I’ve been gone for a while, and I heard some crazy stuff went on. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but here are my thoughts anyway.

* I can understand why the guys pulling the strings fired Billy Gillispie. I get it. I just think that the trigger was pulled a little prematurely, like maybe a year too soon. The only way I justify pulling the trigger after only two seasons is if there were things that went on off the court that the average fan such as myself did not have the ability to access. It had to go beyond the actual product on the court, which was clearly underachieving, but there was enough good stuff happening with recruiting to keep me excited for the future. With that said, if Mitch Barnhart can make the right hire, I’ll have no problem with how the Gillispie situation was handled. I thought Gillispie handled his press conference with class when it would have been an opportune time for another Jeanine Edwards moment. He didn’t leave kicking and screaming, so more power to him.

* Barnhart has to know that regardless of the success of all the other athletic programs that has occurred under his watch as AD, his future at his current gig depends on the hire he makes to replace Billy Gillispie. To be frank, I have no idea what’s going to happen, and absolutely nothing would surprise me. I mean nothing. Billy Donovan could announce today and it wouldn’t surprise me. I thought it was going to be Donovan until Anthony Grant, the natural successor to take over for Donovan at Florida, took the Alabama job. That, by the way, is the best basketball hire Alabama has made since Wimp Sanderson, and I expect similar success from Grant. He could take the current Bama roster (nobody ever said Mark Gottfried couldn’t recruit) and reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. But Grant taking the Bama job threw a wrench into the equation, as I can’t see anybody but Grant taking over at Florida.

* Now, there’s some serious smoke surrounding John Calipari. If there’s enough smoke to put the story on ESPN, then this thing might really have some legs. I’m torn on Calipari. I think he would be perfect for the job from almost every perspective. He’s a smooth PR guy, an outstanding coach and arguably the best recruiter in the game. The only thing that would have anybody concerned about Calipari is his reputation as a shady guy. At the risk of alienating the reading audience with editorializing, I’m suspicious that there’s some really dirty stuff going on down at Memphis. They have a sweet deal with FedEx that might be crossing the line in terms of benefits. Worldwide Wes is a character that shouldn’t be allowed in the state of Kentucky if Calipari takes the job. I don’t know enough details about these situations to make a case either way, but knowing that these situations exist is enough to raise suspicion. There’s one theory out there that says that Calipari has been Barnhart’s choice for a long time, but Lee Todd put the kibosh on it because of the things I’ve mentioned above, but then again, these are just rumors and theories. If there’s smoke with this story, then somebody must have gotten to Todd. Of course, Calipari also recruited extremely well at UMASS!!!, and the only guy there who got into any kind of trouble was Marcus Camby, which we’ve since found out was his own fault and had nothing to do with Calipari.

* If Calipari were to take this job, you would see a reaping of benefits immediately. Do you remember when Kentucky courted Billy Donovan in 2007 and Nick Calathes said that he would follow Donovan wherever he went? Consider this: DeMarcus Cousins, the only ‘09 big man rated higher than the awesome Daniel Orton, backed out of his LOI at UAB and gave a verbal to Memphis. He hasn’t signed the LOI for Memphis yet. Now why is that? Could it be because he wants to follow Calipari wherever he goes and he doesn’t know where Calipari is going to be next season? And don’t even get me started on the pipe dream that would be John Wall. I talked about how I thought Calipari was doing some dirty stuff at Memphis, but I have a hunch that if he should take the Kentucky job, he might find recruiting to Kentucky easier than recruiting to UMASS!!! or even Memphis.

* My advice to you guys would be to prepare yourselves for a letdown, only because this Calipari stuff seems way too good to be true. If it turns out to be Calipari, that’s just awesome. If not, I’ve always thought that Travis Ford was the fallback plan, provided Barnhart can pull him away from T. Boone Pickens and his bottomless pit of money. I used to be dead set against Travis, but he grew on me during the tournament. If Oklahoma State had played two possessions of solid defense in the first half against Pittsburgh, their hot shooting would have been enough to put them away. As it stands, Ford plays the style that all Kentucky fans want to see, and being a former player should help him deal with the giant fishbowl situation that I believe doomed Gillispie. Travis would understand all the things a Kentucky coach would have to do off the court. Of course, so would Calipari, so if you want to keep your fingers crossed, be my guest.

