In the wake of Saturday’s Pitt-Butler game, with two fouls that changed the course of the game called in the final 1.4 seconds, most pundits have argued that the officials made the right call. Their argument is based on the idea that a foul is a foul, no matter how much time is left on the clock and no matter what the situation is.

But that simply isn’t the case.

There are different standards for fouls based on the player, team, game, situation, and several other factors that all determine the context of the play. Pitt struggled with fouls for a good part of the game because the Panthers are used to playing in the Big East, where physical play is tolerated more. At times, it looked like they weren’t sure what to expect out of the officiating crew of Antinio Petty, John Higgins, and Terry Wymer.

Those officials come from all across the country, calling SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 games primarily this year. A ‘standard’ foul changes from one conference to another, and even from one official to another. It’s a problem that’s as old as the tournament itself, as shown in this New York Times story from earlier this month. Coaches and players recognize that not all fouls are the same.

If the same contact on Panthers forward Gilbert Brown (the one with 1.4 seconds left) had occurred at the same time in a 20-point game, the officials would have shrugged it off before heading back to the hotel to put the mini-bar on their expense account.

The NCAA and its officials would like you to believe that there is a textbook definition for a foul; that contact can be measured and that there’s some empirical way to determine what is a foul and what isn’t.

But that’s not the case either. If it was, Shaquille O’Neal would have fouled out of every game he played in. Officials have to adjust their calls in games O’Neal plays in because his size and strength mean that normal standards for fouls wouldn’t work when applied to him.

There’s just no such thing as a textbook foul – especially not in an NCAA tournament game with 1.4 seconds left. In that case, it’s time for the official to swallow his whistle and let the players decide the game. For a ref to call a foul like either of the ones called in the closing seconds of the Butler-Pitt game, somebody should have been on the ground and bleeding.

That wasn’t the case in either call. In the first foul, Butler guard Shelvin Mack ran to defend a desperation heave by the Panthers before accidentally running into Brown. Yes, Mack was too close for Brown to have gotten a clean look at the basket. But that has more to do with the fact that a defender can ably take away a clean look at the basket when that look is coming from halfcourt than a bump between the two players.

And you can’t argue against this: If the officials hadn’t called the first foul, they wouldn’t have had to call the second foul when there was a similar amount of contact. Nasir Robinson and Matt Howard got tangled up after a rebound, and because the officials had shown earlier that a bit of contact would result in a foul, they had to call it again.

That’s what I refer to as a makeup call – the worst thing an official can do. A makeup call doesn’t mean that the official has made things “even” or “fair.” It just means that the crew has made two mistakes instead of one.

In a perfect world, fouls would be the same from one situation to the next. But that’s not how things work, and at the end of a close game, it’s time for the officials to step aside as much as possible and let the players determine the outcome of a game.

I can respect the officials for standing by the fouls and abiding that the calls had to be made. If that’s what they believe, I can understand that.

But everyone makes mistakes. They made two in 1.4 seconds.

In no particular order, here are some of the top storylines after a quick look at the bracket.

• UK and West Virginia rematch looms:  OK, so I said this was in no specific order, but I know you care more about this than the other ones. This was an Elite 8 game last year, and a good one at that. The Cats will be looking for revenge, but if the Mountaineers can shoot like they can last year, it’ll be a tall order.

• How do the “First Four” play out?: This is the first year with the newly-expanded field of 68 teams. There’s an extra play-in game between 16 seeds and there will be two games with bubble teams that will have to fight to make it to the first “official” round of games. UAB and Clemson will play, as will USC and VCU, with the winners facing West Virginia and Georgetown, respectively. There was a lot of criticism of the new format when it came out, but if it creates more excitement and interest in the tournament, it’ll have to be considered a success.

• Louisville and Morehead State: It’s a bit of a shame that the committee matched up two of the three Kentucky teams in the first round (can you imagine the outrage if UK had to play Morehead first?). Morehead, of course, is led by Kenneth Faried, a maniacal rebounder. As I’ve always said, if a team has the single best player on the floor, that team will always have a real chance to win. Faried can be that player.

