ONE AND DONE?

BIG BLUE NATION! What do you think about the one done rule? I mean, obviously it is going to hurt us every year, and I think it is hurting the game as whole. I don't just mean the college game, the Pro game is watered down a lot.  I don't think the NBA gets the best players anymore.  They may get the most talented, but not the best players that the collegiate level has to offer.  Don't get me wrong, some kids should make the jump. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are classic examples of players who could make the jump to the NBA and be affective right away. People like Derick Rose for example, one and done was perfect for him because he was ready, anyone could see that.  He probably could have went out of High School had it not been for the one and done rule. Besides the stand out players, there are a countless amount of average ball players that occupy a spot in the NBA.  These are the guys that I'm talking about, the guys that through their names in the draft and have not seen the court yet.  They have one or two good seasons in the NCAA and decide that they are ready for the NBA and end up getting traded around the league twice with no playing time anywhere they go.  Then they get pushed down to the D league to see if they can get better.  Besides the pay cut, most players have a hard time stepping down because they have always been the star.  By the time they swallow their pride and get use to a smaller pay check half of their career is over.  Then it time to go over seas and test the foreign waters.  Most players that play professionally overseas never make it back to the NBA, so they are lost forever in a ocean full of players just like themselves, average. How does the NCAA come up with a solution to a definite problem that will only get worse?  I have the answer.  Make it mandatory to go to the D League before entering into the NBA if a kid decides to come out before his junior year.  That way you will weed out the  mediocre players, and it will take away from the money urge that goes along with the NBA.  Place a fine on any agent or team owner for speaking to any under class men and make it large enough that most agents and owner will just lay off until the kid is a upper class man.  If a kid wants to make the jump into the Pros without going to college, let them go. But they will have to play their way through the D League like baseball's farm teams do.  This will change the mind set of the players because the D League is not as appealing as the show, or NBA.  Your not playing on TV, so most kids would rather stay in school, at least they would get TV time.  The money is the biggest issue. How does anyone expect these kids that come from nothing to turn down the money?  On the other hand, how does anyone expect a kid that has never had anything to handle that kind of money?  So, to me, there needs to be a go between.  A place that will pay a little, and help them increase their skills, and get them ready for the show.  Plus lets just face facts,  nobody wants to see VCU and Bradly in the final four.  I'm glad they made, but come on, VCU!  Bradly!  I think the final game field goal percentage for both UConn and Bradly was about 20% for the game.  That's a lot of freshmen and sophomores taking bad shots and a over worked Kemba Walker for UConn, and no bench for Bradly who had tired legs.  Take it from the Hosscat20, we are not doing kids a favor by letting them play one year and then making them millionaires.  Let them earn their way in the NBA.  They will respect themselves and the game a whole lot more.

RED AND BLUE

Kentucky is split right down the middle. One side is red, the other side is blue.  Both sides are passionate, both sides are loyal to their teams, but the question in my mind is, why does both sides hate each other so much?  I was talking to a buddy of mine who happens to be a Louisville Fan, and he ask me a question that I really could not answer.  He asked me how I could be a Kentucky?  I had no answer because I was confused.  My sister graduated from UK and so did her daughter with honors.  My brother went to UK for a period of time before transferring to U of L.  My mother, God rest her soul, was a die hard UK fan, and if that wasn't enough, my father, who is from Wheeling, WV,  bleeds blue.  But my buddy knew all of this information already.  He wanted to know how I could like a racist program like UK.  I was shocked to say the least, but I had heard this before, so I was not caught off guard with the question.  I just wanted to know how anyone could ask that question in 2011.  The first issue he brought up was that Adolph Rupp was a racist and he didn't want to recruit black players.  I did some research on the matter and I don't doubt the Rupp was a racist, but so was everyone else in the early 1960's.  As far as recruiting black players, from my research, there were mixed interpretations about Rupps overall view of getting black players at UK.  The one solid piece of information that stands out about Rupp was that he got his ass handed to him in the 1966 National Championship game against Texas Western and he understood that he need some black players at UK to continue being success.  Another solid piece of info was that the whole SEC was segregated  not just UK.  Even after Brown vs The Board of Education, SEC schools still did not allow black students on their campuses because they didn't want race riots all over the South.  So, basically, he didn't really have a clue what he was talking about.  Kentucky first black basketball player was Thomas Paine in 1969.  Louisville recruited Wade Houston, father of Allan Houston of the New York Knicks, in 1962.  You mean to tell me those seven years makes that much of a difference.  I mean does it matter that UK was the first school with black athletes in the SEC?  Not to U of L fans obviously.  Louisville has never had a black head basketball coach.  Rupp might have been turning over in his grave, and I have heard UK fans say that, but Tuby Smith did coach and win a National Championship in the house that Rupp built.  Of course, none of this makes a difference to U of L fans because to them UK stands for racist.  I personally think we need a Pro team in Kentucky.  The only problem with that would be the fans on both sides who believe they would be taking away from either the Cats or the Cards.  I think the whole thing is stupid and I also think die hard fans who paint their whole house Kentucky blue or decorate their house in U of L colors needs to grow up and get a life! The Hosscat20 has spoken!

