Kentucky Sports Radio

My buddy at Fan Outfitters sent me these pictures today of the platinum basketball warmups that just arrived and I like them.  I like them a lot.

Friends, too often around here we’re accused of simply tearing down — but as many of you who know us can attest, we here at KSR are actually very nice people. We enjoy nothing more than building people up and helping them to achieve their dreams. We’re nurturers, if nothing else. And with the Wildcats heading into Baton Rouge this weekend to defend their number one status against the mighty LSU Tigers, we thought we’d “pay it forward” today with a glowing tribute to all the things that are great about Louisiana State University and its surrounding environs. See? We can be positive about our adversaries. So Let’s Be Nice to LSU today, and as always, have a happy Friday.

——-

-LSU grows and shops locally. While other teams seem to have a quote of players from African or Eastern European countries, LSU’s men’s basketball team this year is proudly American. Ten of LSU’s rostered thirteen players are from Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama, and the other three are from Kentucky, Texas and Utah — all equally America-loving states. No outsourcing in Baton Rouge, and no bothersome searches for goofy Ukrainian dishes to keep a center who doesn’t ever play happy and content on some weird holiday nobody in the United States cares about. U-S-A! U-S-A!

-LSU basketball is helpful to other teams. Trent Johnson’s Tigers only won a combined five conference games in 2009-10 and 2010-11, mostly because the school recognizes that it’s not polite to be great at everything. And by offering up wins to other teams, LSU’s SEC brethren can garner better records that can result in stronger showings for the season, which in turn can lead to an NCAA Tourney bids for those teams, which makes the SEC look better-represented. Thumbs up, LSU!

-We don’t really hate LSU all that much. Let’s be honest, there are SEC foes and there are SEC foes. Tennessee, Vandy, Florida – those, of course, are who we tend to worry about most. Outside of the Dale Brown era, and it was really more about hating Dale Brown than hating LSU as an entity, we tend to peacefully co-exist with LSU. We even collectively kind of liked Glen Davis, partly because his nickname was “Big Baby,” which I think we can all agree is a very funny nickname. If Glen Davis’ nickname had been “The Executioner” or “The Destroyer” we might have hated him. And even then, not as much as we ever hated someone like, say, Ron Slay.

-Louisiana is home to the a.) most species of venomous snakes in the United States, including copperheads, cottonmouths, rattlesnakes and coral snakes, and b.) the highest population of alligators in the United States. Thanks for keeping those things down there for us, Louisiana! They’re scary!

-Louisiana is known as the “Cajun Music Capital of the World.” Thanks for keeping that down there for us, Louisiana! It’s terrible!

-LSU beat UC Irvine 69-59 on December 15, thus ending the long-running reign of terror by UC Irvine which held us all in its grasp.

-Louisianans are friendly! And it’s a statistically proven fact: in 2011, Louisiana had the highest reported rate of gonorrhea in the United States, with 264 people out of 100,000 harboring the disease. In 2010, it ranked highest in new cases of syphillis — an accolade which only serves as a testament the hospitality of the denizens of the Pelican State! Spread that love!

-Once a year, for a week, women will show their breasts in exchange for beads which are basically the equivalent of the prizes you might win if you don’t hit anything in the softball toss at your local Halloween carnival. Louisiana also has drive-through daiquiri joints. And here you were wondering how the gonnorhea and syphilis rates got to be so high.

-LSU gave us Shaq. And who doesn’t like Shaq? Seriously.

-Shaq gave us Kazaam. And who doesn’t like…oh, wait.

-LSU’s football team consistently keeps the SEC looking pretty fantastic. When UK football isn’t doing that, I mean.

We love you, LSU! Kudos! You’re the best! Keep up the good work! You do you! And by all means, you keep doing that thing you do. Which is lose to us. BFFs? LYLAS!

