The SEC has decided that its member schools can no longer be trusted with doing the simple math necessary to produce a decent non-conference schedule.
We should welcome our new SEC overlords. Oh wait -- they're the same as the old ones who have been looking the other way at anything basketball related for fifty years.
Tweet of the Morning:
Twitter is pretty much just you having a conversation with yourself hoping that someone else will join in.
— Bill Murray (@BiIIMurray) May 29, 2013
Exactly.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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Stoops strikes again, this time in the familiar stomping grounds of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Three star defensive back Jared Tucker has committed to play for the Wildcats. More at Larry Vaught's blog.
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In addition, Vince Marrow has struck again in the Buckeye State, landing three-star guard Jarrett LaRubio for the 2014 class.
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We've talked about Morgan Newton signing with the NY Giants, but three other free agent Wildcats also found NFL homes: Matt Smith, Collins Ukwu and Martavius Neloms.
Kentucky basketball
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How would a 2-year rule for college basketball affect recruiting?
We have debated this many times, but the consensus seems to be that Calipari would still recruit at the highest level in the land -- after all, he still gets more people drafted than a 1-A classification in World War II.
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Do you think Calipari is sending a message to Aaron Harrison? I do, actually. Aaron's defense has not been what it should be in the latter part of last year, and I think Calipari is getting that out there early.
But this isn't just directed at Aaron, I think that defense will be the major theme from day one at Kentucky next year. Last year's defense was among the worst in Calipari's career, and I don't think he means for that to be repeated.
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SB Nation's Scott Coleman has more on Calipari's desire to have at least a 2-year rule for college basketball:
The quality of play in college basketball would undoubtedly improve if players had to play two seasons. Imagine if players like Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis spent two years in Durham, N.C., and Lexington, Ky., instead of just one apiece.
I think that's right. But he also rightly points out that this is still a sticky wicket.
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Did you know that current Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel was a former student manager at Kentucky? I didn't, but there's a lot more to it than that.
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KSR reports that Nerlens Noel is no longer the consensus top pick in the NBA draft.
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This has to be the dumbest suggestion ever: Bring the SEC tournament to the KFC Yum! Center.
First of all, Louisville would find a way to make mischief. No way they are going to let the SEC take over their arena for four days.
Second, Kentucky fans would not be as pleased as he imagines. Heck, I live in Louisville and I'd rather the tournament be held in Tibet than here.
Third, Louisville fans would make mischief, trying to buy up tickets to resell at ruinous prices or just make the crowd look small. Okay, I just made that up, but you know they would at least talk about finding ways to make life difficult for UK fans.
Never. Ever. An idea truly worthy of Rick Bozich. Hat tip: Aaron's blog.
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It never would have occurred to me that John Calipari would admire Eddie Sutton:
Calipari, who often calls Sutton to chat, is putting out the welcome mat.
"I have invited him back," Calipari said during a recent telephone interview.
"I said, 'Come on in, man. Come on in to practice.' I'm not into all that other stuff. My whole thing is Eddie Sutton has been great for the game of basketball and great for college coaches and has helped many, many programs.
"Like many of us, you have hiccups along the way. I'm not judgmental in any way.
Well, Coach Cal does know about "hiccups."
Links posts
College football
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A new email dump reveals more about Oregon's NCAA problems and the interaction it has had with the NCAA.
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Paterno family files suit against the NCAA. This one has a chance, because the fundamental basis of the lawsuit, that the NCAA violated its own rules, seems right to me.
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Roll Bama Roll says scheduling is a zero-sum game.
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When you're Nick Saban, you can afford to say, "We'll take on all comers." Not so much for the rest of the SEC, and that's really saying something.
College basketball
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SEC meetings were not just about football. From the reporting, you would never know it, but whatever.
According to the article, the league coaches will have to submit their non-conference schedule to the league office for approval:
The concern is over the conference's RPI, which is a factor in the postseason tournament selection process. Slive and the league’s coaches hope to improve the collective strength of schedule in the conference, which would benefit the teams in the long run.
The review will be based on a system of metrics developed for the league by Greg Shaheen, the organizer of the men’s tournament for 12 years through 2012.
Andy Glockner at SI.com has more, and I think this is right:
But holy heck, guys. It’s 2013. You still haven’t figured out how to schedule to game the RPI??! This isn’t like trying to replicate the recipe for Coca-Cola. It’s simple, flawed math that’s exploitable.
Makes you wonder.
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Chis Walker is still waiting on eligibility to play at Florida. This could be why Calipari didn't recruit him hard. In fact, I'd bet on it -- better options at the position with no grade difficulties.
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When you have sweetheart arena deals that let you force local taxpayers to subsidize your profits, you wind up atop this kind of study.
Just sayin'. One of these days, the chickens in the Chicken Ranch are going to come home to roost, and the Cardinals are going to have egg on their collective faces.
Other sports news
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Okay, you have to admit, the kid has skills.
Via Andy Glockner.
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Another gay ballplayer comes out, this time in NAIA.
Other news
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Burnt Orange Nation's Jeffrey Haley visits the Buffalo Trace and Four Roses distilleries. This is my favorite part:
The Four Roses tour is fantastic. At one point a dog wonders into the distillery building. We see everything. The Scandinavian girls on the tour do multiple things that make me, the guy who works in the chemical industry, cringe. By some miracle, they do not die a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style death. [...]
I gain more of an appreciation for the Four Roses taste. It is a bit sweeter, likely more heavy in corn, and it is a nice change from my usual preference for more rye heavy flavors.
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Old hot story: George Zimmerman going to prison. New hot story: George Zimmerman's prosecutors going to prison. Via Fark.com