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Kentucky has a long way to go to improve

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:06 EST

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Good thing it's a long season.

Because this Kentucky basketball team has a long way to go.

A long way to go.

Yes, North Carolina is the No. 1 team in the nation. Yes, the Tar Heels had the benefit of being at home Tuesday night in the Dean Dome.

Carolina cruises past Cats

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:53 EST

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — This North Carolina team became the first unanimous No. 1 since The Associated Press began its pre-season poll in 1981. The Tar Heels hope to become the third team to stay No. 1 throughout a season.

Kentucky? The Wildcats were not ranked in the poll for the first time since 1990 and simply hoped to show improvement here Tuesday night after an upset loss to Virginia Military Institute on opening night.

Alas, each team looked its part as North Carolina outclassed Kentucky 77-58 with All-America center Tyler Hansbrough tied behind its back.

North Carolina (2-0) weaved its superiority almost seamlessly from tip-off to final buzzer. Despite Hansbrough remaining sidelined with a leg injury, the Tar Heels were better inside, thanks largely to Deon Thompson.

Gillispie certain UK will improve

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:34 EST

Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie practically guaranteed that his team will play "dramatically" better in its second game of the season.

But given that the opponent is No. 1 North Carolina, Gillispie sounded braced for an 0-2 start to this season. That would be historic. Only twice since 1926 has UK started a season with two losses: 1975-76 and 2000-01.

"We have to get better," Gillispie said when asked about improvement since the opening-game 111-103 loss to Virginia Military Institute. "Every single player has to play better. We have to coach better. I'm certain that we will (be better). I have no question that we will."

But the news that North Carolina All-American Tyler Hansbrough will not play failed to bring Gillispie to predict victory, even with improved play.

Cats need bye week to heal

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:01 EST

The Kentucky football team's final open date is coming at the latest available time, a week before the regular-season finale at Tennessee.

But Coach Rich Brooks has no problem with the timing. The Wildcats could definitely use some physical and emotional healing after two consecutive conference losses at home.

Brooks said that the Wildcats will be without two defensive regulars for the Tennessee game. Starting free safety Marcus McClinton is out with a severe laceration on his quadriceps, while backup defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin will miss the game with a high ankle sprain.

Also, it will give defensive tackle Myron Pryor and middle linebacker Micah Johnson some extra rest after they've battled through high ankle sprains for much of the season. Brooks also thinks the bye will benefit freshman Randall Cobb, who's carried a heavy load as the quarterback and punt returner.

Vandy puts capper on UK's lost weekend

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:15 EST

Talk about a bad 24 hours to be a Kentucky fan.

Not even Jack Bauer could save the day on these past 24.

Start with freaky Friday night, when tiny VMI came to town and rocked the giant Cats, ripping-and-running, penetrating-and-pitching, nailing three-pointers from infinity and beyond, then dancing off the Rupp Arena floor in celebration of a shocking win over (for now) college basketball's winningest program.

Then Saturday night, approximately 24 hours later, there were the Vanderbilt Commodores dancing off the Commonwealth Stadium field in celebration of the school's first six-win season since 1982, thanks to a 31-24 victory over the Wildcats.

Vandy revenge

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:45 EST

It's like an annual rite of passage: Vanderbilt enters November with bowl eligibility on the horizon, and Kentucky comes in and runs the Commodores off the road.

UK had beaten Vandy three straight times, and each win either delayed or denied Bobby Johnson's squad an opportunity to attain that much-desired sixth win.

The Commodores finally stayed on course on Saturday night, building a 24-7 halftime lead and holding on to beat the Wildcats 31-24 in front of 65,595 fans at a chilly Commonwealth Stadium.

Vanderbilt (6-4, 4-3) is now eligible to go bowling for the first time since 1982. As for Kentucky, (6-5, 2-5) the Wildcats are already eligible for the post-season but blew a chance to raise their bowl profile.

Gillispie: No point in blame game

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:17 EST

Maybe Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie thought it would seem like piling on. Virginia Military Institute went into Friday night's game planning to attack UK's questionable point-guard play. So maybe Gillispie saw no need to attack that position afterward.

Gillispie spread the responsibility for Kentucky's 111-103 loss to VMI widely. It was too simple to solely blame the point guards, whose combined six assists and 12 turnovers contributed to UK's muddled, unfocused play.

Gillispie spoke of an overall lack of leadership, beginning with the coach, that led to defeat.

