It all started with one bad question (that really wasn’t that bad at all) asked by one ESPN sideline reporter during a game in which UK shouldn’t have been struggling like they were.
By Kenny Colston
Published: February 4, 2009
Then it moved into boos, another loss and a cry for toughness.
And now, the UK men’s basketball team stands just seconds away from total implosion with a coach the fan base is leery of, a team that struggles to maintain any consistency and a wicked cocktail of everything that can destroy a team.
This is way past 2002’s Team Turmoil.
After a honeymoon season in which UK head coach Billy Gillispie managed to sneak into the NCAA tournament, the expectations skyrocketed for the Cats this season. It was win, and win now. Star recruits like DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller would partner with Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson to perch the Cats at the top of the Southeastern Conference.
It even looked that way for a while, with the Tennessee trashing and a five-game winning streak. That was three losses ago.
Now, you have popular CatsPause.com quoting Patterson that the UK locker room erupted with a verbal no-holds-barred brawl after losing to Mississippi State on Tuesday. UK spokesman John Hayden denied the claim, but whether the story is true or false isn’t the real issue. --2/06/2009 NewsHammer
Continue reading this article from the University of Kentucky's Kentucky Kernel.
More on the last game in 'Dogs make it rain on Cats' by James Pennington, Feb 3, 2009, in the Kentucky Kernel.
Alan Gillis Comment on this article in the Kentucky Kernel
on February 6th, 2009 12:26 pm
This is a terrific piece of writing. Looks like you’ve got a future in journalism, Kenny.
These UK Cats look really big and fierce. How can they lose? Probably a streak of bad luck and homegame jitters with the UK crowd in catcall dyslexia. Maybe Gillispie should shell out for pizza and beer before the next game, a We’re gonna win this one Party. . . .