Why I Will Always Hate Rick Pitino

Not even the staunchest Rick Pitino-hater (read: me) could ever deny that he single-handedly rescued Kentucky Basketball.  That statement is indisputable. It took the Boy Baron all of eight seasons to turn water into wine in Lexington, transforming a program devastated by probation into a well-oiled college basketball machine, the likes of which unseen since the days John Wooden manned the sidelines in Westwood.  Just think about this for a minute: In the six seasons his Kentucky teams were post-season eligible, they went to 3 Final Fours, 2 National Title Games, and won one National Championship; then, the year after he left, they brought home another Title (which many Kentucky fans still give Pitino the majority of the credit for, despite is absence).  When you take into account the team he inherited (a crew of hillbillies from Eastern Kentucky) and the limited resources he was given to build and recruit with (3 scholarships per season, no games to be televised), Pitino’s eight-season run in Lexington has got to be the best turnaround job (or, arguably, coaching job in general) in college basketball history.  For all his faults, no one has ever accused him of being a lousy coach.

So, in case I haven’t made myself clear regarding Pitino’s legacy, I’ll say it like this: Had C.M Newton not hired Rich Pitino to replace Eddie Sutton—and instead landed, say, Lute Olsen or P.J. Carlesimo, like he tried to—Kentucky would not be in nearly the shape it’s in today.  Had Rick Pitino not been named Head Coach in 1989, the following things almost certainly would never have happened:

–       Kentucky 6^th and 7^th National Championships (’96 & ’98)

–       Four trips to the Final Four in five years (’93, ’96, ’97, ’98)

–       The greatest NCAA basketball game ever played (UK v. Duke, 1992)

–       The Unforgettables (1992)

–       The Untouchables/The Greatest College Basketball Team of All-Time (1996)

–       Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk, Richie Farmer, Wayne Turner, et al.

–       All those crazy uniforms from 1993-1996.  (Just to recap: we had the ones with the waves across the front of the shorts, the ice sickle-looking ones, a half-season stint with a more classic look until, of course, the infamous denim jerseys.)

For everything he’s done wrong, Pitino did one thing better than anyone else: He ushered in a new era of College Basketball.  People forget how radical his coaching style was at the time, what with the full-court press and all the three pointers (he the first coach to take full advantage of the new line, figuring out that shooting 30% from beyond the 3-point line was almost as good as shooting 50% inside it).  No one realized it at the time, but he was revolutionizing the game, and Lexington, KY was the place lucky enough to have a front row seat.

Just to be clear, that will never stop me from hating him.

Of course, there will always be a small part of me that loves him. For all the reasons I’ve just listed, I don’t know that I’ll ever completely get over him; he will forever be my Kentucky Basketball version of The One That Got Away. Not unlike millions of now absent figures from millions of past romantic lives, Pitino’s appeal—and subsequent torment—is not rooted in what he was, but what he could have been.  Fantasies of NBA All-Star filled, full-court pressing Final Four teams—coming on an annual basis, of course—are carried with me to this day.  That’s because for all the twenty-somethings out there who grew up on Pitino Ball, they’re not fantasies at all—they’re matters of fact.  Pitino walked away from a potential dynasty that could have very well surpassed anything the John Wooden-coached UCLA teams of the 70’s or previous Rupp-led UK squads ever accomplished. Kentucky was well on its way to becoming (or, arguably, in the early stages of) a New York Yankees, circa 1927, Murderers Row-style dynasty (his ’96 team alone put 9 players in the NBA).

All it took was eight seasons for him to rebuild the Roman Empire of college basketball; the hard part was over with.  He’d worked his way to the top of the coaching profession, and in the process created the kind of program he’d always envisioned.  All those late night film sessions and 6 A.M. practices had finally paid off—now was the time for him (and the Kentucky fans) to bask in the fruits of his labor.  Except for one thing, Pitino had other plans: He bolted for the NBA just after the ’97 season.

The Boston Celtics came calling, and he said he’d be insane to say no, because, well, he’d be turning down a better version of the same job he accepted eight seasons ago.  The Boston Celtics of 1997 were the NBA-version of the 1989 Kentucky Wildcats: Tradition rich franchises that’d fallen on hard times, for one reason or another, that were desperate for a coach who could bring a fresh and victorious style of play to their passionate and dejected fans.

So, just like that, Pitino was gone. But it’s important to point out that, at least at this point, there were still far more Pitino lovers than haters amongst Kentucky fans, myself included.  Most of us recognized the fact that Pitino had put every ounce of energy he had into his job over the past eight years and now he’d moved on to a better one.  Besides, it wasn’t like he’d left us for another college basketball team (there’d be no risk of him coaching against us), this was the NBA; specifically, this was the Celtics, the franchise with arguably the most impressive resume in league history.  Really, who could blame him?

This wish-you-well sentiment would last for roughly four years, until 2001, when Pitino would make his return to college basketball at the University of Louisville.