But the UK coach acknowledged that neither starting point guard Michael Porter nor backup DeAndre Liggins distinguished himself.

Where has the defense gone?

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:15 EST

By their very nature, Senior Nights are a time for reflection and nostalgia.

Unfortunately for University of Kentucky football, the 2008 farewell to its departing players featured an unwelcome blast from UK's recent football past.

What has gone wrong with the Kentucky defense?

On a night when UK had a prime chance to secure a seventh win for a third consecutive season for the first time in 57 years, the Cats instead lost 31-24 to Vanderbilt.

Cats caught in another Webb

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:37 EST

This wasn't supposed to happen again. No more Gardner-Webbs. No more early-season shockers.

That was last year. Billy Gillispie's first year. It's Year Two now and the Cats are deeper, more experienced, expected to be more adept at knowing what the Kentucky coach wanted from the get-go.

But then VMI came into Rupp Arena on Friday night. Up went the Keydet three-pointers. Down through the net went Keydet three-pointers. The visitors were up a staggering 21 points in the first half. They were up 10 at the half. Even when Kentucky grabbed a brief 44-second lead in the second half, the home team's only lead, the Keydets forged in front again and won 111-103.

That's right, 111-103.

Cats prepared to weather the 'Dores

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:44 EST

Bad weather and Kentucky-Vanderbilt football seem to go hand in hand. If you've followed UK football for any significant period of time, you've seen plenty of cold and dreary November games between the Wildcats and Commodores.

But this one might take the cake.

Saturday night's nationally televised ESPN2 game between UK (6-4, 2-4 SEC) and Vandy (5-4, 3-3) will be the first night game between the schools since the Cats' 19-17 win back in 1999. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m with the forecast calling for wind, rain and snow showers with temperatures in the 30s as the evening progresses.

"I think this game should be very interesting," UK Coach Rich Brooks said. "It's looking like the weather will be a major factor, and with the cold, wet and rain, you'd expect it to have an impact on the game."

VMI outruns Cats in another shocker

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 09:04 EST

During the bus ride from Lexington, Va., to Lexington, Ky., Virginia Military Institute players watched a video of Gardner-Webb beating Kentucky last November.

"To show them it can be done," VMI Coach Duggar Baucom said.

Now some future nondescript UK opponent will have two videos with which to feed its confidence.

In a replay no UK fan wanted or expected to see, VMI outgutted Kentucky 111-103 Friday night.

Q & A with Dicky Lyons Jr.

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:45 EST

Dicky Lyons Jr. will leave Kentucky as one of the most popular and productive players in school history. Despite missing the second half of his senior year with a knee injury, Lyons ranks fourth all-time in career receiving yards (1,752) fifth in receptions (141) and tied for third in touchdown catches (18). Lyons' personality also made him a favorite with the fans and the media.

Question: Are all the horror stories you hear about rehab true?

Answer: I was the first one who hurt my knee, and then Derrick Locke and Jess Beets hurt theirs after I did. I remember when they first got hurt, they both were saying, 'I'm not going to cry.' I tried to warn them. First it was Locke. He's saying, 'I'm not crying.' All of a sudden, he's crying. Beets did the same thing, and he ended up crying. You don't think it's going to be as hard as it is, but you can't understand how hard it is until you go through it."

Q: Have you gotten over missing the last half of your senior year, and if you have, how long did it take?

Kentucky's depth will push players

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:14 EST

We must shy from making sweeping pronouncements about any basketball team based on a 58-point drubbing of an obviously inferior Division II team in an opening exhibition game.

Yet between the layup lines — both pre-game, and in-game — there was one major beam of enlightenment to be deduced from Kentucky's 111-53 thumping of Missouri-St. Louis on Monday night in Rupp Arena.

Billy Gillispie summed it up nicely.

"Competition drives you to get better," said the UK coach after Monday's win. "We have a lot of hungry guys that want to play. It's going to be difficult to get playing time. I'm talking about our best players. They have a battle on their hands on a daily basis."

UK recruit Orton sidelined by knee surgery

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:16 EST

Kentucky basketball recruit Daniel Orton could miss four to six months of his high school senior season after having surgery on his left knee Tuesday morning, the Oklahoman reported on its Web site, NewsOK.com.

The 6-foot-10, 260-pound frontcourt player for Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City had been playing with pain "for a while now" according to Bishop McGuinness Coach Tondrell Durham. The Orton family decided to have the surgery now instead of waiting until after the season.