We are now in the midst of John Calipari’s 3rd season as the coach of the University of Kentucky. Over the next few months, we’ll see whether he will finally be able to do what he’s being paid to do: Win an NCAA Championship. The stakes are high, but so are the pressure and expectations. Will the team flame out of the 2012 NCAA Tournament the way it did the prior two years? Will it suffer (almost) double-digit losses like it did last year? Will Coach Cal once again produce fewer NCAA Championships than first round draft picks? (h/t: Rick Bozich.) Stay tuned. In the meantime, to stay apprised and educated, follow me on Twitter @NotJerryTipton. Here’s the weekly notebook:

*Sorry You Asked?: Recently, freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went to John Calipari and asked that senior Darius Miller be inserted in the starting lineup in his place. Needless to say, this is bad news for Cat fans. The fact that Kidd-Gilchrist has no desire to even be on the same court as his teammates is a bad omen for UK going forward, and is apparently the reason he so often commits two early fouls, in order that he will be allowed to leave the game and get away from the rest of his squad. Unfortunately for the Cats, MKG-Hates-This-Team-Gate didn’t end there. In a defiant display of one-upsmanship, Calipari opted to publicly embarrass Kidd-Gilchrist by temporarily removing Doron Lamb from the starting lineup instead. And even though Kentucky fans no doubt hoped that Lamb would take umbrage at the demotion, he instead was perfectly happy with the move, noting that he had “no problem” coming off the bench, and that he “wasn’t upset at all” that he didn’t start. Apparently he hates his teammates too.

*You’re The One: In the first four games of the season, freshman point guard Marquis Teague had 11 assists and 18 turnovers. In the last four games the Cats have played, he has 18 assists and 11 turnovers. Needless to say, this is bad news for Cat fans. A team is a reflection of its point guard, and the November version of Marquis Teague was quite aggressive, as evidenced by the 18 turnovers he managed. However, these numbers have significantly decreased, which indicates that the freshman is not nearly as willing to make a big play as he was earlier in the season. Also, his assists have gone up dramatically, which suggests that Teague has become scared to shoot, and instead is content to give the ball up, apparently because he is tired of Calipari yelling at him. Coach Cal has repeatedly said “if you can’t play, I can’t hide you.” This is obviously not a concern with Teague, as he is doing all he can to hide himself.

*Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose: On Tuesday, Kentucky easily defeated Georgia in a game it led by double figures the entire second half. Needless to say, this is bad news for Cat fans. The day before the game, John Calipari said that this Kentucky team probably needed to lose a game, as be believed it would force the Cats to come together and get tougher. Rather than taking this message to heart, Kentucky went out and put together a complete performance on the road, and was never even close to getting beat. Calipari has a reputation as a great communicator and motivator, but it seems he is having a hard time getting through to this bunch. When asked after the game if the Cats were actually trying to win, each Kentucky player actually said “yes.” Wow. It’s not often that you see a team so publicly and brazenly defy its coach like that, but these Wildcats apparently have no interest in doing what their leader tells them to. There is still a lot of basketball left to be played this season, but if this team has any desire to get on the same page as their coach, they better hurry up and start losing.

* On this date: On this date in 2009, the University of Mississippi beat the University of Jodie Meeks, 85-80.

#1 Anthony Hickey, Guard
Freshman… 5’11”… 182 lbs.
(10.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, 3.8 rpg)

Kentucky’s 2011 Mr. Basketball is excited to play against the team he always dreamt of playing for. He said, ”Things happen for a reason, so I was best to come here. I’m happy with my family here.”

He may be happy in Baton Rouge, but I don’t believe for one second that he doesn’t miss Ferrell’s cheeseburgers, Ebonite Bowling Factory, Little River Days, or Rollerdome.

You can take the kid out of Hopkinsville, but he can’t take El Bracero with him.

#22 Ralston Turner, Guard
Sophomore… 6’6”… 205 lbs.
(8.9 ppg, 1.4 apg, 2.6 rpg)

Ralston Turner is in a sophomore slump, but that didn’t keep him from earning SEC Player of the Week honors over the week of Christmas. Despite that impressive two-game holiday stretch, Turner is down in points, assists, and field goal percentage in his second season with the Tigers.

