April 30th: On this date...

... in 1989, your University of Kentucky Wildcats were in the middle of a coaching search and rumors were spreading like wild fire (through telegraph/horse & buggy) that P.J. Carlesimo was going to be the next coach of your Kentucky Wildcats. Though UK denied it, many believed the job was Carlesimo's to take, fresh off a championship game appearance with Seton Hall. Carlesimo spent April 26th meeting with University President David Roselle and Athletic Director C.M. Newton. Reports had Carlesimo being offered $600,000/year, triple his Seton Hall salary. Who knows how this would have changed the history of UK basketball, but it certainly would have been a letdown, looking back on everything. These rumor mongers from 1989 have since produced offspring that blog about Billy Donovan being the next UK coach, Coach Cal making it rain, and John Wall trying to choose what he's gonna eat for breakfast.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 29th: On this date...

... in 1998, your University of Kentucky Wildcat fans snatched up 75,000 Maker's Mark cigars commemorating the recent NCAA title, once again proving that UK fans will purchase absolutely anything in association with their team. The birth of 22 t-shirt "companies" this past basketball season if further proof. The cigars were made through the Spalding Group and were sold through Maker's Mark for the Cats 7th National Championship. Maker's Mark would ultimately give $54,000 of the profits to the Tubby Smith Foundation, a place kids could go dismantle and build computers among other things. On the other hand, rabid fans would dismantle bottles of Maker's Mark, then litter Tubby's lawn with For Sale signs. Priorities people. Jeff Sheppard was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring a total of 43 points Final Four weekend for the Comeback Cats.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

If You Don't Cry, You're Not Human

April 28th: On this date...

... in 1964, your former University of Kentucky great Frank Ramsey helped lead the Boston Celtics to their sixth straight NBA Championship and Ramsey's seventh overall. One of the leaders of this Celtics era, Ramsey finished with 18 points in the 106-99 win over the San Francisco Warriors. The first title of this run was in 1957 against Cliff Hagan and the St. Louis Hawks. In the Boston area, Ramsey was known as "Sixth Man", and this was before these words were ever invented. He retired after the 1964 Championship and was later inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. The last time this man had to buy a beer in New England was 1958, possibly the most impressive part.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 27th: On this date...

... in 1993, your University of Kentucky Wildcat assistant coach Billy Donovan told Marion County's own Anthony Epps that UK was "not ready to commit" to him for the 1994 season. The Cats had focused most of their efforts on Charles O'Bannon, who later committed to UCLA. Epps, eventually received a scholarship offer, ended up being the starting point guard for the most dominant team in my lifetime, the '96 Cats. Epps followed up the '96 campaign by leading his final team to the NCAA title game in 1997. On rosters full of Parade and McDonald's All-Americans, Anthony Epps was arguably the most vital part of these Championship teams. John Wall and his Freak Show talent are nice, but solid game managers like Anthony Epps and Wayne Turner were the last point guards to lead us to a Final Four/Championship. Of course, now that we're getting elite level point guards to come to Lexington, we can use this game manager for spot duty.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 26th: On this date...

... in 1996, your University of Kentucky Wildcat center and Junior Varsity superstar Nazr Mohammed was the victim of a burglary at Wildcat Lodge. The freshman was robbed of his championship ring by three teens. These teens were later arrested, after a young boy on a school bus saw the attempted sale of said ring. The police recovered the ring, which had "1996 NCAA Champions" and "Nazr Mohammed" engraved on it. To this day, whenever Nazr is walking down the street in Lexington opposite 13-year olds, he instinctively crosses to the other side of the street, to avoid confrontation.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 25th: On this date...

... in 2005, your University of Kentucky Wildcat legend Mr. Wildcat, Bill Keightley, was honored at the CATSPY's, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to the University and its basketball program. He was a staple of Big Blue Nation for over 45 years, and was the ultimate fan and genuine person in the most public of spotlights. The man witnessed over 1,100 UK wins and was on board for three National Championship runs. Mr. Bill wore one championship ring on each hand and kept one in his pocket. Legendary broadcaster Cawood Ledford and Keightley remain the only non-player/non-coach in Kentucky history to have a jersey retired in their honor.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 24th: On this date...

