We are our worst enemy.

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

We hyped up our new coach so much and got so excited about him that we forgot to remember that we didn't go 28-5 the past two seasons and we forgot to remember we were hardly ranked the past two seasons, we forgot that Morris went pro and now we seem to lose sight that 2 or our starters are out.

Some of us thought this would be a struggle but most got too excited.

[twincat]

We hyped up our new coach so much and got so excited about him that we forgot to remember that we didn't go 28-5 the past two seasons and we forgot to remember we were hardly ranked the past two seasons, we forgot that Morris went pro and now we seem to lose sight that 2 or our starters are out.

Some of us thought this would be a struggle but most got too excited.

John, I have to admit I fall into that category of those who got all hyped up over the possibility of something magical happening. I felt that we had the talent to do better, and I assumed (without really taking a harsh look at what we lost and what we had coming back plus what we had coming in) that the change would unleash the pent up talent that might have been stymied by the existing coaching staff. Well, obviously, if there was pent up talent , it is still pent up. It didn't occur to me that our returning seniors/stars might not buy into the program that had been successful in BCG's last two stops. So, IMO we just may have to tough it out this year and take our lumps and see what next year brings when we have both Jasper and Meeks back. However, the eternal optimist in me hopes down deep that before this season is over our current team will improve enough for us to salvage a decent record and at least make it to the NCAA.

[RaleighCat]

John, there is struggling, and there is STRUGGLING. I was prepared for the first, not the second.

I fully expected to lose to UNC. And probably IU.

I wasn't expecting to get embarrassed in Bloomington; or not holding a 14-point lead on UAB; and don't even mention Gardner-Webb.

Even without Meeks and Jasper I expected more improvement from other players. Patterson is the ONLY Wildcat to exceed expectations so far (OK, maybe add Coury to that list).

And finally I didn't expect Coach Gillispie to do this Norman Dale/Hickory High impression. I understand "My way or the highway." I wasn't fully prepared for it, however. Adjustments are few, tensions are high, playing time uneven, and one transfer in less than a dozen games.

We knew a transition was coming. We got a TRANSITION. It's going to take some getting used to.

[Rockober]

John, there is struggling, and there is STRUGGLING. I was prepared for the first, not the second.

I fully expected to lose to UNC. And probably IU.

I wasn't expecting to get embarrassed in Bloomington; or not holding a 14-point lead on UAB; and don't even mention Gardner-Webb.

Even without Meeks and Jasper I expected more improvement from other players. Patterson is the ONLY Wildcat to exceed expectations so far (OK, maybe add Coury to that list).

And finally I didn't expect Coach Gillispie to do this Norman Dale/Hickory High impression. I understand "My way or the highway." I wasn't fully prepared for it, however. Adjustments are few, tensions are high, playing time uneven, and one transfer in less than a dozen games.

We knew a transition was coming. We got a TRANSITION. It's going to take some getting used to.


I agree. Have we seen any improvement from any of the players? He is a great coach and he will do just fine here but who could have expected these results? Nobody. He has had terrible bad luck with Jasper and Meeks being injured but I would expect someone to develop. He has a plan and I know we will see results, but its difficult waiting when its difficult to see any progress.

[BlueRazor]

I agree. Have we seen any improvement from any of the players? He is a great coach and he will do just fine here but who could have expected these results? Nobody. He has had terrible bad luck with Jasper and Meeks being injured but I would expect someone to develop. He has a plan and I know we will see results, but its difficult waiting when its difficult to see any progress.

It is hard to improve a team when they can't do the basics such as good entry passes to the post. How many times does Patterson have to get out of position to get a crappy pass?

They don't put pressure on the ball on defense and until they do you can expect the kind of losses we have been seeing.

When you have a team of kids that can't do the fundamentals you have to start from ground zero and that can take a long time to build from the bottom up.

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

I agree. Have we seen any improvement from any of the players?


Well let's look at Crawford's 2007 stat- 17.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .455 fg%, .833 ft%,
2006 stat- 14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .444 fg%, .637 ft%

let's look at Bradley 2007 stat- 14.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, .457 fg%, .829 ft%
2006 stat- 13.4 ppg, 3.7 apg, .420 fg%, .815 ft%

let's look at Stevenson 2007 stat - 5.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, .643 fg%, .667 ft%
2006 stat - 2.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .656 fg%, .533 ft%

Obviously, Crawford is having his best season statistically, so is Bradley, Stevenson has improved most of his numbers and Coury and Porter are forced to play way more minutes than planned. Morris, Sheray, Perry and Woo were unavailable for comparison.