His bio says he likes to go fishing.

#13 Eddie Ludwig, Forward
Junior… 6’9”… 210 lbs.
(2.3 ppg, 0.4 apg, 2.3 rpg)

I know what you’re thinking.

Sorry, I gave up ginger jokes for 2012.

#24 Storm Warren, Forward
Senior… 6’7”… 230 lbs.
(8.1 ppg, 0.6 apg, 5.1 rpg)

Storm Warren is one of those 8-year SEC players. He was the perfect sidekick to Shaq in 1992 and again to Tyrus Thomas in 2006.

His bio on LSUSports.com says he wanted to go to LSU after “the first time he saw the tiger.” That’s cute.

#41 Justin Hamilton, Center
Junior… 7’0”… 260 lbs.
(13.9 ppg, 1.0 apg, 7.4 rpg)

Hamilton scored a career-high 27 against Florida last weekend. Unfortunately for him, Kentucky has a young man by the name of Anthony Davis. The Iowa State transfer will have to use his 260-pound frame against Davis if he plans on scoring anywhere near that mark again.

#AnthonyDavisSaysShutUp

****************************************

KEY RESERVE:

#2 Johnny O’Bryant III, Forward
Freshman… 6’9”… 262 lbs.
(7.8 ppg, 0.3 apg, 6.1 rpg)

O’Bryant played alongside Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in the 2011 McDonald’s All-American game.

He returned to LSU’s lineup on Wednesday against Mississippi State and scored six points in 20 minutes. He missed the first five SEC games after fracturing his hand in LSU’s practice in early January.

Smdreads.

If you watched any of the KHSAA Sweet 16 last year, you might recognize the face bringing the ball up for LSU tomorrow. It’s Anthony Hickey, one of the latest great things to come out of Western Kentucky.

Hickey led Christian County to the 2011 state championship last season and was named Mr. Basketball in Kentucky. He averaged 22.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.5 steals, and 4.8 assists in the four Sweet 16 games in Rupp. He’s also the guy who got the assist on Christian County’s buzzer-beater in double overtime to beat Rowan County for the championship. That was a hell of a game, by the way.

Now, Anthony Hickey is averaging 10 points and four assists as the starting point guard for LSU. He chose the Tigers over Western Kentucky, Mississippi State, and South Carolina back in May.

Hickey grew up dreaming of playing for the Wildcats, but Coach Cal and the staff never recruited him.

That means he’ll score at least 20 tomorrow. 30-40 friends and family member from Kentucky will be there in purple and gold to see it too.

Good morning and welcome to the last radio show thread of the week. Today, I will be joining Matt in studio to preview the Tigers for a few minutes and then talk about random, non-basketball things for the rest of the show.

It should be a lot of fun.

Give us a call at (502) 571-1080 or send a text to the TEXTING MACHINE — it’s back! — at (317) 385-5148.

Today’s topics include:

– Official LSU Preview

– Diary of a Mad Author

– CBS ranks the best teams all-time

– Seth Davis is stopping by for 10 minutes and 10 minutes only.

The KSR radio widget is still down and seven people have been fired over it. You can still listen here through iHeartRadio.

If camping out is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

A friend pointed me toward an article recently, posted on none other than NYTimes.com, regarding the simultaneously symbiotic and competitive nature of athletics and education at Division One universities. It’s a pretty good article, albeit extremely long and riddled with full-on Dook love, that piqued my interest regarding our own beloved University.

The bulk of the article addressed athletics’ negative effects on academia, citing at one point University of Oregon’s Glen Waddell (yes, his name is Waddell, and yes, his mascot is the duck). However, instead of dwelling on the issues I was expecting, like how games and practices present challenges to the student-athletes, the article zagged and provided information regarding a successful program’s repercussions on the entire student body. It’s less surprising that the article mentions this side effect than it is how rarely I’ve thought about it, considering it makes perfect sense. The details are there for you if you want to read them, but to put too fine a point on it, when the Ducks were successful, the average male’s GPA dropped 0.02 points for every three football games won over an eight year span. Apparently the women’s grades didn’t take such a hit. Surprise, surprise. Really though, it’s not shocking that it’s the men who suffered, since we tend to get a little more caught up in these things (not that we’re bigger fans necessarily, only that we’re more easily enthralled).