BE PROUD BIG BLUE NATION

Last night was a hard loss for the Cats.  It was hard to watch them loose because this years team has played so well in the tournament that you wanted to see them win.  Just wasn't in the cards BIG BLUE NATION.  We had a bad shooting night which made us play from behind most of the game, and when we did take the lead we couldn't keep it because we just couldn't make shots. Nevertheless, we had a great season, a season that we as Kentucky fans should be proud of no matter how it ended.  Yes we came up short of a chance to win another national championship, but look at what we accomplished as a team that struggled all season long in the SEC. Those young men came a long way, and we as fans should applaud there effort and see this season as a complete success.  I watched a news reporter after the game and I was shocked at what I saw.  She was talking about all the sad Kentucky fans leaving the arena, and in the background all you could see was BIG BLUE NATION with their heads hung low like they played the game and lost.  Some of them were even mad at the Cats for loosing.  To me that is  embarrassing.  As a Kentucky fan we have to have more class than that.  Sure the loss was disappointing, but lets not forget we made it to the Final Four, and beat some real good teams along the way.  Everybody coming out of that arena should have had smiles on their faces because we made it to the Final Four.  No, I'm not saying settle for being in the Final Four.  I'm saying we can't win them all, but we did put ourselves in a position to win and that is what Coach Cal wants to do every year.  Be proud of your Cats BIG BLUE NATION.  Don't be proud of yourselves or for yourselves.  As much as we like to think the Wildcats is our team, their not.  Those young guys play for Coach Calipari who coaches for the University of Kentucky.  Yes we support the team. Yes we pay money to watch the team. Yes, we are the popular six man, BIG BLUE NATION. But we can't forget that the young men that played their hearts out this season are the ones that are the most hurt by our scrutiny and rude behavior.  Keep it classy BIG BLUE NATION, never let them see you sweat.  The Hosscat20 wants the young men of the University of Kentucky Basketball Program to know that I am proud of you.  You guys did a outstanding job this year, and moving forward, I hope next years is a even better season for the guys that will be there next year. For the guys like Josh Harrellson, who is graduating this year, best of luck to you son in whatever you do, you will be missed.  To the players who are thinking about leaving to play in the NBA, best of luck to you guys as well, and I hope everything works out for you.  Go Cats!

KEYS TO SUCCESS AGAINST UCONN

BIG BLUE NATION!!!! Are u ready for what just might be the best game of the NCAA tournament? The Hosscat20 has 3 keys to success against UConn.  The first key is we have to take care of the ball.  We can't make silly mistakes and give the ball up.  UConn is the kind of team the capitalizes off of the other teams mistakes, so we can't be careless with the ball.  No turnovers!  If we can keep our turnovers down, we will put ourselves in a position to put up good quality shots and get something out of every possession.  The next thing we have to do is rebound, rebound, rebound. Big Josh is huge for us every game, but he will have to be that and more in this game.  We have to control the offensive and defensive back board the whole game.  Don't give them any second chances on the glass while we take advantage of second chance opportunities on the offensive board.  We need to send everybody to the boards.  The glass has to be ours tomorrow.  The last and most important thing we have to do is stop Kemba Walker.  He scores half there points and in games when he scores 25 or better they always win.  DeAndre' Liggins has to play one of the best defensive games he has every played.  If he can shut Kemba down, UConn will have to look else where for scoring and they just don't have it.  No Kemba, no win.  We are playing good ball right now and I hope the Cats play with the same togetherness and intensity they have played with all tournament long.  BIG BLUE NATION, doesn't feel good to be a fan again?  Final Four baby! Go Cats!

