VMI Beats Kentucky

So, yeah, they moved the three-point line back a foot, and now my blog title suggests that I'm writing about high school basketball, or perhaps women's basketball. I know nothing about either, so for now, I'm continuing on with a mis-monikered blog.



A few things are going to have an effect on my posting frequency this year. One, I'm in law school. Two, I've started a Celtics blog, Rhymes With Hondo. Three -- which is a combination of one and two, really -- I've begun following the Celtics again so closely that given my school obligations, I'm sure I won't watch nearly as much college ball as I have in recent years.



Nonetheless, I'm going to try and post here -- or perhaps a new blog, if I can think of a good name -- as much as possible.



I get ESPNU now, which is great for my college hoops watching, bad for my schoolwork. I caught a little bit of UCLA-Miami (Ohio) Thursday night, but I don't feel like writing about it. I just wanted to weigh in with a few words on the big upset of the young season: Virginia Military Institute over Kentucky, 111-103.



First thing that struck me is that on the ESPN homepage, the teaser for this story was "VMI hands once-proud Kentucky stunning loss."



"Once-proud"? Wow. I wonder how that is going over in Bluegrass country.



Second thing: At the end of the above-linked game story, Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie is quoted: "I attribute this loss mostly to lack of leadership."



(I'm pretty sure it's improper to use two colons like I just did there.)



This is the second straight year that Kentucky has made early-season headlines by being upset by a team it has no business losing to. (Recall last year's 84-68 pasting at the hands of Gardner-Webb.) It's also Gillispie's second-year as coach. Sure, you need leadership from the players in college basketball, but you also need it from the coach. Gillispie needs to shoulder some of the blame for not having his team prepared -- again.