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Kentucky basketball fans in for a very long season

By CHUCK HAMILTON Sports Writer

Sunday, January 6, 2008 7:07 PM EST

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Billy Gillispie may be longing for the wide open spaces of the Lone Star State following his 13th game as head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. The Saturday afternoon mismatch represented the seventh time the Wildcats have tasted defeat, this time an 89-75 loss to archrival Louisville and former UK coach Rick Pitino.

Deep down in his heart, Gillispie may be re-thinking his decision to take over the pressure-packed position as the leader of college basketball's winningest program.

He must think about Texas A & M every now and then; after all, the Aggies are 13-1 after thrashing Louisiana State by 23 points Saturday night.

Judging by a call-in radio show after the game, there is no shortage of fans who would be sad to see Gillispie return to Texas.

Can www.firebillygillispie.com and/or the International Brotherhood of Billy Bashers be far behind?

Sadly, in this world of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately, along with the notorious impatience of Kentucky fanatics, both may already exist.

Gillispie has brought much of the criticism upon himself by giving abrupt, short answers to many questions posed to him and he will never be the media darling Pitino has become over the years.

Many of his mystifying coaching moves, strange rotations and multiple starting lineups are leaving longtime UK observers scratching their heads and hoping there is a method to his madness.

Certainly, not all of the blame can be attributed to Gillispie.

The players he inherited are several levels below what folks in Lexington have grown accustomed to in the past.

When a Kentucky team has role players such as Mark Coury and Ramon Harris in its starting lineup, it doesn't take a genius to figure out this year's bunch is simply not very talented.

Much of that blame has to go to the previous regime, which did a lackluster job of recruiting in recent years.

There has also been the abundance of injuries and the quick departure of highly touted freshman guard Alex Legion, who apparently didn't understand why Gillispie would play him in one game and not in another, and left for Illinois to continue his college career.

Even with all of that, UK should not be losing to the likes of Gardner-Webb, Alabama-Birmingham and San Diego, which alongside embarassing defeats to rivals Indiana and Louisville, make UK fans cringe.

This year's team has been difficult to even watch with all of the inconsistency and careless turnovers occurring game after game.

Turnovers and poor shooting again doomed the Wildcats on Saturday and has been a constant theme thus far.

Gillispie was outcoached, and the team was outhustled and outplayed against Louisville, which forced 22 turnovers, blocked seven shots and kept Patrick Patterson, the only inside threat UK possesses, bottled up and frustrated all afternoon.

There appears to be a vast communication gap between the players and the new coach and the team's two seniors seemingly have not completely bought into the new system.

Sure, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford again led the 'Cats in scoring in the loss to Louisville, but most of their points came at garbage time, after the Cardinals had built a 22-point lead with 8:53 left.

Bradley scored 19 of his career-high 27 points after that point and Crawford had nine of his 19 after the Cards had mounted a 20-point advantage. The pair also combined for 11 turnovers.

The seniors got little help from their teammates, with usually reliable shooting guard Jodie Meeks misfiring on seven of his eight field goal attempts and Patrick Patterson having as many turnovers (six) as points.

Kentucky was slow out of the gate in both halves, beginning the game down 16-5 before fighting from behind to lead by one at the break. The fourth-largest crowd (24,386) ever in Rupp Arena roared its approval during the UK 26-14 run and tried to lift the 'Cats on several other occasions, but it was the red-clad U of L supporters mixed throughout the crowd that got to cheer louder in the second half.

The second half demonstrated precisely why Kentucky stands at 6-7 in non-conference play, which is also the only losing record among SEC teams and the first sub-.500 mark since the last year Eddie Sutton coached in Lexington. That team, of course, went 13-19 in the 1988-89 campaign, which may just resemble this year's final record.

Louisville dominated the second 20 minutes, jumping in front with a 9-0 run that grew to an eventual 32-9 blitz to put the game away, getting their first win over the 'Cats since Dec. 27, 2003, a 65-56 win at Rupp.

