College Basketball 2007-2008: December 2007

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I think Sutton did coach at Kentucky. However, he's won a grand total of 0 national championships for the 'Cats. Good luck to Kentucky in their game against San Diego. Kentucky just needs some wins going to get some positive momentum going.
 
JohnBM01
I think Sutton did coach at Kentucky. However, he's won a grand total of 0 national championships for the 'Cats.
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Only coach since Rupp to have that "honor." If only he had shipped cash in better sealed boxes. The controversy started when a package shipped to a high school coach busted open in shipping and numerous $100 bills fell out.

Between that and his alcohol abuse he was forced to resign. To me seeing a school hire Sutton is about like seeing someone hire Bobby Knight. Sure, he's a good coach but can he keep himself under control?

Good luck to Kentucky in their game against San Diego. Kentucky just needs some wins going to get some positive momentum going.
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Maybe if we could get some guys healthy. I heard Coach Gillispie's call-in show the other day and when someone asked about the health of Meeks he started with, "You know, I'm tired of that question."

I don't think he's good at the call-in thing. A couple of weeks back I heard a caller ask why they didn't try a different type of defense and then say he was going to listen on the radio and Gillispie stopped him and wanted to know why he would ask that. He refused to answer the question until the guy explained why he thought they should use a different type of defense. when the guy answered and showed he was paying attention and knew what he was talking about he backed off by saying, "Obviously, you have been paying attention and are well informed," then answered the question. Fortunately, he was able to cover himself by saying that due to injuries their talent wasn't capable of that kind of defense right now, but it would have worked better if they could have done it.

I think he needs to realize that when they are losing people are going to question his strategies and ask tough questions in Kentucky. He probably needs to have a long conference with Pitino and Tubby about how to deal with Kentucky fans.

I can't make any judgments on him as a coach because he is short on talent right now, but I don't think he is used to these big league expectations. I hope this is just a dislike of being questioned and not a sign that he cannot handle coaching at a top tier basketball program.
 
I'll highlight some basketball matches even with college football bowl game action. I'll start off with San Diego's trip to Kentucky.



John's Quick Highlights from 12/29/2007

* San Diego {Toreros} at Kentucky {Wildcats}
Kentucky's hopes of ending 2007 with a win were dashed by Toreros. The Wildcats have never closed 2007 with a losing record since Eddie Sutton's last season at Kentucky. (81-72; San Diego)

* Wisconsin {Badgers} at Texas {Longhorns}
It's now time to meet two schools with unique nicknames. The Wisconsin Badgers from the Badger State met the Texas Longhorns. Hook em' Horns? More like "Hook 'em, Badgers after this upset.



One other note, Miami's unbeaten streak was halted by Winthrop on Saturday. I want to get back to the Kentucky deal. So there is an injury situation halting Kentucky being the classic "beat everybody" team? I can speak for injuries. They've plauged my Houston Texans in the NFL. I predicted Kentucky to win this three game stretch. So far, they've whacked Tennessee Tech. They've lost to the San Diego Toreros. Their next match is against Miami's Florida International University to end the year. So let me look ahead to their next five games:

Next Five Games Report: Kentucky
* 1/5/2008 - Kentucky NEEDS to win against Florida International to get positive momentum against Louisville. Predicted to be a Final Four team, the Cardinals don't look TOO impressive after a few rough losses. A win over Louisville gets them ready to take on SEC play.

* 1/12/2008 - #15 Vanderbilt will be Kentucky's first SEC foe of the season. The Commodores seem to be really put together. This usually pertains to women's hoops at Vandy, but the men seem to hold their own.

* 1/15/2008 - FoolKiller, your Wildcats get to play on my 25th birthday. This will be Kentucky's first road game since their rocky trip to Houston back on December 18, 2007. Billy G. needs to prep his Wildcats to take down the Mississippi State Bulldogs. A good game of college hoops is a birthday gift I'll surely take.

* 1/19/2008 - Kentucky's problems may get completely worse when they head to Florida. Most of the men who were part of the back-to-back champs (or all of them?) moved on. Can the Wildcats tame the Gators in Gainesville?

* 1/26/2008 - Kentucky will be hungry to chow down on some Gamecocks. Not the ones of Jacksonville State, but those of South Carolina. If Kentucky gets chewed out by Mississippi State and Florida, this game could be the cure to any losing woes.



No SEC action has been played just yet. Among SEC men's teams, Kentucky is dead last in the overall record among SEC East teams. Kentucky's looking up at South Carolina (7-5 overall), a much-improved Georgia (7-3 overall), Florida (12-2 overall), #11 Tennessee (12-1 overall,, and Tennessee's rivals #15 Vanderbilt (12-0). The big surprises for me are the 8-2 Auburn Tigers and especially the #22 Mississippi Rebels at a perfect 12-0. Auburn and Mississippi (Ole Miss) are usually bottomfeeders in the SEC. They are now a combined 20-2. Something's working for both teams that wasn't working some time ago.

Among friends, I hope Kentucky can bounce back. It's a tough year for your Wildcats, but I believe in prosperity and promise. As a side note, Kentucky's LADY Wildcats have the same number of wins as the guys. Kentucky's men are 5-6 as of this post, and Kentucky's women are 5-7. The ladies have beaten South Carolina Upstate, Florida Atlantic, at Lipscomb, William and Mary, and at South Alabama. The Lady Wildcat losses were at #14 George Washington, Minnesota, at #21 Texas, Western Kentucky, at Michigan, Louisville, and #23 Old Dominion.
 
I know the Michigan Wolverines aren't a very good basketball team, but can you believe the men are 4-8 this season overall? Georgia seemed to turn the corner, Auburn turned the corner, Mississippi turned the corner, hell... Minnesota turned the corner. Will Michigan ever step their game up in basketball?
 
In all that Kentucky coverage you seem to have missed the Florida International game on New Year's Eve. This is the first game that has seen extended playing time from Derrick Jasper who is maybe playing at 50%. At teh beginning of teh season I had said that if he were healthy he would be a player to watch, because I thought he was going to be red shirted. Looks like good ole Billy Clyde knew better than me. Both Meeks and Jasper played a lot.

Derrick Jasper is one of the best point guards I have ever seen at Kentucky. Some PGs are good at arranging things on the court to make a play work, but Derrick Jasper is also great at passing and rebounding. I have heard it said many times and I will repeat it here. Derrick Jasper is the kind of player that makes everyone else better. He has some weird sixth sense that allows him to get the ball to the guy that will make the shot, or at least get it to a guy that will cause someone else to open up. And when he absolutely needs to Jasper can shoot, it is just rare that he does, but a smooth looking three-pointer told us all that he can shoot too.


And then Meeks comes back in and is hardly at any kind of level to play yet, but he was sinking shots without a problem. I believe Coach Gillispie thinks his recovery might be part psychological because right after sinkinga three Meeks signaled he wanted to come out and Gillispie turned the other way as if he didn't see it. It wasn't until Meeks began to limp that he pulled him out but he was back in a few minutes later acting as if he wasn't hurt at all.

To sum up, I believe the score will speak for itself. 92-49 KENTUCKY

It was a Happy New Year for Kentucky fans all around. Next game is saturday against a Louisville team that just suffered a disappointing loss. Can momentum carry the Cats forward?
 
I didn't ENTIRELY forget the Kentucky win. I briefly added it to my New Year's Eve bowl game report. This will get the blood pumping for Kentucky for sure. I saw the highlights of Louisville's close loss to Cincinnati. The January '08 thread is up, so we can discuss this game and more in my January 2008 thread.
 
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