Judd Prefers Calipari to Gillispie as Her Leading Man

March 21, 2010, 5:06 pm

Judd Prefers Calipari to Gillispie as Her Leading Man

By THAYER EVANS

NEW ORLEANS — Having just attentively watched Kentucky Coach John Calipari’s postgame news conference after his team’s 90-60 blowout of Wake Forest on Saturday night, the Wildcats super fan Ashley Judd was already game-planning for the round of 16.

With top-seeded Kentucky (34-2) was set to face the winner of Sunday’s game between No. 12 seed Cornell (28-4) and No. 4 Wisconsin (24- in the East Region on Thursday in Syracuse, she asked a Wildcats official which team Kentucky would rather play. He told her that Cornell was the preferred opponent because it is difficult for a team to comeback if they fall behind early to Wisconsin, which plays a slow and deliberate style. (Cornell defeated Wisconsin, 87-69.)

During Kentucky’s victory against Wake Forest, Judd sat in the first row behind the Wildcats bench. She wore a white T-shirt that in blue read “KENTUCKY” and in the second half had on a blue and white feather boa.

Along with other high-profile Kentucky fans at the game like the rapper Drake and the basketball powerbroker known as Worldwide Wes, she cheered wildly, jumping up and down after rim-rattling dunks by the freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins.

Afterward, Judd raved about Calipari and what he has accomplished this season in his first year at Kentucky.
“He’s perfect for Kentucky,” she said. “He has a personality as big as our program. It’s a really good fit. We love him.”

Judd was not nearly as fond of his predecessor, Billy Gillispie, who was fired last March after two seasons of disappointment in which he posted a 40-27 record. In his first season, Kentucky lost in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament and failed to make the tournament his second year, the first time since 1991 that the Wildcats had missed the tournament.

Judd said her relationship with Gillispie was “always very cordial,” but she had her doubts about him.
“I knew he wasn’t right for us,” Judd said. “He had an ism.”

In August, Gillispie was arrested for the third time in a decade on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Shortly afterward, he did a stint at the John Lucas Athletes After Care Program, a rehabilitation facility in Houston.

Judd said she wishes the best for Gillispie, but was stung by his tenure.

“The losses were demoralizing,” she said.

Judd said the defeats were particularly tough on her because she attended many of Kentucky’s games like the Wildcats’ 77-58 loss at North Carolina last season, which she called “a uniquely humiliating experience.”
She recalled also being embarrassed by road losses at Vanderbilt under Gillispie that she attended.

“I’m glad that it was only a two-year period,” Judd said.

Calipari has the Wildcats being mentioned as the favorite to win this season’s national championship, which hasn’t happened since 1998 for the college basketball power.

“I dreamed of it being this high this fast because I have visions of grandeur as a Kentucky fan,” Judd said. “But I probably, if backed into a corner, would have said, ‘No, for real, we can’t.’ But now that we are, it’s pretty impressive. It’s pretty incredible.”

She added: “But you know, we’re used to that. We’re used to winning 30 games a season. We’re used to accolades in the postseason, so on one hand it feels like an entitlement and on the other hand it is pretty intoxicating.”

Currently attending Harvard University’s Kennedy School for a masters in public administration, Judd plans to be in Syracuse on Thursday for Kentucky’s next game.

“I can do homework in Syracuse,” Judd said. “I heard they have a library, right?”

I actually get tired of seeing Judd and her sweaty pits on tv.

BestdamnUKfanperiod wrote:I actually get tired of seeing Judd and her sweaty pits on tv.

yeah I'd rather see them above my face...