Gillispie opened his post-game press conference by saying, "it's another whipping, guys," and also stated the team has to get better.

The question remains, when? Will this team get better as the season progresses?

They will have to improve greatly if they expect to compete in the Southeastern Conference.

Vanderbilt looms as the next team licking its chops to get a shot at this year's mediocre group of Wildcats.

The Commodores will likely come into Rupp Arena on Saturday sporting a 16-0 record after coming from behind to outscore Travis Ford's Massachusetts Minutemen on Saturday, 97-88. (Vandy faces a down South Carolina team in its SEC opener at home Wednesday.)

After that challenge, UK goes on the road to Mississippi State and Florida, before returning home to face Tennessee on Jan. 22.

The 'Cats could be 6-10 when Chris Lofton and the Vols invade Rupp and UK fans may start thinking about spring football after that game.

Don't expect to see Kentucky anywhere near the NCAA tournament in March and fans are going to have to exercise a great deal of patience before seeing a turnaround.

As painful as this may sound to the many Kentucky fans who live and die with the fortunes of their beloved men in blue, it's going to take at least two more years for Gillispie and his staff to fix this situation.

Reader Comments

Comments are limited to 200 words or less.

Chuck Hamilton wrote on Jan 14, 2008 3:19 PM:

" I say it is one game and it still doesn't excuse the losses to G-W, UAB and San Diego...

Still a long way to go, oh not-so-wise bob...

Time will tell, of course...
But don't expect to see the Cats in the NCAA Tournament in March either... "

bob wrote on Jan 12, 2008 11:24 PM:

" What say ye now oh not so wise one? CATS WIN FIRST GAME AGAINST A RANKED TEAM IN 2, that's right 2 years. Something the former regime didn't do with more talent and experience. "

25 yr KY fan wrote on Jan 10, 2008 10:56 AM:

" Billy G. is not the answer. Barnhardt should rip up the unsigned contract and give Travis Ford a phone call. "

Dennis Smith wrote on Jan 7, 2008 11:08 PM:

" We lost Morris, Woo, Perry and Thomas and added Patterson, Legion, Stewart and Williams. The talent level would not have been diminished that much had it not been for Gillispie's foul mouth and arrogant attitude dealing with Legion. But even without Legion, How many teams would love to have our two McD AA's? No excuse losing to Gardner Web and San Deigo with the talent we have. Yet the excuse mongers are alive and well.

This is not a top SEC team, but it should not be the bottom feeder it has become. Gillispie is not doing a good job.

"

Tom Gray wrote on Jan 7, 2008 9:37 PM:

" Tubby rarely played Coury or Harris.

Gillispie STARTS both of them.

Coach's choice. "

Dante M. wrote on Jan 7, 2008 2:26 PM:

" This is just what happens when you dominate for so long and everyone else catches up. UK fans need to realize that this is no longer the 30's, 40's and 50's. Everybody gets good players now. You may as well get used to it,it's a new day. Kentucky will not dominate anymore. "

nobiggie wrote on Jan 7, 2008 12:46 PM:

" i really think fans are going to be patient this time around. like others have said here, it takes time to rebuild a program when youre left with not very much to start with. theyll be okay in a couple of years, just let the man get some recruiting done before nailing him to the cross. haha
"

TRUE BLUE FAN wrote on Jan 7, 2008 1:50 AM:

" Its gonna take some time is all! Gillispie took on a bunch of players that have their "minds" made up of how Kentucky Basketball is played. When Gillispie is given the chance to pick his own players and mold them into Kentucky material....then we'll see which of the UK fans who have turned their back return to being "true blue fans". "

Kohut wrote on Jan 6, 2008 9:55 PM:

" Dips occur in nearly all programs and Gillespie will bring in Billy-oriented talent that will then mature. Kentucky fans, like Illinois fans, will need to be patient this year and next - 2009-10 will be a different story for both schools. In the meantime, we need not pretend we're better coaches than the proven winners both Gillespie and Weber are. "

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