Entries from September 2011 ↓

“Wildcat” Wally Clark, an annual fixture at or near the front of the line for tickets to Big Blue Madness, will not be part of Kentucky’s celebration of basketball this year.
Clark is preparing an October move to Arizona to be with family. So for a second straight year, he will not be part of Madness.
“It’s something that bothers me a lot,” he said on Tuesday.
Illness caused him to miss last year’s Madness.

UK announced today that camping out for Big Blue Madness tickets will begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The tickets will be distributed beginning at 7 a.m. Saturday.
No alcohol nor tobacco products are permitted.

The University of Kentucky will be part of a nationwide football tribute to Ronald Reagan, a spokesman with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation said Tuesday.
A coin with Reagan’s head will be used for the pre-game coin flip at UK’s game against Florida, said Robert Bauer, the head of external affairs for the Reagan Foundation. UK confirmed its participation.
Nearly 5,000 teams will participate in the tribute, which Bauer said organized to recognize the 100th anniversary of Reagan’s birth.

UK Coach Joker Phillips said fan criticism of his coaching is fair even though he’s only been the head coach for one season and three games.
It’s fair because our “microwave society” demands instant gratification, he said;.
Phillips said he does not read emails, although he conceded that he hears about negative reaction.
Phillips also said it’s important he not react to the criticism. In that, he’s following the example of his UK predecessor, Rich Brooks, he said.

UK just announced a 12:21 p.m. kickoff for the Cats’ game at LSU.

No other conferences have contacted Kentucky about changing allegiances, Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart said.
Other conferences know UK is a charter member of the SEC, thus would have no interest in changing leagues, Barnhart said.

Offensive linemen might be among the most imposing of football players.
But that doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings.
UK Coach Joker Phillips acknowledged that he and the coaches must walk a fine line in handling the much-scrutinized offensive line. The coaches must demand better play while not beating down what might be a beleaguered unit.
“It is a sensitive deal,” Phillips said, “because they were expected to the leaders of the football team. It’s a sensitive subject.”

When asked about team confidence in the wake of rushing for only 35 yards against Louisville, Coach Joker Phillips defended the system and the UK players.
“We’ve been in this system a long time,” he said. “It’s not broke. We’ve had a lot of success in this system.”
As for the players, many thrust in prominent roles for the first time, Phillips said, “We feel the personnel is just as good as some of the teams we’ve had here. We’ve got to get them to play better as coaches.”
That prompted a reporter to ask if Phillips wanted fans and media to blame him and his staff for the loss to Louisville and the sputtering offense so far this season.
“It’s a combination,” he said. “We haven’t done a good job preparing the team. When we had opportunities to make plays, (the plays were not always made). We have to do a better job all around, as coaches and players.”

As his players gathered for meetings Sunday after a deflating loss to Louisville, Kentucky Coach Joker Phillips saw young men looking for guidance and, perhaps, reassurance.
“You could tell everybody was down, guys were looking for answers,” Phillips said on a teleconference Sunday afternoon. “We as coaches have got to give it to them.”
Seemingly echoing his coach at UK, Jerry Claiborne, Phillips called for a re-emphasis of football fundamentals.
“Our guys are tackling well, defensively,” he said before adding, “I don’t think we’re blocking very well on offense. A lot of it has to do with technique. We’ll have to go back to fundamentals and have a little bit more individual (sessions).”
Phillips also suggested a “scale back” of what Kentucky has been trying to do.
“We’re having a lot of missed assignments,” he said. “Either you’re doing too much or not doing a good job teaching.”
UK might shed some plays that have not been executed well, and rely more on plays that have reaped success, he said.
Noting how well UK moved the ball in the fourth quarter against Louisville, Phillips said the Cats might speed up the offensive tempo. “Get to the line and go,” he said.

UK Coach Joker Phillips reiterated a point Wednesday that he made at Monday’s news conference: Quarterback Morgan Newton needs to make plays with his legs.
“Morgan Newton is a threat when he pulls that down down,” Phillips said. “He needs to use that threat.”
Noting a forced throw against Western Kentucky that led to an interception, Phillips said that when receivers are covered, “It’s time to go. He needs to pull it down and make a play for us. Rather than try to stick it in to a place where the guy has fallen down, and you get an interception.”