I don't come around here that much anymore, though once upon a time I was all there was here. Yes, I'll admit that in those early days I wasn't above posting a comment on my own blog under a pseudonym. In the online world that's akin to giving yourself plastic surgery, but I was in desperation mode, you see.

Back then, there were only two camps of Kentucky basketball fans: pro-Tubby or Anti-Tubby. You weren’t allowed to be Ambiva-Tubby. So I created Bogans’ Heroes, a blogspot blog where I could rant for 3,000 words a pop knowing that there would be no one to call me a homer, a Tubby lover (What a slur!) or some other even less interesting slag some anonymous hero could come up with. I created Bogans’ Heroes solely to make a place where folks who disagreed or agreed could do so with intelligent discussion, insight and even vitriol, so long as it was directed not at other posters and grammatically on target.

Eventually, my little piece of the blogosphere got noticed by the nice folks at Sports Blog Nation who were looking for new voices for college fan bases. I was tapped to be the Kentucky guy. I hemmed and hawed originally, worried that I was signing something my arse couldn’t cash, but it turned out to be a great decision. Despite those lonely early days, slowly and with ever-surer footing, A Sea of Blue came to live and breathe.

Continue reading this post »

It’s not hard to see why Kentucky fans are so geeked about the early play of freshman forward Terrence Jones. The multi-dimensional Oregonian has wowed scouts and Big Blue Nation alike in the early season, posting upperclassman numbers in just his first few games in Blue and White. 

But while Jones and his production are obviously crucial to the Kentucky offense, it’s the play of another of the highly touted freshmen that should concern UK fans more, because if guard Brandon Knight doesn’t grow into a consistent scoring and passing threat, too many of those impressive double-double performances from Jones will be in close Kentucky losses.

Continue reading this post »

Great piece in the WSJ about how hard it is to prognosticate Major League talent at the college level, and that Kentucky has excelled at getting productive pitchers to the big leagues ...

U. of Kentucky producing at MLB level

Anyone else pooped from recruiting (non)news? Me, too.

While I don't show up as often as I once did, some of you folks may recall that I built this here place from the ground up -- from picking the name to the color palette to the logo. It truly was a labor of love, and I couldn't be prouder of what the site has become: a real community.

Thinking on this recently, I dug into the ole gmail archives and dug out some real gems. Here's a list of my original proposed names.

ASEAOFBLUE.COM - A Sea of Blue

GHOSTOFRUPP.COM - The Ghost of Rupp

KINGSOFTHECOMMONWEALTH.COM  - Kings of the Commonwealth

RUPPSGHOST.COM - Rupp's Ghost

UNCOMMONBLUE.COM - Uncommon Blue

BIGBLUEETERNAL.COM - Big Blue Eternal

COMMONWEALTHKINGS.COM - Commonwealth Kings

KINGSOFTHEBLUEGRASS.COM - Kings of the Bluegrass

Did I pick the best one?

You are all the people that drive this site. What are some things you would like to see, or see more of, as we head into a slower season here? Are there features you'd like to see expanded or done away with?

Use this as an open thread to talk NON-RECRUITING.

[UPDATE]

THE STORY ORIGINALLY LINKED HAS BEEN REMOVED AND THERE ARE REPORTS THAT PERHAPS THIS IS NOT A SURE THING ... CONSIDER THIS A HICCUP UNTIL WE HEAR MORE ...

Memphis' Rivals.com site has posted a story saying that John Calipari has rejected the last offer from Memphis and he will take the head coaching position at Kentucky. Memphis has received permission to contact Missouri's Mike Anderson.

A Memphis-area television report, broadcast over the oddly entrancing live feed of the Memphis Athletics Department door,said that according to his sources several players were considering transferring to Kentucky to follow Calipari, including NCAA tournament freshman star and onetime UK target Roburt Sallie and fellow freshman Wesley Witherspoon. This is in addition to any potential recruits who might choose to follow Calipari from Memphis.

More as it comes.

via i.tsn.com

ESPN, multiple local sources reporting Billy Gillispie will not be back as the coach at Kentucky.

The Herald-Leader reporting an 18-minute meeting took place between Gillispie, UK President Lee Todd and others at the President's mansion on campus, after which Gillispie was seen getting into a vehicle with Texas A&M tags and leaving.

More as it comes...

Orestes Meeks, Jodie's father, shares some surprising and interesting comments that make it seem like this was coming for some time, or at least has more behind it than we maybe realized.

