Dueling Live Updates From Rupp

Let the John Wall Ride Begin

Coming at you LIIIIIVVVVEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From the House that Rupp built and Delk flourished in. (had to make a mention of Tony Buckets). My first game at the arena this season and I am pumped. I just inhaled a media member hotdog, which was either the greatest food ever or I haven't eaten all day. Either way gonna be a good time. Ive got Austin to my left and we may fight to the death to see how much UK basketball we can talk about in the next 3 hours. Mine will probably have an inordinate amount of typos until I remember to hit spell check. They are showing the Cats warm up in the tunnel and the pilot just turned off the no gushing and no rambling signs.


I just want to begin by talking about a joke Austin made before the 1st game. I said are you making the 4 hour drive, he said well yea I want to be part of history. Made me laugh but its also partially true. This is the most heralded class in KY since the 96 squad (had what 9 NBA'ers at least). And that is regarded by some (namely me and people that are smart and have souls as the greatest team of all time. So we could be witnessing history As we speak. I predict at least 4 games this season that are "remember where you were games" Not just tourney games but like those where 15 years later you can recall every relevant detail.

Ok First thoughts

Little nervous in the opening warm ups. For some reason I have a theory (that always seems to come through) if you watch the teams shoot baskets the team that hits more will come out hard and lead after half. Cats didn't hit much but Miami looked lights out. Lets hope, like among most other things, that I am an idiot and have no idea what I'm talking about


Also pregame intros had fire works go off directly above my head. Scared the crap outta me. Austin didn't warn me so I dead-legged him.

John Wall drove in well but missed and Miller was there for the clean up. Patterson followed that up with a 3 (his 2nd in as many games) and thats 2 for the career. He is our version on Channing Frye in Phoenix.

Miami tied the score but Wall just hit an open 3. 1st points as a Cat. That was fun. Set up from a drive and kick out by Bledsoe. He is gonna have that shot alot if he can make it this season. Could be good things.

Cats are hustling on perimeter D, but looking more like they just want to block everything inside. That lead to a foul so far. But half of Miami's team looks scared to shoot so that's fun. (BTW we are calling Miami (OH) Miami b/c I'm lazy and thats how its gonna go, deal with it)

Crowd sounds good earlier but is dying a bit right now (15:30 in the half left)

Miami just went up 3 and that actually woke the crowd up. They are waiting for a big play to wake them up and get shaking. It feels like they are playing with some nitro right now. Just simmering beneath the surface. One big play and this place will explode.

Patterson at the line after a hard foul and Timeout to regroup. Hits the first, he looks good from the line. He doesnt rush his shot and I like that. Of course he missed the 2nd as I was typing. Orton with the rebound and another foul on Miami. Wall just drove in and drew the foul.
The refs seem much less Donahey-ish than the 1st game. They seem to call it pretty even on both sides. So far anyway.


Just checked Austins blog. I am owning him in comments (who cares if its cause my blog is on top, shut up nobody asked you) He is owning me in being able to watch the game and type.

GREAT defensive play by Orton and the Cats. Wall just went down on a play that probably shoulda been a foul against Miami. But apparently you can throw your entire body into another player so hard that you throw him totally into the basket support. Thats a new rule I guess, just like the carrying they ball apparently. Frankly I'm not a fan. Wall was down for a while but up under his own power. Everybody was freaking out and holding their breath. I nearly threw up in my mouth. Not a fun time.

He looks OK though and trainers are rubbing him down. Bledsoe with a nice mid-ranger. AND WALL IS BACK IN...THANK GOODNESS.


As of now, score is way too close. Only up 2. I'm changing Bledsoe's nickname from Lightening Bug (since no one will say it) to "reckless abandon" because every time he drives he just flies to the lane with what seems to be no regard whatsoever for his body.

Miami (OH) hits a contested 3 and is up 1. Crowd is pretty out o f it except for eruption zone. And they aren't doing much. On the plus side the cheerleaders are really good. Hopefully that helps.

I like Toon's comments. Even if they seem derogatory towards me.

Miami up 6 right now. this sucks. They are playing great D. The Miami Bench just got a warning. Crowd liked that. We are playing bad on D and bad on O. That doesnt work out well. Its the warmups I tell ya. We need to do better at the half.

The players look like they expect to roll on people b/c of their names. Miami came out scared but have stopped that. Crowd is SCREAMING for a big play. And the Cats cannot oblige.

Miami cant stop hitting and we can't stop missing. We are gonna need to lower the 25 point basket from Jock Jams to win by 60. Or at this point to come back.

2 foul shots by Patterson and crowd is alive. And just as quickly silenced by ANOTHER 3 from Miami.. Our perimeter D is doing nothing. we are missing from point blank range. Something is up. Even Patterson missed an easy shot.

Stevenson in for Patterson, to give him a breather and hopefull knock the suck out of him. I love Pat but she should be owning these bigs. We need a hard double team on outside shooters.