BACK WHERE WE BELONG!

I'm still stunned BIG BLUE NATION.  I'm just having a hard time believing that this team made it to the Final Four.  This year was the first year that probably half of BIG BLUE NATION pick a bracket and didn't put Kentucky in the Final Four.  Low and behold, here we are, dancing our ass off.  I'm shocked, but I'm proud too because that shows what a team that believes can do.  Yeah we got some good players, but I would be willing to say that most KY fans didn't think Josh Harrellson was going to play so well.  DeAndre' Liggins has been huge for us, and Darius Miller is showing just how talented he really is.  Last year these guys were not even in the conversation when a fan brought up KY basketball.  Now they have made it further in the tournament then last years all stars did. That's because they believed and they bought in to Coach Cal's system.  No real head cases like a Demarcus Cousins, no stand out all stars like John Wall, just hard nose players who want to win.  I'm so proud of the effort and courage they have shown this year.  I think we jailed at just the right time, and I believe we can win another national championship with this team.  If we do, BIG BLUE NATION,  get ready because recruiting allegations are going to come from every direction.  Coach Cal already has a bulls eye on his back.  A national championship will make that bulls eye the size of his entire body.  If not, we will be very good for years to come. Enjoy the success BIG BLUE NATION, savor these moments because you never know when they will be taken away from you.  Since we are used to being in this position, welcome home BIG BLUE NATION to the Final Four, back where we belong.  Go Cats!

WOW!

All I can say is, WOW!  BIG BLUE NATION, can you believe how much better this team is now.  This is the same team that could not get a road win during the SEC regular season. Now they are fearless in the NCAA Tournament.  Big Josh is the biggest and best surprise on the team.  I know I said that we would be dead in the water with just Big Josh in the post and no Enes Kanter, but he made me out to be a big fat liar.  He has been the only steady player all year long.  I said our upper class men need to lead more and stop letting the freshmen do all the leading.  Liggins, Miller, and Harellson have lead Kentucky to the Elite 8. The Big Hosscat20 has to eat his words again. I hope they make it to the final four because I said, "This is not a final four team." The Cats have proved me wrong all year, and I hope they don't stop proving me wrong now.  I road Coach Cal pretty hard too, but he had made me eat my words every step of the way.  We are Elite BIG BLUE NATION! How great does that feel? One other thing I have to get off my chest.  Josh Harrellson will play somewhere in the NBA next year, watch and see. March on Cats! Final Four here comes the BIG BLUE NATION! Go Cats!

3 KEYS TO SUCCESS

BIG BLUE NATION!!! Here we are back in the Sweet 16 with a team that I know we all thought wouldn't make it there. Ohio State is favored, of course, but The Hosscat20 believes that we can be successful if we do 3 things tomorrow.  The first thing is probably the most important.  We have to play in front of Sullinger and deny him the ball as much as possible. Make the Buckeyes make hard passes to the post, don't just let them give him the ball where he wants it.  If we can neutralize his offense, O State will loose his 20 pts and the game. We also need to extend our defense out further than normal.  If we do that we can guard the 3 pt line, make O State start their half court offense out further from the basket, and push Sullinger further away from the basket taking him out of rebound position.  The most important thing we have to do is be aggressive. Attack! Attack! Attack!  If we get Sullinger into foul trouble early, then we can free up the paint area and we have driving lanes all day long.  Shot selection is key in this game for both teams, but especially UK.  We can't just jack up 3's if we are not knocking them down.  At the same time we shouldn't pass up open looks at the basket.  We just need to make sure we are high quality shots.  Open 3's are exactly what we want, but we need to get them off a good hard drive to the bucket. Drive and kick baby! Drive and kick.  The Hosscat20 believes that if we do those 3 things, then we will beat The Buckeyes.  What did Jalen Rose call the Buckeyes in the Fab Five film on ESPN?? Yeah them. Let go Cats!!!

