Kentucky Sports Blogger Sparks Big Debate

      A debate broke out after local UK writer/blogger Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio wrote a national column on CBS Sports.com that proclaimed Rick Pitino was a mere fragment of himself from his days at Kentucky. He did give Rick some credit, and even made that sound like he was being generous. He brought up issues with Karen Sypher and Procini's more than once which has nothing to do with basketball in the slightest.

      He compared Rick to Steve Spurrier, which on some levels are similar, being that they both built powerhouse programs in the 90's and then jumped ship to try and prove they could do the same on a professional level. They both struggled in the pros and only lasted a few years before going back to coach the youngsters again. Where Mr. Jones went wrong was in his comparisons of the two after they landed back in college. Spurrier has hardly even sniffed a conference championship in the SEC, barely finds his Gamecocks in the Top 25 and has seen the likes of such bowls as the Independence Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Outback Bowl and PapaJohns.com Bowl which they have gone 1-3. Where Coach Pitino has lead his Louisville Cardinals to a Final 4, two Elite Eights and an overall #1 seed in 2009. I don't think the world Elite describes any teams that play in the Papa Johns.com Bowl.

      Has Rick produced the same results he had with Kentucky in the 90's? No, but he was building a dynasty with a group of players who would have been either one & done's or players that would have jumped straight to the NBA in this day. Has he lived up to the full initial expectations of the cardinal fans....not fully, because we expected a championship by now. Though has he kept the fans happy by producing a top notch program for most years? Absolutely....where does Rick truly rank? Widespread Sports came up with that answer. Check Out our Top 10 NCAA College Basketball Coaches List.