It’s all fun and games while cutting down nets and sending droves of players to the NBA. John Calipari‘s first three years as head coach at UK produced 102 victories, two Final Fours, one national championship and 15 NBA draft picks (11 in the first round). Despite personally despising the NBA’s one-and-done rule, Calipari embraced…
Through wins, losses, Cats need fan support
Dakari Johnson ready to face future Kentucky teammates in McDonald’s game
Dakari Johnson is the lone Kentucky commit on the McDonald’s All-American East roster. Four of his future teammates are on the West squad in the game set for April 3 at Chicago’s United Center. The way Johnson figures it, the organizers may just have been afraid to put all five future Wildcats on the same team…
Nerlens Noel injures knee as Cats fall to Gators, 69-52
Scottie Wilbekin had 14 points and eight assists, Pat Young recorded his sixth double-double of the season and No. 7 Florida handled No. 25 Kentucky 69-52 on Tuesday night. The Gators (20-3, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) snapped a five-game losing streak in the series, and coach Billy Donovan improved to 2-7 against Kentucky’s John Calipari. This…
Jarrod Polson relishing role as Kentucky’s energy guy
When Jarrod Polson arrived at Kentucky as a walk-on, playing time was a desired but unrealistic expectation. Now, midway through his junior season, Polson isn’t the team’s best scorer, best defender or three-point specialist, but what he does bring fuels the Cats. “He’s just energy,” John Calipari said. “All I need is energy.” If that’s what Calipari needs, it…
Polson a model for what Coach Cal wants Cats to be
Continuing a recent tradition, John Calipari channeled his inner philosopher as he fielded questions from the media. Ostensibly, Coach Cal was at the podium to talk basketball. The Wildcats had just won their fifth game in a row – 72-62 in a bruising rematch with Auburn – but he was more interested in talking about…
Boxscore and Game Notes: Kentucky vs. Auburn
Go here for boxscore. With the win, Kentucky improved to 17-7, 8-2 in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn falls to 9-14, 3-7 in SEC action. UK has won five consecutive games, its longest winning streak of the 2012-13 season. It marks UK’s longest winning streak since the Wildcats won six consecutive NCAA Tournament games in claiming…
Cauley-Stein ‘rusty,’ but doesn’t show as he sparks UK in win against Gamecocks
He wondered if everything had changed. Following minor surgery that caused him to miss four games, Willie Cauley-Stein couldn’t keep all the negativity out of his mind. Most of it, yes. But some still creeped in. “I didn’t feel like I was going to be the same player anymore,” Cauley-Stein said. Then he read a…
Anthony Davis named 2012 Kentucky Sportsman of the Year
Pundits called it one of the greatest years ever for a player of any sport, professional or college. That was more than enough to name Anthony Davis the 2012 Lexington Herald-Leader Kentucky Sportsman of the Year. The former Wildcat and John Calipari-coached player was named the Kentucky Sportsman of the Year on Thursday at the…
Boxscore and Game Notes: Kentucky at Alabama
Go here for boxscore. Kentucky falls to 12-6, and 3-2 in league competition, while Alabama improves to 12-6 and 4-1 in Southeastern Conference action. UK still leads the series by a 102-37 margin and 28-23 when games are played in Tuscaloosa. UK has won 11 of the last 14 meetings including seven of the last…
Cats prove their coach wrong, show they can dominate by smashing Auburn
John Calipari often jokes that he hasn’t been wrong since 1978 or 1977. If that truly is the case, his unbelievable steak ended Saturday night in Auburn, Ala. Just a game after saying his team wasn’t capable of being up 20 on anyone and wasn’t going to “whomp” on anyone this year, the Wildcats proved…