University of Kentucky Basketball

[BRM]

Wednesday night at 7:00. Great matchup. Should be a great one to watch.

There have been some very good games in the NIT this year. Maybe there is every year and I haven't noticed but this year has definitely been entertaining.

[WMR]

Notre Dame will have had 6 days of rest versus 2 for UK. Will ND be more well rested or will they be rusty? I've seen it go either way for teams after extended lay-offs...

also interested to see what sort of crowd shows up for the game. They had around 3000 fans for their first round game... wouldn't be surprised to see nearly as many Cat fans as Irish supporters.

[BRM]

also interested to see what sort of crowd shows up for the game. They had around 3000 fans for their first round game... wouldn't be surprised to see nearly as many Cat fans as Irish supporters.

That's a good point. ND's crowds have been pretty disappointing for their first two games.

[WVRed]

Great video if you haven't seen it yet.

http://www.ncaa.com/blog/revive.html

[cumberlandreds]

That's a good point. ND's crowds have been pretty disappointing for their first two games.

I'm sure the NIT would love to re-seed at this point. I read somewhere (It may have been here) that ND only drew about 2100 for each of their first two games. Probably be more than that tomorrow but I'm sure they would love this game in Rupp instead.

[Blimpie]

Great video if you haven't seen it yet.

http://www.ncaa.com/blog/revive.html

I had no idea that was Christian Laettner until I saw Pitino at the end...

[jmac]

UK Basketball: Orton's father says if Gillispie leaves, his son might not come to UK

By LARRY VAUGHT
larry@amnews.com

If Billy Gillispie is not the coach at Kentucky next year, there’s no guarantee star recruit Daniel Orton of Oklahoma will play for the Wildcats.

“That might impact us. It all depends,” said Larry Orton, Daniel’s father, Monday. “That is a good question. It would all depend on who they bring in . It would almost be like starting recruiting all over again.

“The coach is the one that recruits you. They tell you they are going to play you. With the class he has coming in, he is going to get better (teams). I just hope there is nothing for us to worry about because Daniel wants to play for coach Gillispie.”

The center missed most of his senior season because of a knee injury before returning for the final three games in the state tournament. He’s now in California training and strengthening his knee even more in preparation for the April 11 Derby Festival Classic in Louisville.

“As of now, he is going to play a little bit in that game, but not a lot. Then that is Daniel talking. It is an 18 year old talking. He might not stop playing once he gets there,” Larry Orton said. “I am going to make the trip with him.”

They thought it would be another opportunity for them to possibly visit Kentucky and see Gillispie.

“Most places give you three or four years before they start talking about a change because it takes time,” Larry Orton said. “I don’t see it (a coaching change) happening.

“Think how hard it would be to get somebody else to come in there. You have to understand recruiting. If you go there and don’t do well and then know another coach will come in, that’s a problem for kids. That is how people start talking and recruiting. People are using all this right now against Kentucky. That’s why the athletics director (Mitch Barnhart) has to come out and say he will be here. It will kill recruiting if he doesn’t.”

Larry Orton tried to call UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart last week to have the situation explained. He tried again Monday after Barnhart did not return his call and was told that Barnhart was with the team in Omaha, Neb., for UK’s National Invitation Tournament game.

“The AD (athletics director) needs to come out and say we are moving forward with Billy Gillispie as our coach,” Larry Orton said.

Orton says he understands that Barnhart is busy and is not trying to read anything into not having his call returned.

“I don’t like to start second guessing people. I know his job is a real busy job. I don’t like to really rush somebody with their season not over. I will get to talk to him soon enough,” Orton said.

What does he want Barnhart to tell him?

“I want him to say Billy is my guy. He has only been there two years. He doesn’t have the Kentucky talent you need. He has it coming. He is still playing with Tubby Smith’s players. He has three new guys that are still learning his system. With the talent he has coming, they are going to be good. He just needs time to build his program,” Orton said.

Larry Orton spent a few days in Virginia last week visiting his mother. When he returned home and went to work, he was hit with numerous questions about UK’s basketball coaching situation.