Of particular interest were the paragraphs regarding basketball “campouts”. Unfortunately, Dook got the lion’s share of the attention (although maybe the author hasn’t seen the condition of Krzyzewskiville lately), but there was this gem about our own obsession:

K-Ville is legendary, but similar scenes play out at Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, North Carolina State, the University of Missouri, San Diego State and Xavier University, where students line up or camp out for days to get into games. At the University of Kentucky, they camp out for access to the official start of basketball practice [emphasis in original].

Clearly, even among the crazy, we are insane.

The author, however, opines how these campouts take attention away from studying, referencing crotchety professors at a couple big-time schools, and bemoans the dip in library articles researched after March Madness games. While it’s news to me that libraries are open during the Final Four, it poses an interesting question. Those of you who are students at UK, or really anywhere in the state, do you feel that Big Blue Madness has affected your academic performance at any point? The evidence is there; the results are demonstrable. It probably has. And those of you who are parents with college-age (or soon-to-be-college-age) kids, would you rather your son or daughter go to a school with little to no athletic tradition, like Louisville, in order to make sure they focus on education? Some of us are lucky and have our grades determined by a curve (thanks, law school), so if everybody’s got Cats Fever, no big deal. But for other departments, the adverse affect is very real; your religious following of basketball prodigies could be making you hampering your book-learnin’s.

But is it even a big deal? Is the focus on athletics really something to be concerned about, or just a harmless byproduct of something that’s inarguably an asset to the school and the state?  We’ve got a big year ahead of us, and many more to come, that could stir up just the sort of furor that would drop GPAs statewide.  But, all things considered, I can’t bring myself to say it isn’t a fair deal.  Cs get degrees, and BBN gets #8.  Totally worth it.

TL;DR: Nerds are jealous of our basketball team and complain that we don’t read books in March.

The four-star running back was down to two schools, Nebraska and Kentucky, and the Cornhuskers won out. UK made an in-home visit last night but it wasn’t enough to reel him in.

Back to the drawing board. Again.

There are very few things in life that make me scream like a little girl who just unwrapped a life-sized Justin Bieber doll on Christmas morning. It takes something very special to get that kind of reaction out of me. Something, like, TACO BELL LAUNCHING A BREAKFAST MENU!!! OMG!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS???!!!!!!!! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!

Yum! Brands, the same company that gave us Pizza Hut, KFC, and disappointing basketball, announced on Thursday that Taco Bell is launching a new breakfast menu in 800 locations across 14 states. If the new breakfast items are a hit, Taco Bell plans to have breakfast on every menu in the nation by 2014.

Unfortunately, Kentucky is not part of the first round of First Meal. The rollout is taking place in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Ohio and Oklahoma. If anyone has an open bedroom in one of these states, I am willing to move immediately.

Now wipe that drool off your face and come get your News and Views. Now featuring miniature UK logos!

 Let’s kick things off with a bit of interesting news out of the Hyatt lobby. Tonya Knight, the mother of Brandon, is suing the Hyatt Regency and the hotel’s operations director, Jeff Westin, for discrimination, battery, assault and defamation over an incident that allegedly occurred before Kentucky’s home game against South Carolina. As Mama Knight tells it, she was at the popular pre-game hangout with copies of her new book, Diary of a Basketball Mom, when the alleged incident occurred. Knight claims a friend asked her for three copies, so she pulled two from her purse and went to grab another from a box of copies she had with her. When she set the box on the bar to get the third copy, Westin approached her and told her she’s not allowed to sell the book in the lobby. According to the report, Knight told Westin she understood but refused to put the box away because she’d have to walk back to her car and she was there to socialize with friends. That’s when Westin alledgedly grabbed her by the arm, shouted racial slurs, and threatened to have her arrested. Knight claims Westin’s grip left a bruise on her arm during the exchange.