• Memphis and Arizona: Josh Pastner, the head coach who succeeded Calipari at Memphis, made his bones as an assistant to Lute Olson at Arizona from 2002-08 and was a walk-on for the 1997 team that won the Wildcats the championship (UK fans should remember that game well). The dynamic between 5 and 12 seeds is well-documented, and Pastner will try to knock off his alma mater in an upset.

• UNLV and Illinois: Every year, it seems like two historically strong programs get matched in the first round, often in the 8-9 seed game. One of these proud programs is going home early. Also of note is that at one point, each of these teams harbored a Billy G transfer escapee. Derrick Jasper is a 5th year senior for the Rebels, is averaging 5 points, 5 rebounds, and two assists. Alex Legion left UK midway through his freshman year in December 2007, and spent a couple years at Illinois before transferring again. He’s now at Florida International.

• Can Ohio State handle the hype?: No team carrying a No. 1 ranking has won the title since Duke in 2001, and Ohio State has faltered earlier this year after rising to the top spot in the rankings.

• Can the Big East deliver?: The Big East landed 11 teams in the tournament, including five teams in UK’s 16-team regional bracket. That’s a lot. Most people have considered the Big East to be the best basketball conference in the country for the last several years, but it hasn’t boasted a champion since Connecticut won in 2004. Notre Dame and Pittsburgh give the conference the best chance at a title this year.

The most remarkable thing about Blanda’s career was his longevity: He played until he was 48. His NFL career began in 1949 and didn’t end until 1975.

Here’s a memoir he wrote for Sports Illustrated in 1971, at age 43, about his NFL career and what allowed him to last as long as he has. But it isn’t what you would expect. Here’s an excerpt:

Well, there is no secret. My special diet consists of the same things I’ve been eating ever since I grew up: steak and potatoes and green vegetables. I smoke and I drink. The worst five years of my 21 as a pro were the five when I didn’t smoke at all. Now I’ve gone back to cigarettes, a pack or two a day, although I don’t inhale them. As for alcohol, I enjoy bourbon—it’s part of my University of Kentucky background—but I don’t guzzle it down like water. I sip it, and I limit myself to two or three drinks. You may see old George Blanda acting stupid, but you won’t see him acting drunk!

Randall Cobb is the best example of a UK recruit who was passed over by big-name schools, but went on to be wildly successful in the SEC.

A lot of people are going to be talking a lot about stars and rankings today. After all, it is national signing day. UK has a class that has loaded up on 3-star recruits, and has one 4-star recruit (Glen Faulkner). Here’s the list of the UK’s current signees.

So the Cats have loaded up on solid players, but it appears they may have whiffed on some of the biggest recruits (Lamar Dawson, Jon Davis come to mind).  But does UK really need those guys to be successful? Should UK continue focusing on finding diamonds in the rough, like Randall Cobb, or go chasing some of the big-name recruits some of the football powerhouses are after?

It’s pretty well-documented that UK has developed plenty of lesser-known recruits into stars and parlayed that college success into NFL draft picks. So I wondered if some of UK’s higher-ranked recruits enjoyed the same success. Here’s a list of UK’s 4- and 5-star recruits according to Scout.com since 2003 (when I would say this era began), along with a short description of how their careers went down. I’ll also list some of the 2-star guys who became notable, for comparison.

2003

Andre Woodson (4 star) QB – Hard to argue his college career didn’t live up to the hype, so kudos to the UK staff for that. But he flamed out at the next level, and was even cut from a UFL team this year.

Emmanuel Harrell (4 star) WR – Never reached campus, though I don’t know why and couldn’t find it immediately.

John Logan (4 star) WR – His scout.com page bills the LexCath product as perhaps the nation’s fastest prospect. He ran a sub-4.3 40-yard dash and was courted by Florida, Michigan, and Tennessee among others, but that ability was never fully shown at UK.