I don’t think it’s possible to do justice to just how batshit crazy Pitino’s move to Louisville was at the time.  For starters–and I’m not just saying this because I hate U of L–Pitino was bigger than Louisville.  Kentucky fans weren’t worried about Pitino taking the job when the rumors first came up–everyone thought the Louisville job was beneath him.  Not so much for moral reasons (although we would’ve appreciated that), but more because Pitino was the hottest coach on the market; he could’ve had any job he wanted.

Michigan wanted him.  UCLA was about to open up.  Indiana and Mike Davis were on very shaky ground.  There were several New York-area schools (Pitino’s homeland and recruiting pipeline) that would’ve fallen over themselves had Pitino put the word out that he was interested.  In fact, several jobs were about to open (or would have, had they known Pitino was available) that were bigger and better jobs than Louisville. Every A.D. in the country wanted Pitino, so, why Louisville?

Pitino’s reasoning never made sense.  His stance was that his wife missed the Commonwealth to the point that she was eager to return to the same simple life Kentucky provided them and their family four years ago.  Without a doubt in my mind, this was (and continues to be) complete and total horse shit: Pitino’s wife hates Kentucky.  I know this the same way every other resident of Kentucky knows it: She’s vocal about it.  In a 1996 Sports Illustrated profile of her husband, Joanne Pitino went on the record regarding her disdain for the Commonwealth multiple times.  It wasn’t complete and total venom on her part: She’d grown up in New York and now she missed New York—completely understandable.   But understandable disdain aside, she left absolutely no wiggle room; Joanne Pitino did not like living in Kentucky.  As a matter of fact, her husband bought a house in New York—while they were still living in Kentucky—just to give her a place she could escape to whenever the rednecks of Lexington became too much.  So, just to summarize, nobody believes Rick Pitino returned to Kentucky for the benefit of his wife.

What was much more likely: Pitino missed the attention and worship Kentucky provided him.  It’s no secret that Pitino is an egomaniac of the highest order, and as much as he’d like to pretend he’s glad the days of being hounded at dinner or getting mobbed on campus are behind him, don’t be fooled—nobody loves attention more than Rick Pitino.  His ego is notoriously obese, and like most egomaniacs, it’s the driving force behind every decision he makes. It’s the reason he took the Knicks job, it’s the reason he came to Kentucky, it’s the reason he left for the Celtics, it’s the reason he gets out of bed in the morning: The man needs to be appreciated.  And he was never more appreciated than he was during his time in Lexington. Unprecedented success combined with a zealot fanbase created a match made in egotistical heaven.  Kentucky loved Pitino, and Pitino loved that Kentucky loved him.

He didn’t have that in Boston.  Part of that was his fault; part of it was Boston’s.  He underestimated the job; they overestimated his talents.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, is suited for the task(s) of being Coach, General Manager, and President of an NBA Franchise.  There just aren’t enough hours in the day.  For some reason, Pitino and the Celtics both though he could do it; of course, they thought wrong, and four years later, the Celitcs record over that time stood at 102-146—AKA, not good enough.  Not for the Celtics, and especially not for Pitino—he submitted his resignation 34 games into the 2001 season.

At this point, Pitino’s ego was in desperate need of repair.

It got all the reparation it could handle when the announcement was made that he would be named Louisville’s next Head Basketball Coach.  Louisville fans were on cloud nine; Kentucky fans were on the warpath. I’m not even joking when I say that to this day, I am genuinely surprised that there were no attempts on Rick Pitino’s life.  Time’s done a stellar job of healing wounds for most, so it’s easy to forget how homicidally enraged people were at the time.  I don’t know if Pitino surrounded himself with bodyguards or just did the smart thing and went into serious hiding after his hire, because I can think of more than a few hundred people who would’ve paid good money have three un-officiated rounds with him in a caged fight.  It was that serious; he had done the unforgivable. He was the metaphorical best girlfriend we ever had, who parted with us on the most amicable of terms, but then moved back to town and–inexplicably–started knocking boots with our less-attractive, unemployed, skanky nemesis down the street.  Some things just aren’t meant to be forgiven.

Pitino didn’t do himself any favors in his press conferences either.  Instead of acknowledging the move for what it was (at the very least, disloyal), he called out Kentucky fans for being, in his words, small-minded.  He would’ve done himself so many favors, had he just come out and said something to the effect of:

“I know a lot of people are going to have a problem with this, and, to tell you the truth, I can’t blame them.  I know how this stuff works.  I know that no matter what I say or do, a lot of those people will hate me forever.  But, I just want them all to know, that if it weren’t for all the love and hospitality they showed me while I was here before, I would have never been so inclined to come back.  I wish I could still be their coach, but I can’t.  I wish the University of Kentucky and their fans all the best.”

Sure it would’ve been B.S., but it would’ve at least been the polite thing to do.  I know that’s stupid and lame, but it’s  how things are done in Kentucky.  And we would’ve appreciated it.