The biggest problem is I don't have stats from 2007 for Meeks or Jasper to use for comparison - oh yeah, Jodie did have a 29pt half in an exhibition game earlier - of course, this is a huge problem not having these two.

So to say guys like Bradley and Crawford haven't improved is false - the numbers prove it. We are missing players.

By they way, I would say Patterson has been coached rather well by BCG, unless you consider 16ppg and 8rpg bad. Notice that Patterson isn't the foul-machine inside Morris was?

[Rockober]

Well let's look at Crawford's 2007 stat- 17.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .455 fg%, .833 ft%,
2006 stat- 14.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .444 fg%, .637 ft%

let's look at Bradley 2007 stat- 14.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, .457 fg%, .829 ft%
2006 stat- 13.4 ppg, 3.7 apg, .420 fg%, .815 ft%

let's look at Stevenson 2007 stat - 5.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, .643 fg%, .667 ft%
2006 stat - 2.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .656 fg%, .533 ft%

Obviously, Crawford is having his best season statistically, so is Bradley, Stevenson has improved most of his numbers and Coury and Porter are forced to play way more minutes than planned. Morris, Sheray, Perry and Woo were unavailable for comparison.

The biggest problem is I don't have stats from 2007 for Meeks or Jasper to use for comparison - oh yeah, Jodie did have a 29pt half in an exhibition game earlier - of course, this is a huge problem not having these two.

So to say guys like Bradley and Crawford haven't improved is false - the numbers prove it. We are missing players.

By they way, I would say Patterson has been coached rather well by BCG, unless you consider 16ppg and 8rpg bad. Notice that Patterson isn't the foul-machine inside Morris was?

Point taken and Crawford, Stevenson and Bradley have all played decent at times. Bradley and Crawford are arguably two of the three players that can score for this team right now. There number should be up because of lack of scorers.

Also, without a true point guard in Jasper not playing, Crawford and Bradley would have better looks and would look better. Some improvement by both these players should be contributed to experience though.

That being said, I know Billy G will get it done and is a good coach. The play right now does not reflect his coaching ability.

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

Point taken and Crawford, Stevenson and Bradley have all played decent at times. Bradley and Crawford are arguably two of the three players that can score for this team right now. There number should be up because of lack of scorers.

Also, without a true point guard in Jasper not playing, Crawford and Bradley would have better looks and would look better. Some improvement by both these players should be contributed to experience though.

That being said, I know Billy G will get it done and is a good coach. The play right now does not reflect his coaching ability.

If Crawford will dedicate himself to BCG's way of playing defense, he will see his minutes increase and that 17.0 ppg, he's averaging, could go to over 20ppg. His draft status and UK's season really depends on BCG/Crawford working together. We need Jasper bad, Bradley works better off the ball and Jasper has a steady hand.

[Rockober]

If Crawford will dedicate himself to BCG's way of playing defense, he will see his minutes increase and that 17.0 ppg, he's averaging, could go to over 20ppg. His draft status and UK's season really depends on BCG/Crawford working together. We need Jasper bad, Bradley works better off the ball and Jasper has a steady hand.

I agree.

[UKhoov]

The reason alot of people arent seeing the improvent is two things IMO.

1. Not winning of course

2. the mistakes that have been made are of the crucial variety

Unfortunately alot of poeple have given up on Bradley and Crawford and whether they would say it or not cant wait for their senior day, so they can move on.

I might be wrong in this assesment, but the worst pasrt is that I might be right.:shrug1:

[UKBOO]

Very good thread.
Very good points with some proven stats thrown in.

Some players have shown some improvement. UK needs much more from them to make a real difference. The mistake stats need to diminish. But there is more to it..
Many thought UK would take off. Many thought they would struggle. Many gave some decent opinion in all directions.
One thing kind a got left out, and I think that may be one of the most important ingredients. The mojo factor. The winning attitude. KNOWING what it takes to win. I think that was as big of a contributor to the UAB loss than anything. UK had a chance to win. UK didn't know how. The play at the end of the half, that's winning BB. That had the focus and execution of a winner. The play to end the game???
I've played a lot of softball since my college BB days. I've played on lots of great teams. Two City Title teams. Those teams knew they were going to win. Just as importantly, the teams we played knew they were going to lose. We could be down by 5 going into the 6th and we knew we would win. And I could look across the field and see that the other team knew it too....

