Who is this man and what have you done with CoShik Williams? That’s the questions everyone should be asking after he finished with 148 yards on 22 rushes. Williams was sent into the game after Raymond Sanders suffered a concussion early in the game. He then made the most of his opportunity, this could very well be a blessing. Considering hes’ the third string. Without his big performance, we could have had a terrible game and lost and the season could have went in a very horrifying direction.

Today’s game against Jacksonville state started off bad as we had one of the worst attendance’s in Kentucky football. Considering that Keeneland is in full swing and basketball season looms around the corner and to top it all off, the football team hasn’t been doing so well lately.

The team used the attendance as motivation and it really worked out for them. The defense responded like they have most of the season minus the USC game. Drops were definitely still happening, which will continue all season unless we can get Stevie Johnson to come back *crosses fingers!*

Made By: Brandon Carlisle

I’m really excited for this upcoming season in the SEC. For the best few years everyone has criticized the SEC for the lack of talent and all of it being on Kentucky. But this year features 7 teams in the top 25 rivals recruiting rankings. Alabama has people coming back, Florida is back to being a top 25 team and Vanderbilt might have the best season in school history. Arkansas has a new coach (Mike Anderson) with new expectations and that could be fulfilled thanks to there recruiting class coming in.

The Wildcat’s are always expected to be on top of the SEC standings every year, but this season it’s not clear cut. Even with the most experienced group that John Calipari has had since he’s been at Kentucky. Darius Miller, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb are the returning stars from last year and all are looking to get back to the final four. In a interview recently Doron Lamb said “the team is working much harder then last year, it seems like everyone is working toward getting back to the final four.” For most of the Kentucky fan base we all would agree that Darius Miller is one of the most talented players on the team, but he’s one of the most inconsistent players I’ve ever seen. One week he will play great, like the SEC tournament last year (where he won the SEC MVP) then the next he will be a non factor.

Calipari brought in another amazing class this year, not surprising as he got the #1 recruiting class for the third year in a row. Anthony Davis (2), Mike Gilchrist (3), Marquis Teague (5) and Kyle Wiltjer (22) make up the newcomers on campus. (Numbers in the parenthesis are rankings according to Rivals.com)

Each player has a completely different playing style. Teague has the quick ball handling skills, Davis is incredibly lengthy which helps him blocking almost everything that comes in his path. Wiltjer is an old school player, you may have noticed him doing a couple hook shots in the McDonald’s All-American game. Lastly Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the great defender of the team and should be taking DeAndre Liggins job last year as the best defender.It’s a mystery to who is going to be in the starting line-up this year but whoever is in it will not feel to comfortable, because there will be someone just as talented as them on the bench. Most suspect that it will be Teague at point guard, Lamb at shooting guard, Miller at small forward, Jones at power forward and finally the tall Anthony Davis at center.

Projected Starters:
PG: Marquis Teague (Freshman) (7th ranked player in class of 2011)
SG: Doron Lamb (Sophomore) (12.3 points per game, 48.6%-3 point shooting)
SF: Darius Miller (Senior) (10.9 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game)
PF: Terrence Jones (Sophomore) (15.7 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game)
C: Anthony Davis (Freshman) (2nd ranked player in class of 2011)

#2 Vanderbilt Commodores

John Jenkins, the man pictured above is the leading scorer on Vanderbilt, and the whole SEC. He was a pain in the ass last year to defend for everybody. When he gets hot it seems impossible to slow him down sometimes, but if you make him ineffective you cant lose.Jenkins is good and all, but Vandy has some other tools around him as well. Jeff Taylor and Festus Ezeli are two of the best down low experience players in college basketball. Ezeli can rebound and bang down low like crazy, the more experience he gets, the better he’s going to be and the better the team is going to be. Brad Tinsley is the point guard and he improved as the year went on. He led the SEC in assists, while the power forward Lance Goulbourne wasn’t all the bad with his rebounding skills. So every position is talented and experienced. When the Commodores square off against Kentucky, Florida and Alabama its going to be a close one all the way down to the finish.

Dai-Jon Parker (63) is a 6’3″ shooting guard who makes some exciting plays but the better part of his game, is his three point shooting. Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt’s Coach) likes to bring in athletic guards like Parker who can also shoot the ball. Parker will fit right in with Stallings system, which is letting guards run around screens to try and get an opening three pointer. The other two recruits are not ground breaking additions but Vanderbilt is still looking at being a top 5-10 team as long as they can stay healthy. Kevin Stallings always coaches his team the right way so expect them to be tough the whole way through and possibly make a run to the final four.