One of the principal reasons I started this blog, and its predecessor on Blogspot, was to give voice to the thoughtful Kentucky contingent I was sure was out there lurking silently, reading and posting reasoned accounts of truth to fanaticism in the era of the Great Tubby Debate.

For the most part, my experiment has been a rousing success. Today this community boasts the most intellectually vibrant and consistently reasoned debate within the Big Blue Nation, and it's not even close. This heartens me, and I thank the stars that I stuck it out when times were tough (and when Tru was the only one responding to my drivel).

But in the last few days, I have been struck by the responses I have seen to the ongoing Gillispie debacle. I have seen more than a few commenters talking about the Athletic Director and school President as if they were leading the pitchfork-wielding mob toward the castle, Memorandum of Understanding aflame atop their red-fire torches.

The gist of the disagreement was that the Kentucky program was being unreasonable, that it was an embarrasing situation that, as fans of the program, and therefore of the coach, was an affront to those who saw the fringe taking the helm.

But times are very different now, and the Coach in the crosshairs now is neither the same as the one before, nor comparable in most ways. Tubby Smith was a victim as much of time and circumstance as anything. Ten years is an eternity anymore for a college coach in one locale, especially one as fervent as Lexington. And even Tubby has since admitted that it was time for a change. In some ways, for many of us UK "moderates," the Tubby Smith Debate was humbling. We lost, insomuch as there were winners and losers. And yet, in retrospect, while we kept our dignity, we may have been holding on too tightly to something that was approaching its fateful end. The Tubby energized in his coaching and recruiting up North is not the same guy who was trudging to work each day in 2006-2007.

We were trying, however nobly, to stem to tide of what we saw as a dangerous encroachment of true fanaticism into our beloved Wildcat Nation. It was as if, for a while, the Ron Paul crew had the inside track and it was we who would suffer. Things didn't work out exactly that way -- Tubby was already ready for his move, having looked into it as early as the December before -- and he was rewarded, rightly, for his overall good work on his way out door. The fringe claimed victory, but really it was just the forward momentum of things that won out in the end.

Now, though, I am not convinced that moderation is the answer. Big Blue Nation is again facing a crisis, but this time one with very visible differences.

It is entirely reasonable to say that two years is not enough time to accurately judge the coaching success of a new coach. From recruiting to establishing a new atmosphere, any coach usually deserves more time to make his mark. But there are greater things at play here, this time around, than simply coaching the game of basketball, and I'm not referring to the rumors, innuendo and outright lies of "off the court" shenanigans.

Billy Clyde Gillispie is what he is. He admitted as much last night, in a call-in radio show that displayed a very chastened Kentucky coach.

"I'm a hard-core guy," Gillispie said during his radio show on Thursday night. "I'm a very, very honest guy. Sometimes that comes across great. Sometimes it doesn't."

Whether the outside world wants to accept it or not, the Kentucky basketball coach is indeed a position greater than the sum of its parts. Part coach, part idol, part object of derision and scorn, for right and wrong the position is one that requires an outsized personality and a rare combination of skills. Adolph Rupp set the standard, Joe B. Hall found his stride, Eddie Sutton wilted, Rick Pitino thrived and Tubby Smith endured. But Gillispie has bristled, bent under the weight of giant expectations. There exists a very real chance that he is, quite simply, not up to the overall job of being the leader of the program. This doesn't make him a bad person, a loser, or some sort of martyr. It just makes him a man ill-suited to a particular place and time.

But these are very real parts of the job, parts that Gillispie steadfastly (and stubbornly) maintained he was not obligated to fulfill, much to the surprise, I am guessing, of his bosses.

As the Herald-Leader reported three weeks ago just before the SEC tournament, when a reporter suggested that the UK basketball coach has greater public responsibilities than just coaching, Gillispie responded:

"That wasn't on the job description. ...You can be as public as you want to be and not win enough games. ... It makes no difference.

"You start trying to be a celebrity ... you definitely are going to lose focus. That's just not going to be a very good solution to the problem."

While the coach has a point on winning games, he remains steadfastly wrong if he thinks that somehow he can avoid those other parts of the job.

Herald-Leader columnist Mark Story penned a good piece today about the reality of the non-basketball factors leading up to this moment. Among his comments, Story noted that the national media -- which seemingly loves to stick the knife in a little deeper on UK than it does on similarly blue-blood programs -- will inevitably write the "win-at-all-costs" story, perpetuating the myth it still believes and promulgates about Tubby Smith being "forced out" (to the tune of over a million dollars in a bonus honored, it should be noted...):

Which is why, my national media colleagues, if UK is about to make a coaching change, there's more going on here than just hoops-crazy Kentucky and its win-at-all-costs mentality.

