No leashes, no excuses, no mercy
By Travis 
The first year of the Billy Gillispie Era is going to be fun. If nothing else, that’s a major improvement over the last two seasons and approximately half the seasons of Tubby Smith’s 10-year University of Kentucky basketball coaching stint.
So, we kick off this blog with as much excitement for the UK basketball program as we’ve had since arriving on UK’s campus in Autumn 1998. The name of the blog is a throwback tribute to our childhood era UK heroes who donned the uber-cool sports goggles of the 1980s, especially personal favorite Eddie Davender.
But Blue Googles also has some other symbolic intentions:
1. Ironically, the initials are shared by our new coach.
2. It’s a Web log, more popularly known as a blog, so let Blue Goggles forever be known as Bloggles.
3. Most importantly, we’re going to wear Blue Goggles (read: blue-shaded visors) all the time. No apologizing or excuse-making and little objectivity. I spent four years (covering Patrick Patterson’s high school career, nonetheless) doing the opposite, now it’s time to be a fan again.
After Halloween Night’s first exhibition of the Biily G. Era, a 99-64 victory against Pikeville College, Blue Goggles is even more excited. Consider:
1. A starting guard scored 34 points in an exhibition game.
2. A freshman forward scored 21.
3. The Cats won by a landslide.
Remember, the Tubby Smith Cats once beat Athletes In Action in 2002 by one point on a last-second Keith Bogans shot and celebrated like it was the Southeastern Conference title game.
Under Smith any player was lucky to get enough shots to score 21, let alone a freshman. And under Smith, Meeks never would have been given the chance to pour in 34 in an exhibition.
This isn’t meant to pile on Smith. He did mostly great things in his 10 years, and I was a loyalist up until the final year and a half when it was obvious he would not coach the players he had, instead choosing to force players to play his style. That notwithstanding, he was still among the top five coaches in the nation during his UK tenure.
But Wednesday’s blowout was a welcomed sign. Gillispie will have no mercy. He will take no excuses. He will not accept mediocrity even if realistic expectations for his first UK team rank just slightly above par. And he won’t accept lackluster play. Players who didn’t play all-out sat.
But he also won’t hold players back. He’s not afraid to play a freshman (or two, or three) 30 minutes per game. And he’s not against allowing one player shoot 25 times.
So, get ready for a joyous honeymoon this year and a return to greatness in the near future. Time to put those Blue Goggles back on.