Get them before they’re gone

 

Posted at 7:40 p.m. ET – Eric Lindsey

 

Single game tickets are still available for the UK men’s basketball team’s three remaining home games against Tennessee (Feb. 21), Louisiana State (Feb. 28) and Georgia (March 4).

 

Fans can order tickets by calling the UK Ticket Office (1-800-928-2287), the Rupp Arena Box Office (859-233-3535) or by going to the UKathletics.com or Ticketmaster.com. They can also be purchased at the UK Ticket Office located at the Joe Craft Center in person or over the phone from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

 

2009 Spring Practice schedule

 

Posted at 7:29 p.m. ET – Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

 

I received an e-mail question about spring football practice earlier so I thought I’d provide you all with a rundown of the scheduled practice dates. There will be 14 practices in all with the annual Blue/White Spring game at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, April 25. Practice times have not been set, but here’s is a list of the days below.

 

Wednesday, April 1

Friday, April 3

Saturday, April 4

Monday, April 6

Wednesday, April 8

Friday, April 10

Saturday, April 11

Monday, April 13

Wednesday, April 15

Friday, April 17

Saturday, April 18

Monday, April 20

Wednesday, April 22

Friday, April 24

Saturday, April 25 – Blue/While Game at Commonwealth Stadium

 

The UK baseball team held its 2009 Media Day on Wednesday to talk about the upcoming season. To kick off the season, we'll be running some features and previews leading up to the season opener on Feb. 20, including some position previews and live chats with some of the players next week.

Wildcats lose home run power, not offensive prowess

Posted at 3:58 p.m. ET - Eric Lindsey

The porch in right field at Cliff Hagan Stadium is still going to be tempting. When the wind is blowing out, the wall in right standing just 310 feet away could still be an ally for the UK baseball team in 2009.

"I'm a huge fan of the three-run home run," UK Coach Gary Henderson said.

But as Henderson admitted during UK's Media Day on Wednesday, home runs might not be the only offensive production the Wildcats will lean on this year.

Offensive sluggers Collin Cowgill and Sawyer Carroll, who combined for 38 of the Wildcats' 83 home runs last year, are gone as well as a good chunk of the UK's 510 runs, 152 doubles and 461 RBI, all school records last year.

"We lost about 75 percent of our home runs and a lot of our production," Henderson said. "The program is going to have some power in it although as you look at the roster it appears we're probably going to be much more inclined to hit home runs a year from now than we are this season."

To be exact, UK lost 61 of its 83 home runs from last year to either the MLB or graduation. Junior catcher Marcus Nidiffer and sophomore shortstop Chris Wade return as the leading home run hitters after each slugged five round-trippers last season, and only five returners belted three or more last year.

Without the power UK had last season, the Wildcats might have to institute more of what people like to call "small ball." Instead of knocking pitches out of the park, UK will likely have to rely on getting runners on and moving them over. That means stealing more bases, using the hit-and-run, bunting, squeeze plays, etc.

"You have to conform to your personnel," Henderson said. "There is no question that we're going to have to rely on something more than hitting one and half home runs a game. That of course won't work with this group. That's not to say that we can't hit home runs ... but we will have to approach it a little differently, there is no question."

And that's not necessarily a bad thing. As the old saying goes, "ladies love the long ball," but the long ball doesn't mean wins.

UK has had a ton of success over the last three seasons belting home runs out of Cliff Hagan Stadium, but advancing in the postseason is often determined by a team's ability to win close games. That comes down to pitching and playing small ball.

"One day we might win on a squeeze bunt, the next day we might win on a walk-off home run," junior center fielder Keenan Wiley said. "I think the beauty of this year is we're not going have to rely so much on the home run. I think we'll be able to manufacture more runs and we're going to be able to win the games with home runs, hit-and-run, squeeze bunts, just whatever we have to do to win games."

Wiley, along with Wade and senior infielder Chris McClendon, will be one of the guys UK will have to count on for more than just power. They're speedy, multiple-tool players who can generate runs in multiple ways, including home runs.

"It's going to be beautiful this year because we're going to win games in a lot of different ways," Wiley said. "We're going to have a lot of opportunities to win games this year and we're going to win them in different ways."

UK isn't abandoning its power. After all, it was a big part of the most successful three-year run in the program's history. Henderson has brought in a lot of pop with his heralded recruiting class along with a hitting coach in Brian Green who wants to add balance to the power.

"If you look at the home run numbers, the batting average numbers, the high percentage of walks that this program has done - those are key components to having a great offense," Green said upon his arrival at UK. "What I hope to do as a guy coming from the West Coast is to add a little more balance and pressure."

