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jasontoddwhitt · 03-07-2011, 07:49 PM

That's right, I banged your girlfriend! What are you going to do about it? Transfer?

Billy Clyde....just mentioning the name brings many adjectives from Kentucky fans. Drunk, bully, horrible, drunk, recruiting at the local YMCA, did I mention drunk? Kentucky fired the coach two years into his tenure after clashing with the Athletics Department over the fact that being the coach at Kentucky requires being more than a coach ("I'm not the ambassador of the program") and allegations of player mistreatment (plus other extracurricular activities).

After Tubby Smith resigned following the 2006-07 season, Kentucky flirted with the idea of hiring John Calipari, but these ideas were quickly dismissed, going for the unknown Gillispie, after his Texas A&M team upset Louisville at Rupp Arena in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

In this re-writing of history, we are going to go with the fact that John Calipari was indeed hired by Kentucky before the 2007-08 season, but I'm not going to completely rewrite history and do something like put Derrick Rose on UK's squad. Also, we'll keep Alex Legion off the Kentucky squad as well, since he was brought in late by Gillispie.

jasontoddwhitt · 03-07-2011, 08:09 PM

John Calipari accepts the challenge at UK
"This is my dream job."

Lexington, KY (AP) - The Big Blue Nation got their wish.

After a whirlwhind tour that saw Tubby Smith suprisingly resign and take the head coaching position at Minnesota, the University of Kentucky has fired a cannon that will surely be felt across the nation as John Calipari has accepted an 8-year, $31.65 million deal to become the head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky.

Calipari will be charged with restoring some of the luster the program has lost over the last two mediocre (by UK standards) seasons under Smith. It's a challenge Calipari welcomes, though he cautioned patience.

"I'm not the grand poobah," he told a packed news conference. "I'm not the emperor. That's not what I want to be."

Eyeing the seven national championship banners inside the glistening $30 million practice facility, Calipari had an idea.

"Let's double these, let's double 'em," he said.

He was kidding. Or was he?

Calipari knows many of the 24,000 fans who pack Rupp Arena each winter -- many of them volunteer assistant coaches -- aren't when they say adding to the banners should be the goal every year.

That's fine. It's one of the reasons he signed on.

"The challenge of being here is not competing for national titles, but winning them," Calipari said. "But that's what you buy into when you come here."

And Kentucky has demonstrated its willingness to pay whatever it takes to get back to that level.

It'll be worth it if Calipari can survive one of the toughest coaching jobs in sports. It's the one he's always wanted. Finally, he has it: the expectations, the money and the chance to become a part of history.

"They don't put banners up here for anything else except national champions," he said. "That's why you want to coach here. We want to compete every year and hopefully add to this wall."

jasontoddwhitt · 03-07-2011, 08:31 PM

Derrick Jasper to have knee surgery
Potenial season ending injury has Cal scrambling.

Lexington, KY - In his press conference today, John Calipari announced that sophomore point guard Derrick Jasper will have knee surgery on his left knee, putting his 2007-08 season in jeopardy.

"It's bad," said Calipari. "He said it was feeling rough towards the end of last season and it never got better over the summer."

Jasper, who averaged 3.9 points and 2.9 assists per game as a freshman, was expected to be the sixth man for a Wildcats team that was already challenged depth wise.

"We've not only lost our backup point guard, but we also lost a versatile player who can play the 3 as well as some 4 when we decide to go small," said Calipari. "It limits our options for sure."

Michael Porter is expected to see more minutes as the backup point guard behind Ramel Bradley.

