Kentucky Wildcats Daily Farmer's Almanac for Saturday (1/22/11)

Well we are all so glad that Richie could take a break from his busy campaign schedule to make it here on time for the Farmer’s Almanac so lets not keep him long and get to the news.

We are about two hours away from what could be the make or break game of the season as we take on South Carolina on the road. We all know of the “Sandstorm” that comes with playing in Columbia, our beloved Cats are prepared or at least we hope so. According to the bookies the Cats are favored to win the game by 7.5 points but as we know from our road record it could be much closer.

The road environment at South Carolina is different than it is in other places in the SEC it is loud and for some reason they must think they are going hunting with their hideous red cameo, wonder what they are hunting? Coach Cal has them prepare as this week they have pushed working on communication skills on the court so they can be the best team out there.

Another thing they will want to do is keep “Sandstorm” off the loud speakers just according to Jon Hood.

“They only play it when they’re up,” Hood said Friday. “They only play it when they’re coming back. If you stay away from Sandstorm, you’re pretty much playing well.”

“That’s a tough environment to play,” Hood said. “You’ve got to go in, get up early and get out.”

There are three players who Coach Cal says need to step you at the end of games. Can you guess them? If you guess Josh Harrellson, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins you guessed right. He wants his only veterans to play until the final buzzer stops and take some of the pressure off of the young guys.

Cal said this about the upper classmen

“Make plays, make a block, get a ball, grab a rebound, dive on the floor, take a charge. Do something. ‘What are you doing to help us win?’ Or are we sitting there saying, ‘Let’s hope one of these freshmen make a play.’”

Looks like the fans may be screaming the annoying “SHOOOOT” chant a little more often. In an attempt to make the small bench stonger, Cal may bring in Polson a little more often in games to come.

“I think I’m going to try and play Jarrod a little bit,” Cal said. “They played one-on-one a little bit, the guys that aren’t playing, and Jarrod won going away because he played harder. Well, then he should be out there. Why shouldn’t he be playing? Give him a chance. So I may throw him in the game.”

I think as small as our bench is this give the kid a shot, it could be just what we need. But one thing that would help him when he gets in the game is if our fans would shut up and let him play!
Last thing for the news today is an update on former Wildcat Darnell Dodson. According to ESPN he has found a home at Southern Miss. It looks like he has enrolled for the spring and will sit out the spring and fall semesters and be back on the court this time next year. This will be his third school in three years but I wish him the best in his journeys.

Well guys it looks like we have kept Richie long enough for today, so let’s pop our popcorn and put on our lucky gear and prepare for a victory tonight over the cocks.

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