Notable others – Eric Scott, Jacob Tamme, Roger Williams and Keenan Burton were all in this class. All were 2-stars.

2004

Micah Jones (4 star) G – Highly-touted offensive lineman turned down Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, and Michigan for UK. His page on UK athletics says he was redshirted as a sophomore in 2005 after being injured. He and Logan were suspended for the season opener in 2006 for a violation of team rules, and I can’t find any more info on him after that. Since there’s no more info on the UK athletics page, he might have left the program.

Notable others – This one was chock full. Some 2-stars include Johnny Williams, Trevard Lindley, Myron Pryor, Garry Williams, Wesley Woodyard, Marcus McClinton (no stars), Dicky Lyons, Tony Dixon, and Rafael Little as a 3-star.

2005

No 4 or 5-stars here.

Notable others – Not as good as the original in 2004, but darn good. Sam Maxwell, Jeremy Jarmon, Christian Johnson, Jorge Gonzalez, Zipp Duncan, and Tim Masthay were here. Alfonso Smith was a 3-star.

2006

Steve Johnson (4 star) WR – Did everything and more they could have hoped for as a junior college transfer. He’s still chugging on the next level too, finishing this year with over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Bills. Not to mention a couple big catches against Louisville and LSU in 2007.

Micah Johnson (5-star) LB – You can say he had a good career if you want. But he entered as one of the most hyped recruits of all-time at UK, didn’t break into a starters role until his junior year, was never fully dominant even if he was solid, and was never drafted. You have to consider his development a failure based on his potential when he signed.

Notable others – Calvin Harrison, Justin Jeffries, Ricky Lumpkin, Mike Hartline and Lones Seiber all enjoyed varying levels of success as starters, but they all outperformed their grades on signing day. Corey Peters was also in this class as a 3-star.

2007

No 4 or 5 stars here.

Ryan Tydlacka, Randall Burden, and Ronnie Sneed were 2-stars in this class. There were a handful of notable 3-stars as well, like Stuart Hines and Brad Durham.

2008

Aaron Boyd (4-star) WR -Played a bit his freshman year, redshirted his sophomore year, and hasn’t resurfaced since. The unanimous #1 player in the state when he came out, but his career has been very disappointing.

Winston Guy (4-star) S – Another conundrum. Most people still agree that the ability is there, but he hasn’t put it together yet. He might yet do it, but it’s about what happens between the ears for Winston from here on out.

Notable others – Randall Cobb, Gene McCaskill, Matt Smith, and Collins Ukwu were all 2-stars. Chandler Burden is the most prominent 3-star.

2009

DeQuin Evans (4-star) DE – Another case of a juco player succeeding. Surpassed expectations in 2009 before being severely hampered by injuries in 2010. His pro career might show how successful the staff was with him.

Morgan Newton (4-star) QB – We should find out more next year.

Ryan Mossakowski (4-star) QB – Ditto.

Notable others – Filled with productive 3-stars, like LaRod King, Larry Warford, Chris Matthews. Others could still have strong careers, like Mister Cobble, Ridge Wilson, Mark Crawford, Qua Huzzie and Sam Simpson. Notable 2-stars include Jordan Aumiller, Dakotah Tyler and Martavious Neloms.

I’m going to stop there, because half the guys in the class of 2010 I might talk about were redshirted anyway, and it’s unfair to judge any player based on his freshman year. Joe Mansour was the top recruit in that class, and the top ones for 2011 (pending signing day) are Jon Davis, Glen Faulkner, and Darrian Miller. It’ll be interesting to see how the staff handles those guys in the coming years.

Next time you hear about UK doing a great job developing underscouted talent, though, also think bout how the program has done when it’s been given some of the top talent around.

I stumbled across this website yesterday, CBS Sports’ list of NFL draft prospects by year, and thought I’d pass it along. Most lists of NFL draft prospects (like ESPN’s) are premium content and you have to pay for them, but this one was open for all to peruse.

