The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Turn of the Wheel Edition

Haven’t read every article yet. Lots to read on a rainy day tomorrow.

Written by Richard Skinner…….who has been fired by two radio stations (sports talk) because of how insufferable he is.

Should have used a smillie. It’s not just the Reds. He is Great.

but if he does go in the lottery, then I’m going to quit paying attention to the Draft and just read about it the next day.

There’s obviously no science or proven method to drafting professional athletes (especially when it comes to the NBA), but it says a lot about the process if scouts and personnel people are willing to give guaranteed money to a big man who averaged less than 4 points (in addition to playing sparingly during one year of college basketball and possessing a history of injuries) in an offense where Orton was given plenty of opportunity for easy putbacks (despite his lack of minutes).

Orton is obviously better than his numbers – I’m taking a jab at the NBA/NBA Draft here – I just think that, if quantitative performance matters this little now, it won’t be long before a desperate team drafts a guy who played 2 minutes a game based solely on his upside. You would just think teams would tell him to play one more year just to be sure about what they’re getting.

The hoopsworld article by YK didn’t mention Cuz at all.

But the way the guys on the bench jumped and cheered when he not only played in the tournament, but scored, is truly worth putting in our memory banks. He was always cheered for by the crowd whenever he checked in the game. Reading articles about him one can tell he enjoyed the season. I am really glad he was given a scholarship this year too.

Basketball season is over. The new season begins today. It never ends at Kentucky.

Yep, that accurately describes us Kentucky fans.

We propbably need a mix of players to go further in this climate. Butler’s example is one we could have emultated with the prior talent. I know that everyone here wants to denigrate everything that happened in the years prior to Calipari, but I think that Brad Stevens would have taken our guys from that era very far. I said that the team we would have had without Calipari was sweet sixteen material, and this only cements those thoughts. The tournament results prove that talent is over-rated, and coaching and execution are still the most important factors.

Two evil empires win it all this year. Unbelieveable.

I must renew my subscription to Satan Today so I can see this coming next year.

on the issue of one and dones………..I think for me its like “who could beat these guys with one more year of experience”…………they would so dominate………a team like Kansas has some weaknesses even with their super talented group and they are not as talented as a team as Kentucky is. So the whole Kansas argument just doesn’t mix well with me. Our guys are the best freshman class of all time. Bar none. You cannot debate that…..a season under their belt would make them unstoppable next year. Amazing……..and yes I think it could happen. Call me a fool I don’t care……but alot of other guys have declared and they haven’t. Very interesting to me. I think they all leave or they all stay. Excluding Orton to which I think is more about his lack of playing time then anything.

I want to say something about the parents issue. Tru I am in total agreement with you on this. We are just starting this process with middle school age sport kids. There is much to learn for us. Parents are too involved with the coaches. AAU is even worse because you have volunteers and parents seek those coaches who they can sometimes push over. Not just AAU but in all travel ball. Parents are used to being able to speak their mind. I don’t like, it messes up the sport. All sports. As a coach I see so much drama in kids sports. The parents are a big part of the problem. That teachers their kids to be divas as well. Its one reason we haven’t put our daughter on a travel softball team. The parents are the worst. They yell and scream at the kids/coaches. They think because they pay money that they have a voice and then they just think its like that in high school and beyond. A good friend of mine’s huband just got out of high school coaching and went to college. She told me parents just think they can tell the coach what their kid should do. Times have changed my friends. I would have died had my parents even talked to my coach. My coach would not have put up with it. Many do though for the sake of talent. What happens when these kids get to college is the parent thinks they can do same thing. AKA Orton. Sorry parents but you don’t know more then the coach does. A coach can take an unbiased view and do the right thing for your kid.

On another thing about one and dones………..this is a bad recession. Parents are needing their kids to go to the NBA to bring in money to the family. I think that is a horrible state to be in but it is what it is. Its very expensive to raise an athlete. We have two young ones and its cost us over 1, 000 in just the last six months…….and believe me its not overboard. We could do a whole lot more. I know many parents who go into debt to raise these athletes expecting them to turn pro and “pay them back”. I think that is pretty lame but it is what it is…….then other kids like Cole Aldrich from Kansas, feels a sense of obligation to their parents in tough times. That is commendable. I am going to lay of the “stay away from one and dones” for this very reason. I do think we are in a heap of trouble next year but life will go on.

Bulter will not change the face of basketball……..but Butler could be another Gonzaga and no longer be considered a mid major. I really am tired of the mid major stuff anyway.

got to see Chuck Hayes tonight. He started for the Houston Rockets tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies………great to see him :)

I just wanted to let ya’ll here at aSoLOL know that I’ve switched screennames, I’ll let you all use that hard-earned Kentucky Education to figure out from whom ;-).

Pretty much, got tired of having to log into yahoo every time I went to SB Nation, and rather than gut it out I took the easy road out.

We need these kids to get a real dose of reality this year, and I am not just talking about Kentucky. The very best thing that can happen to college basketball is if the NBA were to take a giant step backward on the issue of rookies and their salaries, and guaranteed contracts. Now before Tru starts his CBA/Consitutional/ Supreme Court lesson let me finish.

