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.