A Senior Moment

I've had Sosa on the brain since reading Rick Bozich's column this morning and the solemn and serious quote he gave, highlighted in Mr. Black's post below. UK fans hate him, he plays with a swagger that irks them, and I don't want to go into the role of his ethnicity, but let's just say I've heard some slurs. But most importantly, as a good UK buddy of mine said recently, "He's fucked us with two shots". The first, last year's dagger, obviously. The second being the missed free throws from the tournament game four seasons ago. Those missed shots likely cost the Cards from moving past Billy Gillispie's highly-regarded Texas AM team, and Gillespie would ride that tournament success all the way to Lexington. Life's funny, ain't it?

So, the point is, he's hated in Wildcat country. But there's not a player on this team I would want taking the brunt of the barrage more than Edgar. Samuels is too sensitive, Jennings can be a bit of a hothead, and our freshman are freshman. I've referenced it before, but Sosa's experience is his greatest asset. He's been a major contributor for 4 years. He's had a rollercoaster career starting from his stellar performance in the Texas AM game mentioned above. He's made a myriad of clutch plays, yet was famously almost asked to transfer by his head coach. He's won cuticle-chewing marquee Big East matchups, triumphed in Rupp Arena two seasons ago, has been to Elite 8s and won conference championships. Sorry to read you his resume, but sometimes it bears repeating. He's been there. He can take it. He can dish it out. We'll need his leadership on Saturday more than ever.