Thursday, February 25, 2010

UK Gets Revenge On South Carolina With A 21-Point Win

The Kentucky Wildcats looked to get some revenge on the South Carolina Gamecocks who are the only team to have defeated UK on the season. UK would end a three-game losing streak to the Gamecocks handing Devan Downey and Darrin Horn their first loss to Kentucky in their South Carolina tenure. Patrick Pattterson and DeMarcus Cousins dominated the paint vs South Carolina and out-rebounded South Carolina 44 to 36 unlike the game in Columbia. John Wall broke the freshman record for free throws made in a single season tonight. Kentucky puts themselves in great position to claim their 44th SEC Title with one more win or a Vanderbilt loss. Kentucky will head to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday.

1st Half UK 37 SC 26
2nd Half UK 45 SC 35
Final UK 82 SC 61

Kentucky Wildcats

Starters

Patrick Patterson 23 pts, 8 rebs, 2 stls, 4 blks
DeMarcus Cousins 19 pts, 11 rebs, 2 asts,
John Wall 12 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls
Eric Bledsoe 8 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blks
Darius Miller 7 pts, 8 rebs, 2 blks

Bench

Daniel Orton 9 pts, 5 rebs, 2 stls
DeAndre Liggins 4 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 2 stls
Darnell Dodson 3 rebs, 1 ast

Totals 82 pts, 44 rebs, 11 asts, 8 stls, 8 blks

South Carolina Gamecocks

Starters

Devan Downey 26 pts, 4 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls
Lakeem Jackson 16 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 3 asts, 1 blk
Sam Muldrow 10 pts, 9 rebs, 1 stl, 3 blks
Brandis Raley-Ross 5 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts
Johndre Jefferson 4 pts, 3 rebs, 1 blk

Bench

Stephen Spinella 1 rebs
Austin Steed 1 stl
Ramon Galloway 1 reb
Mike Holmes 1 reb
Evaldas Baniulis 1 ast, 1 stl

Totals 61 pts, 26 rebs, 10 asts, 8 stls, 5 blks

Kentucky Gets Revenge With 82-61 Win Over South Carolina

Kentucky, after tasting their first and only loss of this season against South Carolina earlier on this season, gets revenge against them in Rupp Arena winning 82-61. Kentucky jumped out early, going up by a touchdown without a USC basket. USC comes back and gives UK a fright, but the Cats answer and go up, ending the first half with a 37-26 lead. Ending the 2nd, UK shoves 10 unanswered points down USC's throat, giving UK a 20 point lead. After a couple baskets, the final seconds tick off and UK leaves the court, smacking South Carolina in the face 82-61. 2nd ranked UK moves on to 27-1, and 12-1 in the SEC and USC goes on to a record of 14-13, and 5-8 SEC.

1st half UK 37 USC 26
2nd half UK 45 USC 35
Final score UK 82 USC 61

Kentucky Wildcats

Starters

Patrick Patterson, 8 rebs, 2 stls, 4 blks, 23 pts
DeMarcus Cousins, 11 rebs, 2 asts, 19 pts
John Wall, 5 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls, 12 pts
Eric Bledsoe, 2 rebs, 2 asts, 2 blks, 8 pts
Darius Miller, 8 rebs, 2 blks, 7 pts

Totals, 44 rebs, 11 asts, 8 stls, 8 blks, 82 pts

Bench

Daniel Orton, 5 rebs, 2 stls, 9 pts
DeAndre Liggins, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 4 pts
Darnell Dodson, 3 rebs, 1 ast

South Carolina Gamecocks

Starters

Devan Downey, 4 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls, 26 pts
Lakeem Jackson, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls, 1 blk, 16 pts
Sam Muldrow, 9 rebs, 1 stl, 10 pts
Brandis Raley-Ross, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 5 pts
Johndre Jefferson, 3 rebs, 4 pts

Bench

Stephan Spinella, 1 reb
Austin Steed, 1 stl
Ramon Galloway, 1 reb
Mike Holmes, 1 reb
Evaldas Baniulis, 1 ast, 1 stl

Totals, 26 rebs, 10 asts, 8 stls, 5 blks, 61 pts

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Kentucky Picks Up 1st Win in Music City In 5 Years

UK holds off a tough #19 Vanderbilt squad to get a 58-56 win. This was the first victory the Cats have had since 2005 breaking a five-year losing streak at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville. Both teams struggled from the field today. It was a defensive battle that looked more like a football game at some points. Vandy's bigs Festus Ezeli and Steve Tchiengang fouled out and the Cats would take charge of the game. Missed free throws looked like it was going to haunt the Cats but a huge block by John Wall as Vandy's John Jenkins tried to get a three point shot off and give the Commodores a lead. John Wall missed a huge free throw in the game that set up A.J. Ogilvy up for a game-winning basket but the Cats prevail to become 26-1. John Calipari admitted he made a mistake calling a timeout after Wall's free throw shots when Vandy had no timeouts left and let Vandy head coach to draw up a play that freed up A.J. Ogilvy on what would be the game-tying basket had it went it. The Cats come back home Tuesday night to face South Carolina at home, the only team to have defeated UK this season and try to end a three game skid to the Gamecocks.

