[bigboydan]

I'm really not sure what to make of this years Kentucky team just yet. They lost Tubby Smith, and 3 of it's players had offseason surgery to boot.

I'm not so much worried about the coaching at all with Billy Gillispie taking the rains of this team, but I do have to question the injuries though. Most people don't feel that Joe Crawford's knee surgery was all that big of deal, however I beg to differ. Crawford says he'll be fine when it's time for practice, but anytime a player has knee surgery it takes a while of physical contact in real games before they fully recover.

I'm thinking this could be a very long year for wildcat fans.

[bigboydan]

Looks like it just very well could be a long year for the Wildcats this year after losing to Gardner-Webb tonight.

[mv09]

You shouldnt have left us Billy, You shouldnt have left.

[louisvillekid]

in the local paper, billy said whoever plays defense in practice is on a one day contract, and it renews after every practice. he didn't specifically say Crawford didn't play D, but he hinted at it, and Crawford has admitted that he is still not up to par on his conditioning.

[fivedimes]

Crawford is fighting for PT, and that is exactly they way Gillespie wants it. I was always a big Tubby fan, and I still think it's a shame that he got tarred and feathered by the fans and media of UK basketball. That man deserved better, and he will do very well at Minnesota. That being said, I do think Gillespie looks to be a breath of fresh air that the programs most definitely needs. He is not pandering to any of the star players and that is what they need. I'm not so sure how that will help in recuriting though.

For the record, although I respect Tubby a ton, I said I would have fired him years ago with his mis-management of the Saul Smith crap. For those that don't know, Saul Smith is Tubby's son that started at PG for Kentucky years ago when he had no business even playing D1. Those were tough years, and I would have fired him for that at that time.

[bigboydan]

Crawford is fighting for PT, and that is exactly they way Gillespie wants it.

Thats great and all, but he's not exactly at 100% right now though.

[bigboydan]

It's bad enough when Injuries happen to a team, and boosters looking for loopholes to get rid of the coach. However you know things are messed up at Kentucky when you see freshman guard Alex Legion saying he will be transferring.

Heres the scoop:

Kentucky freshman guard Alex Legion wants to transfer and informed coach Billy Gillispie of his decision on Monday night.

"It's unfortunate and not what I wanted to hear, but I understand," Gillispie said, according a statement released by the school.

"We met with Alex and his mother Friday, and she informed us of her desire to seek a release for her son. Shortly after that meeting, Alex told me that he still wanted to be a part of our program. He played in the game against North Carolina Saturday and seemed happy when I spoke with him Sunday."

On the way back from the funeral services for former Wildcats greats Ralph Beard and Tommy Kron, Gillispie learned that Legion had not attended Monday afternoon's practice. Legion told him of his decision later that evening.

"You always hate to lose a valued member of your program, and Alex was definitely that. He has tremendous potential as a player and a student, but most importantly, he is a wonderful young man. We hate to see him leave, but if he can be happier elsewhere then all you can do is wish him the best."

Legion has played in all six games this season, starting twice. He averaged 6.7 points per game.

Legion, a native of Inkster, Mich., originally signed with Michigan but was released from his national letter of intent when Tommy Amaker was fired by the school.

[bigboydan]

This years Kentucky team is starting to show true signs of a team being in real trouble right now.

Here are the teams they played this year, and you can clearly see they are going to be in some deep trouble once conference play rolls around.

Tue, Nov 6 Central Arkansas W 67-40 -- * Audio
Wed, Nov 7 Gardner-Webb L 68-84 -- * Audio
Wed, Nov 21 Liberty W 80-54 -- * Audio
Sat, Nov 24 Texas Southern W 83-35 -- * Audio
Tue, Nov 27 Stony Brook W 62-52 -- * Audio
Sat, Dec 1 (1) North Carolina L 77-86 -- * Audio
Sat, Dec 8 at (15) Indiana L 51-70 -- * Audio
Sat, Dec 15 UAB L 76-79 -- * Audio

What makes matters even worse for them is the fact that they are a 4 point dog to Houston tonight.

[rjt721]

Could be worse. They could be Michigan.

[Willie Bee]

What makes matters even worse for them is the fact that they are a 4 point dog to Houston tonight.

Even worse than being a 4-point road dog to Houston is falling by 14 and going totally flat at the end of the first half. What will be interesting now is how Gillispie rallies his troops, if he can. They have been hamstrung -- no pun intended -- with a couple of injuries, so we'll see what happens when they have Meeks and Patterson back on the court together.

[Louisvillekid1]

I hope all you Kentucky fans are happy now. You all ran Tubby out of town (because he was Black) and now you got your guy. Billy G is a good coach but he can't touch Tubby. And now you got players transfering and playing very un motivated ball. GL . . . BLEED RED BABY!!!!!

[ppdougla]

Tubby was run out of town because the kentucky basketball program was at its worse point since the probation, plain and simple. I liked Tubby as a coach, his defensive style seemed to work for a few years, but the results were not there and that's what doomed him. Billy G hasn't had much success as of yet, but he at least deserves as much time as Tubby had to **** it up. The race card has no place in this discussion, at all, only results.

[bigboydan]

Even worse than being a 4-point road dog to Houston is falling by 14 and going totally flat at the end of the first half. What will be interesting now is how Gillispie rallies his troops, if he can. They have been hamstrung -- no pun intended -- with a couple of injuries, so we'll see what happens when they have Meeks and Patterson back on the court together.

You know your loving what Gillispie is doing this year at KY. Willie.

[dodif]

billy is a joke
kentucky basketball is ****ed

ur lucky u had tubby
who needs that pressure to live in a state where u got slack jawed yokels and nothing else

kentucky is barely a real state

ashely judd is the best thing about kentucky basketball

ur program went downhill the day arizona beat u for the the title in 97

its over in kentucky for many years to come. thats a fact.

bbd i cant stand when a good coach gets pressure like tubby did. unreal expectations for a bunch of hicks.

[astro61200]

Kentucky isnt as bad as they have looked, a lot of injuries... they'll be decent, maybe not NCAA tournament but NIT and NCAA next year

I give it 3 or 4 years before they're better than Arizona again... and I'm a Louisville fan