Close games will be the “new normal’ for Kentucky Wildcats basketball

Photo credit: Darren Durham WBN

Most of the BBN has given the hiring of Mark Stoops a solid “A” grade, and the national pundits are not far behind. Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated weighs in on the new coaching hires and gives Kentucky a solid B+:

"Kentucky: Mark Stoops, former Florida State defensive coordinator. It was not realistic to think the SEC’s doormat would land a big name (unless that name was Bobby Petrino). Stoops carries cachet from his time at FSU, where he produced top five defenses the past two years, and at Arizona and Miami before that. He already made one commendable move in hiring Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown to install the Air Raid that Kentucky formerly employed under Hal Mumme. Grade: B+"

I’m not going to troll Mandel for the B+ but it is very interesting that he gave Colorado an A for hiring Mike MacIntyre.  Also, two SEC schools, Arkansas and Auburn both got “A” grades.  On the other hand, the Kentucky hire is ahead of the Tennessee hire of Butch Jones (B) and the Cincinnati hire of Tommy Tubberville (C).

As mentioned by Mandel above, the addition of Neal Brown to the UK staff was a great hire.  While Brown seems to have energized the recruits’ interest in Kentucky, Brown is also very excited about this program and can feel the excitement:

"“I am not surprised by the excitement. I grew up here. I watched when coach (Hal) Mumme came in here with (assistants) Mike Leach and Tony Franklin and Sonny Dykes and Chris Hatcher and those guys. I watched the state become football crazy,” Brown said. “Then the support when (coach Rich) Brooks got it going really strong here was great and the support at the (Music City) bowl game was unbelievable. So I am not surprised at all by the excitement. “This is a state that likes football and supports football at the high school level and always supports UK. Look at the attendance all these years and you can tell that. We need to maintain that excitement and need to maintain it year round. We need to do a good job getting fans involved at the spring game.” Brown isn’t worried about a schedule that will include Sugar Bowl winner Louisville, Western Kentucky and new coach Bobby Petrino, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and other SEC rivals. “All the pressure is internal. We get so focused on the next thing whether it is recruiting, spring practice or something else that you really don’t have time to think about the pressure aspect,” Brown said. “There was some adjustment for me schedule-wise when I went from Troy to the Big 12. There will be some adjustments in other areas here but one thing I will not have to adjust to is that you have to come to play every game. If you do not come to play, you will not only get beat, you will get embarrassed. That aspect from the Big 12 to the SEC will not change. That’s a life I have been living the last few years.”"