* What happened to Louisville yesterday? Granted, any day where Louisville looks like complete garbage is a great day, but that shouldn’t have happened against Michigan State. I saw a lot of MSU because of Super Tuesday on ESPN, and I never saw a performance from them that would leave me to believe they were skilled enough on offense to beat Louisville. Oh, well – win some, lose some. I’m glad I lost this one. And just for fun, go back and check my tournament picks. For every borderline retarded pick I made (Akron? Mississippi State? Wake Forest?), I got all four Final Four picks right for the first time since I’ve started filling out brackets. Get some.

Thanks for reading.

In a world where men make millions of dollars to do something we’d all probably volunteer for, Kentucky basketball has fallen into its pit. Everyone wants the best coach at all times, so it becomes an increasing arms race to the top, where the arms are dollars. With the sailing price tags come soaring expectations. When a coach gets paid a space shuttle to simply lead a team into some type of organizational unit, there is so little room for error.

Those that have monitored the UK basketball situation of late can attest to that. But who is really to blame? Let’s review the players in this game: coach, team, fans, AD, and institution.

Coach: Billy Gillispie arrived two years ago to replace a maligned Tubby Smith, and attempt to fix an ailing program. No one questioned his coaching ability or his recruiting prowess, but his character was put to trial by multiple entities. Two years later, character remains an issue. Lee Todd is smack in the middle of the quest to become a Top 20 public university, and image is everything. How can one of, if not the, biggest faces of the university not be aligned with that image? That is the core of the issue. He’s proved he can coach in the past, he didn’t just lose it on the plane ride to Lexington. We all know he can recruit, whether you agree with a few of the chances he’s taken, the future still looks brighter than the present. But can he change WHO he is?

Team: The growing sentiment about these guys is that the majority have had a difficult time following orders. Any reason why is purely speculation, but it all comes down to it just not being the best mix of guys. I don’t know if it’s respect, intelligence, pride or immaturity – maybe a mixture of all those – but something is amiss and weeds need to be pulled. Veterans and newbies alike, the best thing for the future is to clean the cupboard of anyone not willing to follow faithfully. It’s funny, to me at least, how players are always so attacked in and between games, but then afterwards all is dropped. When did players lose all responsibility for their performance? Yeah, they’re just kids, but, no, they’re not. They’re off to college to learn how to be big boys and girls…for FREE!

Fans: UK fans have become less enthralled in their team and more in the power of their collective selves. Yes, you pay the bills and, yes, you’re overwhelming mass is what keeps this a special place. But maybe it is YOUR character that is flawed? Today’s world allows all to voice their opinion to the masses. Those with the strongest opinions and the loudest mouths tend to also be the more negative. When everything’s hunky dory, there’s not much to talk about, but when the Cats drop a loss, they seep through the cracks and quickly destroy everything like a flood. The Kentucky fanbase has licensed themselves to power like none other in the world, and that is NOT a good thing.

AD: Mitch has made some good moves; he’s made some bad. But when BG was hired, who protested? Many protested throughout the early Brooks regime… who will now? You win some, you lose some. Overall, Barnhart has won heads and heels above his losses. He’s an AD folks, not a BD. Some want him gone…why? Because he couldn’t pull Billy Donovan? Mitch combines integrity, intelligence, leadership, and vision like few can. Personally, I can’t think of one man I’d rather see in his spot. Disagree? Let’s hear it.

Institution: Is Lee Todd too involved? I don’t want to sound like a self-consumed jock here, but how much could the guy really know about the sports world. It’s like if Barack Obama tried to fill out an NCAA tourney bracket. Wow. LOL. Can you imagine? Anyways, it’s what Mitch is paid to do; let him handle it. When you see that UK Athletics is failing as a BUSINESS…you’re input may be useful. The fact that you always are in the middle of meetings with Mitch and his coaches tells dufus fans that he doesn’t have the University’s confidence. His hands are tied enough by the fans I believe.

So, who is the loser in this mystery? Who got pushed? And who pushed them? I vote fans pushed, Barnhart pushed. What say you? And how do we clean the mess? Can the pushed survive the fall? Can the pusher ever be forgiven?

I have thoughts on Kentucky, the NIT and Billy Gillispie, but I want to wait until that whole mess is over before I address these things. In the meantime, I still love the tournament. The Knicks haven’t won a playoff series since 2000, but I always watch the NBA Playoffs. Why would I stop watching the NCAA Tournament? It’s the greatest thing in all of sports.