These guys need to re-learn how to win, and its going to take a while before UK has that mojo back.

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

Patterson, Bradley and Crawford are having good years - the problem is when you throw Porter, Coury, Harris, Williams, Stevenson, Carter and others in the mix.

We need Jasper and Meeks to get back to respecatability and then we need some bigs to help Patterson inside, all that's lacking.

[katscan]

While I expected us to struggle this year because of our lack of talent,there are some things that really concern me.CBG said his goal is "to win every game." I do not feel he is trying to do

that.Crawford is one of the most talented players that we have.However, cbg almost refuses to start him.So we start the game 3 against 5.cbg is intent on "sending messages" to a talented sr.Is this going to go on all yr?Laying a plan for the future? this is Joe"s future! You can"t tell me he is playing less hard or worse than the guys in his place! Our talent is down because,we haven"t had a decent recruiting class(besides Meeks and Jasper)since 2004. we land two highly ranked players this yr and one is already gone. While Legion was here,he played behind Porter after Meeks was hurt.Even with Legion's faults,he was still better than Porter. sometime's you have to bend a little( not break) to obtain the results you want. Instead he is gone. rid of a problem? Possibly,but if Patterson decides to leave we are right back to where we started this yr.You cannot bring UK back to the elite this way.You have to get these kind of players and keep them.You have to learn to manage this kind of talent because this kind of talent will have egos.coach puke k does,Roy Willaims does it,cbg must learn to do it.imho,if you want to win,you play your best players.Hard practices before a game?How does this help you win every game?Everyone knows it is hard to shoot with tired legs.perhaps time would be better spent preparing for the other team and preparing ADJUSTMENTS. IMHO,CBG is sacrificing wins to "send messages" and to prove points.I believe in playing hard and discipline but being stubborn is not helpful to consistently winning.

[matt57]

While I expected us to struggle this year because of our lack of talent,there are some things that really concern me.CBG said his goal is "to win every game." I do not feel he is trying to do

that.Crawford is one of the most talented players that we have.However, cbg almost refuses to start him.So we start the game 3 against 5.cbg is intent on "sending messages" to a talented sr.Is this going to go on all yr?Laying a plan for the future? this is Joe"s future! You can"t tell me he is playing less hard or worse than the guys in his place! Our talent is down because,we haven"t had a decent recruiting class(besides Meeks and Jasper)since 2004. we land two highly ranked players this yr and one is already gone. While Legion was here,he played behind Porter after Meeks was hurt.Even with Legion's faults,he was still better than Porter. sometime's you have to bend a little( not break) to obtain the results you want. Instead he is gone. rid of a problem? Possibly,but if Patterson decides to leave we are right back to where we started this yr.You cannot bring UK back to the elite this way.You have to get these kind of players and keep them.You have to learn to manage this kind of talent because this kind of talent will have egos.coach puke k does,Roy Willaims does it,cbg must learn to do it.imho,if you want to win,you play your best players.Hard practices before a game?How does this help you win every game?Everyone knows it is hard to shoot with tired legs.perhaps time would be better spent preparing for the other team and preparing ADJUSTMENTS. IMHO,CBG is sacrificing wins to "send messages" and to prove points.I believe in playing hard and discipline but being stubborn is not helpful to consistently winning.

i hate to call you out on your first post. but, you couldn't be any wronger (LOL). coach got this job by demanding excellence and dedication EVERY day in practice. he turned two programs around by using this same approach. these were two programs that had no business being as good as he made them. you can't ask him to change his way just because it's started out rough. the guy is a winner. he will get the recruits to lexington and when he does. watch out....

[SamKat]

This truly is a good thread UKBOO. Thanks JOHN BLUEBLOOD!

I respect UKBOO's softball analogy to the expectations of winning at all times by above normal teams. Throughout the years UK basketball teams have had that expectation of winning, as witnessed by the outstanding overall record with teams of varying talents. This team just can't seem to get to the "above normal" level.

