On this day in 1989, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played his last professional game. It doesn't seem that long ago to me. What a great player he was.
Tweet of the Morning:
#BBN Coach Calipari mysteriously leaves town with suitcase full of cash just hours ago. Left note to family "got to make a payment to devil"
— Brad Cardwell (@UNCbrad) April 23, 2013
I love me some Calipari Derangement Syndrome.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
-
2013 spring game attendance rankings: Auburn and Alabama top standings // SBNation.com
Hey, we’re still #6, and have outperformed teams like Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio St., Oklahoma and Penn St.
Not bad for a team that went 2-10 next year, and isn’t figured to improve all that much this year by most pundits.
-
Kentucky Sports Radio // UK sent Drew Barker 100 Reasons To Pick Kentucky
This is awesome. #100 might seem a bit of a reach given recent history, but hey, we’re trying to turn this thing around, right?
-
Kentucky football ticket renewals well ahead of last season // Kentucky.com
As of Monday, the school reported it had sold 35,342 season football tickets, more than double the number of season tickets sold on this date last season, which was 17,647.
Impressive. Very impressive.
-
Kentucky Football: Mark Stoops Needs Patience from Big Blue Nation
I’m not sure the answer to this isn’t “A couple more than last year” given the schedule, but the reality is that he won’t be able to keep the buzz going with a 4-8 season.
-
Firing a football coach is not that easy for FBS schools
This is an interesting look at some of the behind-the-scenes things that went on with schools that fired a coach last year, including Kentucky and Tennessee.
-
Kentucky Football: 50,000 Fans Show SEC Football is Alive at Kentucky
Now everyone knows the basketball tradition for sure in Lexington. But many, especially all the young whipper snappers 70 and younger, do not realize the rich football tradition Kentucky had. Legendary Head Coach Bear Bryant actually had his first long time gig with the Wildcats from 1946-54 before leaving for the Texas A&M Aggies. Bryant was 60-23-6 overall and 23-19-4 in the SEC including a Sugar Bowl win and a final ranking of seventh in 1950.
There is more support for football here than most people believe. Kentucky games are well-attended most years (with the notable exception of last year), and a look at history supports that, even though Kentucky has been historically mediocre at best.
-
RB Mikel Horton: “I am a man of my word and I am going to Kentucky” // vaughtsviews
“My recruitment is totally shut down. I am finished. My school is picked. I am a man of my word and I am going to Kentucky,” said Horton.
We need to find more guys like this.
Kentucky basketball
-
2012 Cats Have Something to Prove // LEX18.com
“A loss like that hurts, you know?” Poythress added, “and you can use it for motivation. Anytime you get the court rushed (by fans), it’s just a bad feeling walking off with a loss. You got to work from that and fix it.”
I’m glad you get that, Alex. It gives me hope when you feel the pain of a loss like that, and you should. We share in your discomfort.
-
Cauley-Stein, Poythress return to erase 'bad taste' left by last season // CoachCal.com
“It just left a bad taste in your mouth,” Cauley-Stein said. “I feel like something’s empty and I want to fill it. Next year we’re going to have a great opportunity to do that.”
Yes, you will. Just keep that hunger, and you will fill it.
-
Andrew Wiggins Recruitment Meter Update // Everything Kentucky Online
Heh. “Recruitment meter.” I like it. I’m not sure it really means much, but it’s difficult to argue that having Coach Cal as your last in-person recruiting experience is a bad thing.
-
Kentucky Wildcats freshmen look forward to second season // ESPN
“I’m not trying to pay for taxes, for one. I’m still a kid. … Here, you’re that one guy that it’s kind of like, everybody knows you. You go to the pros (it’s like), ‘Oh, you can tell he’s a pro but who is he?’ I like it around here where people know my name. That’s just fun.” - Willie Cauley-Stein
Self-awareness is an admirable trait in a college sophomore.
-
BOZICH: The Latest On Wiggins, Randle, Harrison Twins, Exum // WDRB 41 Louisville
Know this: Fraschilla is not convinced Wiggins is a better player than Randle, who is already a member of John Calipari’s eight-player 2013 recruiting class. Fraschilla lives in suburban Dallas and has watched Randle play AAU basketball since the fifth grade.
“If Julius can figure out a few things at Kentucky next season, there’s no reason he won’t compete with Andrew for the top spot in the draft next season,” Fraschilla said. "He’s that talented and skilled.
I think that’s right. Randle and Wiggins are two different kinds of players, but Wiggins arguably has more weaknesses in his game than Randle does. He covers them up with his athleticism, but at at the next level, he won’t be able to.
Wiggins’ biggest weakness is between his ears. He’s got to learn that there is a difference between being willing to shoot the ball and dominating a game.
Via Aaron at KSR.
-
SEC Grades: Recapping the SEC “East” Season That Was // Rush The Court
I think this is probably mostly right, although Missouri managed a marginally lower grade, but at least made it to the NCAA tournament.
Other UK sports
- UK Athletics celebrates year, looks to future at CATSPYs // Cat Scratches
-
2013 CATSPY Winners // LEX18.com
Remember Ashley Frazier, the volleyball player up for the Allstate Senior CLASS award? She won the Female Scholar Athlete of the Year award for Kentucky at the CATSPYs.
-
No. 24 Baseball Travels to Western Kentucky // UKAthletics.com
Links posts
- Tom Leach // Tuesday Links
- Morning Five: 04.23.13 Edition // Rush The Court
- John Clay's SEC Links // John Clay's Sidelines
- John Clay's Big Blue Links // John Clay's Sidelines
College football
-
New ACC deal could halt conference realignment for a long time // SBNation.com
So now that the ACC has feasted on the Big East, they seem to have made a deal that locks them into place for the next 15 years or so.
Will we see this happen at the B1G and SEC? I’m not so sure that Delaney is done eating yet, and who knows what’s up Mike Slive’s sleeve?
College basketball
-
Russ Smith could decide NBA future on Wednesday // CollegeBasketballTalk
He [Russ Smith] may need to improve his point guard skills to hang at the next level, but with junior college transfer Chris Jones and freshman Terry Rozier slated to come in next season to replace Peyton Siva, who knows if he’ll get the chance? It really does look 50/50 at this point.
He’s quick enough to play point in the NBA, but his lack of size is a liability. Still, with guys like Nate Robinson in the league, you know that’s one liability that can be overcome with blazing quickness, something that Smith has plenty of.
-
Proposed rules changes a good start - Men's College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
A 30-second shot-clock is no more a cure-all for slow pace than the charge circle was a cure-all for interior congestion. If we forget that in the transfer, it may not be worth it. But it is a start.
Yesterday I buried Brennan, but today I’ll praise him. This is exactly right. To me, cleaning up the physical play is a bigger issue than the shot clock, but both are issues.
Via John Clay
Other news
-
Wikipedia Moved To MariaDB 5.5 - Slashdot
WARNING: Geek article For those who like Wikipedia, this is a very good thing. Oracle, who owns MySQL now, has been very reluctant in its support of open source software, and fears that they may move MySQL to a closed-source model are well-founded.