jasontoddwhitt · 03-07-2011, 08:51 PM

2007-08 Kentucky Roster
#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	CLASS	HOMETOWN
3	Ramel Bradley (86)	PG	6-2	176	SR	New York, NY
23	Jodie Meeks (76)	SG	6-4	208	SO	Atlanta, GA
32	Joe Crawford (81)	SG	6-5	211	SR	Detroit, MI
21	Perry Stevenson (69)	PF	6-9	215	SO	Lafayette, LA
54	Patrick Patterson (78)	PF	6-8	235	FR	Huntington, WV
42	Mark Coury (67)	PF	6-9	239	SO	Detroit, MI
34	Ramon Harris (65)	SF	6-6	218	SO	Anchorage, AK
13	Michael Porter (65)	PG	6-3	198	SO	Modesto, CA
43	Jared Carter (64)	C	7-2	277	SO(RS)	Lexington, KY
15	A.J. Stewart (64)	SF	6-7	225	FR	Jacksonville, FL
25	Morakinyo Williams (63)	C	6-11	270	FR	Alexandria, VA
30	Dwight Perry (62)	SG	6-0	185	SO	Durham, NC
12	Mark Krebs (61)	SG	6-5	207	SO	Lexington, KY
5	Derrick Jasper (73) (Out For Season)	PG	6-6	213	SO	San Luis Obispo, CA

Kentucky Wildcats 2008 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Nov 6	vs Central Arkansas
Nov 21	vs Liberty
Nov 24	vs Texas Southern
Nov 27	vs Stony Brook
Dec 1	vs North Carolina
Dec 8	at Indiana
Dec 15	vs UAB
Dec 18	at Houston
Dec 22	vs Tennessee Tech
Dec 29	vs San Diego
Dec 31	vs Florida International
Jan 5	vs Louisville
Jan 12	vs Vanderbilt
Jan 15	at Mississippi State
Jan 19	at Florida
Jan 22	vs Tennessee
Jan 26	vs South Carolina
Feb 2	at Georgia
Feb 6	at Auburn
Feb 9	vs Alabama
Feb 12	at Vanderbilt
Feb 16	at LSU
Feb 19	vs Georgia
Feb 23	vs Arkansas
Feb 27	vs Ole Miss
Mar 2	at Tennessee
Mar 5	at South Carolina
Mar 9	vs Florida

jasontoddwhitt · 03-08-2011, 11:07 PM

Heading Into Season Opener, Calipari Looking For Heart
Some lineup surprises heading into home opener against Central Arkansas

Lexington, KY - Kentucky had an uninspiring Blue-White scrimmage, followed by two lifeless scrimmages against Howard University. The first scrimmage saw the Wildcats sleep walk through the first half before putting the Bison away. The second scrimmage saw the Cats needing to force an overtime period before pulling away with a victory. Either way, the Wildcats did not show much heart in the exhibition slate of the schedule, and the fans (and John Calipari) took note.

"We had some guys who I guess thought their spots would be handed to them for one reason or another," said Calipari. "We had a senior leader in danger of not starting the season opener before he carried us in overtime of that last scrimmage."

After being penciled in the starting lineup, freshman Patrick Patterson struggled mightily in the exhibition slate of games, causing Calipari to rethink his handling of the freshman.

"He may have to be eased into this," said Calipari. "We threw him into the deep end to see if he would swim, and it didn't work out. We'll start the season bringing him off the bench and we'll see what happens."

One player who did not disappoint in the exhibition slate was sophomore guard Jodie Meeks, who averaged 18.7 points per game in the three contests. Sophomore forward Ramon Harris earned a starting spot for the opening game after averaging 11.3 points per game in the three games.

"Ramon was the only player who remained aggressive every minute he was out on that floor," said Calipari.

The starting lineup against Central Arkanas will likely raise a few eyebrows, but Calipari said that guys will still get their minutes and opportunities to prove themselves of getting more minutes. It should be an interesting home opener against Central Arkansas as the John Calipari Era begins.

jasontoddwhitt · 03-09-2011, 06:34 AM

Kentucky 50 Central Arkansas 35

Not The Start We Envisioned
Cal Era gets off to a rocky start in 50-35 victory.

Lexington, KY – Joe Crawford scored 18 points while Ramel Bradley added 8 points to go along with 5 assists as the #10 Wildcats came back from an early ten point deficit to defeat the Central Arkansas Bears 50-35 in the first round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic.

The Bears (0-1) led 17-7 at the 9:04 mark in the first half as the Wildcats got off to a slow start that had John Calipari throwing his hands up. Several defensive breakdowns by the Wildcats led to several easy buckets in the paint for the Bears.