Of course that S.O.B. said nothing of the sort.  He called out Kentucky fans, vowed to return Louisville to prominence, and used his wife as a scapegoat for his decision.  In fashion typical of his loyalty, he’d practically agreed to take the Michigan job the day before, then backed out and told the Michigan brass he was heading back to the Bluegrass. Once again, he gave his wife full credit for his dishonesty: “My wife said ‘I think that you love the state of Kentucky.  I think you should go back to the place you love.’”  His wife talked him out of it, my ass.  Resisting the urge to take too cheap a shot here, I think if we’ve learned anything about Rick Pitino over the last few years, it’s that his wife’s wishes are the last thing on his mind.

The irony in this article is that for all the hatred he’s caused Kentucky fans, Pitino’s accomplished very little since going to Louisville.  He’s missed the NCAA tournament twice (’02 and ’06), while bowing out in the first or second round of the NCAA Tournament three more times (’03, ’04, ’07).  He did make get the Cardinals back to their first Final Four in 19 years in ’05, and lead a very talented Louisville team (the overall #1 going into the NCAA’s) to the Elite Eight last year before being upset by Michigan State.  Then, of course, there is the sex scandal that erupted over the past summer.  It’s been ugly, to say the least, but it’s done wonders in terms of shedding light on Pitino’s core personality.

I’m not sure who said it, but there’s a quote that goes, “A man’s true character comes out in times of crisis.”  Assuming this to be somewhat true, Rick Pitino’s shown himself to be man of very little shame, respect, or moral fiber over the past few months.  He’s practically run a clinic on How Not to Be a Sympathetic Figure.  Just to recap, let’s take a quick chronological look at how things have shaken out:

– April 18, 2009 – Pitino calls a press conference to announce that he is the victim of an extortion attemption, and that he has contacted the FBI for help.

– April 19 – August 11, 2009 – Nothing happens.  For the next several months, absolutely no details emerge.  The Louisville Courier-Journal sits on the story, supposedly at the request of Tom Jurich, Pitino, and the rest of the Louisville brass.

– August 12, 2009 – It’s finally revealed that Pitino’s extortion attempt stems from an affair he had several years ago with a woman named Karen Cunagin Sypher.  Pitino impregnated Sypher (Cunagin at the time), then gave her $3000 to pay for an undisclosed medical expense (read: abortion)–all of this is admitted to by Pitino.  The Louisville coach also, according to Sypher, paid one of his assistants, Tim Sypher, to marry her (this was denied by Pitino).

– August 25, 2009 – More details begin to leak, this time of the less-reliable variety.  It begins to appear more and more likely that Sypher is a loon; she says Pitino forced her to have the abortion, threatened to kill her and her children, then releases a voicemail to police that supports the exact opposite of that claim.

– August 26, 2009 – Instead of keeping quiet–which his attorneys and U of L advised him to do–Pitino thinks it will benefit him to lash out at the Louisville media–the same Louisville media, I should remind you, that sat on this story for months, solely to benefit him–for ‘reporting these lies’ (on the day Ted Kennedy died, and when we should be worrying about the economy, to top it all off).

– December 22, 2009 – Karen Sypher pleads not guilty to charges of extortion and retaliating against a witness.

The most sickening aspect of Pitino’s behavior is how through all this he’s tried to portray himself as the victim.  In his warped mind, sympathy and compassion are things a person who’s cheated on his wife, funded a cover-up abortion, and humiliated his family and employer deserves.  When he spoke of the ‘pure hell’ his family’s gone through with this mess, he wasn’t acknowledging his own mistakes, he was trying to lay a guilt trip on the media.  In his eyes, the level of insanity this situation’s gotten to is everyone’s fault but his own.

It should come as no big shock that Pitino has trouble absolving the blame for this mess; honor, accountability, loyalty–these are words  he knows nothing of, and it’s not just Kentucky fans that’ll tell you that.  Ask the people at Providence, the team he said he wanted to to coach forever just a few days before taking the New York Knicks job.  Ask the Knicks, the so called Dream Job Pitino vacated to take another Dream Job which he would eventually bail on take another, you guessed it, Dream Job.  Ask Bruce O’Neil, the former Head Coach Pitino worked under at Hawaii, and whose job Pitino angled for when the NCAA was investigating the school and O’Neil for violations Pitino would eventually be named in.  Or better yet, ask his wife.  Rick Pitino is a snake and a weasel.  It’s a shame it took a gigantic public mistake to get everyone to realize it.

Speaking of mistakes, I will leave you with this:

Why I Still Like Rick Pitino

Yes, I’m one of those guys.  During UK’s coaching searches of recent years, I was one of the fans who wouldn’t have minded if Pitino wrote his own prodigal son story and came back to coach the boys in blue. (I wonder who would be the savior and who would be the lost son in this situation.  Would we be returning to Pitino or would he be returning to us?) When I would voice this opinion the replies for the most part went a little something like this: “That would NEVER happen.  Not even a chance.”  That is probably true.  But it’s interesting to note that rarely, if ever, did someone retort with, “I don’t want that traitor back.”

