John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats are poised to hand Banner #9, pitfalls exist and will Mark Stoops be Head Coach #5?
By Wayne
In just a few days, the Mark Stoops era will kick off down in TN against the WKU Hilltoppers. This game has a ton of intrigue after we got popped by them last year and they hire Bobby Petrino whom many UK fans wanted in Lexington. Oh, and did I mention it’s Head Coach Mark Stoops’ first game? Yeah, it’s a big deal. Aaron Smith of CatsIllustrated.com noted something interesting about past failures vs. present success rates: Failure is tough to improve on. Can Stoops be #5?
"After building so much momentum on the recruiting trail, spanning two years of high school classes, Stoops is about to oversee his first on-field product. How closely will it resemble the opening campaigns of previous Kentucky coaches? Since 1946, the 11 UK coaches have averaged just over four wins per year in their first season (combined first-year records: 45-72-3). Four of the 11 coaches — Bryant, Collier, Curci and Mumme — improved the team record in their first year. Can Stoops be the fifth? He hasn’t given a specific target for what Kentucky’s record could be — Las Vegas has them as generally a three- or four-win team — and Stoops has said the “educated fan” should be aware of the current state of the program."
Speaking of this game, 2014 DT Commit from South Warren here in Kentucky, Adrian Middleton, has to walk a pretty fine line leading up and immediately after the game Saturday against Western. You see, his Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator are both Western Kentucky alums. Did I mention Middleton is a Kentucky commit?
"South Warren Coach Mark Nelson and defensive coordinator Brandon Smith are Western Kentucky football alumni who still proudly wave the Hilltoppers’ red towel. Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/08/28/2791935/south-warren-dt-middleton-a-uk.html#storylink=cpy South Warren defensive tackle Adrian Middleton has committed to Kentucky and regularly confirms his allegiance to the Cats by wearing all kinds of Big Blue gear. With WKU and UK set to clash in Nashville on Saturday, has there been any good-natured trash talk between the Spartans coaches and Middleton? “We’ve never brought it up,” said Smith, who has mentored Middleton on and off the field. What if WKU beats the Cats for the second year in a row? “I’ll definitely have a little remark for him,” Smith said with a laugh. If UK tops the Toppers, will Middleton needle the coaches? “He’ll probably feel it out first,” Smith said. “Adrian’s pretty smart. He won’t go jumping right into it.” Middleton is, however, jumping right into proving himself as one of the state’s best players. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior helped South Warren beat Warren East 35-0 last week. The Raiders had minus-22 yards rushing and didn’t complete a pass. “Adrian has upped his game 10 times from last year,” Smith said. “In our scrimmage (two weeks ago) and our first game, he’s been phenomenal. It’s exciting to watch him tap into his potential.”"
"When Middleton was in the middle of the recruiting process earlier this year, Smith assured him he would support his decision. “Adrian knows how I feel about Western, but I told him, so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable for him, that whatever school he went to, I’d make that my favorite school,” Smith said. At least after Saturday’s UK-WKU showdown."