All of this is not to say that keeping Gillispie would be a mistake. I think given the personnel set to return and arrive next season, things would look much rosier this offseason than each of the last two.

But if the man sometimes referred to simply as Clyde still believes that media savvy is not part of his job description, or that representing the school in many small and distracting ways is not going to be a major part of his life for as long as he is coach -- wins or no -- then what will have changed except his overall win-loss total? What would continuing with a man who refuses to accept the undeniable elements of his position truly set the program, the university and the man himself up for except eventual collapse?

As a fan very adamant (and outspoken) in my belief that Kentucky fans are, however loyal and true, often wrong-headed in their overzealous nature, I often cringe at the fringe as they make their petitions and sell their motto-emblazoned mesh novelty hats. But there comes a time when moderation for moderation's sake is simply trying to play nice, and potentially being wishful and even naive in the face of clear evidence.

I am reminded, as I often am, of a famous quote, and one which I generally disagree with, but which seems oddly applicable, or at least educational at this time.

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!"

Those were the words of Barry Goldwater accepting the Republican nomination opposite Lyndon Johnson in 1964 in advance of an election that would come to be one of the largest blowouts in electoral history. And yet, he and his supporters eventually shaped the face of modern politics from that ash heap, culminating in the Reagan revolution.

Ignoring the political debate entirely, are we, the Big Blue Nation, now faced with a situation where moderation in pursuit of protecting an embattled man is no virtue?

And if we choose extremism, and change coaches, do we stand the chance of suffering the inevitable round boo-ing from the punditry and even our more cautious selves, but with the chance to shape a new destiny?

Question abound. And answers are forever the domain of history.

Returning to his Bishop McGuinness team in time for the playoffs stretch run, Kentucky signee and 2009 Jordan All-American Daniel Orton wasn't able to push his team to a fourth consecutive Oklahoma state title.

Saddled by foul trouble in the first half, Orton poured in 10 fourth quarter points -- finishing with 14 -- to keep it close, but McGuinness fell to Star Spencer 67-61 in the 4A state title game.

RECAP HERE

Orton had posted 10 points and 3 blocks in the semifinals.

RECAP HERE

I openly admit to being overly harsh at times on the Big Blue Nation. Unrealistic, even. Maybe it's that I expect more from my brethren, the way an older brother always does to his younger siblings. Pretension, too? Sure, I'd buy that.

But without excusing the miserable season we are witnessing the end of, it seems that a decade of wild excess and gift has left the Kentucky fanbase in an untenable position.

One of my favorite thinkers is a man named Andrew Bacevich. A retired colonel and military historian, Bacevich has emerged of late as a strong critic of the way in which America has been conducting itself. Far from a left-wing screed, his most recent work, The Limits of Power, takes the United States to task for an epoch of unfettered greed and blindness to her own limits. A self-described moderate Republican, Bacevich has as much criticism of a populace unwilling to live within its means as he does for any politician.

In one sentence, he sums up his critique, and it's something I've been kicking around over the last few days as the inevitable demise of this Kentucky basketball season has progressed. Critiquing the Bush Administration's Iraq War postwar plan of limited boots on the ground, Bacevich writes:

A generation of profligacy had produced strategic insolvency. The administration had counted on the qualitative superiority of U.S. forces compensating for their limited numbers. The enemy had not cooperated.

I am in no way equating the game of basketball, even with its passions within the Big Blue Nation, with war, nation-building or anything as serious as all that. I am merely using his theme as a guide for looking at the collective id of our beloved Kentucky program. But Bacevich's point is an interesting one when applied to the UK sphere.

In 1993, the UK fanbase was treated to a well-oiled machine in the Mashburn-led Kentucky squad that fell to Michigan in the Final Four. We celebrated our return to the sport's final weekend with fervor and a little extra appreciation for having been just two years prior banned from even competing for it. We were chastened and giddy at our good fortune.

But whether from an excess of pride or a lack of humility, things changed rather quickly. After a young team's surprise but not unthinkable second-round exit at the hands of a veteran Marquette team in 1994, from 1995-1999 the UK program, and its fans, were treated to an historic run of success, even by Kentucky's blue blooded standards. Well documented, this five years saw five elite eight finishes, three Final Fours and two national championships, under a pair of elite coaches. After a few years rebuilding and retooling, the 2003-05 teams again established the Kentucky brand as a blue chipper. In 10 seasons, Kentucky reached the Elite Eight 7 times and was awarded a #1 or #2 seed 7 times as well.