The Wildcats pulled to within four late in the first half on a Michael Porter three-pointer and the Wildcats carried the momentum into the second half. The Wildcats took the lead for good on a Crawford three-pointer with 13:12 left in the second half.

“We were lucky today,” said Calipari. “With all the mistakes we made in the first half, we were lucky to only be down ten. But you got to give those kids credit. They bounced back in the second half. We gave up…I think 16 points in the paint in the first half. We only gave up four in the second half. We were not good offensively the whole game, but it was our defense in the second half that got us this win.”

Mitch Rueter led the Bears with 10 points.

The Wildcats will play the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs in the second round of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. The Bulldogs defeated Alabama A&M 65-61.

Nov 6, 2007 - UCA at UK
TEAM	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Central Arkansas (0-1)	23	12	35
#10 Kentucky (1-0)	19	31	50

Central Arkansas
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Marcus Pillow	24	2-12	0-5	2-2	2	2	1	1	2	6
York Sims	30	4-14	1-5	0-2	2	1	1	0	0	9
Mitch Rueter	32	4-14	0-4	2-2	5	2	0	0	0	10
Durrell Nevels	29	1-2	0-0	0-0	7	0	1	0	0	2
Landrell Brewer	24	1-8	0-1	0-0	9	0	0	1	0	2
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Nate Bowie	18	2-4	0-2	0-0	1	1	1	0	0	4
Ryan Williams	16	0-0	0-0	0-0	2	3	0	0	0	0
Brian Marks	15	0-5	0-0	0-0	4	0	0	0	0	0
Drew Haymaker	13	1-1	0-0	0-0	3	0	0	0	1	2
TEAM TOTALS		15-60	1-17	4-6	35	9	4	2	3	35

Kentucky
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Ramel Bradley	40	4-9	0-2	0-0	0	5	1	1	3	8
Joe Crawford	37	8-24	2-7	0-0	2	2	1	0	0	18
Jodie Meeks	23	2-5	1-2	0-0	4	2	0	0	1	5
Ramon Harris	35	2-11	0-1	1-1	15	1	0	1	0	5
Jared Carter	28	1-6	0-0	2-3	12	3	0	3	0	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Patterson	15	1-1	0-0	0-0	4	1	0	0	1	2
AJ Stewart	10	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	2
Perry Stevenson	9	0-0	0-0	0-0	3	1	0	0	0	0
Michael Porter	3	2-4	2-4	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	6
TEAM TOTALS		21-60	5-16	3-4	41	15	2	5	5	50

Game Flow

jasontoddwhitt · 03-10-2011, 11:41 PM

Kentucky 75 Gardner-Webb 49

Kentucky Muscles Past Bulldogs
Cats never trail in this no-contest.

Lexington, KY - Joe Crawford scored 14 points and Jared Carter chipped in with 11 points and 7 rebounds as the #10 Kentucky Wildcats ran past the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs, 75-49 in the quarterfinals of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic.

The Bulldogs (1-1) hung around for a few minutes, only being down 9-14 at the 10:19 mark of the first half. However, the Wildcats never looked back, closing the first half on a 21-4 run to take a 37-13 halftime lead. The Cats kept that momentum rolling, taking a 40-point lead at the 10:39 mark of the second half after going on a 23-4 run to open the half.

"I liked the fire and passion we showed today," said John Calipari. "The offense was flowing well today and we were outstanding defensively. This was a good tune-up before the trip up to New York.”

Takayo Siddle led the Bulldogs with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Aaron Linn chipped in with 10 points.

With the victory, the Wildcats advance to the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic, where they will face the UCONN Huskies at the Mecca of basketball, Madison Square Garden. The Huskies defeated Morgan State 94-73 in the first round and Buffalo 85-58 in the quarterfinals.

