Billy Gillispie has been given a stacked deck to work with in his first year in the bluegrass and the deck, unfortunately, is stacked against him. There were bright spots, sure: the play of freshman Patrick Patterson, the energy and hustle of walk-ons and bit scholarship players, and some talent — misguided though it may be at the time — in the form of seniors Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley. And sophomores Jodie Meeks and Derrick Jasper had shown lots of potential as freshmen.
But it took a while for his team to really begin believing in their coach’s new system. There was resistance. Gillispie went through nearly a dozen starting lineups, playing the guys he thought bought in the most and worked the hardest in practice. Unfortunately, those weren’t always his most talented players.
And then there came the injuries. A seemingly endless parade of them: Derrick Jasper had microsurgery on his knee in the offseason and was slow to recover. Jodie Meeks fractured his groin, then followed that up with a hip flexor. Joe Crawford developed plantar fascitis, a painful foot condition which won’t heal fully until he can stay rest and rehab.
Finally, against Georgia, Ramel Bradley went down in spectacular and horrifying fashion. Fouled hard from behind by David Bliss on a runout, the point guard’s body became airborne and tracked a parabolic arc back down to the hardwood. Bradley landed hard on his chest and bounced his head off the court, cutting his chin badly enough that he needed stitches on the bench. Afterward it was determined that he had sustained a Grade 2 concussion. He was wobbly and in a fog after getting up.
He was also playing sick. Bradley had been vomiting throughout the morning and had been unable to keep food down. He left the game and wouldn’t return, although that was his coach’s decision, not his. Bradley tried to join the lay-up line as the team warmed up in preparation for the second half, but Gillispie mandated that he return to the locker room and rest.
That left a depleted roster bereft of their senior leader, plus Joe Crawford gimping around on a bad foot and cramping up thanks to being unable to practice at full speed for fear of aggravating the injury. But with Bradley on the bench, he gutted it out and contributed 26 points on one leg. Patrick Patterson has been averaging 39 minutes per game in SEC play; he logged 40 in Athens.
If you don’t see a team giving absolutely everything it’s got to tough out a win, you’re missing it.
Kentucky may not be a “good” team in the classical sense this year. At 10-9 overall, making the NCAA tournament is an extreme long shot. And they just as easily could have lost in their four conference wins; Kentucky has to give immeasurable effort to beat middling SEC teams. But as forgettable as the start to their season may have been, these players are forming a foundation from which Kentucky basketball can rebound and grow into an eventual contender.
Kentucky will face Auburn, Wednesday, 8 PM, on Raycom Sports.
