Coach Pitino

The Iona Gaels just beat Alabama 72-68.  Ken Pom gave Alabama a 90 percent chance of victory, but of course the analytics don't know that Iona is coached by Rick Pitino.  This result just led to the following tweet from Jeff Goodman:

Pitino will take his players and beat you, he'll take your players and beat you, and he'll go down to the YMCA and take those players and beat you.

You can say whatever you want about him, but he's the best coach out there.  Period.

Of course, this is true.  Pitino's the best college basketball coach I've ever seen.  And if you think he's good now, you should have seen him in his prime.  Here's a list of UK's coaches since 1931.  Check out Pitino's winning percentage, and then remember that for the first two years he was at UK, the team was on probation and couldn't go to the NCAA Tournament:

Adolph Rupp:  876-190 (.822)

Joe B. Hall:  297-100 (.748)

Eddie Sutton:  88-39 (.693)

Rick Pitino:  219-50 (.814)

Tubby Smith:  263-83 (.760)

Billy Gillespie:  40-27 (.597)

John Calipari:  343-94 (.785)

KHSAA State Semi-Finals

So the big story from last week is that Tilghman reached the state semi-finals for the first time since 2013 with a huge win at Louisville Christian Academy.  Also, Mayfield reached the state semi-finals for the 35th time in the last 41 seasons.

Here are the results from last weekend, and the games this Friday.  (Home teams listed first; numbers in parentheses represent current MaxPreps ranking).  I'm really glad they fixed the 6A draw so that Male, Trinity, and St. X can all reach the semi-finals:

Class 6A 

Quarter-Finals

Lou. Male 46 - 0 N. Hardin

Ryle 18 - 38 Lou. Trinity

Lou. St. Xavier 42 - 6 Daviess Co.

Madison Cent. 43 - 7 Lex. Dunbar

Semi-Finals

(1) Lou. Male v. (6) Lou. Trinity

(2) Lou. St. Xavier v. (10) Madison Cent.

Class 5A

Quarter-Finals

Woodford Co. 28 - 14 Cov. Catholic

S. Warren 47 - 13 S. Oldham

Lex. Douglass 37 - 6 Southwestern

Owensboro 56 - 12 Bullitt Cent.

Semi-Finals

(9) Woodford Co. v. (7) S. Warren

(5) Lex. Douglass v. (11) Owensboro

Class 4A

Quarter-Finals

Boyle Co. 51 - 14 Scott

Logan Co. 52 - 14 Spencer Co.

Corbin 13 - 34 Johnson Cent.

Franklin Co. 49 - 12 Allen Co.-Scottsville

Semi-Finals

(4) Boyle Co. v. (30) Logan Co.

(8) Johnson Cent. v. (23) Franklin Co.

Class 3A

Quarter-Finals

Glasgow 48 - 42 Bardstown

Lou. Christian Academy 34 - 41 Paducah Tilghman

E. Carter 38 - 10 Mason Co.

Bell Co. 20 - 41 Belfry

Semi-Finals

(25) Glasgow v. (41) Paducah Tilghman

(47) E. Carter v. (58) Belfry

Class 2A

Quarter-Finals

Lex. Christian 49 - 21 Owensboro Catholic

Middlesboro 33 - 6 W. Carter

Beechwood 50 - 6 Walton-Verona

Mayfield 48 - 6 Green Co.

Semi-Finals

(3) Lex. Christian v. (45) Middlesboro

(15) Beechwood v. (26) Mayfield

Class 1A

Quarter-Finals

Russellville 21 - 0 Newport Cent. Catholic

Kentucky Country Day 10 - 49 Bethlehem

Pikeville 50 - 21 Williamsburg

Raceland 48 - 7 Bishop Brossart

Semi-Finals

(42) Russellville v. (50) Bethlehem

(13) Pikeville v. (39) Raceland

Tuesday, May 20, 1975

You've probably been wondering what happened with my 1975 reports. Well, I decided to rethink things. 

First, I've realized that it's unsatisfying to experience concurrent football and Christmas seasons. Also, I decided it's more important for my days of week to align than it is for my dates. And I also will note that I am considering at least one more trip back through 1975 (which would be my third at the HP) before turning the calendar to 1976 because 1975 was such a giant year for real me--first year I collected baseball, football and basketball cards; first year I really understood how the TV networks worked, first year in the Concord district, etc. 

So, anyway, I might yet switch things up some more, but, for now, today for fake me is Tuesday, May 20, 1975, and the Channel 6 news just went off, and here's Johnny ...

Cats are Number 10

UK's men's basketball team is number 10 in the latest AP Poll.  UK has an all-time record of 58-19 as the nation's Number 10 team.  The Cats' best win as Number 10 was on March 12, 1994, when the Cats beat number-1 Arkansas 90-78 in the semi-finals of the SEC Tournament.  UK went 16-36 from three-point land in that game, with Travis Ford going 5-7.  That game is one of my all-time favorites, and I still remember it very fondly.

Wizards!

Washington 103, Miami 100 ... Wizards, which had lost two in a row, break Heat's four-game win streak with come-from-at-least-13-behind to win at the Cap Centre in Landover (or thereabouts) ... now back to tied at second in the Eastern Conference with Chicago (my second-favorite NBA team) at 11-5, behind 12-5 Brooklyn ...

Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. was born Sept. 20, 1975, in Catonsville, Maryland. Wes Unseld Sr. had a lot on his plate in 1975.