurd and unproductively subjective. Tubby Smith has a proven winner and a record that, with a second title and continued success, is rapidly approaching Hall of Fame status -- whether his critics like it or not.

Don't get me wrong, this team has been a heart-attack to watch thus far. But for those ready to trim the hedges rather than risk the cardiac damage, don't be confused about the truth: Tubby Smith's Kentucky teams improve as the year goes on...and this year will be no different.

There is talent galore on this team, including the much-maligned Sherays and Carters of the group. Tubby's job may be harder this year, it may involve more glares, stomps and claps than some teams have; it may even involve a few more frustrating losses; it may require more faith from the Big Blue Faithful than it does blind adulation.

But jump off this bandwagon at your own peril. And don't even begin to whine when -- not if -- you get called out by the win-is-a-win crew come March. Ask the Florida fans about entertainment value. Better yet, ask Hoosier fans. And remember that the season is six months long, not three.

And for God's sake, Bobby Perry ... hit a dang layup!

Joe C. and the Pussycats ... smooth!

Dear reader, I take you back a whole month ago (nearly so, anyway), to a piece I did on December 11, 2005, before news of Randolph Morris was as ubiquitous as it is now. That day, fresh off the Cats' pummeling at the hands of Indiana, I posed the question of what a healthy and productive Joe Crawford might mean to the Wildcats' season? At the time, said season looked perilously close to being a nightmare, as two big losses on consecutive Saturdays against quality opponents sent the Big Blue Nation back to the shrink's chair questioning everything from fans' faith to coach Tubby Smith's (theoretical) poor recruiting decisions.

In the month since, a healthy plateful of stuffed bird (of the Cardinal variety) and cupcakes have things looking up in the Bluegrass. Nevermind that Pat Sparks looks more like Bubba Sparxx while playing like Pat Summerall, and that Shagari Alleyne's more likely to play Playstation than he is basketball it seems, the imminent return of prodigal son Morris and the ever-salving win over a hated rival have changed moods tremendously heading into the final few non-conference games.


And that question I asked, in lieu of rehashing all that went wrong against the Hoosiers, about Crawford's role and his ability to affect the year's results, suddenly seems quite apt indeed. Witness Kentucky's steady second-half comeback win over the Ohio Bobcats on Friday, in which the combination of an electric Crawford and energized Ramel Bradley turned a potential midmajor upset into an RPI-helping victory.

The gritty sophomore's shooting touch from deep kept the Wildcats close in a tense first half that showcased some of the favorite's worst defensive pressure of the year. Were it not for Joe C.'s four threes in five attempts in the opening frame, who knows what the deficit might have been. As Ohio caged Rajon Rondo into a season-low four shot attempts (6 points total) and seemingly scored at will in shooting an eye-popping 65.0% from the floor, Crawford showed his best shooting touch as a Wildcat. That he was both looking for the ball and receiving it was extremely promising.

Not being prone to Tubby doubting myself, it's nevertheless clear that few could argue that Tubby Smith's stellar recruiting haul in 2004 (Crawford, Rondo, Morris and Bradley) is quite simply the difference between a Final Four team and a mere SEC contender. The pieces remaining without them (yes, purely hypothetical) are fine peices, even all SEC-capable pieces with seasoning and more minutes. However, the talent level rises so high with that group of talented sophomores that it's no wonder Smith & Co. had such a hard time convincing top 5 players to come in November. Rondo is a star, Ramel waiting in the wings, Morris on the verge and Crawford possessing the skills to start and play 30 minutes a game, with Tubby acknowledging as much.


With each game, the Detroit native seems to gain confidence, and it's worth noting that while his former prep teammate Malik Hairston enjoyed a stronger freshman campaign for an Oregon team mostly without other stars, Crawford may now have the brighter NCAA future ahead of him. Hairston hasn't scored as many as Joe's career-high 23 points Friday since Nov. 30 (vs. Vandy), while his team is just 7-6 and recently lost to both Portland and Portland State. Not sure Crawford would trade shoes with his Nike-clad brother-in-arms now, are you?

Bradley, for his part, is in a tough spot. Trapped behind the All-American Rondo at point guard and the senior returning starter Sparks at shooting guard, 'Smooth' must continue to put up solid numbers as a reserve. He's averaging just 19.7 minutes (7th, behind both Ravi Moss and Sheray Thomas) but is the team's third leading scorer (9.2 PPG). Despite shooting just 29% from three thus far this season, Bradley is unafraid to take the big shot -- as evidenced by his clutch banked-in threepointer Friday. With Sparks shooting mostly blanks lately (6 of his last 23, 2-of-7 3s), someone has to step up and hit a deep ball from time to time. Bradley never seems afraid, and on Friday he also tallied his career high, with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-for-3 from deep. Like the F-train arriving Just in time.


It should also be noted that Crawford and Bradley combined to go 7-for-7 from the free throw line, while their teammates limped to a 2-of-9 night. Such brutal shooting from the line can and will kill your season, and while Rondo has been better of late, players such as Moss and Thomas cannot afford to miss easy ones in limited minutes, especially as the UK offense at its best relies on attacking the rim for easy points.

Finally, a note. No one seems to want to talk about the fact that Kentucky's December preconference slate includes "cupcakes" that are 22-15, with Iona and Ohio (13-4 combined) among the nation's midmajors to watch. Good training for NCAA play, in fact, as both of those teams stand a good chance to hear their name called come March.