1st Half UK 27 Vandy 25
2nd Half UK 31 Vandy 31
Final UK 58 Vandy 56

Kentucky Wildcats

Starters

Patrick Patterson 39 mins, 13 pts, 2 asts, 1 blk
Darius Miller 15 min, 3 pts, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk
DeMarcus Cousins 26 mins, 19 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast, 3 stls, 1 blk
Eric Bledsoe 33 mins, 8 pts, 2 rebs, 3 asts
John Wall 38 mins, 13 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1blk

Bench

Perry Stevenson 2 mins
Darnell Dodson 7 mins, 1 reb
DeAndre Liggins 27 mins, 2 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk
Daniel Orton 13 mins 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk

Totals 58 pts, 29 rebs, 9 asts, 7 stls, 5 blks

Vanderbilt Commodores

Starters

Andre Walker 24 mins, 6 pts, 8 rebs, 1 ast
Jeffery Taylor 29 mins, 17 pts, 4 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk
A.J. Ogilvy 27 mins, 9 pts, 4 rebs, 1 asts, 2 stls, 1 blk
Jermaine Beal 35 mins, 6 pts, 1 reb, 2 asts,
Brad Tinsley 26 mins, 2 pts, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl

Bench

Festus Ezeli 8 mins, 2 pts, 4 rebs
Lance Goulbourne 13 mins, 2 pts
Steve Tchiengang 19 mins, 7 pts, 8 rebs
John Jenkins 19 mins, 5 pts, 2 rebs, 1 blk

Totals 56 pts, 37 rebs, 7 asts, 4 stls, 3 blks

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Former UK Recruit Rajaan Bennett Murdered

Former UK recruit and Vanderbilt signee Rajaan Bennett was killed in a murder-suicide at his home in Georgia. The authorities are saying Bennett was shot by his mom’s ex-boyfriend, who then shot himself. Bennett was a four-star recruit. He was only 18 years old. Kwane Doster, another Vandy running back was killed in 2004 in Tampa. Bennett was Vandy's highest-rated player in the 2010 recruiting class. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.

Jodie Meeks Traded To The Philladelphia 76ers



The Milwaukee Bucks have tradedJodie Meeks and Francisco Elson to the Philadelphia 76ers for Primoz Brezec, Royal Ivey and a 2nd Round draft pick this season.

The teams are waiting for the trade deadline today at 3 p.m. ET for the deal to be official.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Biography on Tom Leach, the Voice of the Cats



Leach is a High School graduate from Bourbon County High School in 1979, and a 1983 graduate at the University of Kentucky. When he was a senior in High School, Tom Leach wanted to become the next "Voice of the Wildcats". Leach began on the UK Radio Network in 1989, hosting the post game scoreboard, and the call in show. Eight years later, he was officially dubbed the new play by play voice of Kentucky Football, and in 2001 he also became the Kentucky Basketball Sportscaster. Through tough years, and good years, Leach has been at the mic broadcasting UK games...and has been named Kentucky Sportscaster of the year, four times. Tom has called five football bowl games including very memorable wins over great teams in the past such as Alabama, and the #1 LSU Tigers.

He also was a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for excellent coverage in Thoroughbred racing. Leach was selected by Quint Events in 2008 and '09, to entertain their clients for Oaks and Derby.

He also has a website, tomleachky.com, and he authorized his first book "Rich Tradition" which talks about former UK head coach Rich Brooks.

"You have to be lucky, you have to be in the right place at the right time," said Leach when asked about how he got this job. "I came to work for Ralph Hacker at WVLK in Lexington in 1984 and got a chance to start doing sports on the station in '87, and in '89 I got to start doing the scoreboard show on the UK Network. So I did that for eight years, before Ralph (Hacker) gave up the football job and I took over Football in '97, and then basketball in November of 2001. So I've been doing it since '89 and just doing the scoreboard shows, and pre and post-game stuff."

Kentucky Wins Over Time Thriller vs Mississippi State

UK traveled to Starkville, Mississippi to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State and pulled out an 81-75 victory. This win ends a 3-game skid to the Bulldogs who Kentucky has not defeated since 2007 with Tubby Smith still the head coach of Kentucky. There were many stars of the show tonight for the Cats. Patrick Patterson was aggressive on the offensive end of the ball and had many clutch baskets for the Cats. Liggins key defense and a 3-point basket when the Bulldogs had a seven-point lead as the game was winding down. Cousins proved to be too much for the Bulldogs to handle with 19 points and 14 rebounds. John Wall was clutch and proved again to many why he is the favorite for player of the year. Wall had a near triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. An instant classic game in UK's history that was ruined by classless Mississippi State fans From the calls and text messages cussing and calling Cousins racial slurs. The chants "referees suck" all game, and the water bottles and stuff thrown on the court. Kentucky will travel to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores and look to complete the season sweep over Vanderbilt.