“People are trying to get Daniel to change his mind about Kentucky. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State want him bad. His cousin is coach at OU. If Gillispie is not there (next year), I guarantee he will call. There will be a lot of people calling. I bet Florida will call,” Larry Orton said.

Yet the Ortons remain optimistic that Gillispie will weather the storm and will be back next year.

“Everything is going to work out. Or at least I hope it does,” Larry Orton said “I don’t think there is a problem (with Gillispie). I am hoping there is not any way because Daniel wants to play for him at Kentucky. That’s why he is going there.”

I think any kid would fall into this category. "IF" Kentucky decided to make a change, the important thing would be to have a replacement ready to name almost immediately.
Any feet dragging would probably result in defections.
My gut feeling is a big name caoch brought in and Orton/Hood would still come. Course, I've been wrong before. :

[WMR]

In case anyone wants a taste of the premium section of TBK, they're offering a free premium membership for TODAY only...

MM just posted a really interesting premium blog that is well worth reading.

[jesusfan]

True Blue Kentucky is excellent for all fans of Kentucky basketball, or just fans of basketball that love good "insider" information. Tomorrow's game against Notre Dame will be a great match up, especially between Patterson/Gody and Meeks/McAlarney... I say we pick up the win by 5-10 points...

[jmac]

I will add I really thought this KY team might have the Clemson football Music City Bowl attitude of a few years ago. In other words " not really wanting to be there".
This team has really showed they are playing to win. Enjoyed PP chestbumping the fan last night after game as well !

[WVRed]

True Blue Kentucky is excellent for all fans of Kentucky basketball, or just fans of basketball that love good "insider" information. Tomorrow's game against Notre Dame will be a great match up, especially between Patterson/Gody and Meeks/McAlarney... I say we pick up the win by 5-10 points...

It is going to depend on which Notre Dame team shows up. If there has been a team more inconsistent than Kentucky this year it would be Notre Dame.

I won't predict who wins, but I do believe with both teams defenses less than scintillating, it will be a barn burner.

[WVRed]

In case anyone wants a taste of the premium section of TBK, they're offering a free premium membership for TODAY only...

MM just posted a really interesting premium blog that is well worth reading.

I realize there is less than an hour left, but every Kentucky fan needs to read this. I won't copy and paste the article since it is premium, but it goes along with some of the things Blimpie has posted on here. After reading an article from probably one of the most pro-Gillispie supporters out there, I really think he is on his way out, and it is extremely unfortunate.

[WMR]

It turns my stomach, to be perfectly honest.

Mitch should follow BCG right out the door if this is indeed how things play out.

[WVRed]

It turns my stomach, to be perfectly honest.

Mitch should follow BCG right out the door if this is indeed how things play out.

I'm honestly torn on Mitch right now. Even though he bombed on the Gillispie hire and it right now looks like Gillispie is going to be axed, he has been successful in making other hires (Mickie DeMoss, Matt Mitchell, Rich Brooks when nobody else wanted the job, John Cohen).

I'm hoping the "other" rumor was true about a possible "Basketball AD". Considering it is Kentucky, this wouldn't be a bad idea. Barnhardt could focus on the other programs that he has been successful at and somebody else could oversee restoring the basketball program.

The one thing I do feel somewhat secure in is that I don't believe everything will fall apart like the gloom and doom prognosticators are predicting. I believe if either coach mentioned is brought in that we could keep most of our incoming classes.

Hood=likely to stay regardless. I think he is an in-state kid and he likely wouldn't leave the bench at Louisville.

Orton=would likely stay. Whoever would take over could hire his brother on staff and likely keep him.

Pilgrim=definitely staying. Why transfer again?

Vilarino and Tucker=could be gone. IIRC, they were very close to Gillispie and the reason they chose UK.

Euton and Zollo=with Euton, see Hood. Zollo has relocated to Clark County and would likely follow through as well, but uncertain.

Ferguson=this would be the one we would likely lose that would hurt.

Avery=who knows, but he is a long way off and it is hard to tell how he would likely pan out.

[WVRed]

Also, Penn State beat Florida earlier this evening in Gainesville.

If Kentucky wins, they play the Nittany Lions next week in New York.

If Kentucky loses, then things are really going to be interesting in the coming weeks.