This game was Fun

[freethrow]

I sure wish Quis would have stayed.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yL-snEtQGKY&search=kentucky%20basketball

[jrodw8]

Great game, It's amazing the amount of five star players we had on the court for that game, wish we could recruit like that again......hahaha just kidding. This just proves, imo, that when Tubby has guys willing to play how he wants them to play, we don't need 3 five star recruits every year.

[SamKat]

Thanks FT!

That was UK basketball with a lot of Tubby recruits.

SamKat

[kybuc]

I thought Tubby's teams played a slow down offense. I swear I just watched several highlights of fast breaks and thunder dunks.


Must of have been seeing things! :shock:

[kipper265]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz......TubbyBall is so boring. ;):P

....I hope TubbyBall makes a return this season.

[wyldkatzky]

Seeing them move without the ball was great, unlike last year, hopefully we will see some of that again next year!

[freethrow]

Me too. The past couple of seasons there was too much waiting around to see what Rondo would do I think.

wyldkatzky wrote: Seeing them move without the ball was great, unlike last year, hopefully we will see some of that again next year!

[Prince21]

I hope our crowd gets up like that more often. They were goin' absolutely nuts that game. That was probably the coolest clip I've seen in a while, I almost cried.

[KWICD]

2 things i got from that was from the announcers. 1 basketball IQ. Last years team had little. 2. They like to pass the ball and play defense. Last year I am not sure they could spell those words.

[kipper265]

KWICD wrote: 2 things i got from that was from the announcers. 1 basketball IQ. Last years team had little. 2. They like to pass the ball and play defense. Last year I am not sure they could spell those words.
So simple...yet so true...

[UKfaninCO]

This team was really fun to watch. This game was well played by a bunch of players that played well to together.

[TrueblueCATfan]

That game was awesome.......I was there and I have never been in Rupp were it was that loud and so electricfying.......Florida was ranked number 1 and we kicked their rear ends right out of Rupp.........thanks for posting that link

[Littlemeyer]

I'm glad you posted this! This was one of my favorite games of all-time, for a myriad ofreasons. I was living in Alabama at the time, and everybody I knew there knew me as the "Kentucky" guy. They had been slightly impressed by some of our victories leading up to this game, but I'll never forget the mood around the operations the day OF this game. They were all saying things like "Well, you guys are O.K., but you're playing the #1 team in the nation! We'll see how good you arenow!" I would just smile, and reply, "Yeah, you're right, we'll see." I was putting up a pretty strong front, but I won't lie....I was a bit nervous. I was not really worried about the outcome of the game. I felt pretty confident in that team. I was nervous, selfishly, for myself. If things didn't go the way I thought they would...what would I say the next day at work?

And then this game happened. :lol:

I also learned something about Alabama fans while I was living there. I used to comment to the guys that I respected Alabama football fans, because they, in a way, were a lot like us UK basketball fans. That all changed in the Fall of 2003, when #1 ranked Oklahoma came to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide. The call-in shows (which are apparantly on every single station in Alabama during football season, and heck, most of the rest of the year as well) were talking about ways to keep the game close. WTF? This is Alabama football we're talking about! Keep it close???? Has there ever been a team come to Rupp Arena to play Kentucky, that we were just concerned with keeping it close? I leaned a lot about Alabama football fans that day.

[Radiated]

One thing really stand out is Vitale saying, defense leads to offense, defense leads to offense.

[UKBlue2321]

I loved watching this team play. They were so exciting and you ever knew what Eric Daniels was going to do next. Hopefully, Jasper of Stevenson this year can give us that unique style of play.

[Kentucky Jim]

That was a great clip. That was Tubby ball at it's finest, they were moving up and down the court at lighting speed......I look for a return to that type of play real soon.

[DCWildcat]

Anyone see that look on Billy D's face? That's resignation if I've ever seen it

[DCWildcat]

The rant abouut 4:07 into the video by Vitale is probably the greatest thing I've ever heard in my life

[catsrulenky]

This is exactly the way you are suppose to play. Tubby should show this to his players and some of his recruits and maybe they will play with the heart that, that team played with. That team every time it stepped out on the curt they thought they were going to win and I thought they were going to win and that team did whatever it took to win. It sucks that Dwayne Wade had the game of his life against us and that Bogans got hurt or we would have won it all that year. That team was very fun to watch. That is tubby's ball at it's finest like most of you said.

