November 29th, 2008: Kentucky at LIU (Turkey Classic at LIU)

Kentucky Wildcats 46, Long Island Blackbirds 43

Kentucky does not impress and Ashley Palmer kicks ass in the best and most exciting 46-43 game you'll ever see.


Wow. Just. Wow. If that last three had gone down, I'm pretty sure every dead Beatle would be spinning in his grave as I belted out "You were only waiting for this moment to arise". We were supposed to leave this game early, but how do you leave a tie game- or one where the underdog home team is leading the big bad SEC team?

I couldn't help but wonder, as the Kentucky coaching staff took the floor,, just how often that building had ever had an actual WNBA player in it- yes, Wendy Palmer's retired, but she's a former WNBA All-Star. Is Matt Insell any relation to the coach at Middle Tennessee? Just curious.

I'm not sure if I know what Mitchell's doing with this roster. I'm really not sure if split-shifting Bett and Sanders as posts of the bench is the right idea. I do understand why Bett's not starting, though- she's one of the most passive 6'5" players I've ever seen, and she'll be eaten alive in the SEC. Sanders at least had some aggressiveness, and more range- she stepped out and canned a three. Amber Smith struck me as a very savvy guard- she made a couple of smart plays, including one near the end, when she was able to call a timeout to retain possession. But they didn't lose much with Amani Franklin, either. Brittany Edelen was a non-factor, as far as I recall. Eleia Roddy was clutch for them. She's got some nice moves in the paint. Morrow's an absolutely frightening ball hawk. I know I'd be nervous if I had the ball and she was in my face, waving those hands and yelling at the top of her lungs. Ormerod shot like a shooter, but didn't hit like a shooter. I'd have to look at a box score and her career numbers, but I'd guess that this was an exceptionally bad game for her. I'd also need a box score to know what I liked about Lydia Watkins and Victoria Dunlap (well, other than a wicked block by Dunlap) (okay, now that I have a box score, it might have been the seven boards by Watkins and the five steals by Dunlap).

Ashley Palmer. Good Lord, Ashley Palmer. If the last three, which went every which way but down, had gone in, I'd have asked her to hitch a ride with me to Connecticut and marry me right then and there. I like her. I like her a lot. She's got a nose for the ball, the common sense to not try and force a shot up through a triple-team, nice range, and a pretty shot- high-arcing, starts behind her head, reminds me a little of Kristin Moore at St. John's. And did I mention she's only a (redshirt) freshman? Chelsi Johnson looks a little like Barbara Farris, in terms of appearance- she had a nice layup off an amazing pass from Jade Brown, but she and Connie James both had trouble finishing. I like their instincts, but you've gotta finish those shots. If they'd done that, it'd have been a runaway for the Blackbirds. Li'Esha Garcia started for LIU, but I got the sense that it was only because she was a senior. Jade Brown is a hell of a rebounder for 5'7"- now, if she could only hit those threes she kept taking. They played a really short rotation- seven players, and Justine Stevenson's foul trouble kept her to seven minutes. No one went the full 40, but the four key starters went 38, 37, 37, and 36 minutes.

Again with the deep questioning of the officiating, because there were a couple of dicey calls against LIU- yes, there were a couple that had the Wildcats up in arms, but I think the ones against LIU and the ones that weren't called against Kentucky (Jade Brown took hits on three different possessions before the foul was finally called) affected the flow of the game more.

I don't want to take too much away from Kentucky, because they did step up in that last minute and get the steals to take the game. But even the worst team in the SEC shouldn't allow even the best team in the NEC to be that close that late in the game, and I doubt that either Kentucky is the worst team in the SEC or that LIU is the best team in the NEC. And LIU had more than their share of chances to take that game away. If they learn to capitalize, they could be very, very dangerous.

Of course, it'd be nice if their crowd had reacted as such. I've never been in such a dead crowd without there being some other excuse (like the Army-St. John's game). When the random strangers are more vocally involved in the game than the fans are, you might have a problem. That arena, and that team, deserved better.