When it comes to liking Pitino I know I’m in the minority.  For most Kentucky fans the end-all-be-all of what Pitino is is a traitor, and I understand why people think that.  I’ll even admit that, technically, it’s true.  Pitino left Kentucky for a stint with the Celtics which ended in colossal failure, only to return to the only school that Kentucky fans hate with a more ferocious passion than even Duke and North Carolina.  (For the record, I hate Louisville too, though maybe not as much as Duke.  But this post is not about the Louisville Cardinals.)  Technically, that is what a traitor is.  But I don’t hate, or even really dislike, him for it.  I hate the team he coaches, filled with overrated player-babies like Edgar Sosa, but I still like Rick Pitino.  And liking him is not something that I actively try to do, it’s just something that is.

One of the reasons I still like Pitino is because during his coaching tenure at UK he built Kentucky into what now represents a large part of my childhood.  In my inaugural post for Lexpatriates I mentioned that Pitino had legendary teams in 90s. Check out this list of names; even those players who didn’t get much playing time but were fan favorites still seem to have this aura around their name:

Jamal Mashburn
Jeff Brassow
John Pelphrey
Deron Feldhaus
Richie Farmer
Sean Woods
Dale Brown
Gimel Martinez
Travis Ford
Andre Riddick
Chris Harrison
Rodrick Rhodes
Jared Prickett
Tony Delk
Walter McCarty
Jeff Sheppard
Anthony Epps
Mark Pope
Antoine Walker
Scott Padgett
Allen Edwards
Cameron Mills
Derek Anderson
Ron Mercer
Wayne Turner
Nazr Mohammed
Jamaal Magloire
Steve Masiello
Heshimu Evans

All of these guys played at least one year on Pitino teams. Some of them are among the biggest names surrounding the tradition of UK basketball. Some of them went on to have lucrative NBA careers. And Rick Pitino was the architect of these teams, the molder of these players, and at the collegiate level nobody has done it better. Honestly, the names on this list comprise what Kentucky Basketball Tradition means to me. When I hear people talk about the program’s storied tradition, I don’t first think of names like Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Dan Issel, Jack Givens, or Kyle Macy; I think of names like Jamal Mashburn, Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, Sean Woods, Tony Delk (to name just a few players)…and I think of Rick Pitino.  Because I was alive to see these guys perform, it means more to me, and doubly so because I was still a kid.  To me Rick Pitino was the untouchable leader of the most exciting program in all of sports.  I used to listen to his call-in show, live from Bravo Pitino, with my dad, and hang on every word.  I noticed a swagger, a confidence in his words, even then, one that he quite obviously still has today even in the midst of tough personal circumstances.

When Rick Pitino took over as head coach at UK, the program was in dire straits, having been put on probation for “illegal things” that happened during the Eddie Sutton years.  I don’t remember much about the probation:  I was an innocent young child who just wanted to watch basketball; I didn’t care what was going on behind the scenes, nor would have have really understood what was going on if I’d known.  But looking back now and seeing how Pitino resurrected Kentucky under what was sure to have been much pressure and scrutiny, and with the world watching, I’m not sure Kentucky basketball would be what it is today without him, nor would it mean as much to my generation.  Some will say, “Well, eventually some other coach would have came along and put us back on top.”  Maybe.  But it’s truly hard to imagine any other coach doing that to such an extent that it produced Pitino-like results.  Whether fans admit it or not, Kentucky’s return to dominance in the 90s has formed what we have come to expect from Kentucky basketball every season since Pitino’s departure.

I think the only reason we grew to loathe Tubby Ball was because his stlye of play was so diametrically opposite Pitino’s. (This article touches on that theory somewhat.)  Tubby didn’t implement any kind of fast-paced offense or consistently relentless full-court pressure defense that made games so exciting to watch.  Subconsciously, or maybe just flat out, fans wanted Pitino back, or at least his stlye of play.  Gilispie’s style resembled Tubby’s more than Pitino’s and that was one reason (among others) that he got ran out of town.  Now we have a coach who is similar to Pitino in more ways than one can count, including style of play, and he is loved by all, deemed as the savior of Kentucky basketball fans have dreamed of and waxed prophetic about ever since Pitino left.

When Pitino returned to the college ranks and threw his chips in with the Cards, I’ll admit to being shocked and even pretty pissed off.  When Pitino made the announcement it was hard not to get caught up in the hoopla and jump on the Pitino-hating bandwagon.  How could he take the job at our rival school?  I was certainly on that bandwagon for a while but quickly jumped off when I realized that, even when seeing Pitino walking up and down the floor in front of the Louisville bench, I could still only think of what he did for Kentucky in the first seven years of a decade that shaped how much Kentucky basketball would mean to me.  It was when Pitino was coaching that I remember praying for the Cats the make it to the Final Four again because it made everybody so happy; and then the years we made it to the Final Four: “God, let us just win the National Championship one more time so everybody will get excited and be in a good mood until next season.”  It was Rick Pitino with the assist the years those prayers were answered.

