TheCatsDomain.Com Message Boards: Playing for Kentucky isn't easy-GREAT READ

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Posted by eleem (Member # 884) on 02-25-2015, 10:06 PM:

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The man, an airport worker, opened the door to the plane and Kenny Walker, a teenager from the tiny rural Georgia town of Roberta, ducked his head so he could fold his 6-foot-8 frame through the doorway.

He hadn't quite gotten out when the airport worker stopped him.

"Are you a basketball player?" he asked.

Walker said that he was, offering his name and his hand to shake.

"Kenny Walker, the UK recruit coming in? The one averaging 28 points and 17 rebounds?" the man said to Walker. "I just read about you on Cats Pause. Do you mind signing an autograph?''

Amazed but also a little skeptical, Walker scratched his name on a piece of paper and headed to the baggage claim, where he met up with Kentucky basketball coach Joe B. Hall and his assistant, Leonard Hamilton.

He told them what had just happened, how some stranger not only knew who he was and knew his stats, but wanted his autograph -- even though he was a recruit, not yet committed to play at Kentucky.

"So I asked them: 'Did you put him up to it? Was it a setup?''' Walker said recently, recalling a story from more than 30 years ago. "And they told me: 'No, not at all. That's just Kentucky.'''

If you've paid even the slightest bit of attention to college basketball this season, you know that Kentucky is undefeated. If you've had your ear to the ground a little bit more intently, you'll know that being undefeated at Kentucky is especially hard, harder maybe than it was for Wichita State a year ago, harder than maybe it was for Saint Joseph's in 2004, maybe even harder than it was for UNLV in 1991 and Indiana all the way back in 1976.

At least that is the message being peddled, and that is to say, peddled more in a deflection/explanation way than an insincere one.

You see, John Calipari likes themes. When he was at Memphis, he liked to tell everyone that it took a village to build his mid-major team (though the Tigers weren't quite Middle Tennessee State). A few years ago, he coined "succeed and proceed," a playful little tweak of the one-and-done tag his players had been labeled with.

This year his message has been how hard it is to do what the Cats are doing -- not winning all the games, though that certainly is difficult -- but doing it under the microscope that is the University of Kentucky, where donning a jersey requires as much mental fortitude as it does a good crossover.

"There's not one game we will walk into where the other team is not ready,'' Calipari said recently. "There's not one game we will walk into where the other team isn't going to play their best and make shots they never make. ... If you're not ready to be in the Super Bowl every night you play here, then you're not ready to go here.''

He is not wrong, of course.

Kentucky is a court-storm waiting to erupt, the circled date on most every opposing team's calendar, the obsession and passion of a fan base that is most definitely the most obsessive, and certainly among the most passionate, in the country.

The joke is that they only hang national championship banners in Lexington ... except it's not entirely a joke. They hang nothing less than Final Four banners from the rafters of Rupp Arena and are so enamored of their teams that they give them names: the Unforgettables (1992), the Untouchables (1996) and the Comeback Cats (1998).

So there is a voracious appetite for victory that expects to be fed annually, a need so primal that it carries with it an unrealistic level of expectation and, in turn, an extraordinary burden of pressure.

But the hard-knock life of a Wildcat basketball player also includes the 2-year-old, $7 million Wildcat Coal Lodge, a state-of-the-art dorm that comes with its own chef and the $30 million Craft Center. It includes all the accoutrements afforded any big-time athlete, as well as the promise of lifelong adulation -- the inverse, really, of the parable of the faithful servant. Of whom much is expected, much also is given.

So is it really as hard as it's cracked up to be, to be an 18-year-old rock star? To be Justin Bieber in the throes of Biebermania?

Well, yes and no.

"It's a phenomenon, that's what it is,'' said Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford, who helped Kentucky to the 1993 Final Four. "It's hard to explain unless you've been through it. It's the same thing that makes Alabama football Alabama football. What makes it so hard is what also makes it so great.''

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Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-25-2015, 10:18 PM:

These boys have a lot of pressure on them!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-25-2015, 10:19 PM:

I think Cal tries his best to keep the pressure on him rather than the team.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-25-2015, 10:29 PM:

Oh, I believe the boys are having fun!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-25-2015, 10:31 PM:

It looks like they are having more fun and I think their confidence is growing too.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-26-2015, 06:05 AM:

THey have a lot of confidence in each other as well. That's why the assists numbers are so high!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-26-2015, 12:52 PM:

The pressure must keep building on every game. Let's just hope we can keep it going all the way. That would be something very, very special.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-26-2015, 01:26 PM:

We're closer than we were!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-26-2015, 01:47 PM:

Got to take it game by game.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-26-2015, 02:20 PM:

THe HOGS are next!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-26-2015, 02:57 PM:

They have lost 5 games this season so they are not a lock. The way we are playing however we have to be a heavy favorite.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-26-2015, 03:00 PM:

Here are their starters:
Bobby Portis
Michael Qualls
Rashad Madden
Anthlon Bell
Alandise Harris

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-26-2015, 03:02 PM:

Portis and Qualls lead them in scoring with 17.6 and 15.1 points per game, they also lead the in rebounding 8.5 and 5.2 respectively.