MIDWEST REGION

(1) Louisville over (16) Morehead State
(8) Ohio State over (9) Siena
(5) Utah over (12) Arizona
(4) Wake Forest over (13) Cleveland State
(6) West Virginia over (11) Dayton
(3) Kansas over (14) North Dakota State
(7) Boston College over (10) USC
(2) Michigan State over (15) Robert Morris

(1) Louisville over (8) Ohio State
(4) Wake Forest over (5) Utah
(6) West Virginia over (3) Kansas
(2) Michigan State over (7) Boston College

(4) Wake Forest over (1) Louisville
(2) Michigan State over (6) West Virginia)

(2) Michigan State over (4) Wake Forest

Louisville would crush MSU, but if Wake survives a tough Cleveland State squad, I like that matchup for Wake. The West Virginia pick over Kansas comes down to experience vs. inexperience.

WEST REGION

(1) Connecticut over (16) Chattanooga
(9) Texas A&M over (8) BYU
(5) Purdue over (12) Northern Iowa
(13) Mississippi State over (4) Washington
(11) Utah State over (6) Marquette
(3) Missouri over (14) Cornell
(7) California over (10) Maryland
(2) Memphis over (15) Cal State Northridge

(1) Connecticut over (9) Texas A&M
(13) Mississippi State over (5) Purdue
(3) Missouri over (11) Utah State
(2) Memphis over (7) California

(1) Connecticut over (13) Mississippi State
(3) Missouri over (2) Memphis

(1) Connecticut over (3) Missouri

The only team that I believe matches up well with Connecticut is Memphis, but I just have a hunch about Missouri. Memphis has been coasting like they do every year. They haven’t faced adversity in two months. Missouri will take it to them. The Mississippi State pick is my SEC homerism of the year. I like the matchups with Washington and especially Purdue. Utah State is awfully good for an 11 seed this year, and Marquette has to be running out of legs with Dominic James gone.

EAST REGION

(1) Pittsburgh over (16) East Tennessee State
(8) Oklahoma State over (9) Tennessee
(12) Wisconsin over (5) Florida State
(4) Xavier over (13) Portland State
(11) VCU over (6) UCLA
(3) Villanova over (14) American
(7) Texas over (10) Minnesota
(2) Duke over (15) Binghamton

(1) Pittsburgh over (8) Oklahoma State
(4) Xavier over (12) Wisconsin
(3) Villanova over (11) VCU
(2) Duke over (7) Texas

(4) Xavier over (1) Pittsburgh
(3) Villanova over (2) Duke

(3) Villanova over (4) Xavier

Nova and X are my favorite teams in the tournament, so sue me. I always pick against Bruce Pearl and Leonard Hamilton. VCU vs. UCLA will be a great game and was a tough pick.

SOUTH REGION

(1) North Carolina over (16) Radford
(8) LSU over (9) Butler
(5) Illinois over (12) Western Kentucky…barely
(13) Akron over (4) Gonzaga
(6) Arizona State over (11) Temple
(3) Syracuse over (14) Stephen F. Austin
(10) Michigan over (7) Clemson
(2) Oklahoma over (15) Morgan State

(1) North Carolina over (8) LSU
(13) Akron over (5) Illinois
(6) Arizona State over (3) Syracuse
(10) Michigan over (2) Oklahoma

(1) North Carolina over (13) Akron
(6) Arizona State over (10) Michigan

(1) North Carolina over (6) Arizona State

And this is why my bracket will finish in last place in every pool I enter. Let me explain. I think Gonzaga and Illinois are weak 4 & 5 seeds. The MAC never gets the credit it deserves for being a solid conference. Akron is good. As for the bottom half, I like Arizona State because of James Harden and Herb Sendek. Syracuse probably is a bit overrated because of their amazing Big East run. I picked Michigan because I really like John Beilein, even though they shouldn’t get past round 1 on paper, much less Oklahoma. The Sooners seem to be missing something since Griffin’s concussion, even though he’s back. I’d pick them against North Carolina, but I don’t think they’ll make it that far.

FINAL FOUR

(2) Michigan State over (1) Connecticut
(3) Villanova over (1) North Carolina

(3) Villanova over (2) Michigan State

Can you tell I have a man crush on Jay Wright?

Three more and we get to see Rachel Phelps’s boobies!

I can say “boobies” on this network, right?