Nov 7, 2007 - GWU at UK
TEAM	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Gardner-Webb (1-1)	13	36	49
#10 Kentucky (2-0)	37	38	75

Gardner-Webb
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Aaron Linn	14	4-4	2-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	10
Takayo Siddle	32	8-13	3-5	2-2	7	1	3	1	1	21
Quincy Sarpy	32	3-11	0-3	2-2	2	1	0	0	0	8
Thomas Sanders	24	0-3	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	1	0
Matt French	29	0-5	0-0	1-2	6	2	0	1	0	1
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Dillon Boggs	16	1-9	0-6	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	2
Samba Fall	15	0-0	0-0	0-0	3	0	0	0	0	0
Grayson Flittner	13	1-6	0-4	0-0	1	1	1	0	2	2
Nate Blank	13	0-2	0-0	1-2	1	1	0	0	0	1
Matt Maden	8	0-1	0-0	2-2	0	1	0	0	0	2
Brandon Jackson	4	1-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	2
TEAM TOTALS		18-56	5-21	8-10	22	9	4	2	6	49

Kentucky
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Michael Porter	14	1-2	0-0	1-1	1	3	0	0	1	3
Ramel Bradley	7	0-3	0-0	0-0	1	2	0	0	1	0
Joe Crawford	20	5-10	2-6	2-2	4	0	0	0	0	14
AJ Stewart	20	2-2	0-0	2-2	3	1	0	1	0	6
Jared Carter	18	5-11	0-0	1-2	7	0	1	0	0	11
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Patrick Patterson	29	4-7	0-0	0-0	5	1	1	2	0	8
Jodie Meeks	26	4-6	2-4	0-0	3	2	1	0	1	10
Perry Stevenson	17	4-5	0-0	0-0	10	0	0	0	0	8
Ramon Harris	17	3-6	1-1	0-0	1	3	0	0	1	7
Dwight Perry	10	1-4	0-1	0-0	1	2	1	0	2	2
Mark Coury	9	1-1	0-0	2-2	0	0	0	0	0	4
Mark Krebs	9	1-2	0-0	0-0	1	2	1	0	2	2
TEAM TOTALS		31-59	5-12	8-9	37	16	5	3	8	75

Game Flow

hockeyplaya2724 · 03-11-2011, 01:02 PM

Nice 2-0 start

03-07-2011, 08:09 PM	#2
jasontoddwhitt MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2003 Location: KY Posts: 7,917	Re: Erasing Billy Clyde from Big Blue History (CH2K8) John Calipari accepts the challenge at UK "This is my dream job." Lexington, KY (AP) - The Big Blue Nation got their wish. After a whirlwhind tour that saw Tubby Smith suprisingly resign and take the head coaching position at Minnesota, the University of Kentucky has fired a cannon that will surely be felt across the nation as John Calipari has accepted an 8-year, $31.65 million deal to become the head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. Calipari will be charged with restoring some of the luster the program has lost over the last two mediocre (by UK standards) seasons under Smith. It's a challenge Calipari welcomes, though he cautioned patience. "I'm not the grand poobah," he told a packed news conference. "I'm not the emperor. That's not what I want to be." Eyeing the seven national championship banners inside the glistening $30 million practice facility, Calipari had an idea. "Let's double these, let's double 'em," he said. He was kidding. Or was he? Calipari knows many of the 24,000 fans who pack Rupp Arena each winter -- many of them volunteer assistant coaches -- aren't when they say adding to the banners should be the goal every year. That's fine. It's one of the reasons he signed on. "The challenge of being here is not competing for national titles, but winning them," Calipari said. "But that's what you buy into when you come here." And Kentucky has demonstrated its willingness to pay whatever it takes to get back to that level. It'll be worth it if Calipari can survive one of the toughest coaching jobs in sports. It's the one he's always wanted. Finally, he has it: the expectations, the money and the chance to become a part of history. "They don't put banners up here for anything else except national champions," he said. "That's why you want to coach here. We want to compete every year and hopefully add to this wall."

