Who is to blame for UK’s current misfortunes?  The coaching staff?  The players?  Or did everything just go bad at the wrong time for new Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie?  The last time Kentucky had a losing record heading into conference play was in 1990, Rick Pitino’s first year.  The only difference is that when Billy Gillispie became head coach, UK was not on probation.

Well, first of all, you could blame Tubby Smith, Gillespie’s predecessor. Tubby left Kentucky in a complete mess. Tubby left the program pretty much how it is now, four guards and a center. I'm not saying Tubby isn't a good coach. After all, he did lead them to six sweet sixteen finishes and Four Elite Eight finishes. Tubby also led the Wildcats to five SEC tournament champions and five SEC conference championships. Let us not forget that he gave Kentucky its seventh national title in his first season, 1998.

Tubby was also a great recruiter at Kentucky. He recruited many future NBA starters, such as Tayshaun Prince, Rajon Rondo, Chuck Hayes, Kelenna Azubuike, and Keith Bogans. Many years he recruited All-Americans. Some of these were Gerald Fitch, Erik Daniels, and Joe Crawford. However, in his last two seasons at the University of Kentucky, he went 42-25 with two second round exits in the NCAA tournament, losses in the Quarterfinals and semifinals of the SEC tournament, and on top of that, he had five players either transfer or go pro. As well, out of 35 weeks in his last two seasons, Kentucky was only ranked in twelve of the weeks. That does not live up to Kentucky basketball standard.

Injuries are another key factor for this Kentucky team. Derrick Jasper and Jodie Meeks have missed many games. Jasper missed the first ten, while Jodie Meeks missed seven of the first ten. Patrick Patterson missed the game against Houston, where he could have changed that entire game. Let’s not forget how Alex Legion got out of his letter of intent from Michigan to go to Kentucky before transferring to Illinois just six games into the season.

This team also lacks leadership. Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford are the two “senior leaders”. Yet, they cannot get along with their coach and have shown a bad influence for the younger players by missing team meetings. This team could have had four seniors, had they not had early exits by Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo and Randolph Morris, who is now with the New York Knicks.

I am a firm believer in Billy Gillispie. I believe he will do great things with Kentucky. He just needs time. He is already a proven winner, having the most improved team in two consecutive seasons. Without Gillispie, Acie Law possibly would never have realized his full potential. As soon as Gillispie came in as head coach from UTEP, Acie Law saw his average shoot up by 4.1 points.

Gillispie took Texas A&M to the NCAA tournament in each of the last two seasons. In 2006, his team was a 12 seed that upset the 5th seeded Syracuse. Soon after, they were leading LSU 57-55 with five seconds to play. However, Darrel Mitchell hit a game winning three-pointer with three seconds to play, which gave LSU the win, 58-57. After winning that close game, LSU went on to the final Four before being defeated by UCLA.

In 2007, Gillispie was more successful. Behind Acie Law, Texas A&M went 25-6. In the NCAA tournament, they had no problem through the first two rounds, defeating Pennsylvania and Louisville. In the sweet sixteen however, they were against Memphis and Memphis defeated the Aggies 65-64.

Gillispie has proved he can recruit as well. He recruited one of the most highly talented freshman in the nation, DeAndre Jordan, for Texas A&M. He has already started to work his charm at Kentucky, by recruiting two five star recruits in DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller.

You could also blame Joe Crawford. In a class that included Rudy Gay, Glen Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Jordan Farmar, he was ranked ninth by Rivals 150. He was also Kentucky’s top recruit that year, ranked ahead of Rajon Rondo, Randolph Morris, and Ramel Bradley. He has not lived up to his expectations. In his freshman year, he wanted to leave Kentucky. Yet, he cannot get along with the coaches.

I hate to say it, but I think the Wildcats streak of sixteen consecutive NCAA appearances will indeed end this season.

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