As much as I despise to be the bearer of bad news, sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and take the news as it comes to you. With the news of Patrick Patterson being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left ankle and having his season come to an abrupt end, so too does the Kentucky Wildcats' season.
The same season that started off with a crippling defeat to Gardner Webb at home in the second game of the season and made a complete 180 degree turn to beat Vanderbilt and Tennessee, is over. This was a team that was instilled with a blue-collar mentality perhaps stronger than any other I have ever laid eyes upon. This team was a family with a leader in Billy Gillispie that you couldn't ask any more of. But the reality that every fan of the Big Blue Nation must now face is that the season is over.
Still ahead are games AT Tennessee and South Carolina, and a finale against a Florida Gators team that will no doubt be playing with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line. The Cats are 0-1 without Patterson thus far this season, an 82-69 trouncing at the hands of the Houston Cougars. In that game Jodie Meeks was in the lineup, and though he wasn't healthy he still provided a great deal to a then-struggling Kentucky team. The Cats most likely will not have Jodie Meeks either for the remainder of the season. This team has been plagued by more injuries than I have ever seen one team have in a single season. Ramel Bradley has missed time, Joe Crawford has missed time, as has Derrick Jasper, Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson. For those that don't know, those are Kentucky's five best players.
With Patterson gone, Perry Stevenson, Mark Coury, Jared Carter, and dare I say Morakinyo Williams will see more time and have larger roles in the outcome of Kentucky's final three regular season games and their SEC Tournament game. This could prove to be disastrous for the Wildcats in the sense that these games could get ugly. Tennessee is coming off an emotional loss to Vandy and has lost their number one ranking, UK beat them last time, AND first place in the SEC is on the line. Do you think they care that Patrick Patterson won't be playing? South Carolina was a nail biter when the Cats played them at Rupp. It will only be more difficult on the road and without Patterson. Florida, again, will be playing for an NCAA Tournament bid, and will certainly be going all out against Kentucky as they could wrap up yet another season sweep of the Kings of the SEC.
Patterson was the only freshman to be in the top ten of the SEC in both scoring and rebounding and has to be in the top five in total minutes played. Alas, all of that has sailed into the sunset, and sadly, so too has the Kentucky Wildcats basketball season...
X-ray reveals freshman Patterson has stress fracture in ankle (ESPN)
Friday, February 29, 2008
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4 comments:
Williams won't play... but Stewart will see a lot of minutes...
And Tennessee has split its last two, not lost two in a row... It beat Memphis at Memphis before losing at Vanderbilt...
Thanks for looking out anonymous I appreciate it and have fixed the typo that you pointed out.
Stewart will definitely see more minutes with Patterson's absence, Stewart just needs to make sure he stays awake. I do think, sadly, that Williams will see some time. Let's all hope that I'm wrong on that.
Patterson will also have his back looked at by the UK medical staff for a potential stress fracture in that region too. Afterall he has been carrying the UK Basketball team this whole season on his back
does it mean your blog is over too? update
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