HOW SWEET IT IS!!

BIG BLUE NATION! Are you as exited as The Hosscat20 about the Cats? I said a time or two in my blogs that if we could every get everyone contributing on the floor, when we have a total team effort, we will be a hard out in the NCAA tournament.  Well guess what? We are in the sweet 16 with a chance to play the #1 team in the nation, The Ohio State Buckeyes.  Honestly, I never thought we would make it this far, but we are here, and we look good right now.  Big Blue Magic is in the air.  Beating WV was so sweet after loosing to them last year with all the talent we had.  Now they can do the John Wall dance all the way back to Morgan Town.  I got to give a shout out to Brandon Knight, who had one of the best games of the year today. Thirty points! The young man is not a freshman anymore.  He played like a 4 year starter today, confident and effective.  Unfortunately, the Hosscat20 did not actually get to see the game. Thank God for ESPN mobile.  I look at sports on my phone more than I do on my TV.  Any way, we won, and that is all that matters.  We march deeper into March Madness with either Ohio State or George Mason standing between us and the Elite 8.  What if GM upsets O State? Anything can happen BIG BLUE NATION.  Maybe The Hosscat20 will get to watch this game. Hate my job! Go Cats!!!

READY FOR THE BIG DANCE?!

Kentucky finished the regular season with a SEC Championship and a #4 seed in the NCAA.  I admit, the Hosscat20 did not see that coming just judging by the losses we took on the road.  But we look strong right now, everyone is contributing, and we seem to understand how to finish a game now.  How far can we go in the tournament? Unfortunately, I think our bench play will dictate that.  We are getting some production from the bench, but we just don't have enough players over there to make a deep run in the tourny.  I know from Kentucky teams in the past that tournament time brings magic to the boys in blue.  I think those kids believe they can beat anybody in the country, and they have a lot of confidence going into this years tournament. The Hosscat20 feels like anything can and will happen this year. If everyone is healthy and we can stay out of foul trouble, we can make this a very interesting tournament.  That is my heart talking of course, my mind says no bench, no run at the NCAA title. That being said, BIG BLUE NATION, our chances of winning it all are just as good as anybody elses in the tournament.  I'm going with my heart this year. BIG BLUE NATION get ready for a wild ride.  Pick the boys in blue all the way out to the championship game. The Hosscat20 has spoken!

Road Slump is Over

It took us all year BIG BLUE NATION, but we finally got a road win. Beating Tenn on senior night was huge for those young Cats.  They finally saw some success away from home. Now they know they can win away from home because a win at Tenn is never easy.  They know they can be tough and play through adversity.  The most important part of the win was the fact that they never let down.  Brandon Knight looked like a senior yesterday.  he had a horrible first half with only 2 points.  He came back the second half like he never played the first half.  Pulling up from 3 point land like he was still hot from the first half, driving the ball strong to the hole, and hitting free throws down the stretch made him look like he had been their before. I love his toughness. Terrence Jones played a awesome game too, rebounding, blocking shots, and making big plays when we really needed it. Overall as a team we look the best we have looked all year.  Upper class men are setting the tone and the freshman are playing with confidence.  I hope we can continue this type of play through the SEC tournament and on into the big dance. The Big Hosscat20 is very proud to be a Cat fan today.  One more thing.  Don't count Eloy Vargas out just yet.  He did a real good job yesterday. Played some quality minutes and was affective. I know it is late in the season, but I think the kid is starting to come along. In any rate, the road slump is over.

How do you like us now BIG BLUE NATION!