"We are hopeful we could get him back for the playoffs," Durham told the Oklahoman.

Orton, a consensus top-25 national recruit, averaged about 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks a game his junior season.

Cats freshmen make good impression

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:12 EST

As first impressions go, Darius Miller made a winning one while DeAndre Liggins showed a growing comfort with basketball at the college level.

That's how Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie judged his two high-profile freshmen in their debut Monday night. Miller made tangible contributions in a 111-53 exhibition rout of Division II Missouri-St. Louis. Liggins looked more at ease in basically learning a new form of basketball.

"He's starting to understand there are going to be a lot of guys out there running around quickly trying to defend what he's probably been able to do in the past," Gillispie said of Liggins. "So he's learning how to think and play at the same time. And learning how to play well with his teammates."

Translation: On the high school level, Liggins excelled. He became a national top-30 prospect. Now he has to use his skills to be productive on the college level. Of course, the task is complicated by the position he plays: lead guard, in Gillispie's preferred vernacular. He has to maximize his contributions in a team concept.

Two-QB system here to stay

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:25 EST

Kentucky freshman Randall Cobb will make his second career start at quarterback when the Wildcats host 14th-ranked Georgia on Saturday.

While Cobb seems to have at least a temporary grip on the starting job, the two-quarterback system isn't going away any time soon.

Sophomore Mike Hartline came off the bench to spell Cobb in the second quarter of UK's 14-13 win over Mississippi State, and UK Coach Rich Brooks said both quarterbacks will continue to see action.

In other words, like it or not, the two-quarterback system is here to stay. And even Brooks said he's not crazy about it.

Harrellson shines in UK's 111-53 exhibition rout

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:31 EST

When Josh Harrellson hit a 15-footer, the crowd applauded. Then he made a rebound putback, then a jumper from the top of the key.

With each basket, the cheers grew louder until the Rupp Arena fans gave Kentucky's new big man a standing ovation.

"It's really amazing," Harrellson said after UK's 111-53 annihilation of Missouri-St. Louis in an exhibition game Monday night. "I made the first shot and I heard, 'Yeah, Yeah.' It built up every time till they were going ecstatic."

Fittingly, UK Coach Billy Gillispie put the game in a context of stepping stones toward something special. That step-by-step process applied to Harrellson individually and to Kentucky, which took a great leap forward by dominating a Division II team the way an ambitious power program should.

Cats seek new bowl destination

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:40 EST

The Music City Bowl has been good to the Kentucky football program. UK's back-to-back appearances and victories in Nashville have set the tone for Coach Rich Brooks' turnaround.

But if the Wildcat players had their druthers, they would like to do something different this year. UK currently sits at 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference, and with games left against Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee, the Cats are thinking bigger and better.

"I've got nothing against Nashville," defensive end Ventrell Jenkins said with a laugh. "But I don't want to go back there this year. Nice bowl, nice hotel, nice city, but three years in a row is a little much for me. I want to go somewhere warm."

"The focus right now is to win as many games as possible to get to a better bowl," senior cornerback Robbie McAtee said. "We've felt the last two years we could have gotten to a better one if we had won a couple of more games. In the end, you don't want to be looked at as the team that went to three straight Music City Bowls. We want to create a legacy for ourselves."

Teammates laugh at Patterson's gaffes

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:40 EST

Kentucky big man Patrick Patterson is good. But there's a limit to just how good.

Two plays in UK's rout of Missouri-St. Louis Monday night proved the point.

On one play, teammate Jodie Meeks threw a lob that went at least three feet over Patterson's outstretched hand.

When a reporter playfully asked Patterson why he didn't catch and lob and dunk it home, he said in a deadpan voice, "Because I'm not Dwight Howard."

Gillispie looks for progress in premiere

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:35 EST

Kentucky continues what it hopes is a step-by-step march to championship form when it plays Missouri-St. Louis in the first of two pre-season exhibition games.

The Cats dipped a toe into the competitive pool during Saturday night's Blue-White scrimmage. Afterward, Coach Billy Gillispie singled out defense — on the perimeter, in the post and in transition — as an area in need of improvement.

But, Gillipsie noted how all teams are works-in-progress, to borrow a sporting cliche, in early November.

Junior guard Jodie Meeks, who showed his return to good health with 32 points Saturday, echoed his coach by saying, "You can't expect to be good at everything on Nov. 1."