This is something I noticed a week or so ago when I read about how the GPA of the basketball team was 3.2 for the fall semester. Since then I have had several people bring up this point in a “no wonder we lost to Vandy” type fashion. At the time I didn’t even really give it a second thought and gave the comment a cursory “ha ha, yeah I guess so”. Today during the game Gus Johnson mentioned the GPA and Clark Kellogg said something along the lines of how Tubby must be proud or he’s doing a great job.
My question to you is, do you think most fans equate a smarter (as in book smart) team with less success on the basketball court? I think they do. If you can truly say that you responded to Gus Johnson’s comment today with a “well that’s really good,” then good for you. I suspect most people that have either read or heard the GPA information today probably said “well there’s your problem”.
Admittedly, I struggled mightily in every Economics class that I have ever taken but I have put together a simple graph to display my point.
College teams that struggle in the classroom are often paraded around by the NCAA as being unacceptable. Pair this along with graduation rates and I believe programs are now susceptible to penalties. Kentucky in previous years has appeared on these lists for their low graduation rates and I think Bob Huggins while at Cincy was the standard bearer.
Maybe after a 19 point win isn’t the best time to bring up such a topic, but what are the fans that would like to see Tubby gone willing to trade to get back to the final four. Would you trade three year’s probation for a championship? Would you like to have back C.M. Newton or Larry Ivy under which several NCAA violations occurred?
As always, your opinions and comments are welcomed. Agree or disagree. Let us know.
January 28th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Tubby Is doing a great job! Eny true Kentucky fan would agree. This team is young and I think so far he has done A great job. Go Tubby! & GO CATS!
January 29th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Huggy Bear to UK!!! Tubby might be able to bring in a softy seven footer from England with a 4.0 gpa that will never see the court, but Hugs will bring in a strong 6 fooot 9 player and turn them into the most feared big men in the country, an example would be Maxiell and Eric Hicks. I don’t understand why tubbs continually brings in these seven footers that cant move and have hands of stone. Where you at Spooner?
January 29th, 2007 at 10:09 am
Tubby is doing a great job? Because he beat a subpar Tennessee team without the best player in the conference? It’s a typical Tubby team. Slow, unprepared and they don’t defend the three point shot. I don’t question the players intelligence, I question Tubby’s. Yesterday, he finally left Jasper at the point during critical junctions of teh game but they still did a bad job defending the three point shot. I don’t think he or his coaching staff can evaluate talent. Do you know Corey Brewer and Chris Lofton listed UK among their top two schools and neither were offered a scholarship? Brewer wanted to stay close to home but I guess we don’t need 6 foot 8 defensive minded guards who are unselfish. We will go as far as the shooting of Crawford and Bradley and the inside game of Morriss. If we have to depend on Tubby, we’re in trouble. If we have games where Crawford and Bradley are in foul trouble, we’re screwed. As for Smith being squeeky clean, I remember seeing Gerald Fitch driving a Mercedes Benz truck with chrome rims on it begginning his junior year all around campus. You think he bought that on his own? What about the turmoil that has surrounded the team the past few years? We’ve had walk ons and scrubs starting for us, it’s embarrassing and March is just depressing anymore. You don’t have to sacrifice grades for talent, look at Duke.
January 29th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
ignore the previous comment, borrrrrring…shooter, i am happy to tell ya that i will be on irish soil in a couple of weeks…as a scout for my prep school in maryland it seems that a player named elijah o’ryan has gained some interest in making the jump to the us…any info on him and could i kick it at your place…anyway back the the subject at hand…while i find it hard to agree with a bearcat fan, shooter you are right…tubby needs to recruit athleticism…morris has a huge body and should be a lottery pick, but this man may never make it to the nba…huggins, caliperi, and calhoun have all recruited athleticism with a hard nosed edge…i believe to get this team to remove its reputation of late as being soft is to start recruiting north east…im talkin about the bronx (represent) and jersey, hell even maine…it is obvious to me and everyone else that 7 foot softie mike williams will not be another gimel martinez or rex chapman…they were recruited with talent and did not need to molded into the great men they are today…that reminds me, those unis in the martinez era were tight…any thougts about uk bringing them back
January 29th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
The only thing good that ever came out of Ireland is potatoes. North east hard nosed huh, just like Bradley hard nosed huh. More like selfish and stuck in street ball land. North east style ball is the reason USA gets their ass handed to them in international play anymore, it only works on the playground where nobody plays by the rules and being able to shoot doesn’t matter. Morris will never make it in the pros because he has no heart and is as soft as cotton. Forget the northeast, focus on the state of kentucky first. The only thing soft right now is our fans for putting up with this crap. Furthermore, Huggy has done nothing with any of his teams, no championships, end of point. Caliperi and Huggins are two of the most overrated coaches ever,once again, Tark the Shark has more championships than both combined. spooners only legit point in that mess of these…things….was about Calhoun…recruit some brains for your maryland prick school.