The Hyatt Regency manager declined comment until after an investigation. I guess I shouldn’t comment either because I wasn’t there and the accusations are serious. That said, I can’t imagine anyone — especially an employee of the hotel — acting like that in front of a crowd like the one that gathers in the Hyatt before games.

According to LEX 18, Knight is suing for intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to discrimination, battery, assault and defamation. She is seeking compensatory and statutory damages, attorney’s fees and a jury trial.

Brandon is averaging almost 17 points in his last four games.

Moving on…

 Pardon The Interruption is one of the best shows on ESPN, and it was even more enjoyable than usual on Thursday afternoon when John Vincent Calipari stopped by for “Five Good Minutes” with his boys Tony and Wilbon. Cal answered the guys’ questions about a number of things — most of which you’ve already heard over and over again — but there was a part that was particularly pleasing to Kentucky fans when he was talking about the NBA. Tony Kornheiser asked Cal if he’d like one more crack at the league, and I think you’ll like his response:

“I’m not thinking in those terms right now. If I wasn’t at Kentucky, I’d probably say, “Hey, well, I’m at Kentucky. I’m at Kentucky! I’m like I may have the best job in basketball.” The only time I’ll watch any NBA games is if Derrick is playing, John’s playing. If one of my guys is playing, I’ll glance at the game. My focus right now is let’s get this thing to the next level and let’s separate. Let’s get Kentucky on its own playing field.”

Big Blue Nation, we have another one. And this one is important.

Calipari is a participant in the 2012 Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge, an online poll that puts college basketball coaches against each other for charity. The coach who receives the most votes between January 18 and March 8 will win $100,000, which will be awarded to his selected charity.

Calipari is competing for Samaritan’s Feet, an organization he has been very involved with in the past. If you recall, last year’s team stopped in Detroit on their way to Windsor and washed feet for the charity.

He is currently in second place in the East region — behind Bob Huggins of all people — but I think that can change with your help.

This is something Calipari really wants to win and he can’t do it without you.

VOTE

************ UPDATE ************

Calipari is now ahead of Huggins and leading the East region. Keep it up, BBN!!!

As part of the never-ending quest to bring you University of Kentucky news in the most ridiculous manner possible, I comb the Twitter-verse each week for the funniest, oddest, and sometimes, nearly illegible tweets from your favorite players and personalities. Basically, I read Twitter so you don’t have to. Without further ado, here are the best tweets of the week.

After a few dull weeks, your Tweet Beat regulars really brought it this time around, forcing me to play favorites. Yes, that means no tweets about seeing “Red Tails” (because seriously, everyone ever associated with Kentucky seems to have seen it in the past seven days). Leggo!

Even though Drew stole my thunder by posting the picture of Rex Chapman in his treadmill gear earlier today, Rex did a gal a favor by tweeting this gem:

Check out the cans on that one!

Guys, if MKG has his eye on your wife, watch out, because odds are he’ll get her.

I got my eye on your wife now lol

— Mike Kidd-Gilchrist (@MikeGillie14) January 24, 2012

As will Darius Miller. Or DeMarcus Cousins.

@A_J_DeLuke @boogiecousins haha my bad

— Darius Miller (@uknum1) January 20, 2012

Probably even Kyle Wiltjer.

Look who was hanging out at Tin Roof this past weekend:

Dang, must have missed the blip on the Golden Eyes radar…

More Tweet Beat, please!

The formula for Coach Cal’s day-before-the-game press conference is pretty simple.  Kentucky is going to [insert destination] to play Team X in front of their biggest crowd of the year.  And though Team X hasn’t beaten anyone outside of the National Christian College Athletic Assocation, it’s a real test of this team’s focus.  It’s their Super Bowl.  S0-and-so is a heck of a coach.  Every team in the SEC could make the Sweet 16.  He’s coaching freshmen.  Fonzi shrug.