I was as excited to get into this basketball season as I have ever been as a long time Kentucky fan. Even though our talent level may be suspect, I expected coach Gillispie's methodology to kick in right away and get winning results right away. The season is less enjoyable than I anticipated. I will live with it and look forward to the future, even in this season. Twelve and thirteen loss seasons have not left our players with "above normal" expectations, much less the "outstanding expectations" of us Kentucky fans.

God grant us patience, and soon!

[reggis]

No reason we should not be able to win 20+ games, are we on schedule to do that,no. The loss to GW and UAB has taken this program backwards. Thats not what we expected Clyde to accomplish, even without Meeks and Jasper there is plenty of talent to have won both games. What Clyde doesn't understand is at UK he is expected to get UK into the NCAA tournament just like always. Good coaches gets their team to overachieve instead of underachieve like we have done up to this point.

[freethrow]

No reason we should not be able to win 20+ games, are we on schedule to do that,no. The loss to GW and UAB has taken this program backwards. Thats not what we expected Clyde to accomplish, even without Meeks and Jasper there is plenty of talent to have won both games. What Clyde doesn't understand is at UK he is expected to get UK into the NCAA tournament just like always. Good coaches gets their team to overachieve instead of underachieve like we have done up to this point.

Who is to say we will not win 20 games plus? It baffles me how some are unable to see what Coach G has been up against so far this season. Teaching a new system and attitude to our players alone, especially Joe and Ramel, has been plenty tough with them being seniors. Add in the injuries to our better backup and possibly would be starting players, having no real center and the fact that the overall talent level is down a bit speaks clearly to me. In tough situations, like the Vaden issue in the IU game, he had almost no help off the bench to keep enough pressure on the guy.

I fully expect things to start to turn the corner soon. With Meeks coming back and possibly Jasper if his recent pain is no real problem things will look much better for us. I'm keeping my head up. Coach G is still The Man to me and I expect him to shut up all his new doubters before long.

[DCCatFan]

First -- this thread is why I love this board.

Second -- how do we get to 20 wins? Well, we need to win our last four non-conference games before U of L. That gets us to 8-4. Beating U of L would get us to 9, which would be big (and a big shot of confidence).

Then we need to win some combination of 10-12 SEC games, in a year when the league is a bit down. Considering we've gone 9-7 the past two seasons that could be a stretch. Does 8-8 get us in? Probably not, unless we make it to the SEC finals.

20+ wins overall and 10 conference wins and a win in the Big East tournament got Syracuse a nice NIT bid last year. Unfortunately, we won't have a marquee non-conference win unless we beat U of L and they turn their season around.

A season to truly test the Faithful!!

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

This truly is a good thread UKBOO. Thanks JOHN BLUEBLOOD!

I respect UKBOO's softball analogy to the expectations of winning at all times by above normal teams. Throughout the years UK basketball teams have had that expectation of winning, as witnessed by the outstanding overall record with teams of varying talents. This team just can't seem to get to the "above normal" level.

I was as excited to get into this basketball season as I have ever been as a long time Kentucky fan. Even though our talent level may be suspect, I expected coach Gillispie's methodology to kick in right away and get winning results right away. The season is less enjoyable than I anticipated. I will live with it and look forward to the future, even in this season. Twelve and thirteen loss seasons have not left our players with "above normal" expectations, much less the "outstanding expectations" of us Kentucky fans.

God grant us patience, and soon!

Sam, I mad SEC tourney reservations with the assumption that this coach would take Tubby's players and do much better, right away. Then Meeks and Jasper went down as well as Legion leaving. I got swept up in the idea that we were much better than we are. I'm not mailing in the season though and this team could get Meeks and possibly Jasper back. What's really hurting us is the fact we have one solid post player (who should be playing PF next to a center) and then you have Coury, Stevenson, Willams and Carter and only two of these four are good enough to see the floor. Billy will get it done but needs our help as well and not us doubting his every move - besides, he's only won 3 consecutive Big 12 coach of the year awards, so why not let him have a few years?

[UKBOO]

^^^
I was really afraid "this" would happen. This being, UK not doing so well and the fans having a cow. I posted as much on my old home board.

Many had high expectation. I see nothing wrong with that! But the problems come when expectations are not met.

The saying, "I would rather be pleasantly surprised than to be disappointed" really holds true here. Granted, I thought they would be a little better than what they are. Of course that was with Meeks and Japser and Legion....