1st Half UK 32 MSU 29
2nd Half UK 35 MSU 38
Over Time UK 14 MSU 8
Final UK 81 MSU 75

Starters

Patrick Patterson 19 pts, 10 rebs, 3 blks, 1 stl
DeMarcus Cousins 19 pts, 14 rebs, 3 asts, 1 blk
Darnell Dodson 1 pt, 3 rebs, 1 stl
Eric Bledsoe 7 pt, 1 blk
John Wall 18 pts, 10 rebs, 8 asts, 3 stls, 2 blks

Bench

Darius Miller 9 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 2 blks
DeAndre Liggins 6 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts, 1 blk
Daniel Orton 2 pts, 4 rebs, 2 blks
Ramon Harris 2 rebs

Totals 81 pts, 48 rebs, 14 asts, 5 stls, 12 blks

Did Not Play

Mark Krebs
Perry Stevenson
Josh Harrellson
Jon Hood

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Starters

Jarvis Varnado 10 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk
Kodi Augustus 17 pts, 4 rebs, 1 astt, 2 stls
Barry Stewart 16 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl
Dee Bost 22 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls
Romero Osby 5 pts, 4 rebs, 5 asts

Bench

Phil Turner 5 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 3 stls
Wendell Lewis 1 blk
Riley Benock 4 rebs, 2 asts

Totals 75 pts, 27 rebs, 14 astsm 8 stls, 2 blks

Monday, February 15, 2010

Cousins receives nasty phone calls from Miss. State fans



DeMarcus talks of someone getting his cell phone number and calling him racial slurs and cuss him. Apparently this is what Cousins said about it on his facebook.

"man dis to funny ...gotta get my number changed ..AGAIN! ....miss st. fans got my number on they message boards and on twitter ...gotta hotline right now ...so far i been called 34 n-bombs ....106 bwords ...lets see wat today brings ...lmao"

Cousins says he will wait until after tomorrow's game to change his phone number AGAIN. He wants to see what the Mississippi State fans have to say afterwards.

AP Top 25

1. Kansas (62) 24-1 1,622
2. Kentucky (3) 24-1 1,557
3. Villanova 22-2 1,482
4. Purdue 21-3 1,403
5. Syracuse 24-2 1,389
6. Duke 21-4 1,278
7. Kansas State 20-4 1,239
8. West Virginia 19-5 1,101
9. Ohio State 20-6 1,068
10. Georgetown 18-6 966
11. Michigan State 20-6 906
12. New Mexico 23-3 888
13. Gonzaga 21-4 830
14. Wisconsin 19-6 697
15. Texas 20-5 674
16. Brigham Young 23-3 669
17. Vanderbilt 19-5 529
18. Butler 23-4 527
19. Pittsburgh 19-6 398
20. Tennessee 18-6 381
21. Temple 20-5 347
22. Baylor 19-5 316
23. Wake Forest 18-5 286
24. Texas A&M 18-6 231
25. Richmond 20-6 101
Others Receiving Votes
Northern Iowa 74, Virginia Tech 59, UTEP 46, Illinois 29, Marquette 12, Mississippi State 5, UNLV 5, Old Dominion 4, Cornell 2, Georgia Tech 1, Maryland 1, San Diego State 1, Xavier 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Northern Iowa 19, Georgia Tech 20, UNLV 23.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Kentucky Beats 12th Ranked Tennessee Volunteers 73-62



UK beats border-rival Tennessee in a hostile environment today at Rupp Arena. Rupp Arena was electric today with ESPN and College Game Day visiting Lexington for the premiere game of the week. Former players on hand to see this battle of top 15 ranked teams were Jodie Meeks, Chuck Hayes, Kyle Macy, Wayne Turner, Ron Mercer, Scott Padgett, Tony Delk, Cameron Mills, Jared Prickett, Jack Givens, Richie Farmer, Lukasz Obrzut, and Kenny "Sky" Walker. Kentucky at times had trouble holding off Tennessee giving up the lead at some points. Kentucky held just a one point lead at the half. The production came mostly from UK's back court today. John Wall 24 points with a few highlight-reel dunks. Eric Bledsoe stepped up and gave the Cats 16 points. Patrick Patterson and DeAndre Liggins gave a solid effort and made key plays during crucial parts of the ball game when momentum was in Tennessee's favor. The Cats go on the road to Starkville, Mississippi to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs who have won three straight over Kentucky dating back to 2007.

