You said to "mark it down", so I did.

[BigPapaVol]

Are you sure? Or does it really say it's not realistic to watch a basketball game from the upper deck of a football stadium? That's why these big venues such as the Georgia Dome, RCA Dome and others have to be curtained off in the middle of the arena.

maybe, but that doesn't support my argument that we're better.

 

[Redlegs]

That is the impression I get from most UK fans I talk to. Problem is they won't have a roster to win a lot of games with if Patterson and Meeks leave.
I don't see BG staying in Lexington too long, and I wonder if they will make a run at Calipari next. Living in Memphis I can tell you that Coach Cal talks about Kentucky whenever he gets the chance, and he would jump all over that job and have the Cats in the Final 4 in 3 years tops.

I guess that's eventually going to land on the coach's shoulders and his recruiting abilities. There's also a contingency of fans not happy with the way Billy G conducts himself. Many find his dealing with the female reporter from ESPN to be embarrasing for the University of Kentucky. The most fans who find it funny are the students. I will guess the older folks and the all important boosters don't find much humor in it at all. If he wins, he'll get a longer leash. Kentucky has fallen from their spot at the top of college basketball. They need to get it back or at least get close to the top. Being unranked is as unacceptable in Lexington as it is for football in Knoxville.

 

[Redlegs]

maybe, but that doesn't support my argument that we're better.

LOL. Fair enough.

 

[thagodfather]

I can only speak from my neck of the woods. Overall, the folks are restless with Billy G. Tubby was a class act. Pitino could be a bit arrogant, but he was a winner. Billy G is arrogant and he's lost to Gardner Webb and VMI during his short tenure. I'm not sure he's realized just how white hot the light is in Lexington.

The friends I've spoke to, one of which is a season ticket holder, thinks he's a classless butthole. All I can say is he'd better win.....a lot.

had pitino stayed in kentucky instead of destroying celtic basketball for years, kentucky would have at least three more national championships.

 

[Redlegs]

had pitino stayed in kentucky instead of destroying celtic basketball for years, kentucky would have at least three more national championships.

Things would have definately been different and the Cats would not have fallen to their current state. Hard to blame Pitino for leaving when they offer you 70M. I give him credit for being man enough to admit he made a mistake. In addition, the time in Boston may have taken a few months off his life due to the stress.

A lot of fans hold ill feelings toward Pitino for leaving. Those are the fans who think no one should ever leave Kentucky for any reason whatsoever. Those are the ones who hold a grudge on Pitino to this day.

I'm of the mindset that Kentucky fans should get down on their knees and thank God for bringing Rick Pitino to Lexington, especially when he did. Pitino brought a storied program out of the ashes of embarrasment and restored them to the very best program in the country. His teams were 9 to 10 players deep. His second five was as good or better than the opponents starting five. I find Rick Pitino and Adolph Rupp to be the two most important people in Kentucky Basketball history.

Now, you had to get me started. Gotta go to work now.

 

[Hardwood_fanatic]

A lot of fans hold ill feelings toward Pitino for leaving. Those are the fans who think no one should ever leave Kentucky for any reason whatsoever. Those are the ones who hold a grudge on Pitino to this day.

True, but I get the feeling that MOST fans are not upset by his leaving... but by his returning to Kentucky to coach at LOSERVILLE. Thats a slap in the face to most UK fans, who wear the blue goggles and assume that nothing should EVER be put of UK basketball. I myself am a realist... and I hold no grudge against the man, he did what he had to do and I will always be thankful for his arrival at UK.

 

[truefan]

The SEC is all about Football, there is no doubt about. Now... had Bear Bryant stayed at Kentucky instead of leaving for Alabama, then maybe this conversation never exists. lol But Rupp and Bear could not co-exist. KY is hoops country, and UT is football country. The passion is the same, the scope is different.

But UT actually has some pretty decent basketball history. UT has fared much better in basketball than KY has in football. It isn't even close

 

[Marc Maggard]

The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of UK fans support BCG very well. As do the vast majority of Boosters and the administration.

As with any school, you'll find some who don't buy in.... but it's not even a question of if/when BCG leaves... he is not even close to being on a "hot seat".

Also, neither Meeks nor Patterson will be going to the NBA next year. Meeks and Pat might go to some draft camps to get some feedback, but both will be at UK next year.... along with Pilgrim, Orton, Hood and Vilarino. Next year will be a good year for UK.

mm

 

[ledhed43]

The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of UK fans support BCG very well. As do the vast majority of Boosters and the administration.

As with any school, you'll find some who don't buy in.... but it's not even a question of if/when BCG leaves... he is not even close to being on a "hot seat".

Also, neither Meeks nor Patterson will be going to the NBA next year. Meeks and Pat might go to some draft camps to get some feedback, but both will be at UK next year.... along with Pilgrim, Orton, Hood and Vilarino. Next year will be a good year for UK.

mm

This draft is so weak I can't imagine why Meeks would stay. There is no way that he can play better than he has this year, and there will be a lot more prospects in next year's draft. If he doesn't go he will have gotten some very bad advice. The weak draft should make Patterson strongly consider leaving. There isn't much he has left to prove. Other than playing a whole season without getting hurt and that's probably not going to happen at anytime in his career. Sadly he probably would have been better off taking his chances after one year and getting drafted on his "upside".