What about them cats!? Huge win over Florida this past weekend. Coming off that loss against Arkansas, really should give us a lift.  We did a lot of things right against Florida. We rebounded the ball well, Big Josh did his usual damage on the boards, and everybody put a number in the scoring column.  Darius Miller is starting to play ball big.  He is stepping up being a leader, and he is showing the talent that we already know he has.  Unfortunately, we are young and mistake prone.  We don't turn the ball over as much as we did at the beginning of the season, but we make bad decisions at crunch time.  Our lack of good bench play is a big issue, but only if the starters can't get it done.  We have a tough one coming up against Vandy and we finish with Tenn. The Hosscat20 hopes we can finish strong and play well in the SEC tournament.  I don't care about the SEC as much as I do the NCAA seeding.  If we can come together and start playing the quality ball the we are capable of on a regular basis and maybe get Eloy to contribute to the cause along with one other person on that bench, Stacey Poole, then we are dangerous with the right seeding.  I think anything can happen this year because across the board, there are no dominant teams in the NCAA.  Any team can win the tourny this year and we have a shot just like the other 64 teams.  We have looked better during this time in the past BIG BLUE NATION, but don't count us out because our team is good enough to beat anybody in the country.  We just can't beat ourselves that's all, we have to play smart.  We have come a long way and we are getting better every game.  Watch us stretch are legs in the SEC tournament BIG BLUE NATION as we prepare for the NCAA tournament.  I love March Madness!

Up and Down

Being a Kentucky fan this year is like being on a roller coaster.  Extreme highs and extreme lows as we speed through another SEC season.  You got the loss at Vandy which I expected. Then the win of Miss St., a game where we shot the ball real well, but we made a lot of careless turnovers that could have cost us the game.  Oh yeah! We also need make free throws! Man, we shot terrible from the line.  We can't put teams away if we can't make free throws,  plain and simple.  The Big Hosscat20 doesn't expect to see the Wildcats in the final four, but I think we will battle until our short bench and lack of experience come back to haunt us.  We could go out in the first round this year, who knows.  I just want everybody to come back next year. We are going to be so nasty next year.  Whoooo!  But lets stick to 2011.  We need to find some leadership and learn to play together this year.  Create a style of play that the young supper stars coming in next year can come in and follow without having to come right in and do it all.  That's all The Hosscat20 has to say about the cats, but I do have something to say to BIG BLUE NATION. Stop hating the Cards, alright.  Yes we are rivals. Yes we can't stand the sight of red.  But they are still from Kentucky, so lets show some respect for our fellow in state school. Seriously, we just make ourselves look bad when we constantly down the ville and our record is about the same if not worse. Show some class BIG BLUE NATION because the University of Kentucky is known for being a class act.

Upper Class Men to the Rescue

See how good we look when everybody contributes BIG BLUE NATION.  The Vols weren't ready for Liggins, Harrellson, and Miller.  They practiced for Knight, Jones, and Lamb.  That's what those upper class men need to do every night, lead.  Last night against Tenn.they lead and everyone else followed.  Liggins had a career high 19 points, Big Josh had a double double, and Darius had double figures.  We looked real good last night, now lets hope we can keep that kind of play up for the rest of the season.  I want to walk into the SEC tournament with some confidence and a little swagger about us.  We really need Eloy to come along, but he still has time, we have not played our last game yet. Vandy is going to be a hard game, but if we play like we did against Tenn, we will be alright.  Lets get behind this positive vibe we have going now BIG BLUE NATION, I think the boys are trying to make a change.  Keep up the good work upper class men.  Coach Cal, keep foot in there ?!@#$!

Who is Going to Lead, BIG BLUE NATION?

I'm sure everyone saw the Florida game.  BIG BLUE NATION, I hope you were not shocked by the out come, and be ready to see it again when we play Vanderbilt.  We have some good freshmen, but we depend on their play way to much.  Freshmen are only gonna take you so far.  What we need is a upper class man to step up and lead this team.  Our apparent lack of bench play hurts tremendously, but if we can get the six or seven guys who play on a regular basis to start contributing, then our future looks brighter.  Until that happens, we are always going to come up short.  The Big Hosscat20 loves his cats, but I'm afraid that if we don't do something g here in the next couple of weeks, we will be on a 4 or 5 game loosing streak trying to figure out if we will make the big dance or not.  That's what it is all about anyway, the big dance, NCAA tournament.  BIG BLUE NATION that's all we care about, so don't get to down on the cats because it is possible to win with six or seven guys, you just have to play solid ball every night out with very few mistakes.  That's also why we need a upper class man to lead us and take some of the pressure off the freshmen.  If we find that leadership, then we will be a dangerous tournament team because I think we can play with anybody in the country on any given night. Hosscat20 wants to know where is the leadership Big Blue!  Darius, DeAndre, Josh, who wants to lead this team?!