1st Half UK 30 UT 29
2nd Half UK 43 UT 33
Final UK 73 UT 62

Kentucky Wildcats

Starters

Patrick Patterson 31 mins, 10 pts, 7 rebs, 1 ast
DeMarcus Cousins 29 mins, 5 pts, 12 rebs, 1 stl
Darnell Dodson 13 mins, 5 pts, 1 stl
Eric Bledsoe 34 mins, 16 pts, 3 rebs, 4 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk
John Wall 37 mins, 24 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl

Bench

Perry Stevenson 8 mins
DeAndre Liggins 28 mins, 7 pts, 4 rebsm 4 asts, 2 stls, 1 blk
Darius Miller 7 mins, 2 pts, 1 blk
Daniel Orton 13 mins, 4 pts, 3 rebs, 2 blks

Totals 73 pts, 33 rebs, 11 asts, 5 stls, 4 blks

Did Not Play

Ramon Harris
Mark Krebs
Josh Harrellson
Jon Hood


Tennessee Volunteers

Starters

Renaldo Woolridge 24 mins, 2 pts, 3 rebs, 1 ast
Kenny Hall 13 mins, 4 rebs, 2 blks
J.P. Prince 32 mins, 9 pts, 8 rebs, 5 asts, 3 stls, 1 blk
Scotty Hopson 32 mins, 9 pts, 8 rebs, 5 astsm 3 stls, 1 blk
Bobby Maze 21 mins, 15 pts, 1 ast

Bench

Wayne Chism 30 mins, 12 pts, 5 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk
Steven Pearl 12 mins, 2 rebs
Melvin Goins 19 mins, 14 pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl
Brian Williams 1 min
Skylar McBee 16 min, 6 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl

Totals 62 pts, 31 rebs, 11 ast, 5 stls, 4 blks

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Kentucky Defeats Alabama 66-55

I don't have time tonight to go in to detail and give the stats, as it is a late night...but I'll make the most of it. Alabama jumped out to a big lead at first, but Kentucky quickly answered and led at halftime 31-24. In the 2nd, Kentucky mostly led, but the Crimson Tide came back in the 2nd to cut it to 61-55 with about a minute to go. Kentucky kept it under control, jumping out to a 66-55 win.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Biography on Kyle Macy (Former Kentucky Basketball Player)

Kyle Robert Macy was born on April 9 1957, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is currently a basketball broadcaster, the color commentator for University of Kentucky telecasts. He was a high school standout at Peru High School, being named Mr. Basketball for Indiana. He went on to play for the Purdue Boilermakers averaging 13.8 points a game in his freshman season, and led the Boilermakers in free throws, shooting a good .859 percent from the line on the season. They finished the season with a record of 16-11. After playing one season at Purdue, Macy transferred to the University of Kentucky in 1976, and sat out the 1976-77 season by NCAA rules. The 1978 team, Macy was a starter for Kentucky and helped get Kentucky their 5th National title. After his senior year at Kentucky (1979-80), he was chosen as the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns.

He spent five years at the Suns, and he averaged 10.6 points and 4.0 assists per game. He then spent just one year at the Chicago Bulls (1985-86) and the Indiana Pacers (1986-87) before officaly retiring from the NBA. He then went and played professional ball in Italy for Dietor Bologna (1987-88) and Benetton Treviso (1988-90).

In his coaching career, he coached the Morehead State University Eagles for nine years and in 2003, he won them 20 games, its most in 19 years. He later left M'head State and went to coach a group of Sports Reach college all-stars that toured China and finished with a undefeated 7-0 record against several Chinese professional teams.
Later in 2006 Macy went to coach the Lexington Christian Academy Eagles Men's tennis team. He got them their first winning season since 2003.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Cousins Speaks Out

It doesn't seem fair to the Kentucky freshman, DeMarcus Cousins who is hacked and fouled...but it doesn't get called.

"My issue with DeMarcus is that they keep going to the monitors as he gets absolutely whacked, grabbed, pushed, shoved," Coach Cal said. "Then when he does do something, they go look at the monitor.

"If you want to go look at the monitor," Calipari argues, "then you've got to protect him. Call every foul. You can't let him get grabbed and pushed and then expect no kind of response. You can't then go to the monitor."


"Every little thing I do they run to the monitor ready to pop a flagrant on me," Cousins said. "But every time I come down the court, I get elbowed in the jaw and it's not ever looked at, it's not even called. I think that's completely unfair.

"I'm getting this rep to be such a bad player who plays physical and dirty, but every game I play I'm getting beat up and I'm getting no calls."

Junior Patrick Patterson feels Cousins's pain.

"That how it was for me my freshman year. You're not used to it," Patterson said. "In high school, you get all the calls. When you come to the collegiate level, the refs let it go a little bit and let you play. They don't call a foul unless it's a real hard foul."

But Coach John Calipari likes that teams are fouling Cousins.

"It's not his fault he's that big," Calipari said, Cousins being 6'11" and weighing 265. "But he is so big you almost have to do that guard him. You have push him, shove him, foul him, grab him and try to get his goat."