January 29th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Daniel Son, you try to make sense but it just dosen’t work. I’m gonna number this one just to make sure you understand, maybe you should of attended spooners school. 1.) When spooner talked about hard nosed kids from the bronx he was clearly talking about big men, not smooth bradley. 2.) I wouldn’t be suprised to see Randy get picked up as a free agent this year, adding depth to an NBA team in the playoffs. 3.) The cotton analogy is wrong, as polar fleece is actually the softest of all material. 4.) Focus on KY first huh, yeah lets do that and see if UK doesn’t turn into NKU really quick. 4.) Nobody said Huggy was a good coach, but the man can recruit. Tubby can coach but can’t recruit. A good example is tubby coaching ricks recruits to a title. The sollution to this would be new assistants to help recruit. 5.) Calling young kids pricks is totally uncalled for. Also Spooner, I just looked up Gimels stats, he was solid in every category, did he go pro spooner? Also spoon I’ll pick up a pair of tickets to watch elijah o’ryan, and as far as staying at my place I’ll clean a spot out in the attic for ya.
January 29th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Okay, so according to the points of both of you, big men and rebounding and “hard nosed kids” win games right? At least I thought that’s what we were talking about is winning. Because if all we’re talking about is recruiting players because they look like they could be good then I need say no more. Well last year, Florida was 2nd in the nation in field goal percentage, they were 59th in rebounding margin. Joakim Noah, 3rd in the nation in field goal percentage. Lee Humphrey, 8th in the nation in three point percentage. Yet they didn’t have one player in the top 80 in rebounding, hmm, interesting. In case you wondered, North Carolina was 5th two years ago in field goal percentage. ***Point being rebounding is great, but it doesn’t win in basketball, defense is great to, but the point of basketball is putting the ball into the basket(figured I need to break it down for you sense you’re having a hard time grasping that point with your celebration of “hard nosed kids” who can’t throw a ball in the ocean). New York huh, isn’t that where we got Alleyne from? Some real scholar recruiters you guys are. Must be the same ones who told Smith to turn down Brewer and Lofton for Clink(Bradley) and Clank(Morris). Call me strange but I’d rather have former UK Mr. Basketball Ty Neltner starting at power forward right now than Bobby Perry since Neltner had about 8 dunks on Thomas and Perry when Vandy was busy beating us for the 89th straight time. I’d rather have former Mr. Basketball Chris Lofton than Bradley. You kids obviouslya aren’t from Kentucky and you have no idea of tradition and what winning is, you go for paper champions and look alikes. No wonder watching college basketball anymore is like watching junior pro, people like you guys who think potential outweighs talent and then we have 50-47 games that look like rugby matches. Maxiel and Eric Hicks? Eric who? The guy who got outrebounded by 6′4 Chuck Hayes, please, Huggins recruited nobody except Kenyon Martin who’s been an average pro at best. Shooter, you will not make this put, ya jackass
January 29th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
come on danny boy, now your playing a lil too ruff…i am from the commonwealth, and know its recruits…there are only about two or three d1 recruits a year and none are usually high major…this year being scotty hobpson, darius miller, and mackey…you cannot build a team with just three players, you gotta go elsewhere and tubby is not going to the right places…i am not saying a whole team has to built on the tough gritty players of the northeast…that is not the sec…i was saying that to have one or two of those guys that can come off the bunch or even start and play with nothing but heart is something that cant be taught…huggins and caliperi mistake was having too much athleticism…and to be honest i would not down current players, bradley