I was ready to write a hate piece on Gillispie (I would have called it “Gilllllllllllllispie” – Get it? 13 L’s? Because we would have had 13 losses? Don’t lie, You LOL’d at that one) after the first half. I don’t know why Patrick Patterson spent such a long time on the bench, I don’t know why he didn’t put the kibosh on Mike Porter taking shots, I just don’t know. Don’t believe me? Ask my mother. I called her at halftime and told her, verbatim, “I’ve had about enough of this piece of crap on the sidelines.”

And thanks to Darius Miller, I didn’t have to do that hate piece. Who played point guard after Mike Porter overshot Patterson so badly on an outlet pass that Pat couldn’t hace caught the ball had he been standing on the shoulders of Manute Bol? I know Manute’s legs would have broken under the weight of Patterson’s body because Pat weighs twice as much, but just go with me. I feel like Bluto Blutarski right now. Anywho, Darius Miller played point guard, and a 9-point lead ballooned to 16 in the time it takes for Andy Kennedy to say the word “towelhead.”

I can say “towelhead” on this network, right? It isn’t a joke about people who wear turbans. It’s an Andy Kennedy joke.

Who guarded Terrico White after nobody could stop him in the first half? Darius Miller did. Miller himself couldn’t stop White during the first half, but I’d hate to have the person who lit a fire under Darius accost me for saying “towelhead” in this column because he’d probably make me want to crawl in a hole and die.

LSU is next, and while I respect them, I don’t fear them like I do South Carolina (If the MSU/Georgia winner doesn’t beat SC and we beat LSU, SC will name their score on Saturday). I want this one bad.

I’ll go back and edit if it turns out I can’t say “boobies” or “towelhead” with an apology in advance to any members of the church I attend who happen to read this.

Thanks for reading, though.

Ed.note: this is my column for today, let me know what you think. I’m heading down to Tampa soon, so I’ll catch everyone once I’m finished with the layovers and plane rides. 

For the last 17 years, the UK basketball team has been an NCAA Tournament staple. Growing up as young boys and girls across the Commonwealth, it was almost certain the Cats would not only make the NCAA Tournament, but compete in Final Fours and — even more likely — hang another championship banner during our time here at UK.

No one saw this.

The losses the past two years sound off in a way never imagined. Losses to high profile teams like North Carolina, Louisville and others are bearable. Those defeats at the hands of San Diego, Gardner Webb and Virginia Military Institute — aren’t.

When Billy Gillispie arrived at UK two years ago, he was smiling and grateful for the opportunity to coach the Cats. Now, Gillispie spends more time barking at officials, defending himself or his team at news conferences and snapping at any reporter who may have a question that isn’t favorable in his mind.

Will the real Billy Gillispie, please show up? Maybe he already has.

In Lexington, the only thing that matters is winning. Gillispie knows and acknowledges this. Execution of that philosophy, as of late, as been non-existent, thanks to a current four-game losing streak. If it weren’t for a sweep of Tennessee, the Cats would have crashed and burned down the stretch with a six-game losing streak.

Not just losses, bad losses: a 13-point drubbing in Nashville, 18-point trashing in Columbia, S.C., and embarrassments at home against Georgia and on the road against Florida.

The ways the Cats have finished have made the almost upset of Louisville, Jodie Meeks’ 54-point explosion on Tennessee and winning 16 of 18 games from December to January forgettable.

Sometimes the losses are the players fault — which were quickly pointed out — and other times, they are the coaches. When they were Gillispie’s, he was quick to admit fault and just as quick to move on.

With two players with the caliber of Meeks and sophomore Patrick Patterson, it takes effort to collapse the way the Cats have. The frequent lapses in play should have been cleared up by now.

Newcomers Kevin Galloway, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins are talented and have shown as much at various points in the season. But their lack of development is alarming, with Galloway mostly riding the pine during the beginning of the season, Liggins glued to the bench currently and Miller having an erratic spot in the rotation as well.

In addition, the regression of veterans Perry Stevenson and Ramon Harris is puzzling. Stevenson looked to be a strong compliment to Patterson at the end of last season and the beginning of this year. He doesn’t seem that way now.

The way this team has finished and the multiple controversies the Cats and Gillispie seem to find themselves in week after week has ruffled feathers across the Commonwealth and frankly – is embarrassing.

The rumblings are on message boards, in the hallways of schools and workplaces across the state and on streets from Paducah to Pikeville. No one is happy with these results. Not with the losses, the play of the team, the coaching of Gillispie or even his handling of the adversity.

