BTI's Rants and Ramblings: More Evidence that Malone, Lanter, and Long should start....

by:Bryan13•03/05/15

I am making this my passionate plea this week to see Sam Malone, Todd Lanter, and Brian Long on the floor for the opening tip on Saturday. First of all, I am simply calling for those guys to get 1-2 minutes of action, maybe 2 or 3 possessions. They will be playing with 2 all-American caliber players and Florida stinks on ice. Point being, the downside is very small. Worst case scenario is UK is down 4-6 points. Frankly, if you would be worried if UK is down 4 points just 2 minutes into the game, then you need to enjoy this season a little more. But for me, the program has been changed drastically over the last 6 years, and almost always for the better. Calipari is ahead of the curve in nearly every way. And frankly, he has started 9 of 10 seniors so far during his tenure, and Twanny Beckham was injured his senior year. So it's not as if Calipari has set a standard of not starting the seniors. I don't understand why just because UK is 30-0 now means that this very minimal amount of playing time to honor the guys in the program should be trashed.

Just look at the history of starting the seniors on Senior Day, starting with Rick Pitino: 1990 (1/2): Derrick Millar started, Michael Parks did not 1991 (1/1): Reggie Hanson started 1992 (4/4): Sean Woods, John Pelphrey, Richie Farmer, and Deron Feldhaus all started 1993 (1/3): Dale Brown started, Junior Braddy and Todd Svoboda did not (Svoboda did not play) 1994 (1/3): Travis Ford started, Jeff Brassow and Gimel Martinez did not (Rodney Dent was injured mid-season) 1995 (1/2): Andre Riddick started, Chris Harrison did not 1996 (2/3): Tony Delk and Walter McCarty started, Mark Pope did not 1997 (1/2): Anthony Epps started, Jared Prickett did not (Derek Anderson was injured mid-season) UNDER PITINO: 12 of 20 seniors started on Senior Day 1998 (3/3): Cameron Mills, Allen Edwards, and Jeff Sheppard all started 1999 (3/3): Scott Padgett, Heshimu Evans, and Wayne Turner all started 2000 (2/2): Jamaal Magloire and Steve Masiello both started 2001 (1/1): Saul Smith started 2002 (2/2): Tayshaun Prince and JP Blevins both started 2003 (3/3): Jules Camara, Keith Bogans, and Marquis Estill all started 2004 (4/5): Gerald Fitch, Erik Daniels, Cliff Hawkins, and Antwain Barbour all started, Matt Heissenbuttel did not 2005 (2/2): Chuck Hayes and Josh Carrier both started 2006 (4/4): Patrick Sparks, Ravi Moss, Preston LeMaster, and Brandon Stockton all started 2007 (3/3): Woo Obrzut. Bobby Perry, and Sherray Thomas all started UNDER TUBBY: 27 of 28 seniors started on Senior Day 2008 (2/2): Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley both started 2009 (1/1): Jared Carter started UNDER GILISPIE: 3 of 3 seniors started on Senior Day 2010 (3/3): Ramon Harris, Perry Stevenson, and Mark Krebs all started 2011 (1/1): Josh Harrelson started 2012 (2/2): Eloy Vargas and Darius Miller both started 2013 (1/2): Julius Mays started, Twanny Beckham did not (Beckham was somewhat injured) 2014 (2/2): Jon Hood and Jarrod Polson both started UNDER CALIPARI: 9 of 10 seniors started on Senior Day Pitino wasn't huge on starting the seniors but since Tubby took over, 39 of 41 seniors have started on Senior Day. That includes 2 teams that were going for undefeated conference records, 2 different national title teams, and 4 Final Four teams. If those teams could do it, this one certainly can. As evidenced by the comments section yesterday, the fanbase seems to be strongly behind honoring those 3 guys with the start on Saturday. I only provide the above examples as proof that these 3 deserve it. There are several walk-ons on that list, many players who did not play, and in all examples it did not cause UK to lose any games. Last year, Cal started both Hood and Polson during a time when UK was firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble and instead of it hurting the Cats, those guys actually responded with strong performances. Who knows what might happen Saturday?