is doing all he can, you seem to forget that he was a three-star recruit shadowed by three mcd’s all-americans…i think he is doing a great job and so is crawford…you can not blame tubby for not taking lofton, do you remember who the mr.basketball of kentucky was 2 years ago…didnt think so, it was dominic tilford and where is he now, juco…look danny boy you seem to be very confused on certain things and need to be enlightened…huggins and calipary are great coaches and they would not be at high major programs if they werent…also i sense that you were referencing to the tourney game about hayes…i remember that game well and wish it could be continued on a year to year basis…hicks out rebounded hayes, and if i remeber correctly it was a dbl dbl…even as a uk fan i am not afraid to admit that we won with our bench, their starting lineup was far better…as uk fans we should hate loserville, and the j.j. redick(ulously gay) led duke teams…danny i dont want to cause your suddendeath but college basketball is not short shorts anymore…ha then you really would put your dvr to good use…anyway back on topic, i am loyal but then again realistic…there is not just one team in this universe, there are always gonna be better teams and maybe the wildcats will be there sometime soon…lastly you can make fun of other coaches, you can make fun of ole tubs, hell you can make fun of my third nipple but never insult fam….looks like me and ole shoot where the pants in this conversation…that just happened!
January 29th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
o yea you were right when you said no one from new york can shoot…ben gordan, sebastion telfair, levance fields, ronald ramon…man your a joke
January 29th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Next time think twice before trying to school spooner on college b-ball it just doesn’t happen…Spoon is a legend in the commonwealth, how dare you say he isn’t from the bluegrass, Apologize Danny Boy… Case dismissed… I guess we can chalk up another W for Spooner…
January 30th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Yeah Shooter, just remember to save a spot in your closet eerrr I mean attic for Spooner so you all can well spoon. You both continue to prove your total lack of basketball IQ. Sebastion Telfair a good shooter? Are you Kidding Me? The kid has been traded more than Sam Cassell in two years. Ronald Ramon? Man you are the joke, big time.You recruit for a prick school? Yeah right, you couldn’t even recruit for my weekend pick up team. New York has a population of 999 billion and they produce one or two good players every three years and we’re supposed to be impressed? Caliperi and especially Huggins are horrible coaches and you can blame Smith for not recruiting Lofton, the kid was dying to go to UK as was Brewer and I don’t care if Bradley is “playing hard”, there are 100 kids at the Johnson Center everyday that “play hard” but they don’t get free rides. Huggins is a good recruiter because his players usually have two choices, play for him or play in the penial league. Why don’t you two get real and quit comparing yourselves to imaginary movie characters. No UK fan expects us to win it all every year but they expect us to have a team that could win it all 3-4 years out of every 5. I still don’t think either of you are from Kentucky and I think you got your basketball info from some blind kid. Chumps like you two are the reason we continue to waddle in mediocrity and it’s clever how you made fun of my last name, maybe if you weren’t busy giving spooner a massage you’d put your real name down to. Cincy was a joke every year Huggins was there, they beat up on weak CUSA teams and then got bounced in one of the first two rounds of the NCAA. Smith is a great guy, I’d like to have him as a neighbor but we need somebody from instate like Travis Ford to take us back to what we once were and get rid of you out of towners who think basketball games are won by internet stats. That just happened spooner and mcgayin
January 30th, 2007 at 11:02 am
who is mcgayin?…good post spooner