I don't mean to suggest that we didn't deserve such a run, nor that we shouldn't have reveled in it. We did, and we certainly did. Rather, what we took from the era of Kentucky dominance was the wrong lesson. Instead of seeing it as a rare and cherished decade of success, we took it as a birthright, a given.

As a consequence, we have come to treat the program much as the populace has come to treat the United States. Without attending to her needs, and focused on intercine battles, we have collectively (and with certainly many individual exceptinos) shirked our duties to nation and friend alike, preferring to bicker and spend without care as if there were no limits to anything, to live beyond our means, to fritter away goodwill and bounty while accepting without question failing and even absent leadership.

I was talking about Kentucky basketball, could you tell?

In many ways, we are reaping now what we have sown for years. Tubby Smith is not to blame for the current state of the program any more than Rick Pitino or Billy Gillispie. Ramon Harris and Sheray Thomas are not to blame. Rather, we, the true stewards of the HMS Kentucky, have been asleep at the wheel. When Tubby Smith's precocious freshmen nearly reached the Final Four in 2005, we didn't enjoy it. We thought it a fluke, and immediately we set about tearing down the individual pillars of that success; first by never truly forgiving Randolph Morris' dalliance with the NBA and then by deciding that Rajon Rondo was some sort of boil to be removed.

Smith didn't forget how to coach, he stopped enjoying it. And it wasn't because of his players, it was because it was never good enough. When was the last time the Kentucky players looked like they were playing freely and without heavy shoulders? When was the last time the team appeared to be trying to win instead of trying not to lose? Four years? Five? Probably for moments since, but it certainly seems like years.

I can hear the responses already. That fans are not to blame for performance, that talent begets winning and that, at Kentucky, the simple act of winning is not enough. Opinions are free, and plenty.

And I will agree that there is nothing wrong with expecting success at the highest levels. It's called ambition and we laud it in this country. But there is something wrong with losing sight of what it is you were once rooting for. The plucky Kentucky kid leaving it all on the floor. The raw talent harnessing his skills for one glorious game. The sound of "My Old Kentucky Home" echoing off the Rupp Arena walls, producing tears in a battle hardened senior. The pleasure of watching a game played with joy and finesse.

We would be wise, and happier, to remember with more than a passing thought why it is we love this program, and this game. Otherwise, we stand to lose it amidst the full-throated screech of our collective protests. Let's refocus, regroup and learn to appreciate what we have come to almost hate for its hold on us. 

As Reinhold Niehbuhr once wrote:

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love."

Clearly frustrated but saying he's sticking it out, DeAndre Liggins -- the coltish, talented but erratic freshman point forward for the Cats, spoke to Larry Vaught recently:

Liggins' Tough Season ...

Lifted from the Open Thread ...

As someone who follows the NBA pretty closely and used to scout and write for one of the more prominent NBA Draft sites, I have to tell you that Patterson and Meeks have a long way to go before they’re NBA ready.

Patterson is a well above average college “4” but doesn’t have the ball skills to back away from the paint. He has a nice jumper, but an awkward and long delivery, so he needs work away from the basket. The kind of work that a giant man-child named Orton playing center would allow him to get. Patterson has played out of position his first two years and done a remarkable job playing center at what is probably closer to 6’8". He does have a long wingspan, but he’s not an overpowering athlete in the Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh vein. He’s more like Al Horford from Florida/Hawks, but he has not shown the killer instinct enough that Horford has. Simply put, no top 20 NBA draft pick can get blocked seven times by a Gamecock. If you do, you’re not ready.

Meeks is an interesting case because (a) he’s more on the radar than Patterson now after his Tennessee game/scoring binges. As much as we’ve all seen it, most folks, and lots of NBA folks, haven’t seen Meeks’ recent struggles up close. But those struggles will be what scouts back away from — namely Meeks is not a strong dribbler and loses the ball too often in the paint.

Of the two, I believe Meeks is more ready to play his position in the NBA. He’s physically as ready as he’ll ever be, and his “motor” is already NBA material. There are few player existing in the NBA right now who could keep up with Meeks for 48 minutes. But the NBA is not a “screener” league like college. Just ask JJ Redick, who thrived coming off screens to the tune of over 2,000 career points.