I think the very best thing to do is to accept what UK is, hope they get better, and cheer on whatever improvements we see.

This is why I appreciate your post very much...

[SamKat]

John,

Jeanie and I also have our SEC tickets. I think it is the wildcatnation.net crowd that draws us as much as the Cats recently, but, of course it is always the Cats!

Of God's outstanding individuals, He surely made a lot of them Wildcat fans.

[ukwebfan]

We hyped up our new coach so much and got so excited about him that we forgot to remember that we didn't go 28-5 the past two seasons and we forgot to remember we were hardly ranked the past two seasons, we forgot that Morris went pro and now we seem to lose sight that 2 or our starters are out.

Some of us thought this would be a struggle but most got too excited.Are you the same JB guy as last year? If so, pot calling the kettle. Come in kettle.

[vaPascal]

We hyped up our new coach so much and got so excited about him that we forgot to remember that we didn't go 28-5 the past two seasons and we forgot to remember we were hardly ranked the past two seasons, we forgot that Morris went pro and now we seem to lose sight that 2 or our starters are out.

Some of us thought this would be a struggle but most got too excited.

Sounds about right. Expectation are a huge part of the human psyche.

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

^^^
I was really afraid "this" would happen. This being, UK not doing so well and the fans having a cow. I posted as much on my old home board.

Many had high expectation. I see nothing wrong with that! But the problems come when expectations are not met.

The saying, "I would rather be pleasantly surprised than to be disappointed" really holds true here. Granted, I thought they would be a little better than what they are. Of course that was with Meeks and Japser and Legion....

I think the very best thing to do is to accept what UK is, hope they get better, and cheer on whatever improvements we see.

This is why I appreciate your post very much...

Thanks Boo, we've been dealt a tough hand but I feel we have the man in charge who will stick with it.

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

Are you the same JB guy as last year? If so, pot calling the kettle. Come in kettle.


I'm sure, I wasn't a Tubby-guy the past 2 years but I'm putting all that past me. I want everyone to get behind this coach without looking back. We know the cupboard isn't what we're used to and Tubby left with class - I think even he knew this would be a rough season. I'm really trying to keep him out of my posts and move on - and I apologize for being so rough on him in the past.

[BigblueDrew]

No reason we should not be able to win 20+ games, are we on schedule to do that,no. The loss to GW and UAB has taken this program backwards. Thats not what we expected Clyde to accomplish, even without Meeks and Jasper there is plenty of talent to have won both games. What Clyde doesn't understand is at UK he is expected to get UK into the NCAA tournament just like always. Good coaches gets their team to overachieve instead of underachieve like we have done up to this point.

I keep reading these stAtement like"These's no reason we shouldn't win 20 games". WHY should we Automatically win 20+ games, because they did it last year? Remove Morris , Meeks , Perry and Jasper from that team and how many games does it win, MAYBE 14. Reading all this anghst about Coach Gillespie so early in his career, especially when he laboring under such OBVIOUS limitations just leads me to believe that our fan base is absolutely INSANE>

[BigblueDrew]

I'm sure, I wasn't a Tubby-guy the past 2 years but I'm putting all that past me. I want everyone to get behind this coach without looking back. We know the cupboard isn't what we're used to and Tubby left with class - I think even he knew this would be a rough season. I'm really trying to keep him out of my posts and move on - and I apologize for being so rough on him in the past.

I hear you man but there are some that will not care even if you do, your need to post here after a dig that wasn't called for is a perfect example.

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

I hear you man but there are some that will not care even if you do, your need to post here after a dig that wasn't called for is a perfect example.

I offered the olive branch......that's all I can do.

[BigblueDrew]

I offered the olive branch......that's all I can do.

Good idea but I bet he aint interested.

[Briz]

No reason we should not be able to win 20+ games, are we on schedule to do that,no. The loss to GW and UAB has taken this program backwards. Thats not what we expected Clyde to accomplish, even without Meeks and Jasper there is plenty of talent to have won both games. What Clyde doesn't understand is at UK he is expected to get UK into the NCAA tournament just like always. Good coaches gets their team to overachieve instead of underachieve like we have done up to this point.

