4PM Headlines: Early Season Naismith Watch list and the UK-dUKe Rivalry
By Wayne
Nov 9, 2012; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Willie Cauley-Stein (15) keeps Maryland Terrapins guard Pe
It’s that time again where the Atlanta Tipoff Club has released its early season Top 50 Naismith Award watch list and your Kentucky Wildcats are well represented with three:
Archie Goodwin
Nerlens Noel
Alex Poythress
And on this, the day of reckoning between your Kentucky Wildcats and the Spawns of Satan, Duke Blue Devils, it’s worth noting that Duke has a token player on here as well. Fortunately for Mason Plumlee, Duke Sucks. Check out the full list.
To give you some additional back story into the Kentucky/Duke rivalry, Glenn Logan of ASeaOfBlue.com takes a look into the history of the series. Here are a couple snippets:
"The Kentucky Wildcats and the Duke Blue Devils have played 19 times in history. Kentucky has won 11, and Duke has won 8. But before that incredible game in 1992, there were many other contests between Duke and Kentucky, and a casual Kentucky or Duke fan might not realize that the Blue Devils and Wildcats have made an astonishing amount of history together. Duke was Kentucky’s first opponent in the now-defunct UKIT. The Blue Devils were also with the Wildcats on the cusp of basketball history when the first all-black starting five won their first NCAA tournament over Kentucky in 1966. But we’ll get to that along the way."
"1992 saw the spawning of “Duke Hate,” not just at Kentucky, but in other places. Many factors played into the phenomenon which has now grown beyond it’s genesis and spread broadly throughout college basketball. Duke’s excellence, combined with the combination of the appearance of elitism, casual disrespect for others as embodied in Laettner’s spurning of Aminu Timberlake with his foot, and green-eyed jealousy of Duke’s success would spread from Kentucky to practically everywhere not previously imbued with it."
Of note, please remember to check out our Podcast featuring Andre Riddick of that famed 1992 team and Andy Bagwell, a UNC Grad and author of the book “Duke Sucks” as they both come together on this last point about Duke’s vileness going beyond our beloved Wildcats.
Jan. 4, 2011; New Orleans, LA, USA; ESPN logo prior to the 2011 Sugar Bowl between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Louisiana Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US PRESSWIRE
And as we are in the 24 hours of CBB on ESPN networks, Dana O’neil of ESPN takes a look at impact freshmen in the Champions Classic that begins tonight as Kansas battles Michigan State followed by Kentucky crushing Duke (My unbiased prediction). She pays homage to a rule that I didn’t know existed let alone that was reversed on January 8, 1972. The rule that allowed us to hang Banner #8 and continue our hold as the most DOMINANT Blue Blood.
"We’ve given the most important date in college basketball the Heisman for too long now. It’s time for Jan. 8 to be recognized annually.It was on that date in 1972 that the NCAA decided to reverse its own rule and allow freshmen to participate in college basketball and football, unknowingly leading us to the most controversial player in our game today: the whippersnapper.These pesky college toddlers dominate our conversations, from the moment they sign with their college until the moment — sometimes a mere handful of months later — when they leave for grander endeavors.It is not a topic that is going away anytime soon, not with Kentucky defending its national championship with just one player who actually played in the championship the Wildcats are defending."
Remember to come chat with us during the UK-dUKe game tonight!