January 30th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Oh yeah Daniel Son, Keep pullin statistics out of your ass just too try and prove your not a complete joke… Yeah Ronald Ramon can’t shoot
Player GP-GS Min–Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct
Ramon, Ronald.. 23-0 520 22.6 63-134 .470 49-105 .467 those numbers are very impressive considering he comes off the bench with a cold hand…he’s also from the Bronx… I wouldn’ need to recruit for your weekend pick up team, I could get 4 bums together from underneath a bridge and I would still kick your ass… New York is a big city, but 999 billion people sounds a little far fetched… I’m sure there are alot of kids playing hard at the Johnson center, but they don’t get free rides because they are scrubs, Bradley was a 3 star as was lofton, and Bradley gives UK things that Lofton can’t and vise versa… One last thing big D, your always thinking dirty thoughts, even though i live in ireland I am completely aware of your famous blue people back in KY, don’t think you can hide your past from me Dan!!! T-Ford Ha lets go get us a Mid-Major coach. I hear Tom Izzo and Calipari call UK there dream job, i’d take them over unprove Ford anyday of the week. You will not make this put, ya jackass
January 30th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
“Daniel Keep pulling stats out of your” okay, you just said everything I needed to hear. Stats don’t lie, but people who say a coach who was fired from Cincy and never won anything but a scruby CUSA title is good do lie. I like how you stereotype players with “3 stars”. Like I said, you people think paper champions win games. Lofton dropped 9 threes on Hoptown in Rupp Arena during the sweet 16, what does Bradley give us that Lofton couldn’t? Nothing. Just like your comments add nothing to the conversation. And if you want to call me a complete joke, why don’t you get your grammer right, or are you too busy picking potatoes over in Ireland to get it? My point was that shooters win championships, and you’re saying Ramon can shoot. Okay, what’s your point? Of course there are players from New York that are good just as there are players from Kentucky that are good. And no, I’m from western Kentucky, the blue people are from eastern kentucky, and they were purple einstein.And like i said all along, it’s easy to tell you’re not from kentucky. Bradley is a scrub. Perry is a scrub. Thomas is nearly a scrub. Orbpolak is a scrub.Alleyne the New Yorker was a scrub. You and Ireland are scrubs. Anyone with any true knowledge of basketball will tell you shooters and disclipline win games. By the way, The only thing you get from under the bridge is a daily dose of lovin from some dude named Bubba, so go and watch some cricket and leave the hardwood to people who know what they’re talking about. Smith is a good recruiter, but is not a good developer. Crawford is a baller, Morris could be, All of the freshmen this year have a lot of upside, but tubby cannot develop that. The only players that buy into his crap have no other choice cos nobody else wants them(i.e. Perry, Thomas, Ravi Moss…) Caliperi may be a decent coach, but he’s had a load of talent and nothing to show for it. Ford is a kentucky kid who has risen up the ladder. UMASS is a much better school than Kansas freakin State and I wonder how much old Huggins is paying those star recruits. Makes you wonder. I think it goes back to the webmasters original post for this topic. What will you sacrifice to win? I say you don’t have to sacrifice anything, you just have to stay true to your roots. Corey Brewer was a great student and lived literally a stones throw away from Kentucky. Lofton was a great student with a great history. Instead we get players that cause turmoil and look like they hate playing with each other and like you two, understand nothing of kentucky tradition and what makes teams win. I hope Smith turns it around cos I like I said, he’s a good person. But until he gets his players motivated, they’ll never be anything more than average. Just like you’ll never be anything more than a copycat with little to say.
