"So close, but so far away..."
I don't know about the rest of you, but for the first time this season, I thought (we) Kentucky was going to lose. We were sloppy with easy passes, tentative at times, and Notre Dame kept matching or bettering our performance. They looked very much like that team that Coach Brey said they were. They were gritty, tough-minded, and they executed well... until the final 6 minutes, they didn't crack.
Then one of them missed a free throw with 5:22 to go. Notre Dame had not missed a free throw to that point; they missed three of their last 5 down the stretch. During that same time, the 'Cats did what they have done all year: KAT dominated around the offensive basket, Aaron had a dunk and a bomb from outside, WCS blocked a three attempt, and Andrew ran the show - including hitting those last two free-throws with 6 seconds to go.
All that was left was for WCS to sprint, half-turned, keeping himself between Grant and the basket, while Andrew and Lyles followed to challenge the last desperate shot from the corner. The celebration afterword showed how important this game really was as players hugged, slammed into, and yelled at each other. The undefeated season rolls on, the drive for nine continues.
"I'm still standing.."
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Tugging on Superman's cape... UK vs WVU
"You don't tug on Superman's cape;
You don't spit into the wind;
You don't pull the mask off of no Long Ranger;
And you don't mess around with Jim."
Before Thursday night's game against WVU there was quite a bit of talking - trash talking by a number of players from West Virginia's team. Trash talking is a long standing tradition - in fact, I can even find the king of Israel and king of Syria doing it against one another somewhere around 800 BC (I Kings 20:11). That wasn't the only biblical occurrence, but it was the one with the best applicable line. The king of Israel replied to the Syrian king's boast (trash talk) by saying (roughly translated to English) "Let him who puts on his armor not boast like one who has taken it off." In other words, don't boast like you have won till you have.
Now look, when you are asked by reporters about your opponent, there is nothing wrong about expressing confidence in your team, your teammates. But there is a line you have to draw mentally that keeps you from saying stupid things. Tell me, if your opponent has not lost a game in over 30-plus straight, is their conference regular season and tournament champion, and is the undisputed top-ranked team in the country - what do you say when asked about playing them next? I wouldn't be saying "They gonna be 36 and 1 after tomorrow."
The Harrisons, when asked about the quote, gave a perfect response "What else is he supposed to say; is he supposed to say were going to lose?' They betrayed no extraordinary emotional response - it was almost as though the words didn't even matter. WCS was a little more open with what he thought - he admitted to be a little more motivated, a little "turn't up." Though Willie said he wasn't Superman in an interview the other day, there were certainly some fools tugging on his cape. He wasn't the only UK player who showed up highly motivated and highly focused.
The score didn't even tell the whole story about how badly Kentucky beat them, but a 39-point blowout, and holding your opponent to 39 points isn't bad.
You don't spit into the wind;
You don't pull the mask off of no Long Ranger;
And you don't mess around with Jim."
Before Thursday night's game against WVU there was quite a bit of talking - trash talking by a number of players from West Virginia's team. Trash talking is a long standing tradition - in fact, I can even find the king of Israel and king of Syria doing it against one another somewhere around 800 BC (I Kings 20:11). That wasn't the only biblical occurrence, but it was the one with the best applicable line. The king of Israel replied to the Syrian king's boast (trash talk) by saying (roughly translated to English) "Let him who puts on his armor not boast like one who has taken it off." In other words, don't boast like you have won till you have.
Now look, when you are asked by reporters about your opponent, there is nothing wrong about expressing confidence in your team, your teammates. But there is a line you have to draw mentally that keeps you from saying stupid things. Tell me, if your opponent has not lost a game in over 30-plus straight, is their conference regular season and tournament champion, and is the undisputed top-ranked team in the country - what do you say when asked about playing them next? I wouldn't be saying "They gonna be 36 and 1 after tomorrow."
The Harrisons, when asked about the quote, gave a perfect response "What else is he supposed to say; is he supposed to say were going to lose?' They betrayed no extraordinary emotional response - it was almost as though the words didn't even matter. WCS was a little more open with what he thought - he admitted to be a little more motivated, a little "turn't up." Though Willie said he wasn't Superman in an interview the other day, there were certainly some fools tugging on his cape. He wasn't the only UK player who showed up highly motivated and highly focused.
The score didn't even tell the whole story about how badly Kentucky beat them, but a 39-point blowout, and holding your opponent to 39 points isn't bad.
Monday, March 9, 2015
31 & none, not done...
How do you describe a season like this? When I was listening to the games in the Bahamas by day while at work, and watching the recordings of the games by night, I could tell this was a special team, but I was not sure about how special - I was unsure about the quality of the opponents they were playing. I love winning, no doubt about it, but there is something to be said for being measured by the quality your opponent. There is a certain validation in beating good teams. Still, there was something - something that was more than could be empirically measured. The camaraderie, the chemistry of the guys was a rare treat to watch on the court and off. The KSR crew testified to the the unity, and great character of these guys repeatedly. There was something special in the air from the beginning.
Big Blue Madness and thirty-one regular season games later - are there words to adequately describe this team? In 2012, about mid-season, I told people I knew, strangers online, and everyone around me to go see and appreciate that team. I was right then, and I began, early on this season, to get that same feeling. There were the blow-outs, there were the squeakers, but by mid-season, I never worried that we would lose. Yes, I ripped the referees - college basketball is infested with a plague of bad officiating - but this team had convinced me that they would not lose. There was no opponent (or groups of opponents) that could break their will or overcome their ability. The freight train was not to be derailed.
My wife and I went to our first UK game at Rupp on February 21st. The experience was beyond description, not in the "we climbed a bunch of stairs, ate gelato, watched UK blow-out Auburn, watched the Delk jersey retirement," sense, but the atmosphere, the crowd, the emotion, the passion - the only thing I can think to compare it to is the descriptions some give of a "religious experience." It was a spectacle that everyone was both watching and participating in. The crowd was like one giant living organism made of thousands of tiny living beings, it was an ocean where the tides are the emotions that rise and crash of their own will with every play.
Once this team wins the NCAA tournament, we will revisit the comparisons to 1996. I love the 2012 team, but this team is more comparable to 1996. Kentucky basketball is the show.
Let's celebrate this team, celebrate the 31-0 season, celebrate this great group of young men. Let's enjoy the show for as long as it rolls.
Big Blue Madness and thirty-one regular season games later - are there words to adequately describe this team? In 2012, about mid-season, I told people I knew, strangers online, and everyone around me to go see and appreciate that team. I was right then, and I began, early on this season, to get that same feeling. There were the blow-outs, there were the squeakers, but by mid-season, I never worried that we would lose. Yes, I ripped the referees - college basketball is infested with a plague of bad officiating - but this team had convinced me that they would not lose. There was no opponent (or groups of opponents) that could break their will or overcome their ability. The freight train was not to be derailed.
My wife and I went to our first UK game at Rupp on February 21st. The experience was beyond description, not in the "we climbed a bunch of stairs, ate gelato, watched UK blow-out Auburn, watched the Delk jersey retirement," sense, but the atmosphere, the crowd, the emotion, the passion - the only thing I can think to compare it to is the descriptions some give of a "religious experience." It was a spectacle that everyone was both watching and participating in. The crowd was like one giant living organism made of thousands of tiny living beings, it was an ocean where the tides are the emotions that rise and crash of their own will with every play.
Let's celebrate this team, celebrate the 31-0 season, celebrate this great group of young men. Let's enjoy the show for as long as it rolls.
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