ESPN’s Neil Everett, when plugging Tennessee games, often uses the phrase “Tennessee, Tennessee, ain’t no team you wanna see.” I guess if you’re Jodie Meeks, this does not apply to you.

Last night was a real treat. I had never seen a player get 50 points in a game that I watched live. Anybody who goes into this business will undoubtedly dabble in hyperbole at some point in his or her career – it’s just the nature of the beast. However, on this day, I can say with zero hesitation that last night’s performance by Jodie Meeks is the greatest individual performance I have ever seen in basketball. When you look at the Kentucky record books, one of the records that stands out is the 53 points scored by Dan Issel in 1970. With the pace of today’s game, that’s the one record that looked unbreakable. And now it has been broken.

Recruits, take notice. If you didn’t watch the game, you probably watched SportsCenter this morning. Did you see how ESPN led off with a game between two unranked college basketball teams? Did you listen to John Anderson and Josh Elliott just gushing over Kentucky? Billy Gillispie and Jodie Meeks made it happen. Meeks made all the shots and Gillispie gave him the green light to pull the trigger as much as was necessary. And they’re making all the rounds today because of it. Jim Rome slobbered all over Meeks on his radio show. They debated the pro prospects of Meeks and consensus POY candidate Stephen Curry on ESPN First Take. Coach Gillispie is scheduled to do the “Five Good Minutes” segment on PTI today. Do any of these things want you to come to Kentucky if you’re a top HS shooting guard? They should.

This was a big win because of Tennessee’s perception as a good team, but in reality, they suck. It’s Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism and a whole truckload of suck. Did the Vols make one basket all game long off of a set play? They got their points off of the offensive glass, one-on-one play and free throws. The transition opportunities were few and far between. They cannot execute at all in a halfcourt setting, and that includes defense as well. Mike Porter blew by either Bobby Maze or Scotty Hopson for an uncontested layup. You just can’t do that. Here is a list of Vols who tried to guard Jodie Meeks last night.

JP Prince
Bobby Maze
Josh Tabb
Scotty Hopson
Camaron Tatum
Tyler Smith
Renaldo Woolridge
Chris Lofton
Stanley Asumnu
CJ Watson
Chuck Smith
Jon Higgins
Ron Slay
Vincent Yarbrough
Harris Walker
Tony Harris
Brandon Wharton
Ed Gray
Alicio Dunk
Lang Wiseman

And they all failed. It has to be one of the most efficient 50+-point performances ever. I’m just glad he’s on my team.

Patrick Patterson’s Facebook: “Jodie Meeks is a Ferrari. Bobby Maze is a Honda.”

Once again, Billy Gillispie curb stomped Bruce Pearl. Tennessee had something going at the six-minute mark. They were pushing the pace, getting into the line and drawing fouls. Stevenson fouled out and Patterson and Harris each had four. Chism got an and1 to make it 71-64, and the Vols didn’t go to the line for the rest of the game. That falls on Pearl. He couldn’t keep his guys from deviating from what was working. When Meeks made a three to bring the lead back to ten, you could see the Tennessee sphincters visibly tightening. Nice coaching job, Sideshow Bruce.

As happy as we all are for Meeks, we should be even happier for Darius Miller. After weeks of tentative basketball, we saw flashes of aggressiveness with his six rebounds against Vanderbilt. We saw even more flashes last night. He played like he belonged out there, and outplayed Scotty Hopson just like he did at Mason County.

FOOTBALL NOTE

I just found out Trevard Lindley was coming back. I’m as incredulous as Brad Nessler was calling Meeks’ last three bombs. I thought I heard him say “HOLY HELL!” once, but that might just be me.

BACK TO BASKETBALL

I’m not alarmed by Patrick Patterson having a below average performance. Chism has improved his game something fierce, and even in a subpar game, he still almost got a double double. But I am concerned about the offensive rebounding. Tennessee is a great offensive rebounding team, but Kentucky looked shocked at how good Tennessee was at it. Were it not for the offensive glass, the game would have been over by halftime because Tennessee could not get anything going in their offensive sets, and the turnovers they caused didn’t create transition opportunities. This has to get better, and Georgia’s talented post players will be a good test to see if our guys have learned the lesson.

And now, here is my impression of Jimmy Dykes talking to his son on the first day of school. It’s one of the few impressions where the message can get across in text form.

Okay, son, have a great first day at school. I know you’ll be a little nervous, but that’s okay. If you pee on yourself, that’s an acceptable first day bodily function. If you throw up, that’s okay. But don’t go #2 on yourself. Going #2 is an unacceptable first day bodily function. Daddy loves you, Vince Gill Dykes!

Thank you.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and nothing __________ like a __________ ___________.