by Kevin Faris
1. UK’s 77-58 win over Tennessee means that Coach Billy Gillispie is the right man for the job. At least until Wednesday when they travel to Columbia, SC to play USC. The call in shows and message boards were pretty tame after the game, with most of the focus going toward how overrated UT and Bruce Pearl are. The jury is still out on Billy G., but he is now 3-1 against Pearl/UT with the one loss being a 3 point road loss without Patrick Patterson.
2. Speaking of Pearl, although I am not a fan, his success at UT has been an upgrade for them. It has taken until his fourth year before going 0-2 against UK. I am not sure where that stands compared to other coaches, but considering where UK is in the SEC landscape and where UT has traditionally been, it should be noted.
3. Darius Miller and Scotty Hopson competed in high school for State Titles and Mr. Basketball. Miller won both, but Hopson was ranked much higher by the recruiting networks. Miller committed to UK, Hopson to Mississippi State and then UT. Interviews by Hopson imply that while Tubby Smith recruited him very hard, Billy G. was not as interested. The scuttlebutt was that although Hopson was ranked higher, he did not always played hard and may have an attitude problem. At this point, I believe UK has the better player. Miller and Hopson both had good scoring games on Saturday, but Miller complemented his 17 points with 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. Hopson complemented his 14 points with 0 assists, 0 rebounds, and 0 blocked shots. I hope Miller continues his pattern of not just out playing Hopson when they go head to head, but more importantly, helping his team win.
