Yes, those are ballroom chairs masquerading as a team bench. (Kentucky Sports Radio photo)
This is a new one. That braw-looking ballroom in the photo above is actually the arena of a preseason tournament. Sometimes, when friends are mocking me about the college game, I can defend it pretty well. If they find out about this, I’m going to have to sit back and take it.
The Cancun Classic kicks off tomorrow. The field is less than stellar, but Kentucky will be there. Thank god they are, otherwise the report from Kentucky Sports Radio may have never surfaced.
Surface. Yeah, that’s another thing altogether. It’s going to be an abject disaster. The ball may not bounce right and all ankles will be put on notice.
The gym, which seats about 1,200, has chandeliers. Counter-balancing that touch of class is an imported floor that the players noticed had cracks and bends.
Patrick Patterson’s words: “It’s a floor, at least.”
At least it’s a freaking floor! Yes, Patrick, thank god you weren’t subjected to playing on carpet. The locker rooms are, what else, an adjacent ballroom with … chairs. I don’t even want to know how score is going to be kept.
Please, stare long and hard at the photos. There will be no chance for 50-foot buzzer beaters; the players will have to crank back and fire the balls at the hoop as if they were playing dodgeball with the rim.
Patterson added that basketballs were careening in all directions when the team was practicing on the plywood yesterday. But for those of you ready to mock Calipari for this, pump those breaks.
Guess who actually booked this game….oh yes, the legend of Billy Clyde lives on.
If there was one last legacy to leave, one final mark to etch into your affiliation with the Kentucky program, Gillispie picked an impeccable way to do it. This is the greatest practical joke of all the preseason tournaments.
Cats playing in some strange circumstances tomorrow {Kentucky Sports Radio}