It’s not the most perfect thing in the world. For starters, underclassmen aren’t taken into account in rankings. That means that Andrew Luck is the #1 quarterback prospect… for the 2013 draft, when he would have finally exhausted his eligibility as a fifth-year senior. Also, players are only ranked by position, and not overall, for the 2012 and 2013 drafts.

But it ranks dozens of players at every position for a couple years in advance, so it’s interesting to look at. Here’s where UK’s prospects stack up. I tried to include all of them that the site included, but I might have missed a couple. Don’t take this as gospel, but maybe just as a look at the general perception of some of the UK guys.

2011 draft

Mike Hartline/ #14 quarterback/ #287 prospect overall – Was one of the top 10 quarterbacks before a tumble following his arrest and suspension. I think there are a lot of guys that he’s just as talented as (I’m looking at you, Greg McElroy), and he’ll probably get a shot at a roster. We’ll see if he sticks in camp, though.

Derrick Locke/ #11 running back/ #160 overall – Louisville’s Bilal Powell is ranked as the #9 running back. But only Noel Devine (4.34 40-yard dash) is a faster running back prospect in the draft than Locke, who is listed at 4.36. I think he might carve out a nice stint in the league as a 3rd down back and returner, but teams will wonder how healthy he’ll be.

Moncell Allen/ #25 fullback/not ranked overall – Don’t expect Turtle to be drafted. Great guy, did a great thing by changing positions before senior year, but he’s not an NFL running back, and he’s not good enough as a fullback to find a home with one of the teams that still uses them.

Chris Matthews/ #25 wide receiver/ #211 overall – I don’t claim to be any sort of NFL draft expert, but I know that Matthews has the physical tools (size, 4.5 speed, leaping ability), to get a look from teams.  He needs to show he’s improving as a route-runner and knows the game. There’s a reason so many of Hartline’s interceptions were to his side of the field this year.

Brad Durham/ #75 offensive tackle/not ranked overall – Not an NFL prospect.

Paul Warford/not ranked at position/not ranked overall – Ditto. Missed the year for academic reasons.

DeQuin Evans/ #28 defensive end/ #347 overall – I still can’t explain what happened to him this year. I didn’t expect him to be All-SEC, but I surely didn’t expect him to be maybe UK’s worst defensive starter this season. I don’t see how he can get drafted.

Ricky Lumpkin/ #24 defensive tackle/ #311 overall – One of the nicest, most intelligent players on the team. Rock Oliver, UK’s strength coach, once told me that he thinks Lumpkin is going to be a Senator someday. I wouldn’t be surprised, but I might be surprised if he gets drafted.

Shane McCord/ #58 defensive tackle/not ranked overall – Not an NFL player. Highlight of his career was an interception in the upset at Georgia last year that helped seal the win.

Jacob Dufrene/ #103 outside linebacker/not ranked overall – Lost his starting job midway through the year. No shot.

2012 draft

Randall Cobb/ #7 wide receiver – I don’t know what he’s going to do. If you made me guess, I’d say he’s on the way out. But this is a pretty good spot for him, and could roughly translate to a late second round pick. Think the Patriots might like to have him?

Ronnie Sneed/ #11 inside linebacker – This surprised me. He was OK this season, but I didn’t think he was close to being one of UK’s better draft prospects.

Winston Guy/ #11 strong safety – He put his name in this year, though I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t come back. He should use this evaluation as a chance to learn about where he needs to get better.

Danny Trevathan/ #15 outside linebacker – If he comes back for next year, I’d expect him to shoot up the lists. NFL questions will always be about his size, but some name recognition might help his cause greatly. If he can spend next year at 220 pounds (not listed at 220, but actually there), he should be fine.

Ryan Tydlacka/ #25 kicker – Spends most of his time these days punting for the Cats. He’s talented enough so that I suppose he could get a look from the NFL, but kickers and punters aren’t drafted unless they’re something special.

Stuart Hines/ #30 guard – He was expected to have a huge season but got banged up a little and missed some time. No reason why a monster year next year couldn’t get him some attention, but he has to stay healthy.