There is always a place for shooters in the NBA, but that place is often as a 7th or 8th man. If Meeks wants to not only make a team but contribute, he’ll need to spend the summer working on his midrange game, drives to the hoop in the halfcourt and ability to play ON the ball/point. Ideally, Meeks would be more of Gillispie’s “lead guard” option and less of a screen and pop player.

I have a feeling both will declare, both will see that they have work to do and both will return well before the deadline, though I think Meeks is the more likely to stay in if he has a strong draft camp or personal workouts.

Just my .02.

I'll use and repost this thread to offer periodic (sporadic) updates on UK recruit Michael Avery of Encino Crespi High near Los Angeles...

If you hvae not seen it yet, the Herald-Leader has a great new feature that will help keep statistical tabs on the players already committed to Kentucky.

READ HERE

[Dec. 19 update]

"Highly touted freshman Michael Avery scored nine points, had several steals and made some nice decisions running the point guard position.

"We just wanted to get in the flow again," Avery said. "This was a game to get our confidence back. It was a good chance to work on stuff and polish some things we worked on in practice. Our goal is to just keep getting better."

ENCINO CRESPI CRUSHES OPPONENTS

"Crespi of Encino's Michael Avery, above, committed to Kentucky this past summer, just months removed from completing the eighth grade. But is he even the best freshman in the area?

The jury is still out. Avery was solid all summer and didn't have much trouble adapting to the rigors of high school ball, but coaches and spectators still wonder about his athleticism and quickness - and if he has already reached his peak."

LA HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS PREVIEW

Much-discussed Kentucky recruit Michael Avery, just entering his freshman year of high school, had a fine debut for his new school, Crespi, scoring 17 in the 61-47 victory.

Avery committed to Billy Gillispie's Kentucky program after his eighth-grade year.

Look, I'll keep this short, and I'm pretty positive of the response this will get. But here goes.

Please know I preface this with all respect to the man and his life and his dedication to the team and school I love so dearly. This is in no way trying to belittle someone or besmirch a man's legacy.

But at some point, is the Bill Keightley memorial going over the top a little? According to the UK Athletics site:

The Mississippi Valley State game will serve as the culmination of the University’s tributes to Mr. Wildcat which includes: a permanent spot on arena floor in front of Mr. Wildcat’s seat on the bench, embellishments on the basketball uniform including black "K" of Kentucky and silk ribbon touting "Mr. Wildcat", Mr. Wildcat Catspy award presented annually to an individual reflecting Mr. Wildcat’s qualities; the Keightley Classic annual golf tournament; the Mr. Wildcat Bill Keightley scholarship fund awarding scholarship funds to UK men’s basketball managers. In addition, UK Athletics along with the UK President’s Office made financial contributions towards the William B. Keightley Oral History Project. The collection gives the public a unique opportunity to not only hear the legend, but to search his own words for topics and other key basketball figures he speaks about in the interviews.

Now before you rip me for being a heartless bastard -- and no, you would not be the first by a long stretch -- I'm merely talking about the fact that in my opinion, in general, honoring someone's life is a solemn and respectful thing. I thought that the heartfelt personal speeches and video tributes at the Keightley memorial were both appropriate and tasteful. I thought that the Black K's on the jerseys were OK, but maybe it made more sense to wear then one time on a special day or in his honor. But fine. Tributes are important, and clearly he was a huge part of the team and the players' lives.

But at what point does it start to border on the hagiographic? You're wearing his name and a symbolic gesture on your jersey for every single game.

Keightley’s family consisting of his widow Hazel, daughter Karen Marlowe and son-in-law Alden Marlowe, will be honored in a ceremony at halftime at which time his jersey will be retired a final time in Rupp Arena.

You've already retired his jersey once. I'm not really grasping why this is necessary, nor why it honors the memory of a, by all accounts, quiet, humble and earnestly dedicated man to make a garish scene in front of tens of thousands of fans.

I know, I know. I'm a total waste of a human being. I'm a worthless Cardinals fan Yankee who doesn't appreciate life. Trust me, I live in New York, this is not news.

But there's memorial and there's spectacle. And frankly, when you get to the point where you are encroaching on the very nature of the man's character -- here's a man who passed away on a BUS going to a Reds game in Cincinnati. Not driving his fancy car or getting flown there by any of the myriad millionaire coaches he has served so faithfully.

