[jetpilot]

Final from Oxford.

A few thoughts:

- This game might have been a watershed moment for Chris Beard's resurgence. Let's face it, he came into Oxford in damage control mode, marred in scandal as he was on the precipice of turning Texas into a national power. The national narrative won't be that Kentucky was down two scholarship guards that were replaced in large part by a pair of freshmen while another scholarship player was playing at less than 75%. It's going to be that Ole Miss put up the most they've ever scored against Kentucky in a dominant win. It's one thing for them to beat an Alabama team (that's decidedly better than UK right now), but it's another to embarrass a blue blood like the Cats while they're having a good year. Those wins, and this game in particular, probably serve as a spring board for Beard to get to a program that carries more weight than Ole Miss who'll hire him (baggage and all). 

In their program's history, Ole Miss has eight NCAA Tournament appearances and one Sweet 16. Historically, they appear in the NCAA Tournament as often as Kentucky wins a national championship. Let that sink in. They play in an arena that's been open less than 10 years, but still seats less than 10,000. They have an alumni base with money and a decent recruiting base in the Deep South, Memphis, and Dallas areas, but that's about it. Maybe Beard wants to see it through, but I think it's more likely that he keeps a low profile and is at a new job where he can really do some long term damage within the next two years, max.

If you are in the administration at a school like Minnesota, Cincinnati, Miami, or Florida State, how seriously do you look at Beard? If you are a fan, would you complain if your school looked at hiring him? If you are Beard, what are you looking for in your next move? With enough success at the collegiate level, how far fetched is it to think that one day an NBA team like Sacramento or Brooklyn says screw the optics and gives him a shot?



- Kentucky isn't healthy and they simply were never going to be in a position to lose two scholarship players at the same position and be as competitive as we'd have liked. Take away two key pieces of any SEC team's rotation (at the same position no less) and add an injury to another key contributor and this is what you'll get. Our pieces just don't really mesh right now, but we should be used to that from past Calipari rosters. Hopefully we're able to get healthy come March. How dangerous is a healthy but #5 seed Kentucky that knocks off a #1 and takes their path? That's probably what we're hoping for at the moment.


- Everything Kentucky is doing right now is smoke and mirrors. Is Williams a "point center" or a skilled international big that's forced into handling the ball because he's one of the few who can be trusted not to have his dribble ripped from him or to get pressed into an errant pass? Robinson isn't a point guard, he's the guy that we can steal a few possessions with because you trust him not to turn the ball over as much as Perry has. Oweh isn't a facilitator, he's the guy that the opposition lives with the idea of letting him beat you-- love his game, but asking him to score 20+ every night is going to take us out of almost eveything we usually try to do.


- I love Perry and want to see him do well, but there's a difference in guarding players from Ashland Blazer or Harlan County and defending in the SEC. He's generously listed at 6'2 and was always going to be the type of player whose defense, at best, would be enhanced to near replacement level with time-- we're still at least two and a half years from that point though. In the moment, he's an effective spot-up shooter that you can use to steal minutes. Noah hustles and has more height, but he isn't the answer at the point-- this wasn't the game where you try to steal too many minutes with him. That isn't an attack on either of them, because I'd love nothing more than to see both contribute as juniors and seniors, but it is what it is. Everyone seems down on Chandler, and he isn't without fault, but if we aren't going to get healthy soon, he's probably going to have to be the answer to some of we're missing because he at least has the physical tools and a higher ceiling. He looks lost out there, but I wouldn't be shocked if we see a point where he gets big minutes and more opportunity to play through lots of mistakes.


- Thank goodness for the upcoming games with South Carolina, Texas, and Vanderbilt. Those won't be easy, but it's about as soft of a stretch in three of four that Kentucky is going to see. We've probably seen most of the peaks from this season-- there are still a few in store, but I fear that there's still going to be plenty of valleys. Hopefully we're able to take at least two of our next four, then regroup. Either way, we've already exceeded my expectations for this season and short of losing every game from here out, it's going to be hard to complain too much given.

The KSR guys are HOPING for at least a  8-10 SEC finish. My , how far we've fallen since Pitino and the early Cal years. We are now the BYU Wildcats, according to some on social media. LOL

Cal sucked a$$ for years and everybody is thrilled he's gone.

"KSR guys hoping" and "according to some"... mind numbing...