The long anticipated Wall era is going about as well as Guns'n'Roses Chinese Democracy. Not good times. Harrelson just had a BIG block that got the crowd up. We are gonna need to figure somethings out.

We have to smother them on D, which we did by giving up an open 3 b/c Harrelson got lost on a pick. We need to put a perimeter defender on him so we can chase that guy all over the court. As of right now, we are just gonna let him shoot till he misses, not my favorite Defense.


Dodson just hit a 3, crowd is up on that. Still not fully there but starting to wake up. I can't blame them. We are playing terrible and can't get stops on Miami or capitalize when we do. They either answer every play we have or we can't knock down shots after a stop. If you can't tell how bad it is right now, just know that Im nervously typing more words that War and Peace.

We finally started forcing them into bad shots and started hitting ours. After the basket by Patterson Rupp is going pretty bonkers. Good to see them back.

The guy rebound for Miami has a ton of hops. Of course that's easy to do when no one boxes you out. As Randal Neel once told me (Converse basketball coach, I told ya I'm gonna ramble) You put your Butt in his gut and don't stop till he's outside the 3 point line. All I ask is for a box out on a guy that is killing us with offensive boards. I feel like that's reasonable.

Great D and great drive to an easy basket for Orton. That should happen every time. He is the tallest guy on the court. Orton comes out to a nice ovation, but now we lost our easiest baket. Patterson will have to step it up


HUGE play by Wall and he is fired up. They are doubling Patterson and allowed to throw him around a ton. DODSON FOR THHHHRRREEEEE!!!!!!


Wall and Dodson have got the crowd in a frenzy. This is how it should happen. we are back within 3. Good thing this took about 17 minutes to get started.

Dodson has an amazingly quick release. Great D on Miami's last possession to keep them from getting a shot. Crowd is first up but still a bit weary. We should not be down by 3 but ya know, thats how it goes. I wouldn't wanna be in the locker room right now. We did play great in the comeback, but that needs to be the tempo for the whole game.

Halftime and UK dance team is out. I used to not like these songs but they are talking me into it. On a side not most of press row looks a little creepy oogling the girls, guy saw that I was writing that and he quickly looked down at his keys and lowered his head under his laptop to act like he was working. That was fun.

Just got the stats thrown at me from an uninterested staff guy here. He had less personality than Drama from Rob Dyrdek's fantasy factory. Nick Washburn is DESTROYING us with the 3. He is 6 for 6. I dunno about you but seems like I'd put a body on him. B/c they no D whatsovever didn't work so well in the first half.

Funny thing happened. One of the Miami scrubs walked through the cheer-leading line looking for high 5's and they reacted like he had Swine Flu spewing out of his face.

Halftime Shooting drill seems about even. Lots of misses on both sides. Not sure what that means. UK is doing a bit better than before though.

Hey Anna...both teams showing up after half IS big news. b/c only 1 showed up for all of the 1st and it wasn't UK.

We tried to get the live blog going but since my tech expertise is limited to opening peanut butter jars it won't happen. But I'm going to try to answer your comments in this half.

We are down 3 but playing much better D. except for rebounding that is. Miami just had 3 attempts in one possession.

Wall is willing himself to the line right now. Shades for Jordan against the Pacers in the East finals in 98. Thats right I referenced Jordan, if you knew me; you'd be wondering why it took so long.

Wall is all over the place trying to make places, he is really into the game. I like him. Patterson's 3 didn't go as well as his others. Pretty move by Cousins be he can't capitalize. Crowd held their breath waiting to explode after that one.

Dodson's 3 point shots also get the crowd to hold their breath. They need to fall.

We are getting KILLED on the boards. I am amazed by this. We have great rebounders. I know. I've seen them.

Great move and shot by Orton, AND THE FOUL.

We cannot let them score. It is way to easy for them right now.

Orton just caught an elbow and is bleeding. Had to go to the locker room. Called a timeout. The Miami guy deliberately threw an elbow that made me yell and scared the pee outta the guy typing beside me.

Crowd is really fired up. Lets hope that gets the players to step it up. Crowed is still on the refs, as they should be. Happened right in front of them and should have been a technical on Miami. That was a terrible terrible sequence.

Taking tons of time to clean up the floor. Crowd is out for blood right now.

Wall gets fouled. It was a late call but the correct one. Ref almost didn't make it but he doesn't want a riot on his hands. Crowd is fully in the house. We will need them.

Nick Winbush is the devil. He cannot stop hitting threes. Crowd is still in it but after a Bledsoe turnover Miami has a chance to go up 8.

Cousins back in. They just need stops. They can do them. PRETTY MOVE BY COUSINS after an
offensive board and crowd ins going insane.

Still down 4 w/ 12 to go. Crowd is willing them to win but they can't stop making mistakes. Dodson comes back in. This is the time where heroes are made. Down 6 with 12 to go.