03-07-2011, 08:31 PM	#3
jasontoddwhitt MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2003 Location: KY Posts: 7,917	Re: Erasing Billy Clyde from Big Blue History (CH2K8) Derrick Jasper to have knee surgery Potenial season ending injury has Cal scrambling. Lexington, KY - In his press conference today, John Calipari announced that sophomore point guard Derrick Jasper will have knee surgery on his left knee, putting his 2007-08 season in jeopardy. "It's bad," said Calipari. "He said it was feeling rough towards the end of last season and it never got better over the summer." Jasper, who averaged 3.9 points and 2.9 assists per game as a freshman, was expected to be the sixth man for a Wildcats team that was already challenged depth wise. "We've not only lost our backup point guard, but we also lost a versatile player who can play the 3 as well as some 4 when we decide to go small," said Calipari. "It limits our options for sure." Michael Porter is expected to see more minutes as the backup point guard behind Ramel Bradley.

03-08-2011, 11:07 PM	#5
jasontoddwhitt MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2003 Location: KY Posts: 7,917	Re: Erasing Billy Clyde from Big Blue History (CH2K8) Heading Into Season Opener, Calipari Looking For Heart Some lineup surprises heading into home opener against Central Arkansas Lexington, KY - Kentucky had an uninspiring Blue-White scrimmage, followed by two lifeless scrimmages against Howard University. The first scrimmage saw the Wildcats sleep walk through the first half before putting the Bison away. The second scrimmage saw the Cats needing to force an overtime period before pulling away with a victory. Either way, the Wildcats did not show much heart in the exhibition slate of the schedule, and the fans (and John Calipari) took note. "We had some guys who I guess thought their spots would be handed to them for one reason or another," said Calipari. "We had a senior leader in danger of not starting the season opener before he carried us in overtime of that last scrimmage." After being penciled in the starting lineup, freshman Patrick Patterson struggled mightily in the exhibition slate of games, causing Calipari to rethink his handling of the freshman. "He may have to be eased into this," said Calipari. "We threw him into the deep end to see if he would swim, and it didn't work out. We'll start the season bringing him off the bench and we'll see what happens." One player who did not disappoint in the exhibition slate was sophomore guard Jodie Meeks, who averaged 18.7 points per game in the three contests. Sophomore forward Ramon Harris earned a starting spot for the opening game after averaging 11.3 points per game in the three games. "Ramon was the only player who remained aggressive every minute he was out on that floor," said Calipari. The starting lineup against Central Arkanas will likely raise a few eyebrows, but Calipari said that guys will still get their minutes and opportunities to prove themselves of getting more minutes. It should be an interesting home opener against Central Arkansas as the John Calipari Era begins.

03-11-2011, 01:02 PM	#8
hockeyplaya2724 MVP OVR: 29 Join Date: Jul 2009 Blog Entries: 1	Re: Erasing Billy Clyde from Big Blue History (CH2K8) Nice 2-0 start __________________ The Coaching Legacy of Aaron Wheeler (NCAA Football 11)

	MLB The Show 24 Review: Another Solid Hit for the Series
	New Star GP Review: Old-School Arcade Fun
	Where Are Our College Basketball Video Game Rumors?

03-07-2011, 07:49 PM	#1
jasontoddwhitt MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2003 Location: KY Posts: 7,917	Erasing Billy Clyde from Big Blue History (CH2K8) That's right, I banged your girlfriend! What are you going to do about it? Transfer? Billy Clyde....just mentioning the name brings many adjectives from Kentucky fans. Drunk, bully, horrible, drunk, recruiting at the local YMCA, did I mention drunk? Kentucky fired the coach two years into his tenure after clashing with the Athletics Department over the fact that being the coach at Kentucky requires being more than a coach ("I'm not the ambassador of the program") and allegations of player mistreatment (plus other extracurricular activities). After Tubby Smith resigned following the 2006-07 season, Kentucky flirted with the idea of hiring John Calipari, but these ideas were quickly dismissed, going for the unknown Gillispie, after his Texas A&M team upset Louisville at Rupp Arena in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. In this re-writing of history, we are going to go with the fact that John Calipari was indeed hired by Kentucky before the 2007-08 season, but I'm not going to completely rewrite history and do something like put Derrick Rose on UK's squad. Also, we'll keep Alex Legion off the Kentucky squad as well, since he was brought in late by Gillispie.

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Erasing Billy Clyde from Big Blue History (CH2K8)