Randall Burden/ #34 cornerback – I expected big things out of him this year, but didn’t see much progression. Last year, he was every bit as good as Warford or a hobbled Trevard Lindley, and teammates said he could be as good as Lindley. We haven’t seen that yet.

Taiedo Smith/ #35 free safety – He’s moved positions all over the secondary for UK, but didn’t play much this year. Don’t count on hearing an NFL team call his name.

Greg Meisner/ #49 fullback – Wow, this site is really thorough.

Mark Crawford/ #60 defensive tackle – Showed good progress this year after being beaten for a starting spot by a walk-on. Will have a chance to start next year alongside Mister Cobble, but needs to clean up his act. Was handed two suspensions this year, the second ending his season before the Tennessee game.

Billy Joe Murphy/ #79 offensive tackle – It’ll be nice to have him, along with nearly the entire offensive line return next year, but I don’t seem him putting himself on NFL radars.

2013 draft

Larry Warford/ #4 offensive guard – I had no idea he was highly thought of by NFL teams. His time is still a ways away, but if he stays in this spot he’ll probably be a second round pick.

Matt Smith/ #16 center – He’s a big guy, and if UK’s line gets some more attention with 5 of the top 6 players coming back next year, he could turn some more heads.

Collins Ukwu/ #22 defensive end – He’s the guy who knocked Tim Te… Oh, wait. Nevermind. In the mix to start next year.

Taylor Wyndham/ #35 defensive end – He actually is the guy who knocked Tim Tebow out last year, if, you know, you hadn’t heard.

Trevino Woods/ #40 offensive tackle – Hasn’t seen significant playing time yet.

Donald Russell/ #40 running back – Transferring from UK. Haven’t heard where he’ll land yet, but I’d imagine he won’t land in the NFL at any point.

Qua Huzzie/ #43 inside linebacker -Narrowly lost a position battle with Sneed before the year, should see more time next year.

Ridge Wilson/ #44 outside linebacker – Expected to be a starter next year.

LaRod King/ #45 wide receiver – Has the size and ability to catapult up the list when he breaks into the starting lineup next year, especially if Cobb returns and keeps some attention off of him. Might not be ready to be a #1 receiver if Cobb leaves.

Morgan Newton/ #45 quarterback – Come on, guys, he wasn’t THAT bad last year…

Martavious Neloms/ #80 cornerback – (Searching for an intelligent comment about Martavious Neloms).

Cartier Rice/ #94 cornerback – Told you this site was thorough.

QB- Cam Newton, Jr., Auburn: A slam-dunk pick. Get this- he’s second in the league in passing efficiency (to Ryan Mallett) and first in the league in rushing yardage. He’d be my pick for the Heisman, too (no, I don’t vote on that either), allegations be damned. The most physically imposing player I’ve seen this season, and a true one-man offense. It’s like having to guard a Tyrannosaurus Rex at quarterback for defensive coordinators.

RB- Marcus Lattimore, Fr, South Carolina: He’s going to give defensive coordinators fits for a couple more years. He had 17 rushing touchdowns this year, and plowed his way to over 1,100 yards. One of the most physically gifted tailbacks we’ve seen as a freshman for a long time.

RB- Knile Davis, Soph., Arkansas: He gets the edge over Stevan Ridley at LSU because he averaged 6.6 yards a carry to Ridley’s 4.6. Ridley had one more touchdown, but Davis had about 100 more yards. If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that neither Mark Ingram nor Trent Richardson would be here, I would have been very confused.

WR- Alshon Jeffery, Soph., South Carolina: He’ll probably only be around one more year before he jumps to the league. He’s big, fast, and  can jump. He’s everything a defensive back doesn’t like to see. Finished with over 1,300 yards and 8 TD’s.

WR-Julio Jones, Jr., Alabama: After a sophomore year marred by injuries, he bounced back to the tune of 1,084 yards and 7 scores. Now he has to decide if he’ll be back or not. He was touted as the best wide receiver prospect in years, and it’s hard to argue that he disappointed.