[ 02-26-2015, 03:04 PM: Message edited by: catmandoo ]

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-26-2015, 10:12 PM:

We will have to play better than we have lately!

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-26-2015, 10:12 PM:

We will need to focus on the little details Saturday evening!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-26-2015, 11:31 PM:

Playing at Rupp is a huge advantage.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-26-2015, 11:32 PM:

If we can keep our turn-overs down we should be ok!

Posted by Green-Bean (Member # 13551) on 02-27-2015, 01:53 AM:

I DONT CARE ABOUT 40 AND 0, ALL I CARE ABOUT IS WINNING THE VERY LAST GAME WE PLAY IN THE TOURNEY!! NOW THAT ONE COUNTS.

[ 02-27-2015, 04:35 AM: Message edited by: Green-Bean ]

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-27-2015, 06:20 AM:

Yeah, but you are just like the rest of us, GB. YOU WANT TO WIN EVERY GAME!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-27-2015, 08:20 AM:

Arkansas shoots over 19 3's a game so we will be have to ready to make sure they don't get good looks as they make over 36% of them.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-27-2015, 08:26 AM:

Our big advantage is our rebounding and we have to make sure we dominate on the glass on both ends of the court.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-27-2015, 08:30 AM:

The Rebs have lost to lost to Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida so we should beat them but you can bet they won't beat themselves.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-27-2015, 10:50 AM:

Just have to beat them at their own game!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-27-2015, 02:30 PM:

It's going to be a great game to watch as there will be action from the get-go to the final horn.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-27-2015, 07:05 PM:

I haven't looked at their stats yet. How do they average as far as fouls are concerned?

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:35 AM:

They average 36 boards a game

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:36 AM:

They average 72% on their free throws

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:38 AM:

They ave. 72% on their Free throws

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:39 AM:

Ark. ave. 36.3 on their 3 point shots

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:40 AM:

Ark averages 8 steals a game which is a lot!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:41 AM:

Ark turns it over a ave of 12 per game.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:42 AM:

Ark ave. 36 boards a game

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 09:43 AM:

They get a lot of assists per game with 17.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-28-2015, 09:59 AM:

They have yet to face a defense like ours all season!

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-28-2015, 10:09 AM:

THey have lost to Miss and Florida this season too!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 11:04 AM:

Our defense is second to none and it's going to be a good match up today. I like our chances.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 11:07 AM:

We definitely not losing a game all season have to be the favorites of any team we play. Arkansas is not even close to us record wise with 5 losses.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-28-2015, 11:23 AM:

It will be a real defensive battle for sure!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 02:34 PM:

We shall see.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-28-2015, 02:50 PM:

Just about 70 minutes away!

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-28-2015, 02:51 PM:

Sounds like the players seem focused during the shoot around!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 03:18 PM:

It won't be long now and we will find out how good they are.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-28-2015, 03:19 PM:

45 minutes

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 03:19 PM:

Cal will have them ready and expect them to be on top of things from the get go.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 02-28-2015, 03:20 PM:

We have had plenty of time to get ready.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 02-28-2015, 03:27 PM:

I guess you are right!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 03-01-2015, 09:57 AM:

It sure showed how ready we were.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 03-01-2015, 09:57 AM:

I think however they will play us better in the SEC tournament if they get that far.

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 03-01-2015, 09:59 AM:

I was surprised that their 3 point shooting wasn't better. I give credit to our guards getting g out on their shooters.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 03-01-2015, 02:06 PM:

We gave up a couple more in the second half than I was hoping for!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 03-01-2015, 02:29 PM:

What you want and what you get always doesn't work out. As long as we get the win that's what's important.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 03-01-2015, 03:01 PM:

Yeah, I'm sure Cal would want our team to not allow our opponent to score a single point!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 03-01-2015, 11:07 PM:

I think that goes for the players and the fans too.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 03-02-2015, 04:50 AM:

Coach RUpp asked once who gave up points when we were crushing an opponent!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 03-02-2015, 12:35 PM:

You got a good memory.