#3 Alabama Crimson Tide

Last year Alabama took the SEC by storm with there surprising 12-4 conference record. They failed to make it to the NCAA tournament because of there crushing losses at the beginning of the season. Most believed that they should have made the tournament regardless though. Defense is one of there keys to success. The Tide ranked 8th in points allowed and 6th in field goal percentage allowed. Most think there biggest flaw is there three point shooting and their inconsistent play, but when they are playing well and making there shots they’re one of the best. Anthony Grant is headed into his second year at Alabama and is one of the best new coaches around. Hopefully he can make Alabama a factor come tournament time for a second year in a row. The Tide bring some talented players back, JaMychal Green (Senior), Tony Mitchell (Junior) and Trevor Releford (Sophomore). Green is the more superior of the three, he is going to be projected an All-American SEC player and the leader for this Alabama team. He can really do damage down low, he squares up to the basketball a lot and can make some really flashy dunks. Three point shooting lacks considerably but his passing ability is a great thing to have for a big man. Tony Mitchell, the other big man on the team makes his presence felt with his ability to rebound the basketball. He averaged 15.2 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. So you can see he still has an offensive side too.Trevor Releford is the guard that may be the biggest sleeper in the SEC. Releford became a really great player last year and only got better as the year went on. He’s quick and can score the basketball. If anyone shots the ball well on there team, it would be him. If he can continue to improve, he will be one of the top guards in the country. Releford is only a senior, so the time is all there.Anthony Grant brought in an amazing class! He got the 5th best class in the country with the signings  of Trevor Lacey (24), Levi Randolph (30), Rodney Cooper (49) and Nick Jacobs (90). Lacey, Randolph and Cooper, all Alabama natives and shooting guards. Leaving Jacobs, a center from Georgia the only out of state player coming to Alabama. Grant really stocked up on some good talent this year. Trevor Lacey who picked Alabama over Kentucky right at the deadline to pick a college will be headed into the season as the projected starter with Randolph most likely taking the Small Forward position. The other recruits will have to compete for their playing time that will be tough to get.

Projected Starters:

PG: Trevor Releford (Sophomore) (11 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game)

SG: Trevor Lacey (Freshman) (24th Ranked player in 2011 Class)

SF: Levi Randolph (Freshman) 30th Ranked player in 2011 Class)

PF: Tony Mitchell (Junior) (15.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game)

C:   JaMychal Green (Senior) (15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game)

Just a little preview to get people pumped up for the matchup against the Tar Heels!

Created By: Brandon Carlisle

Brandon Knight just had an amazing year, he made the final four and averaged 17.3 ppg, 4.2 apg and 4 rpg. An extremely successful season for anyone. Knight has some pretty important weeks/months lying ahead for him. He ha too chose if he’s going to jump the gun and go to the NBA or stay at Kentucky and help pursue his degree plus having fun and being a kid.

In an article by American Chronicle Knight’s mother said his decision will be heavily depending on how close he is to getting a degree. His mom is really wanting him to finish college it seems like. “He has only a year, a year and a half left,” Tonya Knight said. “… (A degree is) within striking distance.” It’s going to be real close for us Kentucky fan’s. I really want him to stay but either way, it’s going to be the right decision. You can finish college even if you go to the draft so if he goes to the draft so that doesn’t matter. But after all the one and done’s that go to the NBA, they have mostly all said that they miss being a kid at UK and that they don’t like having basketball as a job and its tough.

The NBA is supposedly going to have a lock out and a bunch of people are thinking that it’s a done deal. So you’re probably thinking, Hmm then that means he should stay right? Not necessarily! NBA agents can get them working out and pay them under the table so they can make a living. Only negative with that is you will not get to play against some of the best talent in the country.

Usually i would have an opinion on these things and be at least a little confident on weather or not something will happen. But this is different, i cant decide what Knight is going to do. I think the biggest difference is going to be weather or not the lock out will happen. I don’t think he’s going to want to not play basketball for a whole year or half of a year. So lets hope for a lock out and we get everyone back and hang championship number 8 in the rafters of Rupp.

Here is the article that i mention in this post.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/yb/157849672

That’s right, Stan Simpson another player that i thought would come to the Cat’s is going else where. This coming on the same day as Braeden Anderson’s commit to the Jayhawk’s making the only player left for the Cat’s possible is Trevor Lacey. I’ve never been so sure that Lacey is coming to the Cat’s and with this commit we may be seeing Terrance Jones next year. Just a thought, nothing is written of course but just a thought.

Simpson was a highly recruited JUCO big man and could have seen a lot of minutes coming off the bench for UK and that’s why I’m hoping for a Jones return. But best of luck to Simpson and hopefully we can crush them in the opener and make him wish he choose us : )

Previously i talked about Braeden Anderson and said that he was a sure choice for Kentucky to land him. Well the latest reports are saying that Anderson has chosen the Jayhawk’s According to Anthony Wireman of Nation Of Blue.

Anderson said that playing time at Kansas would be likely since the Morris twins would be headed for the NBA draft. Three members of the Kansas staff, including Bill Self, visited Anderson in Canada yesterday. They sold him on playing time with the Morris twins leaving for the NBA. Seems as if Anderson didn’t even have to think about the choice at all.

With Anderson not committing it doesn’t really mean to much for the Wildcats. All Anderson was going to do was give us some depth. But when we have 7 5 star players on our team I think we can let a underrated 3 star slip past us.

On to the next one i suppose. Look for Trevor Lacey, Stan Simpson and more recruiting updates soon here on the blog

Mike Hartline is gone, Ryan Mossakowski is gone and there’s nobody else making a fight for Kentucky’s starting quarterback position besides Morgan Newton. This is the moment that he’s been waiting for and I’m ready for it. Morgan was highly recruited coming out of high school and was a five star quarterback on scout.com. Newton has started a lot of games and has come away with a whole lot of wins when he does start.

This young man is a great kid, student and athlete. I see him as another Andrew Luck, he has speed, arm strength and height. The wide recievers this year are going to be hurting because of the lost of Randall Cobb but Newton has the intangibles to carry the team if he can live up to the high expectations everyone has for him.

Lets hope we can have more TD’s like the one above. : )