The game this Saturday is going to be fun to watch.  Calipari is in the right spirit when he says the game isn’t about the coaches, it’s about the players; this particular game, however, to the fans anyway, is just as much about the coaches.  It’s a clash of the titans.  The history between the two giants has been well-documented. One of the most interesting statements Pitino has made regarding his time at Kentucky he spoke to John Calipari when Cal called him before accepting the UK job.  Calipari asked Pitino the same question he asked the other former coaches: “I’m thinking of taking this job.  What do you think?”  Pitino said, “To me [Kentucky] was Camelot.  I coached there for eight years and never had a bad day on the job.”  To call that a ringing endorsement would be a massive understatement.  But what stikes me about Pitino’s words is they show that he really enjoyed his time coaching here and having the support of a fanbase unlike any other in the nation.  Not ONE bad day?  Camelot?  That says a lot about Kentucky basketball, and says a lot about Pitino’s feelings about UK even all these years later; he probably still wishes he’d never left, no matter what he says.  I still like Pitino, but I’m obviously going to be rooting for the Cats this Saturday.  I’m going to be rooting for them to beat the life out of the Cards and cook them over an open flame for supper.  Louisville will always be Louisville.

On a side note about the game: there will obviously be signs at the game, no matter what Cal’s request, but I’m really hoping they don’t cross the line (I have my doubts).  It’s a funny world we live in where being famous breeds having details about your personal life made embarrassingly public so that people who don’t know you can chide you to make themselves feel better, saying, “At least I’m not that bad!” (see: Tiger Woods).  But a basketball game is no place to beat the dead horse of Pitino’s personal failures.  I did just spend several paragraphs defending why I like the guy, but even if I hated him I would be saying the same thing.  Keep it classy, Lexington.

Throwback Thursday

At least with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard to find a more revealing profile than the one Sports Illustrated did on Rick Pitino in 1996.  The article did an excellent job of capturing the workaholic-genius side of Pitino that everyone talked about, but controversy stemmed over the article’s other angle: SI’s depiction of Pitino as a cold, absent husband.  Full Court Pressure tells the story of a young(er) Rick Pitino, dragging his wife, Joanne, from state to state, job to job, against her will, always putting his own goals and happiness ahead of her and their family.  At the time, people were outraged.  Somehow, I’m not so sure that would be the case anymore.

An excerpt:

“I can’t believe he’s doing this to me again,” she said. “We just got here! How can he ask me to pick up and leave again? I’ve been through this too many times. I can’t believe, after all I’ve been through this year, that he is asking me to do it again.”

Two days later, as she and her husband headed south in a limo toward Manhattan, he tried to tell her that this was the best move for her, with her family in New York and all, but she was not buying it. “You’re justifying it for yourself,” she said. The last time she had been at Madison Square Garden was the first day she had ever spent away from Daniel. Rick had taken her there for the Big East tournament, and while they were gone, the boy had died. Now she was back for a press conference to announce that her husband was coming to New York. She had the final word on that, though. Stepping from the limo, she saw the Garden and threw up on the sidewalk.

And now here it was, two years later, and the dream job in New York had soured, and now another dream job, the whole Roman Empire, was beckoning. The night before Newton showed up at their Bedford estate, Rick promised Joanne, “He will paint a picture of Kentucky second to none!” Instead, Newton’s pitch suggested the last days of Pompeii. Newton talked about the mess Kentucky was in—how the scandal and impending probation had scared off the best players and how the 1989-90 schedule was stacked with Louisville, Indiana, North Carolina and Kansas. “You’re not going to win but three or four games,” Newton said. “We have major problems.”

Wednesday Morning Links

USA Today: Should Kentucky go easy on Rick Pitino?

Courier-Journal: Rick Pitino wants Cards to focus on USF in Big East opener

Detroit Free Press: Alex Legion to change schools again

LA Times: Wall sets assists record as No. 3 Kentucky roars past Hartford

The Countdown Begins

Now, Mr. Calipari, your tenure at Kentucky truly gets started.  Starting tomorrow–or, preferably, right this instant–preparation for your showdown this Saturday begins. Don’t get me wrong, the wins against UNC, UConn, and Indiana were nice–we’ll take them every time.  But–and this is one extremely important But that you would be wise to give all your attention–each and every one of those wins will immediately become vaporized if you don’t beat Louisville.  Don’t believe it?  Ask Tubby Smith.  His ’97-’98 team won the National Championship and people still haven’t forgiven him for losing to Louisville that year.  Trust me, there’s no better way to make your Clintonian approval levels suddenly become Bush-like than to lose your game this Saturday. For all intents and purposes, this Saturday is your National Championship.  It is the Commonwealth Championship; it happens every year, and the stakes are always the same: Everything.  UK hates U of L, and as much as you’d like to pretend otherwise, you hate Rick Pitino.  Don’t feel bad about it–he hates you too.  Both of you know it, and that’s why this game is special again.  That’s why this game is, now that you’re here (and he’s there), the biggest rivalry game in all of college basketball–but more on that later in the week.