... in 1986, your University of Kentucky Wildcat friends, former players, and UK officials gave a retirement send-off to Joe B. Hall after 13 seasons as the UK head coach. Joe B. compiled a record of 297-100 while manning the sidelines for the Wildcats. Add to that 3 Final Fours and the 1978 National Championship and you have yourself one heckuva coaching career. Hall also played on the 1947-48 Kentucky National Championship team coached coached by Adolph Rupp. Known as one of nation's top recruiters, Joe B. landed the names Dan Issel, Jim Andrews, and Tom Payne (Kentucky's first black player) in Wildcat blue. He currently has a radio show with former UofL coach Denny Crum, its called the "Joe B. & Denny Show". Hall is listed first because Kentucky is better than Louisville.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 23rd: On this date...

... in 2007, your University of Kentucky Wildcat alumnus Chuck Hayes scored a career high 12 points and helped the Houston Rockets win 98-90 over Utah in the playoffs. Chuck started tons of games for the Rockets in 2007, averaging 27 minutes a game. In the 2005 NBA Draft, every team passed on Hayes, but Houston gave him chance and he made the most of it, playing 40 games during his rookie season. The team has picked up his option every year since and Chuck is again on the playoff roster in 2009. Chuck is the poster boy for what a great work ethic can do for you. He has started at center nearly every game since Yao Ming got hurt as the Rockets' starting center.....a 6'5" (maybe) starting center.........in the NBA! Unbelievable. Whatever happens in the video below can be blamed on the rabid UK fan base.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 22nd: On this date...

... in 1995, your University of Kentucky head basketball coach Rick Pitino decided his team had too many good players. And instead of telling some of them to hit the road or sit the bench and get no experience, he created a Junior Varsity team. Hopefully, this will give the youngsters of today an idea of how freakish we were with bench talent. Pitino thought this would give the young guys on the bench valuable playing experience, it would also keep their attention. Nazr Mohammed was easily the player that benefited the most from this idea. It was such a great idea, it lasted only one year. Although it wasn't around long, the three straight Final Four's, along with two National titles are a direct result of this futuristic thinking. If nothing else, it helped make Nazr a bunch of money and kept him from transferring.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

OK, according to the crew over at KSR, both John Wall (Thursday at 10:00 am) and Patrick Patterson (Friday at 2:30 pm)are set to announce their future plans regarding playing basketball. Wall faces the question of do I want to be the #1 pick in the NBA in 2010, 2011, or even 2012 for that matter. Let's be honest, if Wall returnes, UK is preseason #1 and front-runner for the 2011 National Championship. Patterson faces a little harder question. Although he has already graduated, if he returns he could polish his overall game a little bit more, and probably improve his draft status for 2011. He also could more than likely dethrone Dan Issel as the all-time leading scorer at the University of Kentucky. Therefore, the announcements to finish out this week will be highly anticipated, but I am pretty sure we all know what the ultimate outcomes are going to be for both players.

All of this leads me to my question for you guys. If news leaked out that either John Wall or Patrick Patterson was going to return to UK for ONE MORE YEAR ONLY, who would you want that to be, Wall or Patterson?

April 21st: On this date...

... in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats were represented well in round one of the NBA Playoffs as Boston Celtic/former Kentucky point guard Rajon "Johnny" Rondo threw a triple-double at Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. There was no answer for Rondo the entire game as he continually made the freakish Rose look like the rookie he was. The final stat line for the Louisville-native was 19 points - 12 rebounds (7 offensive) - 16 assists - 5 steals. The Celtics went on to win the game, 118-115, to tie the series at one game a piece. This series would ultimately down as the best in the playoffs, and probably a top ten playoff series ever. Rondo and the Celtics advanced, as Johnny nearly averaged a triple-double for the entire series.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 20th: On this date...

... in 1995, your University of Kentucky received letters of intent from Wayne Turner, Ron Mercer, and Nazr Mohammed. Yowza. Take a look at those names and how much they meant to the 1990s run of complete dominance. These three players were key cogs in one of the most historical runs in program history, even college basketball history for that matter. Ron Mercer chose the Cats over the Vols, deciding to play with elite players as opposed to having to wear the color orange. Mercer had arguably the best start to a UK career in my lifetime BWC (Before Wall Cousins). Wayne Turner, a McDonald's All-American from Boston, ended up playing more games than any other player in NCAA history at the time of his graduation. Nazr Mohammed, mostly known for his dominant performances on the JV team, developed into a pro prospect and was named 1998 All-SEC. Big day in UK recruiting lore.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 19th: On this date...

Quit staring at that!