"They say they can't get me every call," Cousins added. "But if it's a foul, it's a foul. If it was me, they give them the call. I just think that's unfair.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Kentucky Scorches LSU 81-55


What was a LSU start, Kentucky quickly erases it and jumps out to a 22 unanswerd point run. UK absolutely crushed LSU going up 41-8, before making it a 42-14 halftime score. Hurricane Cousins was just a beast...as usual with his 6th consecutive double-double putting him at 19 pts and 13 rebs.

1st Half UK 42 LSU 14
2nd Half UK 39 LSU 41
Final Score UK 81 LSU 55

Kentucky Wildcats

Starters

Patrick Patterson, 31 mins, 5 rebs, 16 pts
DeMarcus Cousins, 20 mins, 13 rebs, 2 ast's, 1 blk, 19 pts.
One thing I want to point out about Cousins...is look at his playing time. 20 mins. Look at his stats. If he would of played at least 30 mins, he could of had 35 pts with 25 rebs. Maybe more, maybe less.
Darnell Dodson, 12 mins, 2 rebs, 2 blks, 8 pts
Eric Bledsoe, 25 mins, 4 rebs, 4 stls, 10 pts
John Wall, 30 mins, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 6 pts

Bench

Perry Stevenson, 6 mins, 4 rebs, 2 pts
Ramon Harris, 16 mins, 1 stl, 5 pts
Mark Krebs 3 mins
DeAndre Liggins, 18 mins, 8 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 7 pts
Darius Miller, 17 mins, 3 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls
Jon Hood, 3 mins, 3 pts
Daniel Orton, 15 mins, 1 blk, 5 rebs, 5 pts
Josh Harrellson, 1 reb

Totals, 16 orebs, 51 rebs, 10 asts, 8 stls, 7 blks, 81 pts

LSU Tigers

Starters

Tasmin Mitchell, 38 mins, 3 rebs, 1 stl, 10 pts
Storm Warren, 18 mins, 3 rebs, 2 stls, 1 blk, 7 pts
Bo Spencer, 38 mins, 2 asts, 2 stls, 25 pts
Chris Bass, 31 mins, 6 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 pts
Aaron Dotson, 20 mins, 3 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl

Bench

Garrett Green, 17 mins, 6 rebs, 1 stl, 3 pts
Dennis Harris, 11 mins, 1 ast, 1 pt
Zach Kinsley, 6 mins, 1 reb, 4 pts
Daron Populist, 7 mins
Eddie Ludwig, 8 mins, 1 reb
Chris Beattie, 6 mins, 1 reb

Totals, 7 orebs, 24 rebs, 7 asts, 8 stls, 1 blk

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Leslie Still Deciding



High school basketball star C.J. Leslie enjoyed his trip to Kentucky this past weekend to watch the Cats defeat Vanderbilt. That shouldn't be taken the wrong way, however, because after his visit, he is still "nowhere remotely close" to making a decision. Erasto Hatchett, C.J. Leslie's coach at Word of God said this is not evidence of Leslie possibably coming to Kentucky.

A winter storm canceled all classes at Word of God, so Leslie made the trip to Lexington to see the Cats play Vanderilt on Saturday.

"He had a good time at the ballgame," Hatchett said. "He still is friends with John Wall, and he also just wanted to come see him play."

Leslie, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound forward, averages 21.5 points per game for the Holy Rams. His coach also stated that he averages 11 rebounds and six blocks per game.

The coach said that he (Leslie) will make more visits to other schools, where and when is unknown. The coach also listed schools that still have a chance at landing Leslie. Those teams are, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina State, UCLA, Florida, Florida International, Georgetown and Oregon.

Leslie is considered by Rivals.com to be the #14 pick in the class of 2010. His coach thinks he should be higher.

"I won't say he's the best player in the country, but I think he has the most upside of any player in the country," he said.

Dodson and his Improving Play

As we know, Dodson has been draining a lot of 3's lately, making it hard for DeAndre Liggins, and Darius Miller to find playing time. His family knows that that talent goes back to his childhood, when he would be in some serious battles with his sister in basketball games.

"We were real competitive growing up in terms of basketball," said Darnell, who is one year younger than Davida, who played three seasons at Radford University.

"She kept me going and I kept her going and staying motivated," he added. "It was in high school gyms around the city with my dad and my sister, doing shooting drills and stuff like that. I could always shoot and, yeah, she (Davida) can shoot a little bit, too."

And when you got two great shooters, it would be a good game in H-O-R-S-E.

"I would beat her," Dodson said with a smile, "She got me one time."

For nearly one month (from the Jan. 2 Louisville game, to the South Carolina game on Jan. 26), Dodson only made 6-of-22 three pointers and never scored more than six points a game. Missing 3's also gave him poor defense, and with DeAndre Liggins improving his play, time was ticking for the sophomore from Greenbelt, MD. What had happened? Why wasn't Dodson being the shooter Kentucky needed?

