Thursday, February 10, 2011

Memorial Gymnasium: Enter Thunderdome

Two teams enter...One team Leaves.


Saturday at 1:00 p.m. will be the toughest road game thus far for the Kentucky Wildcats this season. Forget about Alabama, forget the Tad Pad, forget the Rowdy Reptiles, and we can definitely forget that laugher in the Chicken Shack Duh Ville calls home, Vanderbilt's home gym is tougher to play in than all of them.


What makes it so tough? Is it the nerds that come to the games to cheer on their beloved 'Dores? No. Is it the distraction that is the Bill Dotreve doppelganger that coaches Vandy? No. Is it the consistently mediocre product that continues to come out of Nashville every year? No. Is it the ghost of the Awesome Aussie A.J. Ogilvy? No.


What makes this road game the toughest is the God Awful layout of Memorial Gymnasium. We are all familiar with it. The court is elevated as if on a stage. The benches are at either end of the court underneath the baskets which makes it tough to A). Hear your coach calling plays when you are on the opposite end and B). Run from the goal to check in at the scorers table to actually get in the game.


And let's not forget the weird position of the shot clock. It's not on top of the basket like every other basketball gym in America. It's off to the side and it makes it difficult for a player to locate if they have never played there before. And we have a freshman point guard.


Let's hope the Cats can get a much needed road victory at Vandy on Saturday. Another win and a Florida loss to Tennessee puts the Cats even closer to the Gators in first place. So hold your nose and cheer for the Vols to beat the Gators this weekend.

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