Kentucky Should Honor its Seniors With a Win Saturday
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Photo courtesy of UK Athletics[/caption]
With an undefeated regular season on the line, the best gift Kentucky can give its three seniors is a historic win on Senior Day. It's not worth starting the three walk-ons.
It's not in the team's best interest, nor is it in the best interests of Sam Malone, Tod Lanter and Brian Long to be thrown into the fire at Rupp Arena as Kentucky tries to become the first major conference team to go undefeated in the regular season since Indiana in 1976.
"Let them play the first possession," some fans are saying.
"Tell one of them to throw Willie a lob, then commit a foul (or use a timeout) so they can exit the game."
Consider this scenario: Brian Long's one foul with 19:30 to go in the first half eventually puts Florida in the bonus at the end of the half. Florida makes a free throw while in the bonus, and later wins the game by one point.
Yes, that's a far-fetched scenario, but it's possible. And the last three people in the world who would want that to happen are the three seniors.
When the seniors can tell their grandchildren about playing for Kentucky, they will talk about starting this season 30-0 -- and hopefully ending it 40-0. If they were to be in the game for 30 seconds against Florida, it wouldn't be the highlight of their UK experience.
Kentucky could win comfortably on its home court against a bad Florida team, but you can't assume that every single possession won't matter. The first meeting with the Gators, albeit in Gainesville, went down to the wire.
Coach Cal should use the seniors as motivation for the Cats to take care of business early so that Malone, Lanter and Long can get quality minutes in the second half with a big lead.
If they don't get in the game, so be it. Wearing a Kentucky uniform in a special season like this one is a privilege not to be taken lightly.
For what it's worth, the three of them aren't worried about it at all:
Sam Malone:
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity to have a senior night with Brian and Tod and be out there with the fans cheering us on. It’s going to be great.”
Todd Lanter:
“I’ve grown up around this program,” Lanter said. “I’ve seen its ups and downs. “… Now I got to step into this role and experience something that most kids growing up here don’t get to do and it’s just been - every step of the way I’ve tried to take it all in one step at a time, one day at a time.”
Brian Long:
“I’m just glad to be in here day in and day out,” Long said. “Like you said, I knew it coming in, I knew what my role was and I’m just here to help anyway I (can), and it’s been a fun ride.”
Photo courtesy of UK Athletics[/caption]
With an undefeated regular season on the line, the best gift Kentucky can give its three seniors is a historic win on Senior Day. It's not worth starting the three walk-ons.
It's not in the team's best interest, nor is it in the best interests of Sam Malone, Tod Lanter and Brian Long to be thrown into the fire at Rupp Arena as Kentucky tries to become the first major conference team to go undefeated in the regular season since Indiana in 1976.
"Let them play the first possession," some fans are saying.
"Tell one of them to throw Willie a lob, then commit a foul (or use a timeout) so they can exit the game."
Consider this scenario: Brian Long's one foul with 19:30 to go in the first half eventually puts Florida in the bonus at the end of the half. Florida makes a free throw while in the bonus, and later wins the game by one point.
Yes, that's a far-fetched scenario, but it's possible. And the last three people in the world who would want that to happen are the three seniors.
When the seniors can tell their grandchildren about playing for Kentucky, they will talk about starting this season 30-0 -- and hopefully ending it 40-0. If they were to be in the game for 30 seconds against Florida, it wouldn't be the highlight of their UK experience.
Kentucky could win comfortably on its home court against a bad Florida team, but you can't assume that every single possession won't matter. The first meeting with the Gators, albeit in Gainesville, went down to the wire.
Coach Cal should use the seniors as motivation for the Cats to take care of business early so that Malone, Lanter and Long can get quality minutes in the second half with a big lead.
If they don't get in the game, so be it. Wearing a Kentucky uniform in a special season like this one is a privilege not to be taken lightly.
For what it's worth, the three of them aren't worried about it at all:
Sam Malone:
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity to have a senior night with Brian and Tod and be out there with the fans cheering us on. It’s going to be great.”
Todd Lanter:
“I’ve grown up around this program,” Lanter said. “I’ve seen its ups and downs. “… Now I got to step into this role and experience something that most kids growing up here don’t get to do and it’s just been - every step of the way I’ve tried to take it all in one step at a time, one day at a time.”
Brian Long:
“I’m just glad to be in here day in and day out,” Long said. “Like you said, I knew it coming in, I knew what my role was and I’m just here to help anyway I (can), and it’s been a fun ride.”
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