To put it bluntly, a lot of people want Gillispie fired. But he shouldn’t be.

Yes, Gillispie shouldn’t berate any reporter, whether it is Jeannine Edwards of ESPN or beloved Tom Leach. Yes, the team has collapsed and it is Gillispie’s job as head coach to stop the bleeding and prepare his team. Yes, it is Gillispie who is in charge of player development.

If Gillispie handled news conferences, interviews and questions about his coaching ability with a little more class, he probably wouldn’t have a seat engulfed in flames. Maybe a seat that’s sparking at the seams, but not on fire.

UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart has mostly been quiet on the current situation of the basketball team, serving as No. 1 cheerleader for the players. A wise decision, because a vote of confidence is usually a sure-fire pink slip. This team doesn’t need any more drama.

This season, or maybe the last two, hasn’t been the best for UK. But a quick switch at the head coaching position isn’t in order. There isn’t much left for the Cats to accomplish — an SEC Tournament championship is hardly possible.

So the best thing for everyone to do is to take a deep breath and exhale. Then look up prices for plane tickets.

I hear New York is beautiful in the spring.

It’s the optimism hour everyone! Let’s look at some good things that may come out of UK’s horrid play the last few weeks.

1) Jodie’s stock has dropped. Period. He is in no way a first-rounder. Bad for him, good for the Cats. It would be a horrible decision if he took the jump. If the decline continues he may not be drafted even if he wanted to. Let’s review his weaknesses: bad bad bad a/to ratio, gambles too much on D, dribbles into traffic, limited ball handling ability, limited vision on the fast break, and unwillingness to use full extent of athletic ability in the lane. I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing the Cats’ best scorer; really, I think he’s one of the all-time greatest scorers in UK history. The good news for Jodie: these are all things that can be improved. He has all the ability and talent; he just needs to work on the I.Q. part of the game. And he can do that in the upcoming off-season and next year with an improved supporting cast.

2) Maybe this underachieving team can find its way and sneak up on some people starting Thursday. I don’t believe, with the path set ahead for the team (Ole Miss, LSU, and likely USC), that Kentucky HAS to win the tourney like everyone is so enamored with saying. A win over Ole Miss rectifies one previous loss, a win over LSU does the same along with announcing that the Cats can do something against a talented team, and a win over USC would say that Kentucky has overcome its biggest nemesis and is ready to take on some more. Very unlikely to occur…but this IS the optimism piece.

3) I never like to think that a transfer is a beneficial thing, but there’s just so much evidence to things happening behind the scenes… it just has to be a good thing to get some of the weeds out of the garden. Right? Let’s not go naming guys, but we all kind of have our secret wish list. And with increasing reports of Gillispie on the trail for a point guard addition, a transfer could be doubly beneficial.

4) The increasingly ridiculous audacity of the UK basketball “chosen” fan base has had to take quite a serving of humble pie. That can only be a good thing.

5) We may get to end a really long NIT appearance drought. I’m no statboy, but I believe the last appearance was with Sir Rupp. Please correct me.

6) UK FOOTBALL IS COMING SOON! And more and more people are looking forward to it. At least the Blue/White game April 25th should be well-attended. I’ll be there.

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

–Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption”

Hopefully this will make sense and not sound like the diary of Benji Compson. I promise I’ll try to connect some of these thoughts.

About a month ago, my esteemed colleague Mr. Powell wrote a very good piece about what we as fans should do in times of adversity. I agree with 95% of what he said. I agree that the fans should man up and support the team, even though they’ve played like the group of pre-teen girls that got mad when they found out David Archuleta didn’t win “American Idol.”

However, there is nothing wrong with questioning and getting upset when things aren’t going the way they should. I maintain my stance from the piece where I said that there are lots of more important things than basketball. That doesn’t mean a Kentucky fan should no longer believe that the best basketball team in the world is a right granted by God Himself. That hasn’t happened this year, and a great deal of it has to do with the coaching. I don’t believe that this season is indicative of what we should expect from this staff from now on. I don’t want Billy Gillispie fired. I think recruiting is going too well to fire this staff and pretty much let these guys go their own way. Same goes for Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks. I think both of these guys will be back next year, and I base this on nothing more than a hunch. But I guarantee you they’ll both bolt if this staff gets fired. Mitch Barnhart is a brilliant athletic director and never struck me as a kneejerk guy, otherwise he would have fired Rich Brooks a long time ago. Instead, he didn’t, and look at how that has turned out.