 

[scwhite9]

By the way his name is Gillispie. I am from KY living in TN, and have met him on multiple occasions. He is funny, nice to be around, and a great coach. However, in KY if you watch a game you think you can coach. Unfortunately, there is a lot of negativity against any UK coach. Pitino, Smith, Hall, all of them got slammed in the media - the Internet just makes it nastier and faster. If Jesus Christ were to coach at UK he would be criticized.

I have friends in the media in KY who like him as well as any of the others. He is sarcastic and some folks don't get him. But, all and all, the players like him and many of us longtime supportes think he is great.

 

[Marc Maggard]

This draft is so weak I can't imagine why Meeks would stay. There is no way that he can play better than he has this year, and there will be a lot more prospects in next year's draft. If he doesn't go he will have gotten some very bad advice. The weak draft should make Patterson strongly consider leaving. There isn't much he has left to prove. Other than playing a whole season without getting hurt and that's probably not going to happen at anytime in his career. Sadly he probably would have been better off taking his chances after one year and getting drafted on his "upside".

I couldn't disagree more... In my daily work, I talk to NBA scouts all the time. Meeks wont' be a first rounder. For as good as he is at scoring contested shots in college, he won't be able to do that in the NBA. He is not great at creating his own shot....he's just great at hitting with a man right on him. He also is a bad ball handler and a really crappy passer. Both of those are things he can work on. He also does not have NBA size for the 2g spot. He won't be going anywhere and he shouldn't.

Patterson ain't going anywhere either. He will graduate after next year and will go in the draft after his jr year. He absolutely has things he can work on to be a lottery pick. He needs to develop and show more of his face up game ala Tyler Smith type....He's not a big 4 in the NBA, so he will need to have more range and be able to face up some more. He's better than most think at that right now, but he is stuck under the basket cause that's where he's needed. Next year, Pilgrim and Orton will be there, so he will be able to show some more of that.

mm

 

[VolsSportsFan]

Make no mistake, Kentucky fans love football as well. They/We would love to have a program contending for the SEC Championship. Hopefully I'll see it within my lifetime, but this is a basketball state first, football second.

I must say that when I went to my first UT/Kentucky game at UK in 2001, I was pretty surprised at how rocking Commonwealth was. I had always figured Kentucky fans didn't care about football and that it would be a UT takeover a la Commodore Stadium, but it was nothing like that. The place was packed and the Cats fans were in it the whole game. I was even moreso impressed because I think Kentucky had about 2 wins that year.

Now it could have been because it was Tennessee coming to town and beating UT would have made the season, but looking at your attendance over the past 20-30 years, it appears you guys really supported the team even though they were usually bad. That's pretty impressive and you just don't hear about it much since basketball is so popular.

 

[Hardwood_fanatic]

I must say that when I went to my first UT/Kentucky game at UK in 2001, I was pretty surprised at how rocking Commonwealth was. I had always figured Kentucky fans didn't care about football and that it would be a UT takeover a la Commodore Stadium, but it was nothing like that. The place was packed and the Cats fans were in it the whole game. I was even moreso impressed because I think Kentucky had about 2 wins that year.

Now it could have been because it was Tennessee coming to town and beating UT would have made the season, but looking at your attendance over the past 20-30 years, it appears you guys really supported the team even though they were usually bad. That's pretty impressive and you just don't hear about it much since basketball is so popular.

Thats just Kentucky Fans. I remember year before last when we played the music city bowl in Nashville. We sent 61,000 fans to LP Field for the bowl game, and still sold out Rupp that same night. I think alot (JMO) of Kentucky fans have become so spoiled with our Basketball program over the years...that they believe we should just be able to flex our muscle and dominate other sports. 3 straight bowl games is really (IMO) about the best UK will ever do in Football.

Football (especially in the SEC) is a pedigree sport, and if your team has not been at the top of recruiting AND the standings for 30 years.... its hard to break that yolk and jump in there. Sure, every 4 or 5 years you might have a team like we did 2 years ago that makes the top 10 and a CHANCE for a BCS bowl game... but not on a consistent basis like FLorida, LSU, UT, and others.


UK fans are a breed unlike any other... and thats not meant as a slight to UT OR a big compliment to UK. that goes both ways if you know what I mean.

 

[jjay2518]

I couldn't disagree more... In my daily work, I talk to NBA scouts all the time. Meeks wont' be a first rounder. For as good as he is at scoring contested shots in college, he won't be able to do that in the NBA. He is not great at creating his own shot....he's just great at hitting with a man right on him. He also is a bad ball handler and a really crappy passer. Both of those are things he can work on. He also does not have NBA size for the 2g spot. He won't be going anywhere and he shouldn't.

Patterson ain't going anywhere either. He will graduate after next year and will go in the draft after his jr year. He absolutely has things he can work on to be a lottery pick. He needs to develop and show more of his face up game ala Tyler Smith type....He's not a big 4 in the NBA, so he will need to have more range and be able to face up some more. He's better than most think at that right now, but he is stuck under the basket cause that's where he's needed. Next year, Pilgrim and Orton will be there, so he will be able to show some more of that.

mm

That all sounds familiar.