WR- Randall Cobb, Jr., Kentucky: 79 receptions, 950 yards, 7 touchdowns, and that was just the beginning of what he meant to this team. There were other wide receivers who had numbers similar to Cobb, but there’s no all-purpose spot, so he gets on the team here. And he’s becoming a heckuva receiver in his own right as well.

TE- D.J. Williams, Sr., Arkansas: On a team loaded with talented wide receivers, he had more catches than all of them.

OT-Derek Sherrod, Sr., Mississippi: He entered the season as an All-America candidate and finished it as the top offensive line prospect for the NFL draft. Just a superb player.

G- Lee Ziemba, Sr., Auburn: Newton was the face of this team, but Ziemba, the senior, was its heartbeat. He’s 6-foot-8 and has started since 2007 all over the offensive line. Most of his time this year came at tackle, but you can’t have an All-SEC team without him this year.

C- Ben Jones, Jr., Georgia: So maybe I gave him the tiebreaker over Mike Pouncey because he has one of the all-time great names. But he really was the glue that held Georgia’s offensive line together, and was a great help to a freshman quarterback.

G-Barrett Jones, Soph., Alabama: Ingram and Richardson underachieved this year, but it wasn’t his fault. He’ll be back next year, and it’s hard to imagine him slipping at all.

OT-Chandler Burden, Jr., Kentucky: I don’t think he’ll get any love when the All-Conference team comes out, so I’ll give him some here. He was UK’s fourth-best defensive end this year, then made the move to tackle and was more than solid. You never heard about him getting beat. Hopefully he’ll get some notoriety before the next season.

K- Josh Jasper, Sr., LSU: Wes Byrum at Auburn had a lot of points- extra points. But Jasper went 26-31 on field goals (that’s 84 percent) for a winning team that had a lot of close games. He gets the nod.

DE-Justin Houston, Jr., Georgia: Played outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, so we’ll qualify him for end on this list. Led the league with 10 sacks, including eight solo takedowns.

DT-Nick Fairley, Jr., Auburn: He was the most important defender on the best team in the conference, and was second in the league with 9.5 sacks, all the more impressive coming from the inside. He also led the league in tackles for loss. In other words, he was a monster.

DT-Drake Nevis, Sr., LSU: Everything for the LSU defense started with this guy, who had 56 tackles and six sacks.

DE-Devin Taylor, Soph., South Carolina: The 6-foot-7 sophomore had eight sacks. Expect to hear his name a lot in the next couple years.

LB- Danny Trevathan, Jr., Kentucky: Two years ago, Rich Brooks told us he was going to be a big-time player. He certainly became one this year, establishing himself as one of the best sideline-to-sideline playmakers in the league. He finished with 130 tackles, most in the SEC.

LB-Chris White, Sr., Mississippi State: Had 105 tackles, six sacks, and 15.5 tackles for loss. All over the field on defense for the Bulldogs.

LB-Kelvin Sheppard, Sr., LSU: Third in the league with 108 tackles. Georgia’s Akeem Dent had 122, but Sheppard was more disruptive and stood out on one of the league’s better defenses, so he gets the nod.

CB- Patrick Peterson, Jr., LSU: No surprise here. We thought he was the best corner in the league at the start of the year and we still think he is after the year.

CB- Casey Hayward, Jr., Vanderbilt: You’ve probably never heard of him. But he finished the year with 11 pass breakups, three more than anyone else in the conference, and was second in the league with six interceptions. One of the few bright spots for the Commodores this year.

S- Ahmad Black, Sr., Florida: Florida’s offense sputtered this year, but Black exceeded even the high expectations that were set for him in his final year, finishing with 97 tackles and bouncing back with three interceptions a year after he only had one.

S-Mark Barron, Jr., Alabama: Alabama’s secondary was a major question mark entering the season, and Barron did everything he could to shore up the defensive backfield. Finished with 73 tackles, three interceptions, and a pair of sacks for good measure.

