By Keith Taylor
Special to NKyTribune
Former Lexington Christian and University of Kentucky baseball standout Andy Green suffered a 15-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers Monday in his debut as manager of the San Diego Padres.
Green said opening day is “special” and the setback “probably does sting more than normal” but opted to look at the big picture instead of dwelling on his first loss as manager of the Padres.
“They didn’t win the series today, they didn’t win the month today — they won one game today,” Green said. “I think we try to diminish the impact of one loss. It’s not really that big in the course of 162.”
Green was surrounded by baseball royalty as veteran announcers Vin Scully and Dick Enberg called an Opening Day contest for the last time. Scully, 88, is in his 67th year with the Dodgers and Dick Enberg, 81, has called games in San Diego for the past five seasons. Enberg has been a veteran announcer for 59 years, including stints at NBC, CBS and ESPN.
Coaching change
Kentucky will be looking for a new special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach after Andy Buh resigned Monday to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Maryland.
“I have a lot of respect for Andy as he is extremely passionate and very detailed,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “He has a good balance between being disciplined and having energy and our players loved playing for him. There is no doubt he will have success as a defensive coordinator and I wish Andy and his family the best.”
Buh joined UK’s staff in 2015 as outside linebackers coach and also was in charge of the kickoff and punt coverage teams. He was named special teams coordinator last month.
Kentucky will have four new coaches next season, including Eddie Gran, the team’s offensive coordinator.
Top targets
When it comes to traditional powerhouses in college basketball, Kentucky and North Carolina are in the same league and the list of similarities are strikingly similar.
The two programs share passionate fan bases and rank among the Top 3 teams in all-time victories. Kentucky is tops on the list at 2,178, followed by Kansas at 2,153 and North Carolina stands in third with 2,140 wins.
Like the Wildcats, Williams said North Carolina is always a target. The Tar Heels were denied their sixth national championship with a 77-74 buzzer-beating loss to Villanova Monday night in Houston.
“You always get everybody’s best shot,” he said. “You don’t ever catch somebody on a bad night.”
Greatest of all-time?
Villanova’s second national championship Monday night will likely go down as one of the most memorable finishes in NCAA Tournament history.
Moments after Marcus Paige drained a 3-pointer to tie the score at 74-74 with 7.8 seconds remaining, the Wildcats went the length of the court and Kris Jenkins launched a trey at the buzzer to give Villanova its first title since 1985.
“That was one of the great college basketball games we’ve ever been a part of,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “We all have great respect for North Carolina. We didn’t just beat a great team, which this team is, but a great program, classy program.”
Jenkins admitted a little luck was involved on his buzzer-beating bucket.
“This team, we gave it all we had,” he said. “Today we were just, you know, lucky to hit the shot at the end.”
As for the Tar Heels, Paige said the loss didn’t take away from his four-year career with the Tar Heels.
“This is the most fun year in my entire life,” he said.
Maybe the shot by Jenkins will overshadow Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beater that took down Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional finals and gives the networks up-to-date buzzer beater footage.
Sutton still waiting
Former Kentucky and Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach Eddie Sutton wasn’t among the list of inductees when the 2016 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class was announced Monday.
Sutton, 80, won 806 games in his career, including 368-151 mark with the Cowboys and two Final Four appearances. He ranks 18th all-time in collegiate victories.
Recruiting violations tarnished the end of Sutton’s four-year tenure with the Wildcats, where he went 88-39. He resigned following the 1988-89 season.
Keith Taylor is a columnist and senior sports writer who covers University of Kentucky athletics for KyForward.com