January 30th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
danny boy, first off i am from north kentucky, born in raised…im talking about independence kentucky, the city with the second largest area land-wise…I were not from kentucky i would not know that…Also fireworks are mostly illegal in our state so normal people drive across the border to indiana and there is a black cat fireworks store right there and you can buy all the morter shells you want…do i need to say more…also it is i-daho potatoes, not i-reland potatoes…and lastly, incest originated in western kentucky, i just watched a news report the other day…supposedly it still goes on…i question your love for the game…basketball isnt about bashing other teams and coaches i mean we could talk about sutton all day but thats not bball…i love the game and am still involved with it today…i still recruit for a well-known prep school and even had a brief stint as a assistant at Rhode Island…I love bball and from what i can tell the only thing you love outside the flute, is stats…You are either a math teacher or a coach potato(idaho, not ireland)…any way i have been trying to set up a location in which we could meet to settle this conflict on the hard wood…your church boys against my full acedemic qualifying d1 prospects…i have been telling coach that there are ignoramouses out there that believe new yorkers cant shoot and that the easter bunny will be here in april…since it will take your team a while horseback i could maybe pick you guys up and bring you to the game…lastly, Shooter somehow pulled up info deep with in…Hopkinsville, i didnt even know a college existed there…his post is lower on the front page, say how did you get a picture up anyway…i just cant figure it out…Holla at me when you see me in the street…or well in your case, dirt road
January 31st, 2007 at 12:45 am
Dude, no matter how much checking up on my past you do I still won’t let you stay in my closet like shooter Mc Ireland potato famine. All you have time to do is look me up on the net? Look a little closer and you’ll find i’ve been printed on a lot of publications but I checked your name out to, nothing came back. You’re a nobody. Nobody knows you, nobody cares except this Shooter dude you must be boning. You’re mad cos I showed you how completely ignorant your basketball reasoning is and now your crying like a little infant trying to act as if you’re smart. Your whole purpose in life is to watch sweaty teenagers run up and down the court in shorts. Anybody who knows me would laugh their butt off if they heard you say I was a math teacher. I work plenty and formerly covered UK games sitting right beside all the crowd from Cats Pause at every game at Rupp and the box at CommonWealth. You have no knowledge and no guts and I’d take 5 guys from Hoptown anyday over 5 guys from Kentuckiana. Since you want to know so much about me come holler at me, as you can see, I’m not hard to find. Back to the subject at hand, Field Goal Percentage Baby, sleep on that tonight, oh wait, you’ll probably be sleeping on what’s his face. Who said anything about Church Boys? You have a bias against Kentucky basketball players, no wonder scrubby Rhode Island canned you. I heard you got kicked out of your first prep job for creeping in the showers for extra scouting, hmmm.
January 31st, 2007 at 12:46 am
I have to say, after reading that last post, I’m probably the funniest person I know. Why hasn’t UK called me about being the coach yet. I’m focused man.
January 31st, 2007 at 8:19 am
yea i gotta admit that was pretty funny…but shooters are funnier, no offense…I dont know where your from, for all i know you live in canada…anyway, its been good arguing with you…have you noticed that you, me and shooter pretty much own this site…haha
January 31st, 2007 at 4:13 pm
firedaniel.com
January 31st, 2007 at 11:55 pm
yea that wasnt really funny…any way shooter, you were talking about how you have seen mike williams play in england over on the cock-fire article(dont get exited danny boy, its about the gamecocks)…i know he is a two star talent, but hes gotta have potential…he is seven foot, but does he bring a europpean shot to the table?…or is he new york style, meaning he cant shoot according to some…who knows, this guy could be our center of the future…shoot, ive been meaning to get back to your email, but you obviously check this blog more…i replied asking how your trip to whales went…did Connor Swanson(once again danny boy, dont get excited) sign with oxford?…I was thinking about visiting in June, I hear Ireland is pretty much a vacation spot at that time of the year…Also can i bring a pal?…problem is from the posts he has written, he is obviously flambizzle(cant say the full thing with webmaster creeping around)…Didnt Irish president Mary Mcaleese outlaw homosexuallity in Ireland…Sorry danny boy i wanted to take you, but then again i dont want to go to jail for sneeking you in…go cats, primarly three-star bradley
January 31st, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Paper Champs 2007!!!!
February 1st, 2007 at 11:26 am
Coming to FX this Fall, the new gay comedy pitting two men who hit the boards during the day, and the springs at night, Spooner and Shooter, Together at last. This year’s show will be centered around Spooner’s pending trip to Ireland to visit Shooter. ***Roll sound bite**** “Oh, Spooner, I’d love to reinact that Irish Spring commercial shower scene, haha, spot of tea a?” They live together, they love together, heck they both even have girlish names with the same number of letters and oo’s. So tune in this fall to see Spooner and Shooter, they’re still gay, but this time it’s the Irish way….
I see you were asking your buddy about this european guy and if he has a good shot. You’re finally starting to come around, it’s about shooting, I knew you’d learn.
February 2nd, 2007 at 12:26 pm
did i miss something here, this is not a board where we speak of our fantasies…it is meant for the big blue…First of all shoot and i are not very good actors second of all we are not gay and no matter how much you want to see that action it aint gonna happen…stick to your meatspin, pervboy