P-Chas Henry, Sr., Florida: It’s a good thing Florida had Henry this year, leading the league with a 46.4 yard average on punts, because otherwise, the defense would have been in even worse shape when the offense stalled.

-Randall Cobb (did not participate in the scrimmage, of course) said he was going to wait until after the Tennessee game to think any more about his future. So don’t expect to hear anything from him for a while. I’d say there’s a good chance we get to after the Tennessee game and he says that he’s focusing on the bowl game, so don’t hold your breath.

-Mister Cobble is who we thought he was. Cobble was supposed to be a starter this year until he was ruled academically ineligible. He was the star of the scrimmage, and the plays that he were in on definitely had a different feel than the ones he sat out for. There’s a chance he might be better now than either of UK’s starting defensive tackles. He was quick off the ball, was often double-teamed on pass plays (he still got a sack), and was always around the tackle if he wasn’t the one making it.

-Ryan Mossakowski was good, not great. He had a nice TD throw to EJ Fields, but it was a little underthrown, and only a TD because Fields broke two tackles. Overall, his passes were more crisp than Morgan Newton’s, whose time was cut short when he turned his ankle on his second drive. Some of Mossakowski’s balls fluttered a little in the spring if I remember correctly, but for the most part, they were on the money today. He’s improved significantly.

A few other players who may have helped their cause…

-Jewell Ratliff had quite a few tackles.

-Elliot Porter, who will see significant minutes next year at DT, ate space, if he wasn’t always making plays.

-Tevin McCaden had a long TD run, but he also had a fumble. The offense had three fumbles.

-Miles Simpson had a big hit on the first play. He came to UK as a heralded running back, but was moved to defense and is at safety now. If he bulks up, he might play linebacker.

-Alex Smith, a highly-touted tight end, didn’t play. He had an ankle sprain, and Joker said he was disappointed that they didn’t get to see him today.

-Tee Martin, Randy Sanders, and David Turner were all on the road recruiting. Mike Summers was preparing to leave after practice to go on the road.

Wizard fans got their first look at Wall last night, and what a look it was. In their home opener, Wall led the Wizards to a 116-115 win in overtime over the Philadelphia 76ers and No. 2 pick Evan Turner.

And, oh yeah, Wall had 29 points, 13 assists and nine steals in the process. And he danced.

Let the media frenzy begin.

• Sports Illustrated sent Chris Mannix to the game, and he said a lot of things about Wall that UK fans are already familiar with. Things like “Philadelphia couldn’t stop him. They would have settled for containing him, only they couldn’t do that either.”
• ESPN had plenty of coverage on Wall’s big night. Michael Lynch has a blog post breaking down some of Wall’s stats. His 31 assists through his first three games tied an NBA record. Here’s the video highlight of the game, complete with Wall dancing. Then Wall did a SportsCenter interview with Scott Van Pelt. Here’s that video.
• You have to fight through a bunch of election coverage to find it, but The Washington Post had some good coverage as well.
• Here’s some Washington Post coverage of Wall. Michael Lee had the game story from last night, in which he refers to the John Wall dance as “Tea Kettle” inspired. He’ll learn eventually. This morning, he had a blog post on the game.
• Michael Wilbon of PTI fame was covering the game for The Washington Post last night as well. Here’s his column.

]]> http://bluenationblog.com/2010/11/03/john-wall-roundup/feed/ 0 http://bluenationblog.com/2010/10/24/what-we-learned-uk-vs-georgia/ http://bluenationblog.com/2010/10/24/what-we-learned-uk-vs-georgia/#comments Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:10:10 +0000 Ben Jones http://bluenationblog.com/?p=3197 1. The offense can’t make mistakes: Most of these losses aren’t the fault of the offense, which is scoring 34.8 points per game on the year (ranking 23rd nationally). But when the offense has three turnovers in the first half to set Georgia up with three easy touchdowns, the defense can’t do anything. Georgia’s four touchdowns in the first half came on drives of 23, 39 and five yards. The kickoff return for a touchdown was a backbreaker as well. The offense is keeping the Cats in these games, but the defense isn’t good enough to defend a short field when the offense turns the ball over in UK territory.

