Buzz Williams on Kentucky: "I Want to Play the Best Team in the Country"

Richmond-Times Dispatch reporter Mike Barber published an intriguing column on Buzz Williams and the recently completed Cassell Coliseum renovations this morning, but one quote in particular stood out.

Of course, arguably the Hokies' biggest game of the season won't be played at Cassell. Tech is scheduled to play at Kentucky at its fabled Rupp Arena on Dec. 16.

Williams' team had an opening on its schedule, and he and director of scouting Jeff Reynolds, who handles scheduling, discussed what direction to go.

"I came back to him and said, I want to play the best team in the country. Who is that?" Williams said. "I'll call Sean Miller, I'll call (Steve) Alford. I'll call (John Calipari). Who else might be the best team?"

Williams said Calipari worked with Tech to make the game fit on the Wildcats' calendar.

"I just didn't want to make a wrong choice," Williams said. "And I don't think playing at Kentucky is ever a wrong choice."

As someone who was blessed to attend Tech during the heart of the James Johnson era, this quote really gets the blood flowing. While it may feel like football season down in Blacksburg, this was a nice Sunday-morning reminder that we've got something to look forward to in Cassell this winter.

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Comments

If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

To be the man, you have to beat the man! Woooo!

Just read the article linked. My biggest thought was "Buzz with hair"??????

Reel men fish on Wednesdays

a coworker was on a flight with Buzz and couldn't put his finger on why the guy looked familiar. It wasn't till another fan came up and got his autograph that he realized it was Buzz, just with hair.

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

Wow, I really would've loved to see us play roundball in Tucson. I've wanted to see how we stack up against the wildcats for a long time, this is just a different set of cats.

I'd like to see us play UK in football too. Would shut my mom and sister up about UK being better than VT simply because they play in the sec

West Virginian by birth, Hokie by choice

Is that really a thing? Are they better than say, Arkansas?

But Paaaawwwwwllll, VT only beat Arkansas in the 2nd half.

According to my UK friends,, they beat Louisville, the second best team in the ACC when they played them last year, so they would have finished second if they were in our conference. They expect nine wins this season, and everybody knows winning nine in the SEC is better than winning 10 in any other conference. So yeah, thats a thing.

Sometimes we live no particular way but our own

That's just any SEC fan for ya

The taste is so divine
A chemical come alive
Welcome to your vice
Good luck with life
'Cause you can't
You can't
You can't kill me that easily

The funny thing is the SEC East was one of the worst divisions in football last year and Kentucky still couldn't win it. Also Louisville was not the second best team in the ACC by the time the end of the season rolled around.

The SEC East was hilariously bad. The 6-way tie is still my ultimate dream for that division.

Rip his freaking head off!

Any ideas on tickets for this game? Stubhub right now is crazy expensive.

Really hoping to parlay the game and a return trip to the bourbon trail for this one.

Waiting could be a risk. Both teams start out hot, price goes up. I'm sure UK basketball is never cheap