What Barnhart needs to do is put some serious heat on Gillispie. In no way should this team have ever been put into a situation where they have to win the SEC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament, but that’s how things are today, and that is absolutely pathetic. It falls on the coaches, and I’d give examples as to why this is the case, but I’m still having trouble interacting with my family on the subject, so I can’t imagine doing it in this setting without making a jackass of myself.

I will keep watching, though. If I didn’t, that would be sports fan treason. I’ve sat through way too many meaningless Vikings and White Sox games (the Knicks are never on TV anymore, so they don’t count) to give up on this team, especially when there’s still hope. The best thing about a tournament setting is that you can ride a hot hand a long way. Don’t believe me? Ask Davidson last season. Never mind that they beat three of the most overrated teams in the country, but on paper, there was no way they should have stayed with either Georgetown or Wisconsin. I’ll give them Gonzaga because I can’t stand those guys. But Georgetown and Wisconsin didn’t have Stephen Curry, and that’s why games are never played on paper.

If you’re reading this as a UK fan, you can’t be satisfied with how this season has turned out. There’s no problem with expressing concern. That doesn’t make you a Louisville fan or a Tubby Smith fan or any of that nonsense. It just makes you a good fan. It makes you a smart fan. I’m sure Gillispie will probably agree with me on his call-in show tonight.

Finally, since I started with a movie quote, I’ll close with one, this time from Jake Taylor in “Major League.”

“Well then, I guess there’s only one thing left to do – Win the whole F’n thing.”

Harsh words, I know. But hear me out: the Cats are in the middle of a valley right now, and like all valleys in God’s green world, it’s surrounded by slopes and peaks. Translation: any effort of movement can only be made upwards. Whether we look to return to our roots (run backwards), trudge ahead and find new methods of success (run forwards), or keep doing what we’re doing and hope it finally catches on (run sideways), we can only elevate.

Now let’s see how far I can take this metaphor. The unfortunate part of the cheery outlook I’ve just painted is that perched atop these peaks which surround Billy’s valley are 100,000+ “fans” hurling hate-rocks at the struggling mountain climbers they would normally be tossing ropes for. [Metaphor off]. Maybe more than any other fanbase-to-team connection, UK basketball depends on its followers. Not YOU….US. The entire fanbase. This doesn’t mean that Bobby Blueguts determines the fate of the program with his mighty words and actions; it means that Bobby and every other UK fan in the world are the Congress to UK’s administration and Billy’s presidency. We depend on each other. The fanbase as a whole is more responsible for the future of the program than it really understands.

Read the rest of this entry »

Can Tom Leach avoid asking any question that will get his head ripped off? After the post-UGA “you’re not gonna get me to turn on my guys, Tom” explosion following a legitimate question, I vote no. Unless the interview fails to take place at all, and it’s starting to look that way. I wish Leach would let him have it sometimes if only to put everything in perspective. Whatever your job title we all deserve to be treated as human beings. After this ridiculous meltdown centered around Billy’s relationship with his players and stubborness to adjust to certain things, ala Tubby Smith, he has quite a bit of answering that could be done. At least the next call-in show should be interesting.

What about you? It’s time for Billy to get some SPECIFIC questions asked followed by SPECIFIC answers. Who’s got the guts to ask? Don’t be afraid to get blasted, Billy likes that our fanbase cares so much and has such a passion for the game, ya know? Why is a coach not ecpected to present a detailed report of the year’s progress, like a political leader or business executive? Do we, the paying party, not have a right to know what’s really going on? I understand there are behind-the-scenes events that probably need to stay private, but can’t we just be told that? Why must we be left to guess and spread rumors?

I’ve got many thoughts about what has occurred and what needs to perhaps occur, but… who doesn’t. So, I’ll spare everyone. But I will leave one pearl of wisdom: the Golden Rule doesn’t apply to you any less when you are the leader; it becomes crucial to continue the respect of your following. I, along with countless other Kentucky fans, would love to follow Gillispie back to winning ways, but he has to learn better ways of earning respect. Losing on the court is acceptable; losing off of it can not happen.

…the next great day to be a Wildcat fan. Honorable mention goes to April 11th.

Save us Rich! Ride in behind the wheel of your monstrously cool self-titled F-150 and give us something positive to talk about.

Just don’t do this with it: