Don't expect a Bobby Knight sighting in Rupp tonight as son Pat faces the Kentucky Wildcats
By Paul Jordan
You would think that most parents would rush at an opportunity to see their son coach his first game in hallowed Rupp Arena, right? Not so for the General. According to his son Pat, the head coach of tonight’s opponent Lamar, Bobby Knight will not be in the building. And it appears that Bobby is making it all about him instead of showing up to support his son as 99.9999% of parents would do:
"His father will not attend Lamar’s game at Kentucky Wednesday night, Knight said. “He’s not a big fan of Kentucky,” the younger Knight said. As coach of Indiana, he couldn’t be, his son said.But that’s where father and son part.Pat Knight said he grew up “kind of admiring” Kentucky and other IU villain programs; Purdue, Notre Dame and Louisville. “The programs they ran,” he said. “How good they were.”"
It’s probably the right idea for Papa Knight to stay away from Rupp given his Calipari bashing over the past couple of years and the fact that the Indiana/Kentucky rivalry has heated up again.
Speaking of that Kentucky/Indiana rivalry, it is up for renewal again, as is the UK/UNC contract. Speculation says that Kentucky/Indiana will be renewed, but there is an emphasis to getting away from the Home/away setup and playing the game at neutral locations like Louisville and Indianapolis. It would not be the first time this series has been moved off off the home gyms and it appears likely to happen again.
Tonight is the first of two back to back meetings against Cardinal teams and it would be wise to not overlook Lamar. They actually gave #2 OSU and #4 Louisville problems before fading late and losing by 20 both times. So will Terrence Jones be ready if needed? That is still up in the air. A decision was to be made after last night’s practice if Jones would play, but that may not be known until gametime. Jones has been seen sporting the “gold jersey” in practice, which means no contact, but that is more than likely to be expected. And if Jones plays, the next question is “how much”?
As I mentioned last week, Kentucky’s basketball team posted a 2.70 GPA last semester, which for a team with four freshman, is not bad at all. Trust me, you do not want to see MY freshman GPA. Calipari took the opportunity to take some jabs at the local media in general and the LHL’s Jerry Tipton seemed to take it personally. I’m not really one to pick on Tipton, but this has to be my favorite Calipari press conference moment thus far:
It is of course Louisville week and the Courier Journal has some sort of fan poll where you can vote for your arguments as to what team will win or not win. It’s kind of interesting as the Kentucky arguments seem logical and the Louisville arguments center on the fact that Louisville will win “if the refs don’t cheat”. And once again, this is why Louisville is little brother. Always have your excuses ready before you loses. I thought it was kind of weird. Check it out here.