Until then, here’s SI’s attempt at explaining the Pitino-Calipari rivalry, written just after the Calipari hiring.

UK-Hartford Recap

The player Jimmy Dykes predicts will be the 3^rd most impactful NBA rookie of the decade again led Kentucky to victory Tuesday night in Rupp Arena, this time in front of a national audience, compliments of ESPN.  John Wall set a new UK record with 16 assists to go along with 9 points in a 104-61 victory over the Hartford Hawks.

With the Wildcats up by more than 40 points, Calipari inserted Wall back into the lineup, just past the 8:00 mark, giving him the chance to tie Travis Ford’s school record of 15 assists (set against Eastern Kentucky in 1993).  Wall would tie the mark with an entry pass to a posted-up Josh Harrellson, who subsequently drained a turnaround jumper, giving Wall assist number 15.  The record breaker came via Perry Stevenson, who knocked down a foul line jumper immediately after a drop off pass from Wall.

Hartford never had a chance in this one; the Wildcats jumped all over the Hawks from the start, scoring the game’s first 8 points and hitting five 3-pointers in the first seven minutes.  By the end of the first half, Wall already had 11 assists, Kentucky had shot 50% from three (8-16), 56% from the floor (22-39), and the freshman duo of Orton and Cousins had combined for 25 points and 10 boards.

Darnell Dodson was responsible for half of UK’s 3-point barrage in the first twenty minutes, going 4-7 from beyond the 3-point stripe.  UK lead Hartford 57-31 at the half.

Things only got worse for Hartford from there.  Darius Miller got hot, scoring 8 points in the first three minutes of the second half, widening the margin to 67-31.  Over the next two minutes, a Patrick Patterson layup and two more Miller jumpers increased Kentucky’s lead to 41, and by the time Dodson nailed his fifth 3-pointer of the game at the 10:53 mark, UK’s lead was nearly half-a-hundred (87-40).

The final ten minutes were played primarily by the subs.  The aforementioned jumpers by Harrellson and Stevenson came in addition to two more 3-pointers from Dodson and Mark Krebbs.

Ramon Harris closed out the Hawks with the final four points of the game, bumping the ‘Cats over the century mark for the 2nd time this season.

Other Notes:

Kentucky’s record improved to 14-0, while the loss drops Hartford to 2-10 on the season.

This win gives John Calipari his 40^th straight regular season victory.

Darius Miller finished with a season-high 16 points, going 6-8 from the field and 4-6 from three.

The big-man duo of DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton combined for 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

Darnell Dodson finished the game with 19 points, on 6-10 shooting from beyond the arc.

Eric Bledsoe did not play tonight due to a nagging ankle injury he re-tweaked in practice this week.

As mentioned, Wall finished the game with a school-record 16 assists.  He also committed only one turnover.

Kentucky’s next game will be Saturday, January 2nd, at home against Louisville. Lexpatriates will have PLENTY between now and Saturday to get you ready for the big game.

Cats lead 49-23 at the half*

First half notes:

– As if we didn’t already know, John Wall is an amazing basketball player.  The dunk he had within the first 5 minutes of the game was spectacular.  And the one right before halftime really got the crowd off their feet.  He already has 11 points and 5 assists.  Look for him to get his teammates even more involved and finish the game with an overwhelming double-double.

– I knew Darius Miller had it in him.  He’s 3 for 3 from 3-point land with 9 points altogether.  Miller’s stroke is smooth and underappreciated, and the thing I think he lacks the most right now is confidence; his first half performance will certainly help him gain some.  Now if only he could develop that confidence enough to be more aggressive taking it to the basket and not be afraid to shoot his “patented” pull-up jumper in the lane more often.

– Breaking news: Patrick Patterson is a beast.  He’s already got 7 rebounds along with 9 points.  He hasn’t hit his obigatory 3-pointer yet but look for that in the second half.

– Cousins went out at the 10 minute mark with 2 fouls.  They looked pretty ticky-tacky to me.  A pissed-off looking Demarcus walked over to the bench where Calipari was waiting with a raised right arm and fist ready to give him another love noogie.  This is getting uncomfortably common.

– Orton came off the bench and has contributed a nice 6 points and 3 rebounds.  He’s still one of my favorite players on the team.  I can only imagine how much he is going to improve over his career at UK.

– Deandre Liggins was hot from 3 last game, but we’ve seen a couple of nice drives to the basket from him this game.

