j_allen
01-13-2008, 01:56 PM
By Brian Rickerd/State Journal Sports Writer
16 hours ago
LEXINGTON - Who knew?
Who could have possibly predicted that the Kentucky Wildcats would rebound from their lowest point of the season in last weekend's home loss to Louisville and play far and away their best game of the season Saturday in a 79-73, double-overtime win over the previously undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores?
Who knew these Wildcats would blow a 16-point, second-half lead and still find a way to win against a very good Vanderbilt team? Who knew Kentucky had the character and smarts to do that?
It was as if overnight the Wildcats retreated from the different pages of the book to play on the same page at last.
"I think our guys are a little tougher than you give them credit for," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie said after his team improved to 7-7 overall and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference. "I think they're going to play through until the end, and I think they're going to continue to get better.
"I don't think they are soft mentally," Gillispie added. "They have really gained a lot of mental toughness. There are a lot of inexperienced guys out there that have been put in tough situations, and they've handled those situations very well and that was evident today in how they played."
The Wildcats played, in other words, just like Gillispie envisioned when he took the Kentucky job last spring.
"I don't know if there was a possession when we did not compete today," Gillispie said. "And that's what makes me most proud as a coach because you can't win at the very highest level without competing on every possession. We made a lot of mistakes, but it wasn't for a lack of competing."
But why? Why did this come about just seven days after the same Wildcats rolled over down the stretch against their arch rival Cardinals of Louisville? Clearly, something happened in practice since that 89-75 debacle a week earlier.
"I think we've developed a better sense of urgency," Gillispie replied. "I think we had a fantastic, very physical week of practice. It was very tough, and we got in better shape. We used this week to get in quite a bit better shape, and I think you saw that down the stretch today."
Only eight Wildcats played against Vanderbilt, and seven of them played about as well as you can expect at this stage of the season. You can throw out Michael Porter because he only played one minute in this game. The other seven Wildcats all played well.
Freshman forward Patrick Patterson outplayed Vandy's highly touted big man, A.J. Ogilvy. Patterson played the entire 50 minutes of the game and had 23 points and 12 rebounds. Ogilvy had 16 points and five boards.
Senior point guard Ramel Bradley had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals to highlight his 50 minutes.
Senior swing man Joe Crawford had arguably his best game as a Wildcat. Not only did Crawford have 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, but he did a stellar defensive job on Vandy's superb senior swing man, Shan Foster. Foster managed 17 points but had to work for every one.
Gillispie had nothing but good things to say about his two previously beleaguered seniors - Crawford and Bradley.
"Joe was great all day long," Gillispie said of Crawford. "I don't think anyone has ever had to say this to Joe - "Joe, you've got to be more aggressive on offense' - I was telling him that all day long, but I don't know if he had any juice left. But he did a fantastic job on a very good player (Foster). I'm really proud of all of them, but especially proud of Joe's defensive effort against one of the better players in the country."
"Ramel," Gillispie added, "is tough. He tries all the time. He makes mistakes like we all do, but he always tries. He was tired, but you couldn't tell it. He made a lot of big shots. He also did a fantastic job of guarding his man the entire time. They (Commodores) stretch you out because they can all shoot it so well, but Ramel didn't make many defensive mistakes that I can remember."
Gillispie said Patterson also played through exhaustion.
"When he made a mistake, Patrick kept saying, "I'll make up for it, I'll make up for it,' and he certainly did," Gillispie said of Patterson. "That's what you do as a team. You mature as players and you mature as a team. And usually it's all through teamwork and toughness, and we're getting better at all of it."
Even guys who you would think of as role players stepped up in this one. Ramon Harris had five big rebounds; Mark Coury had nine points and five rebounds in 17 minutes; Perry Stevenson had five steals that were huge, and sophomore guard Derrick Jasper had seven rebounds before he aggravated a knee injury late in regulation.
The Wildcats appeared doomed when Jasper limped off the court with 1:06 left in regulation and UK clinging to a 63-61 lead a lead that had once been as much as 46-30.
Then Foster tied it with a three-pointer to send the game to overtime at 65-65. Then Vanderbilt, 16-1, tied it at the end of the first overtime on a tip in by Ogilvy, and the two teams went to the second OT at 72-72.
But Kentucky didn't fold.
"I was mad and frustrated when we went to the first overtime," Crawford admitted. "Because I felt the game should have been over. But we regrouped and went back out there and played.
"We really needed this," Crawford added. "Just for our confidence. For all of the hard work we've been doing to show that it pays off."
"We were real frustrated because we didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had," Patterson added. "But in a way it was sweeter to win it like this " to do it in two overtimes rather than in regulation."
Kentucky moves on to play at Mississippi State on Tuesday night at 9 (on ESPN). This will be a chance for the Wildcats to show they can be tough in a hostile environment - away from a Rupp Arena crowd that all parties agreed played a significant role in UK's win over Vanderbilt.
"I think it's a tough conference and we'll study all of the teams as we get to them, and I know it's going to be tough," Gillispie said. "But we're getting tougher. We made a ton of mistakes down the stretch today. We did not play a perfect game by any means. But the best thing about this game other than winning was that we had a lead and they came back and tied it; we got another lead and they came back and tied it again, and when you win a game like this, it says a great deal about the toughness that they're developing mentally. Because they wouldn't give up.