So when Coach Cal meet’s with the finest scribes in the Bluegrass and a KSR intern tomorrow, expect to hear it.  It will most certainly be said, though we all know it’s not true.  Not entirely at least. 

LSU can’t beat Kentucky.  Point blank, period.  That’s not to say that Kentucky can’t lose the game, because they certainly can.  But Kentucky will have to beat Kentucky.  And rarely do teams this talented and this well-coached get beat in the traditional sense of the word.  Sure, they might take some losses and some of them could be far more embarrassing than dropping one Saturday to LSU would be, but in order for the Tigers to take the ball, Kentucky’s going to have to drop it first.  And that’s why these games are so important.  This is when Kentucky learns about themselves and figures out how to avoid self-inflicted post-season wounds.

When you’re a team as good as Kentucky, who not only has the chance to not only chase a national title, but also history as one of college basketball’s most dominant teams, January and February are about learning about yourself and avoiding beating yourself in March and April.  And when the Cats travel to Baton Rouge to play LSU in front of their biggest crowd of the year (read that in your Calipari voice), they’ll have another one of those chances.  And it’s one that makes this game far more intriguing than the teams’ records might indicate.

LSU will have the emotion on their side, since it’s their Super Bowl and all, and point guard Anthony Hickey will be trying to get his Chris Lofton on against the Cats, but the matchup to watch will be inside.  If Kentucky has an achilles heel – and I’m still not quite convinced that they do – it’s that you still wonder exactly how they’ll respond if they get smacked in the mouth.  UK’s front line features two future pros and both are stronger than people give them credit for, but they’ll get a test from LSU’s duo of Justin Hamilton and Johnny O’Bryant.

Hamilton is a 6’11″, 260 pound transfer from Iowa State who has become twice the player (statistically at least) since transferring to LSU and averages 13 points and 7 rebounds per game.  But Hamilton’s game has continued to improve this season and he’s become more of a centerpiece of the team since the start of conference play.  Last week against Florida, Hamilton knocked down 13 of 22 shots and scored 27 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.  But, with that being said, on his best day, he’s not half the basketball player Anthony Davis is.  And he’s really not the reason why Kentucky can learn a little more about themselves this weekend. 

That would be Johnny O’Bryant, who has the the name of a leprechaun and the gentleness of the Abonimable Snowman.  O’Bryant’s numbers are fairly pedestrian, but the opportunity for growth he provides Kentucky with goes far beyond the 8 points and 6 rebounds.  The freshman forward plays nasty and doesn’t let up.  Two summers ago in Orlando, I thought he was going to kill accidentally kill someone at AAU Nationals because he was playing so hard.  He will make you work for every rebound, shot attempt, step, glance and breath you want to make.  He’s going to beat on Terrence Jones like he found his pot of gold.  And in the middle of a conference schedule which can boast the Jimmy Dykes and Brad Nessler as one of the highlights, great teams and great players sometimes need that sort of little learning experience.

You see, most of UK’s conference games are like man boobs.  When the world barely notices them, it’s a good day.  But that doesn’t mean this team can’t continue to learn about themselves as they sludge through these SEC West games.  In fact, discovering their identity through these little battles might be what it takes to avoid being just another star-studded team that headed home early in the post-season.

So, basically, let’s all get psyched for the KSR Live Blog Saturday.

**This is post #1 in a 4 part series by ALLY TUCKER based on the interviews with the coaches mentioned below. Stay tuned for more specifics on each program individually and more similar work on KSRCollege.com

I had the pleasure of interviewing the head coaches of three of the women’s programs on the rise at the University of Kentucky. I spoke with women’s soccer coach Jon Lipsitz, women’s volleyball coach Craig Skinner and women’s softball coach Rachel Lawson. All three coaches spoke proudly about their own programs and players. The most common and intriguing thread linking all three interviews though was the way in which each coach paid tribute to the unique culture surrounding the University of Kentucky Athletics Department.

“This is abnormal in a great way, an exciting way.”