"He should be the X-factor," coach John Calipari admits. "But I'm not changing. If he goes in the game, goes half speed defensively, or jogs the floor. I'm not playing him."

This is when the 6'-7" Dodson got down to work.

On defense: "Cal told me that he wanted me to play better defense and focus more on it," Dodson said. "He told me to think about it on the defensive end like I do when I am playing offense, with that same aggressive mindset. I have been able to do that and I have been playing more."

On offense: "It's the work I put into it and it's starting to pay off," he said. "I just take shots and see how many I can make. I try to come in before or after practice and put up more shots."

Dodson hit four 3's at the Ole Miss game, Tuesday night.

"That's definitely a confidence booster," he said. "It makes you want to put in that extra work because you see that it's paying off. There is a deeper comfort level. Every time it leaves my hand, I think it's going in."

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Video Highlights From Kentucky vs Ole Miss

Patterson and His Playing

When Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy met with the media following his team’s 85-75 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena, he was running down a list of what makes Kentucky so difficult to defend.

He talked about Wall. He talked about Cousins. He talked about Bledsoe. Then he paused for a second or two and said, “I mention three guys and I don’t even mention the Preseason Player of the Year in the league.”

He was referring to Kentucky's junior Patrick Patterson, who was named to The Associated Press’ preseason All-America first team.

Before the Ole Miss game, Patterson averaged only 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in his three prior games against Arkansas, South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Patterson’s last double-double came back earlier in the season against Long Beach State when he had 15 points and 11 boards Dec. 23.

He refuses to blame all this on Calipari's system.

I resorted away from that,” Patterson said. “I am comfortable with where I’m at. I love seeing John ball. I love seeing DeMarcus and Eric ball. But Coach wants me to join in as well instead of watching.”

“I liked Patrick’s game tonight,” Calipari said following the Ole Miss game. “He went after the ball and rebounded the ball. He is still not where he needs to be but in another week or so you will see how good he is. He is making strides.”

Coach Cal and Patrick have been meeting for 30 minute sessions before each practice.

“Part of the reason I am working with him is because I want him to know how much confidence I have in him,” Calipari said. “Joe Dumars said of all the players that returned to college he has helped himself the most. I am proud of that. I am telling him to take that to another level. … He is still 30 percent better than the way he played today in my opinion.”

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

John Wall Audio Interview

John Wall's Interview After the Kentucky vs Ole Miss Game (Feb. 2 2010).

Kentucky Improves to 21-1 With 85-75 Win Over Ole Miss

Kentucky had it in the palm of their hand the whole game and never trailed. Ole Miss did cut it to 3, but UK quickly answered and gained a double digit lead on them. Kentucky improves to 6-1 in the league, and Ole Miss to 4-4. No one really stole the show tonight, except for an awesome play where there was a lob to Bledsoe who had to jump out of his way to grab the ball and throw it behind him, in which it bounced of the backboard and in.

1st half UK 46 Miss 37
2nd half UK 39 Miss 38
Final Score UK 85 Miss 75

Kentucky to Release New Uniforms

This is just our 2nd season with the "new" Kentucky Men's Basketball Jerseys, but now Calipari confirms they are indeed releasing "newer" uni's. This was told by Calipari on his call in show and he gave a timeframe of a week or so which many asume would be the home game against Tennessee on 2/13 at 9:00 P.M.

There are no pictures of them yet but many speculate that they will look something like the new LeBron James shoes the Cats wore in the Vandy and Ole Miss games (so far).

There is no word if this new uniforms will be worn occasionally, or as a total redesign and dubbed the offical new uniforms.

Tight End Alex Smith Commits To Kentucky


Kentucky has received a verbal commitment from Alex Smith, a tight end prospect from Cincinnati, Ohio. Smith was receiving interest from Kentucky, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, NC State, Ohio State, Purdue, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The tight end position is a weak spot for Kentucky on the depth chart and Smith is a much desired recruit by UK's coaching staff. Kentucky Wildcats. Huguenin is UK’s 23rd commitment of the 2010 class. He is 6'5" and weighs 250 lbs and can run the 40-yard dash in 4.87 seconds. He is a senior at Lakota West High School. Smith will sign his letter of intent with the Cats tomorrow on National Signing Day. This could be the surprise of the recruiting class that Joker Phillips was hinting about. Rivals.com rates him as a 4-star recruit and UK does not get many commitments with a 4 or 5 star rating. Certainly the Joker Phillips Era looks promising from the recruits that he bas been chasing after as well as the new additions to his coaching staff. There is reason to be quite excited about Kentucky Football this fall.

