The Big Blue Lowdown

The BBL has been watching UK hoops for more than 30 years. And we believe the 2009-‘10 UK Wildcats is the most talented team 1-11 we’ve ever seen.

Their speed and athleticism is unrivaled in the storied history of the UK program. Coach Calipari can send people at you in waves and every player in the 11-deep rotation can score and defend. It is seemingly unfair at times…especially against the likes of Hartford.

Rather than summarize the utter thrashing of another clearly overmatched opponent,...

Playing its third game in 84 hours, the UK Men’s hoop team struggled versus a scrappy Long Beach State team on Wednesday but still found a way to pull away late for a 13 point victory.

John Calipari said it best when describing the lethargy his cats played with:

“I’ve done this so long, there are certain things that you can expect. On the game before Christmas following the 2,000th win where there is a celebration and people are going nuts, there is going to be a little bit of a letdown.”

With a win tonight over the Drexel Dragons, Kentucky will become the first college basketball team ever to win 2,000 games.

Though 2,000 wins certainly will not clinch the debate over who has the top basketball program in the nation, it adds a nice feather in the cap of the Wildcats, which also have the most all-time tournament appearances and second most championships.

The Cats will make their run at the milestone in front of a national TV audience on ESPNU. In a nice gesture by ESPN, the...

Check out Bob Knight’s recent “call out” of John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4752725

“We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching,” he said. “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”

Get used to the hating Cat fans, if all goes well for us, there will be a whole lot more where that came from…...

We’ve seen a lot of John Wall highlights come across the transom, but for now, this is the best compilation of dunks, blocks, steals and spectacles from a still infant career that is destined to become a legend some day.

To think that such a mix could be made after only 10 games is nothing short of…astounding.

The BBL’s favorite highlights thus far are all the special things he did vs. UConn in Madison Square Garden, but that’s only because we saw them live.

Many props to...

Let’s hope that traditional powerhouses Kansas and Kentucky are on a collision course to meet in the NCAA finals.

These two programs, steeped in tradition and currently ranked #1 and #3 respectively, have a number of story lines in common that would make for an eventful tournament matchup. It’s UK vs. KU, two of the top 5 all-time winningest programs and a battle for respect, pride and historical supremacy.

Another subplot is the rematch between Kansas Coach Bill Self and UK’s John Calipari,...

Kentucky defeated a much improved Indiana squad today 90-73, demonstrating an arsenal of offensive weapons and a lethal combination of speed, size and depth.

After receiving the bulk of the attention over the past few weeks, John Wall took a backseat to his supporting cast today, scoring only 11 points but adding 7 rebounds and 8 assists to only 1 turnover. Plus he had this gem (apologies for the poor quality):

But the true story today was UK’s ability to dominate the offensive glass and...

It’s now safe to say that the BBL’s one-day scouting trip to New York to watch the Cats in action up close was a great success. The victory over UConn was a thrilling experience and, historically speaking, may someday be looked at fondly by UK fans as the day a legend was born on one of basketball’s greatest stages.

We’ll offer ongoing comments in the coming days but our trip afforded us the ability to see an incredible game in the legendary setting of Madison Square Garden, meet UK and UConn...

The BBL is excited to be in attendance at Madison Square Garden tonight for the SEC-Big East Invitational matchup between titans of the college basketball universe Kentucky and Connecticut.

This will be our first chance to catch the Cats live this season, and we are licking our chops at the opportunity. Hopefully, we’ll bring back some stories, picture and video from our experience, but going into it, here are our keys to the game.

Youth vs. Youth - Both teams are very young. Kentucky starts...

As hoped and somewhat expected, Kentucky put itself back on the basketball map Saturday with a thoroughly entertaining victory over North Carolina. The win made a statement for the program, but also offered some interesting clues about what we might expect for the rest of the season.

John Wall has an extra gear that few humans on planet earth have ever possessed. He can ignite an explosive scoring spurt and send a crowd into hysterics in the blink of an eye. As Clark Kellogg aptly pointed out...

The two winningest programs in the history of the sport collide today in a titanic matchup that represents what is unquestionably a young Kentucky team’s biggest test of the early season. For UNC, it’s a chance to prove they can contend for another national title.

A number of story lines will be on display at Rupp Arena Saturday in what should be an electric, NCAA tournament-like atmosphere. But we’ll focus on a few of the major themes and keys to the game.

John Wall - The BBL thinks today is...

Yes, John Wall gets a lot of hype. But at this point, can you argue that he doesn’t deserve it?

Wall has already hit a buzzer beating jumper to win one game, while stroking two free throws with 2.4 seconds in regulation to send another into overtime. And this is after only six appearances.

His numbers are even more ridiculous. While leading the team in minutes played at 36 per game, Wall is dropping 18.5 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2.5 steals and nearly a block an outing.

Doing this...

UK’s amazing back court athleticism and speed was on full display vs. the severely overmatched UNC Asheville squad on Monday night at Louisville’s Freedom Hall.

John Wall had 12 points and a UK frosh record of 14 assists, with many of them coming on alley oop dunks to an assortment of UK low post players.

UK now faces three straight traditional powers in their next three games. The Cats will square off against UNC, Uconn and Indiana in a span of 12 days.

The BBL believes the Cats are...