2. It’s time to try something new on defense: Since Southeastern Conference play began, the defense is giving up over 40 points per game. The 31 points scored by South Carolina were the fewest in any SEC game. When that happens, even the best offense won’t be able to win many games. Maybe defensive coordinator Steve Brown should blitz more, or maybe UK head coach Joker Phillips needs to have an open competition for every starting spot on defense this week. If the defense can’t get stops consistently, maybe the best thing to do is to play for turnovers. Something has to change, because there hasn’t been significant improvement at any point this season by the defense.

The defense has also had real trouble tackling north-south running backs who can run over defenders. There are a couple undersized guys on the defense and that’s part of the problem, but there’s still lots of arm tackling going on. Poor technique on defense will yield big gains for opposing offenses when you play in the SEC.

3. DeQuin Evans has disappeared: The whole defense has been disappointing, but easily the biggest disappointment is Evans, who was elected captain before the year and was discussed as an All-SEC candidate. Through eight games, he has seven tackles and one sack. There are 17 players with more tackles than him, including little-known reserve safety Josh Gibbs and freshman Donte Rumph, who’s buried deep at defensive tackle. It might be time to consider changing Evans’ role on this team, because he’s been a non-factor to this point.

4. Phillips is making some gutsy calls: Maybe he had more confidence after the South Carolina upset. Maybe he knows he has to take more risks on offense to hide the defense. But Joker has showed a propensity for some aggressive calls in the last couple weeks, like going for it on fourth-and-short in the first quarter or calling a trick play later in the first half. Punter Ryan Tydlacka only saw the field once on Saturday because the offense moved the ball well (when it wasn’t turning the ball over) and the coaching staff was willing to gamble at times.

5. This is not a team that can win the SEC East: Yes, they were mathematically in it, but even if Saturday’s game didn’t eliminate them from contention, it’s pretty clear that this is not a team of that caliber. There was a lot of optimism entering the season and talk of there being 11 winnable games, and most of that is gone now. UK should have a real shot at every game left, but winning out is asking too much. A bowl game is still likely, but this isn’t the team that will make the leap fans have been waiting for.

To all the fans: loved seein Yall come late, love hearing Yall tell us we suck during the game, love that we have to play against our own fans too! Love that we can’t pack the house when we play the #10 team in the nation. It means that much more to me. I love my team! Brotherhood they got my back n I got they back. The rest of Yall can get ready for bball season! Don’t say u support n do all those things! Yeah I’m level 9 pissed… so deal w it! Not blaming all but Yall know who I’m talking abt- Yall know I love #bbn but something needed to be said
To all the fans that has been true to this program throughout the years. Yall deserved a win like that last night! Let’s keep it going!

Later, all of the tweets were deleted with the exception of the last one. You can find his Twitter at Twitter.com/rcobb18.

I think Randall probably should have spent a minute or two thinking about what he was saying before letting loose. You can call UK fans a lot of things, but you can also argue that UK football fans are better than UK basketball fans. People care more about basketball than football, but do you remember what Rupp Arena looked like when Billy Gillispie’s teams were nose-diving into the NIT?

By comparison, Commonwealth was still nearly full yesterday despite the fact that the Cats had lost three straight games and were on the ropes in the SEC.

In my opinion, UK football fans are worried about investing too much in their team because they’ve been let down so many times already. With :11 to go in the game and Stephen Garcia dropping back (for what would eventually be the clinching interception), my dad texted me. He asked “Will they break my heart again?”

Most fan bases would have said something like “I can’t believe it! THIS IS AWESOME!” But because of UK football’s history, it’s hard to give the team the benefit of the doubt. Randall Cobb has done a lot for the program and has the right to feel however he wants to*, but maybe he should consider some of the mitigating circumstances surrounding the fan base.

*And for the record, if that’s how he really felt, he should have kept those tweets up. I don’t know if a UK staffer asked him to remove them, but if he wants to speak his mind, he should be able to.