"That's what makes me most proud."
http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/3133892
16 hours ago
LEXINGTON - Who knew?
Who could have possibly predicted that the Kentucky Wildcats would rebound from their lowest point of the season in last weekend's home loss to Louisville and play far and away their best game of the season Saturday in a 79-73, double-overtime win over the previously undefeated Vanderbilt Commodores?
Who knew these Wildcats would blow a 16-point, second-half lead and still find a way to win against a very good Vanderbilt team? Who knew Kentucky had the character and smarts to do that?
It was as if overnight the Wildcats retreated from the different pages of the book to play on the same page at last.
"I think our guys are a little tougher than you give them credit for," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie said after his team improved to 7-7 overall and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference. "I think they're going to play through until the end, and I think they're going to continue to get better.
"I don't think they are soft mentally," Gillispie added. "They have really gained a lot of mental toughness. There are a lot of inexperienced guys out there that have been put in tough situations, and they've handled those situations very well and that was evident today in how they played."
The Wildcats played, in other words, just like Gillispie envisioned when he took the Kentucky job last spring.
"I don't know if there was a possession when we did not compete today," Gillispie said. "And that's what makes me most proud as a coach because you can't win at the very highest level without competing on every possession. We made a lot of mistakes, but it wasn't for a lack of competing."
But why? Why did this come about just seven days after the same Wildcats rolled over down the stretch against their arch rival Cardinals of Louisville? Clearly, something happened in practice since that 89-75 debacle a week earlier.
"I think we've developed a better sense of urgency," Gillispie replied. "I think we had a fantastic, very physical week of practice. It was very tough, and we got in better shape. We used this week to get in quite a bit better shape, and I think you saw that down the stretch today."
Only eight Wildcats played against Vanderbilt, and seven of them played about as well as you can expect at this stage of the season. You can throw out Michael Porter because he only played one minute in this game. The other seven Wildcats all played well.
Freshman forward Patrick Patterson outplayed Vandy's highly touted big man, A.J. Ogilvy. Patterson played the entire 50 minutes of the game and had 23 points and 12 rebounds. Ogilvy had 16 points and five boards.
Senior point guard Ramel Bradley had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals to highlight his 50 minutes.
Senior swing man Joe Crawford had arguably his best game as a Wildcat. Not only did Crawford have 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, but he did a stellar defensive job on Vandy's superb senior swing man, Shan Foster. Foster managed 17 points but had to work for every one.
Gillispie had nothing but good things to say about his two previously beleaguered seniors - Crawford and Bradley.
"Joe was great all day long," Gillispie said of Crawford. "I don't think anyone has ever had to say this to Joe - "Joe, you've got to be more aggressive on offense' - I was telling him that all day long, but I don't know if he had any juice left. But he did a fantastic job on a very good player (Foster). I'm really proud of all of them, but especially proud of Joe's defensive effort against one of the better players in the country."
"Ramel," Gillispie added, "is tough. He tries all the time. He makes mistakes like we all do, but he always tries. He was tired, but you couldn't tell it. He made a lot of big shots. He also did a fantastic job of guarding his man the entire time. They (Commodores) stretch you out because they can all shoot it so well, but Ramel didn't make many defensive mistakes that I can remember."
Gillispie said Patterson also played through exhaustion.
"When he made a mistake, Patrick kept saying, "I'll make up for it, I'll make up for it,' and he certainly did," Gillispie said of Patterson. "That's what you do as a team. You mature as players and you mature as a team. And usually it's all through teamwork and toughness, and we're getting better at all of it."
Even guys who you would think of as role players stepped up in this one. Ramon Harris had five big rebounds; Mark Coury had nine points and five rebounds in 17 minutes; Perry Stevenson had five steals that were huge, and sophomore guard Derrick Jasper had seven rebounds before he aggravated a knee injury late in regulation.
The Wildcats appeared doomed when Jasper limped off the court with 1:06 left in regulation and UK clinging to a 63-61 lead a lead that had once been as much as 46-30.
Then Foster tied it with a three-pointer to send the game to overtime at 65-65. Then Vanderbilt, 16-1, tied it at the end of the first overtime on a tip in by Ogilvy, and the two teams went to the second OT at 72-72.
But Kentucky didn't fold.
"I was mad and frustrated when we went to the first overtime," Crawford admitted. "Because I felt the game should have been over. But we regrouped and went back out there and played.
"We really needed this," Crawford added. "Just for our confidence. For all of the hard work we've been doing to show that it pays off."
"We were real frustrated because we didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had," Patterson added. "But in a way it was sweeter to win it like this " to do it in two overtimes rather than in regulation."
Kentucky moves on to play at Mississippi State on Tuesday night at 9 (on ESPN). This will be a chance for the Wildcats to show they can be tough in a hostile environment - away from a Rupp Arena crowd that all parties agreed played a significant role in UK's win over Vanderbilt.
"I think it's a tough conference and we'll study all of the teams as we get to them, and I know it's going to be tough," Gillispie said. "But we're getting tougher. We made a ton of mistakes down the stretch today. We did not play a perfect game by any means. But the best thing about this game other than winning was that we had a lead and they came back and tied it; we got another lead and they came back and tied it again, and when you win a game like this, it says a great deal about the toughness that they're developing mentally. Because they wouldn't give up.
"That's what makes me most proud."
http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/3133892