Cats have 'heart-to-heart' meeting after loss

Players air grievances in closed-door meeting

By Jerry Tipton / jtipton@herald-leader.com

If seeking help from the Wizard of Oz, Kentucky would look for brains and heart.

"It seems like we don't care," guard Michael Porter said after Mississippi State beat UK 66-57 Tuesday night. "We're not playing with any heart or desire."

Big man Patrick Patterson said the Cats discussed such shortcomings in a "huge confrontation" in the locker room.

"People said what they felt like they wanted to say," Patterson said. "... We exchanged words in a heart to heart. We said things that needed to be said."

Many players spoke, Patterson said, "even people who didn't play (against Mississippi State)." All the while, UK Coach Billy Gillispie sat back and listened, Patterson said.

Patterson was reluctant to divulge who said what. But after some prodding, he offered a stream of consciousness recitation.

"Passion. Just playing soft. Not playing like Kentucky. Not playing like we had been playing. People acting scared. People having their own input and output.

"No one cared about anybody's feelings."

Porter blamed himself for the slide, saying that the point guard shoulders the responsibility for directing a coordinated approach.

But Patterson suggested that the Cats got too full of themselves after opening Southeastern Conference play with five straight victories.

"We were in the driver's seat," he said. "We just let it get to our head, possibly going down to Ole Miss. We just underestimated them. ... The stretch we had going on got to our heads a little bit."

Now a humbled Kentucky has a week off to prepare for Florida, which played South Carolina for first place in the SEC Eastern Division later Tuesday night.

"People are starting to lose that swagger," Patterson said, "that mentality and attitude we had earlier."

Lineup change?

When asked whether he'd consider lineup changes going forward, Gillispie noted how he used 10 players against State.

"In our situation, everybody has to play better," the UK coach said. "We have to play a little smarter."

Twist of fate

Sophomore Ravern Johnson hit several big shots en route to a 17-point game. When UK closed within 31-24 late in the first half, he hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the Bulldogs into a 37-24 halftime lead. He hit two more three-pointers in the final three minutes to snuff out a miraculous UK comeback.

And if McDonald's All-American Scotty Hopson from Hopkinsville had stuck with his commitment to State, Ravern might have played far fewer minutes.

"He might have," State Coach Rick Stansbury said before adding of Johnson, "He'd have found a way to get minutes. His ability to make shots is very special."

Harris injury?

Hard-luck Ramon Harris left the floor with 18:01 left in the second half after injuring a shoulder. UK doctors cleared Harris to return to the game, but Gillispie chose not to use the junior wing again.

Earlier this season, Harris sustained a neck injury against Lamar and fainted at halftime at Alabama.

Booooo

Patterson was philosophical about the fans booing Kentucky players off the floor at halftime.

"I don't care," he said. "We know fans will be fans. Sometimes they're behind you. Sometimes they're not. They boo. They cheer. They clap for you. They cry with you in sad situations.

"They will support us when we start winning."

Etc.

Freshman Darius Miller contributed seven points, five assists (equaling a career high), three steals (a career high) and three rebounds. ...Led by Jarvis Varnado's seven blocks, State rejected 13 UK shots. The previous high for a UK opponent this season was Louisville's eight.