... in 1968, University of Kentucky alumnus, actress, angel, poster hottie, and superfan Ashley Judd was born. From her pictures on the InterWebs, I will say I'm in the boat that says she has aged really well. Don't go telling too many people today is her birthday, as her Hollywood actress birthday is July 23, 1974. Ashley is most famous for her movies with Morgan Freeman and being the damsel in distress. She is also an AIDS activist, sister/daughter of The Judds, and looks very good in blue. AJ attended UK in the late 80's and early 90's, during the "Pitino's Bombinos" era. Judd is currently attending Harvard University getting a Mid-Career Master in Public Administration. It was great to see Ashley around the program again this season and we hope to see her again this upcoming season, as she makes Big Blue Nation cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 18th: On this date...

...in 2009, your former University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball head coach and current Louisville ring leader Richard Pitino told the Federal Bureau of Investigation of an elaborate plan to extort him. The elaborate plan apparently involved Pitino himself having sexual intercourse at a restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky. What's that? Oh, he did that on his own? Now that's just gross. Anyway, a crazy lady with some crazy eyes decided she didn't like it when the married Pitino didn't want to have anything to do with her afterwards. What's the lesson here? You've got to learn to keep the crazy in your pants and off the dinner table.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 17th: On this date...

... in 1996, the two senators from Kentucky got it right. Mitch McConnell and Wendell Ford sponsored a motion, following our sixth National Championship, declaring Kentucky to be "rightly known as the basketball capital of the world." Ford's speech went a lil' something like this:

"They rib us for taking our basketball too seriously in Kentucky. And apocryphal stories, about fans being buried in their Wildcat sweatsuits or calling on Coach Pitino to help settle their marital spats, sometimes make it seem so."

There were no objections to the resolution and there weren't even objections from the senators of North Carolina, Kansas, Indiana, and California.

In conclusion, we are not only the "Horse Capital of the World", but also the "Basketball Capital of the World", putting us one step closer to world domination. At least the senators of the great Commonwealth got their priorities straight on this day.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 16th: On this date...

.... in 2008, your University of Kentucky Wildcats were in the news yet again, but this time it was indirectly. T. Boone Pickens and Oklahoma State did its best Kentucky impersonation by booting Sean Sutton as their head coach and replacing him with Travis Ford. Ford started coaching at Campbellsville, moved up to Eastern Kentucky, then bolted to Massachusetts. An interesting tidbit: the prospect of playing behind Sean Sutton at Kentucky was the reason Ford started his college career at Missouri. After the scandal of the late 80's, the Sutton's left town, opening the point guard spot for Ford, who led UK to a Final Four appearance in 1993. Apparently it was an upgrade.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

April 15th: On this date...

....in 2009, your University of Kentucky Wildcats had a very public and busy day under new head coach John Calipari. The newly anointed one made the rounds on ESPN, ending with "Five Good Minutes" on PTI with Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. The Wildcat faithful were amazed to have a coach want to be in the public, giving them signs of the 1990s brand of basketball. Calipari also held practice for the first time with his new team to get a feel on who would be a good fit and who would not. All in all, the team would totally be made over. One of the first things that happened after the practice was Coach Cal handed out the shirts Nike had made for Jodie Meeks' historic game vs. Tennessee. The previous coach had not given them to the team due to..........well, nobody knows for certain. Maybe because he's a golfer. This day in 2009 is also significant because DeMarcus "Boogie", "Big Cuz", "Carl" Cousins officially committed to play basketball in Lexington. He immediately became a fan favorite because everyone was scared to death of him. But at least he was on our side.

Big Blue Booyah on Tom Leach

Future of Kentucky Basketball in Hands of Person Born in 1993

Moments ago, Michael Gilchrist, the #1 rated player in the class of 2011 (according to everyone under the sun) committed to your University of Kentucky Wildcats. The 6'6" small forward is widely considered the best amateur basketball player in the United States, if not the galaxy. Gilchrist made it known early on (8th grade) he wanted to play for Coach Cal, wherever he may be.

This is the piece of the puzzle Calipari wanted for his Class of 2011, which is expected to be a monster class, possibly rivaling the one we just witnessed. All in all, a great day to be a card carrying member of Big Blue Nation. It helps after falling short of the long awaited Final Four.

Go Cats.

Future of Kentucky Basketball in Hands of Person Born in 1992

Moments ago, Brandon Knight, the #1 player in the Class of 2010 (according to Rivals) committed to play basketball for your University of Kentucky Wildcats. He will replace Freak Show as the point guard in charge of getting us to the Final Four in 2011. Knight mentioned during his press conference he would be in the ears of anyone who will listen to come join him in Lexington.

The basketball team as a ton of open spots on the roster, so there will be more to come in the next few days. If you know of any superstars looking for a place to play this fall, please forward them this link.

Go Cats.