[RCS]

The funny thing is all the people that are writing off UK after one bad year by them and one good year by UF. UK destroyed those teams the previous 3 years and they turned itaround but somehow UK is doomed forever? That was as much fun as any game I have ever been to in person. Our total domination of Donovan was fun. Billy has had the upper hand lately, but I look for it to even back out here the next few years. They are both too good of coaches to have one program dominate the other.

[lribookend]

Unfortunately, UF has everybody back. UT is out-recruiting us. Fortunately, UK doesn't have everyone back. But I still think UK will battle for3rd place in the SEC East division. Never thought I would see the day that I would say those words, but that is where we are at. Of course, RM could sign a pro contract at any time, and if he leaves, well, all bets are off for us even taking 3rd place in the SEC East. Every year, for about half a century, it seems like I have been saying, "next year will be better than this year". I'm not saying that this year. I don't like to hang my hopes on unproven freshmen. Even the high-ranking classes sometimes don't pan out. I look for another long season. Just my opinion.

[poodoo]

catsrulenky wrote: This is exactly the way you are suppose to play. Tubby should show this to his players and some of his recruits and maybe they will play with the heart that, that team played with. That team every time it stepped out on the curt they thought they were going to win and I thought they were going to win and that team did whatever it took to win. It sucks that Dwayne Wade had the game of his life against us and that Bogans got hurt or we would have won it all that year. That team was very fun to watch. That is tubby's ball at it's finest like most of you said.


As you say, that was Tubbyball "at its finest." Tubby's style of play wasn't so bad with those guys, for sure! :)

Too, good post, RCS. Tubby did, in fact,dominate Coach Donovan for years, although Coach Donovan certainly dominated Coach Smith this past year (and somewhat the previous year). As you say, both are fine coaches, and probably each will have his year(s) of domination.

[catsrulenky]

It wasn't that bad with that team because they all played as one and not 5 individuals like last year team did for alot of the season. Tubby convinced that team that playing his style will work. They bought in and looked what happened, one of the best seasons ever that I can remember. That was a very fun season. I am not disagreeing with you because you're right about it. I am just saying about peoplethat say they don't like tubby ball, this is a perfect example of what can be done his way.

[CatsSaintsFan]

Erik Daniels was the most underrated player of the Tubby Smith era. His passing was infectious. He was the bigger catalyst to me than Hayes.

[DCWildcat]

catsrulenky wrote: It wasn't that bad with that team because they all played as one and not 5 individuals like last year team did for alot of the season. Tubby convinced that team that playing his style will work. They bought in and looked what happened, one of the best seasons ever that I can remember. That was a very fun season. I am not disagreeing with you because you're right about it. I am just saying about peoplethat say they don't like tubby ball, this is a perfect example of what can be done his way.
Good point.

I think some of our recent problems might be due to Tubby caving in to outside pressure. The notion was that we could always be good (sometimes really good) as long as we kept recruiting players to fit Tubby's system, but we would never get to a FF or NC unless we got the top notch talent. And, well, we did, and with Crawford, Rondo, and Morris, starting (all huge talents), we had one of UK's worst seasons ever.

[poodoo]

catsrulenky wrote: It wasn't that bad with that team because they all played as one and not 5 individuals like last year team did for alot of the season. Tubby convinced that team that playing his style will work. They bought in and looked what happened, one of the best seasons ever that I can remember. That was a very fun season. I am not disagreeing with you because you're right about it. I am just saying about peoplethat say they don't like tubby ball, this is a perfect example of what can be done his way.


I absolutely agree, catsrulenky.

Also, CatsSaintsFan, I also agree with you about how Erik Daniels was so underrated. His passing was indeed a HUGE part of that team's success.

[DCWildcat]

I can't wait to see that look on Billy D's face again soon

[UKBlue2321]

Man I miss those games. They were the most fun and unique style of team to watch. Maybe with these new recruits coming in we will see little bit more of that.

[ukwebfan]

IMO this is the best UK team since the 1996 champs. Twenty six wins in-a-row don't lie. We just happened to run into the best player in basketball, Dwayne Wade.

[ukwebfan]

I have no idea what I said.

Oh yea, Bogans, Quis, Fitch, Hawkins, Camara, AZ, Hayes, Daniels and Barbour rock. Geez Heissenbuttal, Stockton, Carrier, Cote, Moss and Lemaster had great seats in '03 didn't they?

[DCWildcat]

fwiw, that was one of the greatest teams Kentucky has ever produced. It's a real shame we couldn't get an NC that we definately had odds to win. F'n Dwayne Wade and Bogans injury. Oh well.