I don't get this "underachieving" stuff. Who exactly is underachieving? Bradley is playing out of position because Jasper is hurt. Crawford is the same Crawford he has always been - inconsist. Patterson is playing better than I thought he would. At time Perry looks much improved. Jasper and Meeks are hurt.
Other than that, there is not much talent left. I am just not seeing this "plenty of talent" you are seeing I guess.
Personally I am enjoying seeing this all play out. Once things are turned around - and they WILL get turned around - all the naysayers will be in here apologizing for being so shortsighted. Just like I did with Coach Brooks. :big_grin:

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

Good idea but I bet he aint interested.


We'll, I'm sure I'll manage to get to sleep this evening.

[poodoo]

Very good thread.
Very good points with some proven stats thrown in.

Some players have shown some improvement. UK needs much more from them to make a real difference. The mistake stats need to diminish. But there is more to it..
Many thought UK would take off. Many thought they would struggle. Many gave some decent opinion in all directions.
One thing kind a got left out, and I think that may be one of the most important ingredients. The mojo factor. The winning attitude. KNOWING what it takes to win. I think that was as big of a contributor to the UAB loss than anything. UK had a chance to win. UK didn't know how. The play at the end of the half, that's winning BB. That had the focus and execution of a winner. The play to end the game???
I've played a lot of softball since my college BB days. I've played on lots of great teams. Two City Title teams. Those teams knew they were going to win. Just as importantly, the teams we played knew they were going to lose. We could be down by 5 going into the 6th and we knew we would win. And I could look across the field and see that the other team knew it too....

These guys need to re-learn how to win, and its going to take a while before UK has that mojo back.

:thumbup::thumbup:, UKBOO. Too, franky, that is what has worried me the most about this team's narrow loss to UAB. These guys so need that WINNING MENTALITY of which you speak. That they suffered that narrow loss to UAB badly hurt me because I had felt the players, especially the veteran ones, so badly needed to pull off a close victory. :icon_sad: I HEAR YOU.

Too, we fans need to look at last season's performance more closely. Yes, we had so many losses, which are merely discussed as a number. So many of those losses, though, were essentially ONE-possession games. How many times did we discuss here how we had made stupid decisions and had costly turnovers at CRUNCH TIME! The coaches frequently bemoaned that fact and how the UK players did not seem to BELIEVE they would win those close ones, even though they had been positively encouraged in that regard in their last huddle each time!

That's why we had SO NEEDED that win over UAB. Too, yes, I think we tightened up during the UAB comeback, fearing still another loss.

Further, in contrast to what so many fans seem to think, it's NOT necessary to BLAME anyone. It is SO important that these guys who have had past difficulties in that area get OVER THE HUMP and start thinking that they will WIN those close games. Too, no, it's not their lack of expectations. I read quotes from the seniors, their talking about winning the national championship this year. It's something else that they must overcome.

Thank you, UKBOO. I think you are RIGHT ON TARGET with your excellent analogy. I'm not focused on faulting anyone. I just FEEL for these players AND their coach. As you say, the mentality must change AND soon. GO CATS! GO COACH G!

[poodoo]

First -- this thread is why I love this board.

Second -- how do we get to 20 wins? Well, we need to win our last four non-conference games before U of L. That gets us to 8-4. Beating U of L would get us to 9, which would be big (and a big shot of confidence).

Then we need to win some combination of 10-12 SEC games, in a year when the league is a bit down. Considering we've gone 9-7 the past two seasons that could be a stretch. Does 8-8 get us in? Probably not, unless we make it to the SEC finals.

THAT is how I choose to think,DCCatFan. We CAN get there. Also, something folks seem to be forgetting is that the committee usually looks more at how a team has performed in its LAST TEN games. It also usually looks at extenuating circumstances such as key players' having been out with injuries earlier in the year.

SO I'm looking hopefully for Derrick also to return and for us to have Jasper, Patterson, and Meeks in the starting lineup for SEC play, possibly along with the two seniors and thus a smaller, quicker lineup. We'll see.

Regardless, YES, this admitted eternal optimist says that such a strong finish is QUITE possible. Most important is that our players themselves think just that way and plan to start WINNING games, ONE game at a time. GO CATS! GO COACH G!

P.S. Yes, JOHN, we Wildcat fans are indeed often "our own worst enemy." I remember, too, how Dr. Lecter used to post about "how we eat our own." Instead, I honestly think these guys need us fans to try our hardest to forget everything about the past, including last night's game, and focus on WINNING in the FUTURE, one game at a time.