B-E-A-UUUU-TIFUL Pass by Cousins to a wide open Patterson for the dunk. When this offense works its a thing of beauty. We just need to take care of the 62% of the time that is isn't working right now. That's just a guess on efficiency and I'm terrible at math so feel free to not pay attention to that at all. (I just reread that sentence. I am discombobulated, we cannot lose this game. Im gonna freak if we do)

Cousins is playing amazing. I take back every bad thing I ever said about him. Big rebounds on both ends. Running the floor and cleaning up shots. (Miller just took a 3 that surprised John Wall) You had to be here to see the confused look on Wall's face as that ball went into the air. I don't think thats how they drew it up. Good thing Demarcus was there for the putback.


Down 2 w/ 10:45. We just need to get over the hump. Double Dribble by the guy that tried to high 5 the cheerleaders at half. Great look from Cousins to Patterson and he is fouled. I am amazingly impressed with Cousins.

Winbush just got the rebound in traffic. He is probably making alot of money tonite with NBA scouts here. Wall at the line with a chance to tie..........annnnnnnnnddd............clanks the first. I hate "the hump" we just can't get over it. We have to get a lead here soon or this is gonna be a depressing night.

On the plus side D has shown up and we are causing lots of turnovers. Thats the first step in beating "the hump" big D.


OK...8:17 left. Down by 2. Miami (OH) Ball. Time to decide if this is gonna be a Gardner Webb, VMI, or just early season gelling and rust that we need to work out. We need this win. I don't wanna have to make excuses after this game. I can't take another bad home loss to a team that doesnt have our talent.


HUUUUUGGGEEEEEE DUNK By Wall to tie it. AND TURNOVER ON THE OTHER SIDE!!!

I am beside myself. I wish I could be happier but this is Miami (OH) not UNC. Anyway. I may be typing in caps lock like Screamin A. Smith if we can pull ahead.

Austin and I are the only guys cheering in press row. The rest of the media is freaked out. Cousins for the lead. YESSSSSS Just channeled my inner Marv Albert. AND BIG 3 BY MILLER. IM LIGHTHEADED. IT SHOULD ALWAYS LOOK LIKE THIS.

Dear goodness they cannot stop hitting 3's. They called a foul on the 3 for Miami (OH) that isnt good.

Still up 1 with 6:40 to go. Cousins misses but gets his on putback. He just wanted a rebound I think.

Miami (OH) unlike UK has no problem getting back over "the hump". They just hit their 403,848,503 three. (thats an estimate). Refs are not calling much. A foul and walk from Miami (OH) that even got other press guys fired up and a little peeved. They may have a pulse.


Getting down to the nitty gritty. Im gonna get a bit in frequent until some breaks. Well a foul on Orton and Miami with a chance to take the lead. I hate this game. I am so upset.

The Miami coach is celebrating like Wade Phillips on the Cowboys. I don't blame him. The Miami 3's are going in like they are all on fire in NBA Jam. It looks like a video game where the computer just decides you aren't gonna win. Like in Madden when you just keep throwing picks and fumbling. No matter what we do they are killing us.

Winbush is the new Robert Vaden. I hate everything that he is right now, but I'll root for him against other people He is playing too well not to respect.

Patterson with 2 freebies to tie it up. I hate refs. I hate them and they way they control games. I just do. I may be biased (I am) but basketball is so much better when they only call obvious stuff on both ends that would give the other team an unfair advantage.

The putback by Patterson has the crowd at their loudest. Refs quickly end that with a random foul call that helps no one.

Cousins just tripped right in front of a ref. He stared at him and ran down the court. I hate that guy. On the other end Cousins gets up runs the floor and gets an AND 1. BOOM HE IS FIRED UP, CROWD IS FIRED UP, IM FIRED UP. I HATE THAT IT IS SO CLOSE.

CAPS LOCK was going to stay on but a timeout. Miami Ball with Cats up 2. 1:15 to go. No more updates till a stoppage or the end. I can't take it. I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack. If I smoked I'd have 4 lit cigs in my mouth right now.

Cats up 2. with the Ball. They have the ball with no shot clock. Great play to get the ball back. Ill have to give it to the refs, they swallowed their whistles, although the way the game was going everybody was sure there was a call so it took about 4 seconds for people to realize it wasn't and move down the court. Glad they showed up.

Cats have to knock down freebies and handle the ball. Miami is putting in their fouling squad. Guys that are just here to foul.

Heres what happened in the last 20 seconds in the game. Wall gets fouled and hits the first misses the 2nd. Miami gets the ball and Kenny Hayes knocks down a really DEEP 3. That was clutch. Cats have 6 seconds on the clock. Wall rolls down the court and knocks down a jumper. He is a cool freakin customer. That lead to high 5's from me and Austin. Also a 5 exchange from the guy beside me. Thats how big it was. This guy has not really moved all game but it woke him up. ball in and Miami (might have been bumped) throws up wild shot and misses.

No time left (I think it was off after time expired.)

Crowd looks more relieved than anything. We are running outta here as fast as possible Got the win though so thats good.