A Kentucky Fans: Something to Talk About

Water Cooler talk continues for Kentucky...

And here you thought it was over. Since May of last year, I've done nothing but talk Kentucky Basketball. Rather the talk was through written words on the site, multiple conversations a day with my co-workers, or random people I meet on a day-to-day basis - it's been a Kentucky year.

The disappointing and abrupt end to the amazing season 3 weeks ago brought my Cardinal counterparts some relief. "Finally, he'll shut-up about Kentucky." People would stop making the daily migration to the basketball water cooler known as my cubicle.

I would have for once agreed with said Cardinal fan. I would have said they were right. Any normal season I wouldn't want to talk Cats for months. I would sigh, shrug my shoulders and use the forbidden cliché "we'll get them next year. I can't wait for Big Blue Madness." A loss like the West Virginia one would have put my college hoop spirits into a tailspin.

When news arrived that John Wall and Demarcus Cousins were going to the NBA, my tailspin spun faster. I needed to vent my frustrations - and so did my Cat colleagues. When Eric Bledsoe and Patrick Patterson were added to the list of early entries, I needed to question the decisions and Cardinal fans needed to give a friendly jabbing. The announcement of the loss of Daniel Orton just fueled the fires. I got another solid week of Kentucky talk and another solid week of displeasure.

Two weeks ago with all the departures my precious 4 man team of Cats looked like a team of rag-tag ruffians. Who better to turn to for comfort than another member of the blue brotherhood during a blue biased conversation?

Spirits were lifted over the last two weeks though. News starts trickling in about the 2011 class with Marquis Teague. Enes Kanter gets crazy with a stellar performance during the Nike Hoops Summit. Information starts flowing with updates on 2010 Brandon Knight. Then this week Brandon Knight chooses Kentucky, Michael Gilchrist makes it a trend with the same Kentucky choosing sentiment, and Dime Mag comes out and states Doron Lamb will do the same. So much to talk about.

Today, more announcements. Doron becomes official, and hopefully he's officially a Cat. Kentucky's lineup becomes stronger. Tuesday, Marquis Teague picks his school, where the hoopla says Louisville but rumors of a Kentucky choice persist. After that it looks like Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross will decide. CJ Leslie will then be announcing.

During all that, my spirits will lift and may decline based on the decisions, but it looks like I'll still be talking Kentucky basketball for weeks to come, rather its about the players yet to sign - signed players - eligibility - or the forever UL vs UK debate... it's another Kentucky summer, Hot, Fun, and full of action.

So let me apologize to any Cardinal that becomes a casualty of my conversations. I'm sorry - if you are waiting for that moment that would end the Kentucky season of talk, it doesn't look promising. With the Cats being in the running for top tier players and what may be a consistent turnover of talent, the Kentucky basketball season stretches year round these days. I'm fine with that, and I'm fine with talking about it.