– Overall, Kentucky has looked dominant and not like they are still digesting tons of turkey and honey-baked ham from their Christmas break, which is quite impressive considering our next opponent and the fact that Hartford and their resume thus far doesn’t exactly demand one’s best game.  Look for the dominance to continue and for Hood and Krebs to get some significant minutes in the last 10 minutes of the half.  Krebs will get 6 points and Hood will look like John Wall on one play.

*I realize the game hasn’t started yet but I will be watching it at a friend’s house and unable to do your Lexpats Halftime Update.  These predictions are baseless and will most certainly bear no genuine fruit.  See EA’s previous post for a real preview of the game, and stayed tuned afterward for Religious Wayne’s sure-to-be-excellent post-game post.

UK-UHart Preview

The University of Hartford is located in West Hartford, Connecticut.  They are members of the America East Conference.  UHart was picked by most publications to finish dead last in their conference.  The Hawks were 1-16 on the road last year and have yet to win a road game this year.  UHart doesn’t stand a chance tonight in Rupp Arena.  They will be wishing they still had the services of retired NBA veteran Vin Baker.  Even with him, they would have no shot.

Hartford enters the contest with a seven-game losing skid and a woeful 2-9 record. The team has been idle since December 11th, so it is hard to expect the Hawks to be sharp this evening. They fell to Sacred Heart last time out by a 76-65 final, and Kentucky represents a major leap in competition level.

Speaking of our Wildcats, they are a perfect 13-0 thus far, the program’s best start since winning the first 14 games of the 1977-78 season that was capped off with a national title. The Wildcats defeated the Long Beach State Dirtbags last Wednesday by an 86-73 final, and while most of the wins thus far have come against lesser competition, W’s over UConn and North Carolina bring legitimacy to the undefeated record. Kentucky has yet to play an SEC game but is clearly the favorite to win the conference.

This game marks the first-ever meeting between Kentucky and Hartford on the hardwood.

Hartford is scoring 65.0 ppg on 42.8 percent shooting from the field, so there is room for improvement at the offensive end of the court. Defensively, the club is generating 69.2 ppg, and the Hawks are being outrebounded by 7.5 rpg. Joe Zeglinski leads the Hawks with 15.6 ppg, and Morgan Sabia checks in with 12.6 ppg. Rounding out a trio of double-digit scorers is Joel Barkers with 11.1 ppg. In the 11-point loss to Sacred Heart the last time out, Zeglinski nailed 7-of-13 three-pointers to finish with 25 points. Andres Torres and Barkers both had 11 points in that clash, but the Hawks were outrebounded 44-21.

Kentucky is the most talented team in all of college basketball. The Cats are led by The Great Wall, who has hit multiple game-winning shots this season and never seems to get rattled. He is scoring 17.9 ppg to go along with 82 assists and 30 steals, and the super freshman is shooting 52.2 percent from the floor. Patrick Patterson provides 17.1 ppg and 9.0 rpg while shooting 62.5 percent from the field. DeMarcus Cousins adds 14.9 ppg and 8.8 rpg, while Eric Bledsoe provides 10.1 ppg.  UK generates an impressive 82.1 ppg while limiting opponents to 64.7 ppg on 38.2 percent shooting. Wall scored 19 points in the 13-point triumph over Long Beach State last week, while both Cousins and Patterson posted double-doubles. The Wildcats committed just nine turnovers and earned a 22-9 edge in points from the foul line, two obvious keys to the victory.

Kentucky will roll with ease tonight.  I think we win by a final score of 96-62.  There is no line on the game yet, but if it comes out at UK favored by 30 or less I would play the Wildcats.

Monday Morning Links

ESPN: Spiller runs over Kentucky to help Clemson to Music City Bowl triumph

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ESPN: Brooks ’80 Percent’ sure he’s done

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The Advocate-Messenger: Derrick Locke decides to return for senior season

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The Sporting News: Pitino old news?  Not for Kentucky fans

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Bleacher Report: 2010 NBA Draft First Round Preview

Merry Christmas!

There can be no debate on what the greatest Christmas movie of all time is: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  An argument can perhaps be made for Elf.  Or Home Alone.  Or Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.  Or the underrated Bill Murray classic, Scrooged.  Okay, nevermind.  (While we’re on the subject of Christmas movies, I watched Fred Claus last night and it’s definitely underrated — or maybe I just like Vince Vaughn a lot.)

I’m going to follow RV:WT’s lead here and add a few things to the “Lexpatriates Recommends” section of this site.