These kids are going to get multi million dollar contracts at age 19, and I have no problem with that, assuming that they have shown that they truly are worth of such contracts. This issue of “one and done” will probably not be such an issue in the future, but it is going to be an issue. The John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins situations not withstanding, we have Orton and Bledsoe, who although have shown some really wonderful abilities, have not proven anything to anyone yet. Since when do a couple of games where a player gets hot and hits 3’s turn into an NBA guaranteed contract? And I was not aware that a player that has more fouls than points on his resume was NBA lottery pick material. This has nothing to do with these young men, who are going to be wonderful NBA players at some point in the future I do believe, but more with the so-called “gurus” and media experts who have made big pushes for these kids to be drafted early by somone in the NBA who thinks they are ready for the big time now.

I know this has been hashed, rehashed, and twice baked, but when is the media going to learn that some of this responsibility rests on them? Chad Ford, whom I have at least enjoyed somewhat in the past, seems to have lost his mind. Other pundits are showing Bledsoe as an early first rounder, although they are not as many. These kids actually READ this stuff and know that teams do also. And if it were all 100% gospel truth, there would be nothing wrong with that. But it is mostly all hype…..guys blowing to keep the room warm. I watched Matt Jones in a video the other day, at what appeared to be a high school with Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley, I am assuming this was just after BCG took over. He looks, sounds, and acts like a high school kid himself. And before everyone start raining on my parade here, I am not trying to single out Matt, just trying to point out that anyone with some $$$, a website or media affiliation, and a couple of connections is now considered to be a informed source on collegiate athletics. I love the internet and the information it opens up for us, but irresponsibility on the part of the people who use it, both for just the net, and now mainstream media are making some really large leaps of faith with kids lives. There ought to be a much higher standard that they hold themselves to, simply so that something they say or do doesnt put a 19 yr old kid with $$$ in his eyes on a plane to Timbuktu for 10,000,000.00 JPY a year.

But there is always room for big athletic guys who can run the floor (see Orton), and quick, strong, and fast guards who can create their own shots (see Bledsoe). Of course character plays part in the consideration and it looks like both have it there, too.

to an NBA guy last night and I can tell you two teams who don’t need Orton……..Grizzlies and Rockets ……..lol………..you don’t realize how big these NBA players are until you see them up close!

Seriously though, Orton will live to regret this decision……I can bank on it and so can you.

had a really good piece on KSR about Cal and the one-and-dones, etc that has been discussed here lately. He makes some excellent points that coincide with some of the thoughts and feelings I have on this whole “Cal’s way wont work” thought pattern that is seeming to materialize after our tourney loss.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=49021

it wouldn’t let me respond to your post so I am just going to put it down here :)…

Matt makes very good points but I am not one of these fans that wants call to stop recruiting one and dones. First its almost impossible to say who will be one and done. Like the article said only John Wall was doing the one year thing at the beginning. All the other guys were not supposed to which to me says that Calipari did an incredible job with this young bunch and anyone who says he needs to abandon his system needs to have their heads examined. I just think it needs tweaking. I think he needs to draft high talent but also talent that can stay and help rebuild. Look, if all these guys leave……the chances of us repeating this year is over. So how much was this year a flash in the pan versus building. These kids got some lucky bounces this year as well……so we are not just talking WVU. A few bounces here and there and we could have eight to nine losses and be third seed and had our butts handed to us the first weekend. Even if you took the same talent level that we had this year and put it in play next year we could have total different results. These kids were special. Refuse to lose. Pride in what they did. That is so rare even in Cal’s teams. This team was a once in a lifetime team. Talent just doesn’t win titles versus experience……it takes both. All you have to do is look at who has won titles in the past. Pitino brought in awesome talent while here but it took him having experience and talent to win the title. It takes both. I know Cal knows this. He has too. I have a strange feeling he is praying just as much as I am that some of them return. I just don’t want us returning to mediocre next year because well our roster is depleted. Looked at a top twenty five preseason poll yesterday……Kentucky not even listed. Not good, not good at all.

for years. Back when the Hawks were in St Louis and Lakers were in Minnessota. That said, There are more players in NBA in D league now. They get to play and find out if the GM made a mistake. Very few new players become starters right away. Not many new players even play right away. Most rookies look (like rookies). They are not used to the speed,size and roughness of the game they have played for years.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1071694

Darko Milicic, big man from Serbia, guaranteed superstar. Detroit drafted him just behind Lebron, Carmello,Bosh and D Wade. has never amounted to much. Traded twice. Now with Grizzlies.

And that there is no way to know? Right?

Sundiatta Gaines,Renaldo Balkman and the Thronton kid from LSU are making it.Probably more.

trouble today responding….not sure what is going on but
Oldcat70…..what are your thoughts on experience versus talent.

I am no expert on anything. I look at Coach Cal as another “PT Barnum” That said with his gift of recruiting there has to be some “good” basketball player that are interested in a free college education. That is the question. We need 4-5 stars and good solid players to stay and build our program.

I wish you could see this big beautiful Dogwood out side my family room window. WOW

Xavier Henry is leaving Kansa

Wake Forest coach fired