Women’s soccer coach Jon Lipsitz’s quote lingered with me long after I walked out of his office. He was able to put perfectly into words exactly what the other two coaches had alluded to in their interviews as well. The women’s volleyball, soccer and softball teams at Kentucky have experienced unprecedented success as of late, with all three programs reaching and hosting post-season play in the 2010-2011 seasons. Each coach had various reasons for the success, varying from sport to sport in most cases. The one common link? All three were quick to bring up the culture of support and family that resonates throughout the athletic department. No matter which words the coaches used to describe the culture, the deeper message was clearly the same: the culture is unique, abnormal even. But above all, special. 

Softball coach Rachel Lawson had a similar message. “The overall culture of the athletic department, it’s a really cool place to be right now.” The genuine support between the different athletic teams at Kentucky was acknowledged by each coach. From coaches to players to administrators, the collective goal is that of success by all. When one team succeeds, another team celebrates. When one team achieves, another team is motivated to do more.

Coach Skinner: “It’s exciting to see our players become friends with other players in the department. They can feed off each other’s success and create a pretty neat culture. The enthusiasm these players have for each other is a very unique deal countrywide.”

 

Coach Lawson: “When you see other teams do well, players on our team want to do equally well. There’s probably a healthy competition and support amongst all the sports teams. It’s a really healthy place to be right now. As much as we are softball players and the softball team, we are Kentucky fans too. The girls go to all of the games”

 

Coach Lipsitz: “It’s so cool to see other coaches that are such great coaches doing great. It increases the energy in all of the programs. ‘We need to do this. We can host too. We can bring excellence not just for ourselves but for our department.’ It’s good for all of us to feel like we are part of something bigger than ourselves.”

 

While each of the three teams (softball, soccer, volleyball) has their own unique identity and style of play, each coach admitted that they embrace the brand of Kentucky. Each coach mentioned the feeling of being part of something much bigger than their programs alone, something much bigger than themselves. “If you look at our team, most of the things we wear say Kentucky. Not Kentucky Softball, but Kentucky. One of the first things our kids learn when they come on campus is the fight song. When you watch our kids walk around campus, the only clothes they wear are Kentucky clothes. There’s this sense of being part of something much greater than you are, which is the Big Blue Nation.”

Coach Lipsitz echoed Coach Lawson’s sentiments, but went even further discussing the Kentucky brand and how it is so much greater than any one team or one program. “There is absolutely no doubt that the brand, which here at the University of Kentucky is led by basketball, exists. It’s a cool, young, hip brand. That’s exactly how we want it. We embrace that.” The brand stretches across all programs, uniting them together under one name. There is no animosity or resentment between any of the programs. They are fully supportive of one another.

“The camaraderie is amazing. It starts with Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart. Mitch is all about every program being important. We all know football and basketball bring in the most money. It’s totally understandable how many resources go there. But if you don’t have an athletic director who makes every program, every player, feel important– that can breed resentment. We don’t have that here. We have camaraderie. Quite the opposite. We want more. We want better. What can we do? How can we help make everyone better? Look, this is a cheerleading and a rifle school. Right? They are our two most recent national champions. I am so proud of them. It’s not an afterthought. It’s amazing.”

The word camaraderie continually came up in all three interviews. The support for one another was not only spoken in words, but revealed in moments such as Coach Lipsitz’s eyes lighting up every time he got the opportunity to speak about another program’s success. All three teams hosted incredible post-season games in the past year, yet all the coaches could talk about was how their own players attended, supported, Tweeted and cheered for the other teams in their big moments. “Every sport’s special moments are cheered and talked about,” Lipsitz glowingly proclaimed. “People, and I mean players, coaches, administrators, who aren’t ‘about’ other programs couldn’t do well here. They just wouldn’t be happy.”

I spoke with three very happy coaches this past week. To say that these coaches are “about other programs succeeding” would be an enormous understatement. I was blown away by their adoration for their fellow colleagues and other Kentucky teams. Coach Skinner admitted that he had “never been at a place where the support, energy and excitement for each other’s teams is at the level it is here at Kentucky.” I believe him.