Folks are going to do what they are going to do, and 99% of people will see this and tear up and maybe I will to, I have no idea. And I'm not saying they shouldn't do the things that they are doing. But the William B. Keightley Oral History Project? Am I really the only one who finds this a bit ... much?

I apologize for my lack of a soul. But no one asked for my opinion and I'm giving it.

"He was a commander at the position," the UK coach said. "That’s the best we’ve seen, maybe, in the two years I’ve been here." Liggins provided "an offensive and defensive presence we probably had not had in two years for a good portion of the time," Gillispie said.

I've now read about 27 stories on the DeAndre Liggins mini-controversy and each time, Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie is back-handedly praised for getting the most out of his disgruntled player while allowing a freshman -- albeit a 21-year-old freshman -- to walk all over him.

I'll admit that at first glance Gillispie's move is a strange one. For a widely acknowledged disciplinarian, letting such a flagrant flouting of the unwritten rules of a team go not only unpunished but seemingly rewarded is baffling. What's to stop someone else from giving Coach the bird from the bench when they don't get their milk and cookies next time?

I suppose the answer is: nothing.

And yet, what do players want as much if not more than coaches? To win, and to look good doing it. This is evidenced by the players' apparently unanimous vote to keep Liggins on the team and in the regular rotation. And sure enough, with him stripping opponents of the ball and driving the offense the Cats stormed back from seemingly dead to grab a huge "gut" win over West Virginia in Las Vegas.

Gillispie is a stubborn guy, but he's not a stupid one. He knows that Kentucky's season hinges on Liggins' development into a 30-minute player. So does Liggins. So what you're seeing in Gillispie's quotes and dealings with the skeptical Kentucky media is a clear example of coaching through the paper.

We should be used to it, having had Rick Pitino, one of the game's master media manipulators, honing his dark art for eight years. Though his successor was about as inept at it as his power forwards mostly were at blocking out. But I digress...

Anyone watching at home honestly believe that Liggins "provided 'an offensive and defensive presence we probably had not had in two years'"? He was good, and way better than anything seen this season, sure. But that four-point, two rebound second-half performance was hardly the second coming of Deron Williams. That's just coachspeak.

But good coachspeak. And necessary. Because the leash is short. Coach has to know it, and hopefully Mr. Liggins will remember it. Because one more moment of childlike over-indulgence from his 21-year-old freshman will likely be the last one. Gillispie the coach will take some heat for "caving" to his petulant point guard once, but Gillispie the man won't accept being anyone's bitch twice, especially not a player pining for attention.

If you're like me -- and unless you're super attractive and always right, then you are not like me -- you probably feel basically pretty miserable right now, a few hours before Kentucky visits No. 1 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

In part, of course, this is because of that atrocity last Friday. I figured VMI would be a weird matchup, but that a hyped-up Kentucky team and a scoring Meeks would get us through. I did not account, however, for Mike Porter's "Coury Cold Opening" impression, nor for the Lofton-esque shooting theatrics from nearly every visiting player.

But this misery also because, quite frankly, I just don't get that joy anymore I used to get. It's been beaten out of me by a season (now plus) of struggling to score on nearly every possession under Gillispie, and that on top of two years of Tubby's Tabby's doing their best impression of a St. Johns team in blue and white unis.

I believe the word you were looking for, Billy, was "AAARRRGGGHH."

I guess I can be accused of being a fair-weather fan, and it's been easy to with the sort of weather we had for so long. We got used to winning, and took it to mean that it was a birthright. But those of us old enough to remember other coaching changes should have known better. The Tubby title transition was the exception, not the rule.

Pitino's circumstances were obviously different, but no other new UK coach has had a completely easy go of it in his first two years. Gillispie is no different. And much of what is transpiring now is the hangover of the two years preceding his arrival, when UK got by with a lot of mediocrity and fans got used to last second squeakers over the VMIs of the world, at the expense, maybe, of some hard-earned lessons and better development.

When you play just to not lose you aren't playing to win, a corny college coach might say.

None of that is to imply that I'd somehow have preferred to lose Friday. But maybe we, as UK fans, will just have to get better about something we have been absolutely terrible about as a rule: patience.

It will not be easy. Gillispie's defensive schemes take time, and require players to be in maximum condition to close out after collapsing in to stop the dribbe-drive. And these guys, while probably better conditioned than many of their opponents, are probably not there yet, footspeed-wise.

Additionally, with Jasper transferring and Liggins still adjusting, there are effectively no experienced elite athletes at the point position on the floor or on the bench. Porter is what he is, but a star athlete he is not.I assume Galloway is still on the team. Someone let the FBI know if you see him.