Game Day : #25 Ole Miss vs #3 Kentucky Wildcats

Today the #3 Kentucky Wildcats (20-1) vs #25 Ole Miss Rebels (16-5) in Lexington, Kentucky at Rupp Arena. You can find the game on ESPN and ESPN360.com. If the Cats play like they did Saturday vs Vanderbilt, the winning margin and outcome of that game will probably be the same. Reginald Buckner, the most physical player for Ole Miss will be out tonight. Look out though for Murphy Holloway who had 19 points and 19 rebounds in their last game vs Arkansas on Sunday. Those are some DeMarcus Cousins numbers. Ole Miss also has a very deep back court with all four guards(Chris Warren, Terrico White, Eniel Polynice, and Zach Graham) all scoring double figures. White is a 3-point sharpshooter and Warren has been compared to Devan Downey. Will need to contain their backcourt for sure.

John Calipari On Ole Miss...

"Very good. When you talk about (Chris) Warren and (Terrico) White, you are talking about two of the best guards in the country. They're inside people are active, block shots and they are physical. This is an athletic team that tries to break you down on the bounce. They shoot three's and they shoot them well. They are a top-20 team. I just watched the (Ole Miss vs.) Arkansas. When I watched the tape, I thought they (Ole Miss) were up 15 because there was not a score on the tape I got. All of the sudden, Arkansas was up three. If you would have watched the game you would have said there was no way they lost that game. They are a good team."

DeAndre Liggins On what he has heard about Ole Miss ...

"I have heard they are pretty athletic and they will take it to you off the pick and roll. They have Chris Warren back and are very athletic and we have to do a good job of guarding them and come up with a game plan"

Biography On Chuck Hayes (Former Kentucky Basketball Player)


Chuck Edward Hayes, Jr. was born June 11, 1983 in San Leandro, California. He was a basketball star out of Modesto Christian High School out of Modesto, California. Chuck is currently starter for the NBA's Houston Rockets as he fills in at center in place of the NBA All-Star Yao Ming. Hayes is the shortest ever center to play the position in NBA history but his work ethic and desire to win lets him hold his own vs the bigs in the NBA. The traits of Hayes we all loved during his tenure as a Wildcat has followed him to the NBA where he is having a solid NBA career.
High School Career
Coming out of high school, he was named Mr. Basketball of the State of California in 2001. He was also named a Parade All-American. Chuck Hayes was recruited by Kansas and Kentucky but when Kansas wasn't sure if they wanted to offer him a scholarship, Tubby Smith quickly offered him a basketball scholarship and Hayes accepted the offer.
Collegiate Career
Chuck Hayes was instantly a fan-favorite of the Big Blue Nation since day one. During his freshman season he contributed 188 points and 143 rebounds. His contributions during his freshman season earned him All-SEC Freshman Team Honors in 2002. Hayes played all 36 games in his sophomore season with 310 points and 244 rebounds. Chuck Hayes as a Junionr emerged as one of the team's leaders. He scored 342 points and grabbed 260 rebounds and earned All-SEC 2nd Team (Coaches) and 3rd Team(AP); as well as All-SEC Tournament. Hayes senior season was his best yet. In 34 games, he had 371 points and 263 rebounds. He lead the Cats all the way to the Elite 8 in which they lost to Michigan State ending a fabulous 4-year run with the Cats. He earned All-NCAA Regional Team Honors in 04-05 as well as All-SEC (First Team (AP & Coaches). Hayes played with many future pros during his Wildcats career including Keith Bogans, Gerald Fitch, Erik Daniels, Randolph Morris, Joe Crawford, Tayshaun Prince, and Kelenna Azubuike. During 4 years, he compiled a record of 87-15 (.853), and earned final AP rankings in the polls of 1st, 2nd and 7th. Hayes finished his career at Kentucky ranking 7th all time in rebounds, 8th in steals, 9th in blocked shots, and 35th in points. He also tied Alex Groza for the Kentucky record for most consecutive starts with 110.
USA Basketball
Hayes was a member of the USA Team in the 2003 Pan American Games. He was a starter in 5 games and lead his team with 7.6 rebounds. They finished 4th in the tournament with a 2-3 record.
Professional Career
Hayes went undrafted in the 2005 NBA Draft but became an undrafted free agent. He signed with the Houston Rockets and played some preseason games but got cut. He then was selected 6th in the 2005 NBA Developmental League Draft by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. He led the league with 12.2 rebounds per game while he was in the D-League. Hayes signed a 10-day contract with the Houston Rockets on January 18, 2006. Later than month on January 28th, the Rockets announced that they would sign Hayes for the remainder of the season. During his rookie season, the Rockets traded for Keith Bogans and Gerald Fitch reuniting with Hayes for the the first time since their playing days at Kentucky. Hayes has a shoe endorsement deal with Chinese athletic apparel company Li Ning that was signed in 06 valued at about $5 million. Hayes has a trademark free throw shooting form that he delays the release on his jumpshots and free throws kind of like having a hitch in his shot delaying it from going in quicker. Hayes remains with the Houston Rockets to this day.