Dexter is a show I would have never gotten into if it weren’t for the fact that the cable plan at my last apartment included essentially free Showtime; we paid a penny a day for it for a year.  This amazing deal combined with the fact that the only good original dramas you ever hear about on the pay channels come from HBO made me think that Showtime probably sucked.  But Dexter has become one of my favorite shows.  I’ve been catching up on Season 4 (which ended a couple weeks ago I think) through On Demand.  The show is essentially about Dexter, the “protagonist,” the “Everyman,” trying to balance his busy life and maintain his sanity.  He has a wonderful family, friends that care about him, a job he’s passionate about (blood-spatter analyst for the Miami Police’s homicide department), and an urge…to kill.  Serially.  Of course, Dexter lives by a code: he kills only those who deserve it.  He delivers justice to those whom the courts fail to properly convict when he, because of his job, knows with certainty the damning evidence.  Witnessing his mother murdered and cut into pieces when he was only 2 years old certainly contributes to his dark murderous compulsion.

There are several things that I think make Dexter interesting, great, entertaining drama.  First, the show explores that inherent human darkness that lies in us all — the “dark passenger,” as Dexter calls it. What do we do about it? Second, the show’s wickedly dark sense of humor.  Both of these themes are apparent through great voice-over narration from Dexter, something that if done wrong can ruin a show.  Third, Dexter trying to keep his secret life hidden from everyone else — his girlfriend, his sister, his co-workers whom he spends time with trying to catch other serial killers.  To me, the most interesting of these is his girlfriend, Rita, who eventually (not really giving anything away) becomes his wife, and her two kids. At first, his family might seem only a cover-up to make his life seem “normal.”  But throughout the seasons it becomes clear that he really cares about his family and wants to be there for them.  Put simply, a large portion of the show revolves around the tension between Dexter wanting a family he can love and be open and honest with, and the urges to kill that, understandably, he can share with no one.  Make no mistake, Dexter is at times uncomfortable to watch, not only for intensely violent and bloody sequences and because it’s unashamedly dark, but because you find yourself pulling for a serial killer.  CSI, eat your heart out.

I don’t know a lot about 3D movies.  Some say it’s the future of the movies (please God no), some say it’s just a gimmick.  No matter how you feel about it, one thing is for certain: I don’t see how the 2D version of Avatar can even compare to its 3D counterpart.  I have to say that watching a movie on the big screen in 3D is at first a little weird; you almost get queasy.  But once everything settles into view it becomes quite a cool experience.  I didn’t really know what this movie was about going in so I’ll try and give a quick summary here.  US scientists and military officers have set up shop on a planet called Pandora inhabited by people called the Na’vi.  There is a special and unique mineral only found on Pandora called Unobtanium.  The scientists want to study it and the Na’vi culture and environment, the military higher-ups want exploit the mineral and the people to make money.  To get an “inside look” they create avatars, or blue bodies that look like the Na’vi.  To imagine how the avatar works, think about those things that screw into the back of your head in The Matrix to transport you into the Matrix — I mean think exactly that.  Trouble ensues, inter-species love blossoms, good battles evil.  Pretty standard fare.  The story may not be original, but the way it’s told with 3D and great special effects is pretty awesome.  I don’t know enough about movies to know if Avatar is a breakthrough, all I know is that it does big and loud and computerized right.  You become totally immersed in the world of Pandora.  The last battle is epic.  The last scene of the movie works perfectly.  I’ve read where some people are upset because of the “apparent” message(s) the movie “apparently” promotes.  I say, who cares?  It’s a big-budget action flick.  Go enjoy it.

The only kind of music my dad listens to is Bluegrass…and John Prine.  He owns every John Prine album, and there was a time I didn’t understand why.  Prine’s songs are relatively simple (he’s admitted to knowing only 3 chords, though he obviously knows a few more) and his voice isn’t great by typical standards.  But one day I heard his words, full of honesty and humor; words that are pushed to the forefront by the simplicity of the melodies and words that came to endear his voice to my ears.  His album Souvenirs is a “greatest hits” of sorts; he takes some of his old classics, strips them down to mostly lush, acoustic production, and re-records them.  In fact, I will let Prine explain the album in his own words:

These songs are beautiful. They have been faithful companions throughout the years, never letting me down and constantly making me new friends, even when I was sleeping.

I re-recorded these songs so I could have my own master recordings of the songs. This collection of newly recorded versions was originally intended for European release only, as I have always wanted to be popular in Germany.

After we mixed, sequenced and listened to the songs, all of us at Oh Boy decided that perhaps we should release this in the U. S., as I would like to be popular there as well.

I hope you enjoy these recordings. If not, I promise to not re-record these songs for another 30 years.

Sincerely,
John Prine
President
Oh Boy Records

Some great lines to whet your appetite:

Just give me one good reason
And I promise I won’t ask you any more
Just give me one extra season
So I can figure out the other four -“Blue Umbrella”

Please don’t bury me
Down in that cold cold ground
No, I’d rather have ’em cut me up
And pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don’t mind the size -“Please Don’t Bury Me”

I’ve been popping in this album quite a bit in the last few weeks. Definitely check out some Prine. Prine Shrine Website

Anyway, the Cats are 13-0 (if you didn’t know), and we have plenty more basketball-related posts on the way, so stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!