The team practiced on Tuesday afternoon at the Joe Craft Center and freshman guard Eric Bledsoe returned to the floor after resting his sprained ankle for the past several days. Bledsoe looked okay but was clearly not 100 percent and appeared to have some catching up to do. Freshman big man Daniel Orton was held out from practice as he recovers from the chest injury he sustained in Friday’s exhibition game. Both are still expected to play on Friday against Morehead State.

The team will practice again on Wednesday afternoon. – D.S.

***

Goodbye. . . To the Pre-Season. Hello, Regular Season – and the Match-ups That Make it Special.

By Matt Jones

CoachCal.com Contributor

As we say goodbye to what is officially the longest preseason ever (am I wrong in feeling like Coach Calipari was hired before Lamar and the new Mrs. Odom (left) – that Kardashian girl – even met. . . oh wait, you mean they hadn’t met yet?), it is time to get the new season underway. 

As with every year, my immediate thoughts go to the schedule. Who do we play? What are the subplots? Do we have a history with the team?  With that in mind, I thought I would use the second CoachCal.com column (you didn’t think I would get this far did you?), to look at the schedule and Kentucky’s best win ever against each non-conference opponent. It is a little history for you youngsters and a chance to reminisce (and disagree) for the geezers. (Send all counter-arguments to Coach@coachcal.com and we’ll publish the most lucid).

We will do this again for SEC play, but for now this gives us a chance to set up some debates and look into the season ahead.  This info (and much more) can be found by looking at Jon Scott’s (no relation to CC.com’s editor) amazing UK history site (http://bigbluehistory.net).  Here we go:

Morehead State, UK leads series 8-0: The Cats have once met Morehead even in an NCAA Tournament (1961), but the most memorable matchup came in 1995, when the team I consider the greatest in UK history, beat Morehead 96-32.  Towards the end of the game, the late Morehead Coach Dick Fick (left) became legendary, lying down on the court, completely exasperated.  ESPN ran with the video and the Dick Fick” award for coaching hysteria was run by the network each week.  If that doesn’t qualify as a memorable game, what does?

Miami (OH), UK leads 21-4: Of 25 meetings with the RedHawks none were more important than in 1999 when the Wally Sczerbiack-led team faced the Cats in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.  Kentucky held Wally in check and Jamaal Magloire knocked out the RedHawks’ mascot at halftime (for real), for the 58-43 win.

Rider, UK leads 2-0: My fondest memory of this short series came in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament — a 96-52 UK win.  Why is a 44-point blowout noteworthy? Because of my father’s complete frustration with me when I refused to move from my lucky stance” at the end of the game, despite an insurmountable lead.  He just doesn’t understand how karma works. (Stance diagram available upon request).

Sam Houston State, First Meeting: I don’t have a map handy, but I don’t believe Sam is a state. I am always interested in learning new things and welcome being proven wrong on this.

Cleveland State, First Meeting: I was surprised to learn these teams have never met, especially considering relative proximity. Strangely, it will take a trip to Cancun for the first meeting to take place.

Stanford, UK Leads 1-0: The Cats and the Cardinal have only played twice, but the one was a Mad Dog” Mark Madsen-induced slugfest that went down in UK lore.  The meeting was in the 1998 Final Four and the Comeback Cats fought back from first half deficit, dismantled Arthur Lee late and were led by 27 from Jeff Sheppard, to advance to Monday night.

Virginia, UK leads 6-3: The Cats have only played our connected neighbors to the East (found my map!) once since 1966, and it was a loss. We focus on the positive here, so we have to dig deep to find a great game from the past. Most of UK’s six wins against the Cavs were in routs, so I will focus on the 29-16 win from 1924.  The Cats were led by 16 from James McFarland, who doesn’t get nearly enough pub. In fact, I’ll mention his name again: James McFarland.

UNC Asheville, UK leads 2-0: Slim pickings here as neither game was close. I’ll take the 1996 game in which the Cats won 105-51, solely because Steve Masiello scored 2 points. . .and when that happened, you know it had to be a good night for the Cats.

North Carolina, UNC leads 21-10: This one is tough. No team has had more success against the Big Blue than the Heels. But the biggest game between the two teams in which the Cats emerged victorious may have been in 1969 when Dan Issel’s 41 points and Mike Pratt’s 27 points helped the #1 ranked Cats go on the road and beat #7 Carolina in Charlotte. It remains one of the best 2-man performances in UK history.

UCONN, UConn leads 1-0: The line meeting was an NCAA Tournament loss in 2006. I remember that game for two primary reasons: I was baffled by Josh Boone’s hair, and I wondered if it would be the last time we would see Rajon Rondo in a UK uniform — and it was.

Indiana, UK leads 29-23: Fans of a younger generation don’t understand just how intense this rivalry once was. Both teams were dominant for so many years and the battles were legendary. I will take the 1980 game in which #2 Kentucky defeated #5 Indiana in Bloomington 68-66. UK’s win moved them to #1 the next week and Indiana went on to win a national championship behind star point guard (and FIU head coach!) Isiah Thomas.

Austin Peay, UK leads 4-0: Austin Peay was the opponent for one of the great Kentucky games in history that few remember. In 1973, the Governors met Kentucky in the NCAA Sweet 16 and the Cats won in an overtime classic, 106-100. The Cats were led with 30 by Jim Andrews, but the star of the show was Austin Peay’s, James Fly” Williams.  A street-ball legend, Williams was a unique personality and the man who had fans chanting The Fly is Open, lets go Peay.” The game zipped up Fly’s college career.

Drexel, First Meeting: I’m looking forward to this first meeting with Coach’s good friend and former assistant, James Bruiser” Flint. Drexel is the sixth” member of Philadelphia’s Big Five” of college basketball teams in the City of Brotherly Love and their outsiders status in the city’s storied tradition of college hoops makes them even more likable. Matt Jones Complimentary Travel Tip of the Day: If you are a true college basketball fan, go to a Big Five (plus one) game in the historic Palestra (right). It is basketball heaven, trust me.

Long Beach State, First Meeting — The Cats have never played Long Beach State but the 49ers to offer an answer to the question What ever happened to Dan Monson?” he’s in his third year as the LBS coach.

Hartford, First Meeting: No history here however I have been to Hartford and can report there is an insurance representative on every street corner and one can get a street vendor hot dog wrapped in a complimentary life insurance policy with every purchase. (Editor’s Note: The site’s editor’s sister, Lisa, was once a Hartford Hawk cheerleader and therefore this game becomes a Scott Family Civil War, in case you were wondering.)

Louisville, UK leads 26-14: The Cards. How can one possible say which game against the Cards was the most important? To answer the question, I called former UK great Mike Pratt (left) and asked his opinion. His pick was the 1985 win against the eventual national champion Louisville squad. All due respect to Mike, I will take the 2004 60-58 win in Louisville on Patrick Sparks’ free throw. Both of those teams went to the Elite Eight and the win is as sweet as any regular season victory I can remember in UK history. And no matter what the video shows, I am saying he didn’t walk. Oh, and thanks Mike. Hope you understand my selection.

Matt Jones is the founder and genius behind Kentucky Sports Radio. He is a regular contributor to CoachCal.com

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