Don't be surprised BIG BLUE NATION

After watching us get beat by Ole Miss, I know we are going to have a disappointing end to our dismal season.  The biggest thing I see that is going to haunt us in the SEC and NCAA tournaments is our lack of leadership. No one is stepping up.  We have three upper class men on the floor and none of them want to step up and lead this young team.  Case and point, Darius Miller past up a wide open three point shot in the closing seconds of the Ole Miss game and it ended in a shot clock violation.  A leader takes that shot, a leader wants that shot.  DeAndre Liggins plays with a lot of energy, but he basically is running around like a chicken with its head cut off because at the end of the game we have no point production, no rebounds, no assists, and a bunch of fouls. Big Josh goes hard in the paint, but he is not a scoring threat, so no one guards him if he is five feet away from the bucket.  It's not completely their fault though.  I mean you look a last years team and they were just role players, while the freshmen ran the team.  Those guys are use to playing in the shadows, so this year they are doing the same thing, playing in the shadows of Brandon Knight, Terrance Jones, and Doron Lamb.  We cannot afford to have players not producing both offensively and defensively.  We only play six players on a regular basis.  We only have nine all together.  BIG BLUE NATION, we need everyone giving their all and not just watching or we could honestly loose the rest of our regular season games, and it does not get easy from here on out.  Time for some guys to step up, right now!  Saturday we will find out what kind of heart we got, if we got any.  Will the real Darius Miller PLEASE step up!

Alabama?!!!!!

Ok, BIG BLUE NATION, the Hossscat20 is pissed today.  Coach Cal didn't win coach of the year honors tonight.  We stunk the place up.  I mean we really looked like a team that was lost.  Down 20 points at one time and fought back to bring the game within 1 point. Coach Cal goes into his regular dribble drive offense, but why?!  There are 10 seconds on the clock, we don't have time for a lot of passing.  You put the ball in Brandon Knights hands and let him take his man and hope for the bucket or the foul.  We try that dribble drive crap and Ala takes the ball from us.  I just don't get it coach!? We had a chance to win that ball game even though we played terrible.  Another thing the Hosscat20 was highly upset with was the decision to full court press this team or any team for that matter.  Come on coach!  We don't have the bench to press anybody.  You can't take their legs early like that and expect them to play hard down the stretch.  Oh yeah, Terrance Jones is the best player you got right now because he is the most consistent.  You can't keep bringing 25 points off the bench coach, I'm sorry.  Plus he mouths back at after every play any way, so are your disciplinary methods working? I don't think so coach.  Stop coddling his big butt and let him know who runs the team.  Your teams talk back way to much, and they are freshman.  It looks bad and it shows that your control is limited.  Plus whatever your trying to do on the court will not get done with that attitude because your team has a opinion.  I bet you Coach K's team does not have an opinion.  One more thing coach, you have never had a good free throw shooting team in your tenure as a coach.  Don't you think its time to change that?  With the team you have, man you guys need to shoot 90% from the line as a team.  You got good shooters this year, why can't they make a free throw?  If the 40 year old Hosscat20 can out shoot your team from the line, you have a problem.  Lets learn from our mistakes and get better.  Just wanted BIG BLUE NATION to know that that was poorly played and coached game tonight.  We are better than that.  Lets go BIG BLUE!