“Someone like Coach Cal tweeting to go to our games. C’mon. I’ve gotten texts from John Wall wishing the team good luck. That’s just not normal. This is abnormal in a great way, an exciting way. There’s no other place like this in the country.” – Coach Lipsitz

KENTUCKY.

@AllyTuckerKSR  Follow me, everything is alright. I’ll be the one to tuck you in at night (just kidding, that’s creepy).

If you enjoy reading articles about the UK men’s basketball team, please visit my webpage at http://kybasketball.blogspot.com.  You can also follow my webpage on Twitter. My webpage has been around for several years and I update it several times per day so UK basketball fans have access to the best and most recent articles about the team.

Now, The Article Links-

Five star 2013 small forward Troy Williams has trimmed his list to UNC, Kentucky, Georgetown and Villanova

Throughout his up-and-down ride on the Cats’ proverbial roller coaster tour during the past four seasons, Darius Miller hasn’t wavered in his dedication to the team and coaches

Eric Bledsoe has been assigned to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League for a two-game rehabilitation assignment and could re-join the Clippers for Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets

The Orlando Sentinel says the Magic should let Daniel Orton play in a game

Brandon Knight has a penchant for making big shots, even when he isn’t having a good game

Brandon Knight acknowledged to the Miami Herald that he would have liked to have remained at UK for his sophomore season had things turned out differently

With the unveiling of the Nike Platinum jerseys yesterday, it got me thinking back to some of the other alternate jerseys that Kentucky has worn over the years. Some were better than others, but it’s worth taking a look back to see a little of the history when the Cats stray from their more traditional uniforms. Here are a few of them:

The Denims:

Of course, any list of UK’s alternate unis must begin with the denim. Depending on who you ask, they’re either the best or worst uniforms the Cats have ever worn. They’ve been ranked the ugliest uniforms in all of sports by people outside the Commonwealth, but they hold a special place in the hearts of UK fans because they were a part of one of the greatest seasons in the Big Blue’s history. Kentucky broke them out midway through the 1996 season and rolled all the way to the national championship. Although our hopes of seeing them make a special appearance for Jorts’ senior day last year were dashed, they still are the most memorable uniforms in Kentucky lore.

The Black Jerseys:

Arguably the best looking alternates Kentucky ever wore came to be under unfortunate circumstances, as the black uniforms of 2008 were originally worn in remembrance of the late Bill Keightley. The Cats first wore them for a visit from Mississippi Valley State, who was coached by one of The Unforgettables, Sean Woods. All of the jerseys bore Keightley’s name on the back to honor Mr. Wildcat, and in addition to being a fitting memorial they were also just flat out cool. A little of the luster of them was lost, however, when the Cats wore them again in the SEC tournament against LSU, a loss that sealed their trip to the NIT.

The Throwbacks:

I’m cheating a little bit here because the throwback uniforms that Kentucky wore late in the 2006 season were part of a conference-wide throwback movement, but I like them so they make the list. They were reminiscent of the 1978 title team, and the Cats wore them for the last few weeks of the season and the SEC tournament before switching back for the big dance. Kentucky was only 5-3 in the uniforms, but they were still cool and I wouldn’t mind seeing the Cats don some more throwbacks in the future. Minus any short shorts, of course.

The Silver ones:

And finally, these. The silver uniforms were created to mark the 100th anniversary of Kentucky basketball and were supposed to be used as an alternate periodically throughout the 2002-03 season. But, after the Cats lost the first game in them to Michigan State, they went into the closet and were never heard from again. That was probably good on two accounts, as the uniforms were ugly anyway and that year’s team recovered to become one of the best in recent memory. They won 26 straight games, went undefeated through the SEC season and tournament, and were the #1 overall seed in the NCAAs before eventually falling in the Elite Eight. I hate Dwyane Wade.

The Platinums:

I think you’ve met these, already.

—

Now that we’ve reacquainted ourselves with some of the alternate uniforms of the past, which ones do you think were the best?