We'll see, of course. Maybe tomorrow we'll all be talking about where UK should be in the top 25. Or maybe we'll be trying to figure out how many losses we'll pile up. Who knows.

All I know right now is I feel like locking myself in a dark room for a few months.

Anyone else having this much fun, too?

Multiple news sources now reporting that five-star 2009 center Daniel Orton has verbally agreed to join the Kentucky program.

Orton, who is in Lexington this weekend attending Big Blue Madness, chooses UK over Kansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Rivals.com lists Orton as the No. 3 center prospect and the No. 22 player overall in his class. The commitment is a big one, as it shores up UK's interior in the event of Patrick Patterson's departure to the NBA or gives Kentucky a potentially dominant interior with Orton, Patterson, incoming transfer Matthew Pilgrim and JUCO transfer Josh Harrellson.

More to come.

Maybe it's the jokes, or the lineage or something altogether indescribable that makes Kentuckians -- and Kentucky fans in general -- such a sensitive bunch. Or maybe it's just the ad revenue generated by a legion of angry Big Blue denizens linking to and clicking frantically on any article that supposedly disrespects their beloved collegiate basketball team.

I have a message for the Big Blue Nation, however. Far from trying to shame or guilt or shout down the rest of the world into accepting that Kentucky is the greatest program in the history of the game, it's time to take the polar opposite approach and embrace the hate.

It won't be easy, of course. Lashing yourself to the mast in a storm seldom is. But just think how liberating it will be to no longer worry about some ESPN guru's random rankings, or the collective short-sightedness -- almost an annual event -- of the SEC coaches and media as they annoint _____(fill in name of other lesser program here)____ as the new king of the hill.

Who is it this year, Tennessee? Yeah, OK. Go ahead. Whatever makes you cuddly at night, John Q. Nobody.

No, it's time to rethink all this thin-skinned reactionism. It's for the best, really. It's also completely justified. Let's review, shall we?

It was never going to happen with Tubby Smith at the helm. Let's face it, when you have arguably the nicest human being in college coaching and one of the most respected African-American coaches in the country and you still can't get love from the press, when exactly is it coming?

But now we have Billy Gillispie, a firebrand, a pugnacious brawler type whose notoriously wicked practices are based all around out toughing the opponent -- heck, even your own players if need be. Sounds perfect for Operation: He Hate Me.

And the makeup of the current team? Tough. Patrick Patterson is an All-American tough guy, a bruiser, and a good one. The flashiest player is probably DeAndre Liggins, the Chicago freshman who sacrificed his scoring to help his prep team nearly capture the national title. Fits just fine on Team Ignored.

Go down the list: Meeks, Porter, Harris, Galloway, Harrelson, Stevenson. JUCOs, forgotten recruits, leftovers all. Heck, one of those guys is from freaking Alaska! I don't see any winking coming from Razor Ramon, though, do you?

Billy knows you don't need the rest of them...

See, it's really quite simple. If you turn off the spigot of jealousy, eliminate the craven wanting for attention, you can focus on your own team, not some other school, not some other coach, not some other ranking. Yours.

Try it. Think about Rupp Arena without caring about Andy Katz's contentment level with the place. Forget Dick Vitale's meandering rants, even if he occasionally graces us with moments of lucidity. Forget Jeff Goodman's little piques and whomever is writing for CBS Sportsline this week's idea of wit.

It feels pretty good, don't it?

Because what makes us feel good about our team, anyway? Adulation from a Florida grad somewhere sweating into his Mountain Dew while he vlogs? Sweet words of love from some failed coach calling a WAC game three time zones away? Fugg 'em.

You know, as I know, that Billy Gillispie didn't come to Kentucky to pad his bank account. I mean, he doesn't even have time to spend that money (though I'm guessing he doesn't mind the nest egg). He didn't come here to get a nice new track suit. Can get that anywhere.

No, he came to win. And win big. And he will. Because he won't sleep, eat or stop punching walls until he does. That's why he was hired, and it's clear. He coaxed last year's bunch of Wildcats -- a team so devoid of cohesion and balance they effectively had no junior class! -- into an NCAA berth. He turned Joe Crawford back into an NBA player.

And for those fans out there who remember so fondly, as we all secretly do, those days when Rick Pitino's teams can swaggering into 5,000-seat SEC arenas ready to bust some serious ass, we were never loved. Feared? Sure. Respected? No choice but to when you're looking at the butt end of a 20-point deficit. After one half.