Long Hard Road Ahead

OK BIG BLUE NATION, so we stumbled out the gate in conference play.  We didn't look good on D at all.  The refs gave us some bad calls and they called it close in GA favor.  All that is to be expected though, they don't call it home cooking for nothing.  We don't understand what it takes to win in the SEC.  We are so young on top of not having a deep bench, when we get in foul trouble we really break down because at certain position we don't have anyone to take up the slack. Yep, its going to be a long hard road for the Kentucky team.  But I think when guys start to step up and understand their roles we will be fine. Darius Miller is playing out of position and that hurts us.  He is not aggressive enough to play the post.  Terrance Jones occupies the perimeter and he needs to play more with his back to the basket.  Deandre Liggins is a hustle player and a defender.  His offense needs to be his defense, not chucking up three point shots all day.  He is better going to the goal, getting fouled, and making plays.  The rest is just learning how to play in the SEC.  Everyone is gunning for UK, we will get their best game.  Our freshmen have to learn to play more physical without fouling, and they have to play smart especially on the road.  All that said, its just one game.  Lets not concentrate on this lost.  We took our lump and now maybe we learned something from it.  On to the next game.

From Threatening to Thrashing

Did you see the first half BIG BLUE NATION yesterday against Penn?  We looked awful.  Throwing the ball away, I think we made 7 turnovers, we didn't play good defense, and we were barely winning the battle on the glass.  The Hosscat20 believe that we might have been under estimating Penn a little.  I think we believed that all we had to do was show up and we would win.  Well that win came a lot harder then they thought.  Gotta give up to Penn, they are a tough, gritty bunch who knows how to execute their offense and get down a play hard nose defense.  Kentucky woke right before the half with a 16-2 run and took the lead.  From then on we mashed the gas and started raining 3's to widen the gap.  After UK stretched the lead to 20, I forgot how we struggled in the first half.  Good thing it doesn't matter how you start, its how you finished, we definitely finished strong. One of  BIG BLUE NATIONS finest told me today that Josh Harrellson is starting to steal Terrance Jones spotlight. He seems to think Josh is a better player than Terrance.  Let's get a couple of things straight BIG BLUE NATION. First, Josh is one of 3 big men on UK's team,  Sense Vargas is not playing good ball right at all right now, Big Josh is all we got.  Lastly, It is not only Big Josh who is taking away from Terrance's usual big game, we have 5 guys putting up double figures now.  The scoring is spread out more which is a good thing because a balanced attack is hard to stop.  Plus, Josh does not create his own shot, so guess who gets most of those assists, Terrance Jones! Last time the Hosscat20 checked, Terrance is being double teamed every game.  I'm glad Josh is play well, believe me, I am a Josh Harrellson fan.  He is getting better and more confident at the right time for UK. I love to see it because that shows what four years of playing against the best talent can do for a player.  Experience is the best teacher and Josh has learned a lot.  But don't get it twisted BIG BLUE NATION, Terrance Jones is a Pro playing college ball.  Don't compare Josh and Terrance because right now one is making the other. Oh yeah! if I don't post anything before Saturday, beat Pitt this weekend!  C   A   T    S!  CATS! CATS! CATS! Let's Go!

Big Josh Harrellson

This Blog is for the Big Man of UK basketball, Mr Josh Harrellson. Big Josh played the best game of his college career at UK. Josh had 23pts and 14reb against the cards and he also gave notice that his play is essential to the success of UK basketball this season.  The Big Hosscat20 believe sincerely that Josh can make us or break us. We are lacking in the paint area and Josh is not expected to put up numbers like that, his job is to play solid D and rebound, rebound, rebound.  He has been doing a good job on the boards this year averaging about 8 rebounds a game. Defensively, Josh does his job. He plays good solid defense, hands up high, holds his position, and stays out of foul trouble.  We only have Vargas coming off the bench and he is just a freshman who is still learning the college game. Josh is a vet who has played against some great big men in his time at UK in games and in practice, so he is ready to compete against anybody now. The Hosscat20 was thoroughly impressed with Josh and if he can keep that level of play up for the rest of the season, watch out BIG BLUE NATION, we might on our way to another final four. I also know what your thinking BIG BLUE NATION. What if we had Kanter right now? That would be nice, but if Josh Harrellson keeps getting better as the season progresses, we may not need Kanter this year. I see ya Big Josh!!!