Personal Life
Hayes became a father on April 21st, 2007. His girlfriend, Nicole Anderson, gave birth to their son, Dorian Titus Hayes. That same day Hayes made first career playoff start and recorded first playoff victory as well. Hobbies Chuck Hayes has are singing, acting, and poker.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Marquis Teague is Liking the Cats


Top junior high school basketball prospect Marquis Teague is liking the University of Kentucky. Kentucky is high on his list of schools. 6' 2" Teague, said after his team's 66-55 loss to Bloomington South on Friday that he plans to pick a college after this high school season ends and before his AAU season begins.

"I like Kentucky a lot," he said. "I want to go down there and take a few more visits, get to a few games. I haven't been down there as much as I've been everywhere else. I like Coach Cal a lot. We have a great relationship, so that's a great school."

He's planning to visit the UK UT game in Rupp Arena.

"I've been watching a lot of (UK) games," he said. "I love watching John Wall play. He's a great player, and Kentucky is a great program. They've got, what, five freshmen? And they're dominating."

He says he likes how Wall and Eric play, mostly their aggresive ways. He thinks that he could really fit in with UK.

"Their games are similar to mine, pushing, scoring in transition a lot, playing full-court defense, all that," he said. "I can see myself doing that style."

He also likes UK rival, U of L.

"My father didn't want me to jump in to anything to quick," Teague said. "I really wasn't going to commit anywhere because my father wouldn't allow me. But they're one of the tops on my list."

Hopefully he'll commit to Kentucky.

Videos of Wall/Calipari Discussing Their "Feud"




Apparently the situation between Calipari and Wall is all good now according to KSR.

Calipari addressed those comments today and said,
“He comes in like a puppy dog and says, ‘Coach I need to talk to you, I am frustrated.’ I told him, ‘just play and enjoy yourself. When you play bad, its ok to play bad. You act like you can't play bad. Yes you can. He came over and said ‘I love you” and hugged me and left."

Biography on Rex Chapman (Former Kentucky Basketball Player)



Rex Everett Chapman was born on October 5, 1967 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The 6’4” 185 lb Chapman was a high school basketball star at Apollo High in Owensboro in Kentucky, and was heavily recruited by many universities. All though he was wanted at so many other schools, he chose to stay close to home and therefore he signed with the University of Kentucky. Named Mr. Kentucky, he was a star at UK. He was named to the All-SEC Team during his freshman and sophomore years. In his freshman year, he averaged a team-leading 16 points-per-game and knocked down 68 three pointers. During his sophomore season, he increased his average to 19 points-per-game and led Kentucky to their 37th SEC Title and a 6th overall ranking in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Chapman and one of his teammates, future NBA player Winston Bennett, helped lead Kentucky to their 37th SEC title with a 27-6 record during his sophomore year. And in 1988, Chapman scored 30 points in effort to try and beat the Villanova Wildcats, but lost to them in the Sweet Sixteen. Shortly there after, Chapman entered his name into the NBA Draft, where he was chosen as the 8th pick overall, and became the first player ever signed by the Charlotte Hornets in the school’s history.

He went on to play for four NBA teams through his 12-year career in the league, playing at the Charlotte Hornets (1988-92), Washington Bullets (1992-95), the Miami Heat (1995-96), and the Phoenix Suns (1996-2000). Despite the prolonging injuries throughout his NBA career, Chapman’s numbers are very impressive. He finished with 9,731 overall points in his career, which is great for averaging 14.6 PPG. He also sunk 805 three-pointers. He is currently the VP of player personnel with the Denver Nuggets.

Kentucky Falls To 4th In Week 12 AP Poll

AP Top 25
1. Kansas (54) 20-1 1,605
2. Villanova (4) 19-1 1,534
3. Syracuse (6) 21-1 1,506
4. Kentucky (1) 20-1 1,460
5. Michigan State 19-3 1,367
6. West Virginia 17-3 1,230
7. Georgetown 16-4 1,204
8. Purdue 18-3 1,182
9. Texas 18-3 1,069
10. Kansas State 17-4 1,025
10. Duke 17-4 1,025
12. Brigham Young 21-2 748
13. Ohio State 16-6 677
14. Tennessee 16-4 655
15. New Mexico 20-3 636
16. Wisconsin 16-5 585
17. Gonzaga 17-4 541
18. Vanderbilt 16-4 502
19. Temple 18-4 495
20. Baylor 16-4 461
21. Georgia Tech 16-5 459
22. Pittsburgh 16-5 278
23. Butler 18-4 216
24. Northern Iowa 19-2 193
25. Mississippi 16-5 132
Others Receiving Votes
Florida State 77, Cornell 39, UAB 32, Wake Forest 31, Xavier 31, Siena 19.
Dropped From Rankings
Connecticut 19, UAB 25.