We're poised to return, folks. But it can't be a one-man show. It has to be all of us. We have to turn off the little switch in our brains that makes us want affection and turn up the gears on the throttle that says "Step on his neck."

We have to embrace the hate. After that?

I believe Guns N' Roses said it best when they wrote: "They'll won't catch me, cause I'm f*cking innocent."

When Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie offered a scholarship to eighth-grader Michael Avery of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and he accepted, the NCAA recruiting world flipped its lid.

Nevermind that other schools have done the same thing, nor that Avery was already playing AAU tournaments across the country, like many kids from ages 10 and up. No, somehow this was the straw that broke the Camelot's back.

This isn't to say there aren't reasons to look more closely at the situation, or to legimiately questions the system. It's just that it seemed a little convenient that Kentucky was the lightning rod for criticism. So be it.

Back to the task at hand, though, what is the kid up to?

Avery, who had not as of his commitment to college decided which high school he was going to attend, settled on Crespi High in Encino, Calif. Thus far, Avery seems to have fit in nicely in his new home.

Avery scored a team-high 19 points, including 17 in the first half, of a Crespi win in a loaded summer high school tournament in Los Angeles, the Nike/Fairfax of Los Angeles tournament.

He followed that up with 14 in a loss in the fifth-place game.

Summer before his freshman year and he's alreayd in the spotlight. It's a long time until Mr. Avery (the younger) sees the floor in a Wildcats uniform, if he ever does. It'll be fascinating to see what happens between now and then.

This is the first in a series of guest commentaries from world-renowned authors and statesmen on some of the most memorable moments in Kentucky sports history ... Today: UK 60, UL 58. December 18, 2004.

"It wasn't always this way. What began far afield before -- in smaller gyms, in front of smaller crowds -- had come full circle. It was here, now. This moment. This man.

He had been born for it. Raised among the flat land and dying coal mines of Western Kentucky, the boy had grown up now, lost the look of home and of the soft familiarity of innocence. No, he had seen it now, the best and the worst, the exodus and the glory each.

The ball felt light in his hands.

What had started in bitterness, obscurity and some unrequited love, had now turned, a bulb in full bloom, a heart laid bare on the battlefield. No more rain, no more slow march. This was why he'd made the sacrifices, the lonely nights.

The roar of the masses was silence in his head.

Second chances. The revival after the tumult and now he was here, and it was good. A sea of blue, punctured by blood red. How far had he walked? How many steps had he taken? It did not matter. Nothing mattered except the long night and the rain on the roof and the ball in his hands like a child in need of deliverance.

It is his time.

What they would say about him, remember. The only thing he could give back was everything. The moment you pray for, and dread, and cherish all. Those forgotten nights at the gym, with the rain pounding the old roof, the smell of the dust in your nostrils and the knowledge, deep-seated, innate, that the moment will come, and you must be ready when it does. And so he was.

The sly grin and then the turn to face forever, immortality. The ball just another part of his calloused hands, the fear gone now, replaced by thoughts of the end. And the rush. The slowness and the fluid shot. The net does not move. It sits silent.

One more moment to go, and it's all over.

There were times when it seemed too far away. When old dreams were replaced by new ones, by acceptance and even newfound pride. And then it all changed, and uncertainty returned to his life, the boy now a man in his own right, no longer just the coach's son, the gym rat, the one too slow, too small and too far down the trail of displaced dreamers. But he was here despite all that, or because of it. It was what he was made of, an only thing. A sublime piece of the soul, his grandfather might have put it back then, on those humid days along the low-lying rows of corn and soybeans. All the heat, and dreaming of being alone no more.

But the lonely nights mattered. They had to. In the end, they were all that was true, and the continuity became his reality, so much so that where and when no longer mattered. Only the feel of the leather, the smell of the dust and the slow pound of his heart as the final shot goes through.

And then he heard it. Slowly at first, then all-encompassing. It took him over. And it was there, the dream fulfilled, realized in that roar once more.

Oh, God. That roar."

Hey there,

Lots of changes, obviously ... and while there are notes on the main page about who to contact with issues, it's sort of confusing, I know.

So if you have questions, suggestions, issues that you want addressed, post them here and we can pursue them vigorously...

ISSUE #1:
REMOVE Duke ringtones as ad on KENTUCKY SITE...for the love of jiminy...if htey can't control this, they got problems across the network ... rivalries are what college sports are all about!