Green, Henderson and the rest of the Wildcats aren't trying to change the UK offense; only add to it. The personnel losses will likely affect the total power numbers, but that doesn't mean production.

And who knows, with a wall only 310 feet away in right field, maybe UK can combine the long ball with small ball.

"When you use that right side, you never know who can hit 10 home runs," Wiley said.

Patterson update

Posted at 1:22 p.m. ET - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Nothing all that new to report from earlier other than Patrick Patterson will not undergo anymore tests after spraining his right ankle during Tuesday night's UK-Florida game. Patterson's X-rays following the game were negative.

Patterson is listed as day-to-day.

 

UK recruit an All-American

 

Posted at 10:53 a.m. ET - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

 

If you believe the guys over at Full Court Press, the UK women's basketball team has help on the way next year.

 

Full Court's National Director of Scouting Kenny Kallina teamed up with Full Court Preps and put together who they think will be this year's All-American teams. If they get it right, UK recruit Adia Mathias could be playing in this year's McDonald's All-American game.

 

FCP tabbed Mathias as one of their 24 high school All-Americans this season. Mathias, a 5-foot-9 guard, plays at Iroquois High School down the road in Louisville, Ky. She will join Matthew Mitchell's squad next season.

 

Check out the full All-American list here.

 

The current Wildcats will return to action Thursday night against one of the best team's in the nation. UK will travel to Auburn, Ala., to take on No. 4/5 Auburn at 7 p.m.

 

UK-Florida post-game thoughts and notes

 

Posted at 3:20 a.m. ET - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

 

I realize I said there would be no post-game thoughts until the morning, but technically it is the morning at this point and since I can't sleep (the batteries are still running after that rush of adrenaline at the end of the game), here are some final thoughts and notes.

 

First of all, sophomore Patrick Patterson's X-rays following the game came back negative. He has a sprained right ankle and is listed as day-to-day. Patterson left the game at about the nine-minute mark when he came down on a player's foot. He did not return.

 

On to the game itself.

 

Make what you will of Jodie Meeks' game-winning shot - I think junior Kevin Galloway was the difference in the game.

 

Sure, the headlines on Wednesday will talk about Meeks' final shot, as they should (heck, my recap talks about it for the first half of the story), but the Wildcats don't win on Tuesday night without Galloway.

 

"As good as all those other guys did, Galloway was the major difference in the game," UK Coach Billy Gillispie said.

 

He really was. Take out the last three minutes and Meeks actually had a rough shooting night. Then when you consider Patterson missed the last nine minutes, UK turned it over 19 times and Nick Calathes scored a career-high 33 points, the Wildcats needed some other spark to win the game.

 

They got that extra lift in Galloway. Six points, eight rebounds and nine assists - all career highs - only tell half the story. Galloway was the key behind UK's 13-4 run in the second half and its 7-0 run in the first half.

 

He was aggressive to the basket, pushed the Wildcats in transition and dished out some amazing passes. Oh, and let's not forget that nasty one-hand slam midway through the second half of play.

 

"The whole deal changed when Galloway came in," Gillispie said. "I've never been a part of a game where one guy did it by the nature that he did it. I've had guys come in and really score in the paint, really make shots, really change the game defensively ... but just to force the action like he did, I haven't been a part of that."

 

Galloway hadn't done anything like that all year either. Even when he wasn't playing much earlier in the year, Gillispie said he never hung his head. He kept working, practicing hard and took advantage of the opportunity once he got it.

 

"At the start of the season I was a little frustrated, but the Tennessee game I found a little rhythm, found a little comfort zone," Galloway said. "Ever since then, the coaches have been encouraging me to stay aggressive. When I stay aggressive, I'm good."

Again, Meeks' shot was amazing. The guy is the definition of clutch, and it's scary to imagine where UK would be without him, but Galloway deserves a bulk of the credit.

 

The guys on ESPN afterward even said he did his best Lebron James impersonation. On a night where James scored 47 points, maybe they're stretching it just a little bit, but he did enough to earn this blogger's praise - whatever that really means.

 

And most importantly, before I call it a night, I wanted to point out that yes, UK is once again tied for first in the Southeastern Conference East Division. After all the panic of a three-game losing streak, UK is still firmly in the hunt for another SEC title, and the Wildcats might have saved their season in the process, according to ESPN's Pat Forde (great read by the way, especially considering he did it after a 9 p.m. game).

 

When you get a chance, check out the actual game story here.

 

And I wouldn't be fair if I didn't at least mention Florida's Calathes. The guy is the real deal. I was flat out impressed with him tonight, even if he did miss those final free throws.

 

 

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