Brothers Bob and Mike visit Mark Stoops today, and Bob is even wearing UK gear:
Mike and Bob Stoops are at UK's practice today. And Bob is wearing UK gear. pic.twitter.com/cJ1LcCygiF
— Aaron Smith (@ASmithRivals) April 23, 2014
Tweet of the Morning
Since Calipari became head coach at Kentucky, he's had 10 freshman drafted. That's 7 more than any other school. All 10 were first rounders.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 22, 2014
If he keeps this up, John Calipari could become known as the greatest recruiter in the history of college basketball.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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Mark Stoops and #UK land highest commit yet in Nation's No. 110 and 4-star LB Eli Brown - pledges to #Cats ($) http://t.co/XAuN39QT4y
— Rivals.com (@Rivals) April 22, 2014 -
UK is opening Spring Practice to the media today. We are here, as is Bob Stoops
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 23, 2014
Kentucky basketball
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Jerry Tipton's article on Julius Randle's leave-taking. Nice, non-judgmental news piece.
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Three reasons Julius Randle is ready for the NBA:
Cute.
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Jaylen Brown, who just got an in-home visit from Kenny Payne on Monday, now says he has a scholarship offer.
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John Calipari visited 2016 star guard Harry Giles on Tuesday. Looks like he's in a battle with the Research Triangle boys over this one.
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Where does Miles Turner fit in best? Probably not at UK, considering how crowded the front court is.
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Ricky O'Donnell looks at Julius Randle's prospects at the next level.
Other Kentucky sports
- Bat Cats defeat Tennessee Tech in a shootout, 15-13.
- Softball defeats Western Kentucky on the road.
Links posts
College football
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USA Today worries that lawsuits will end college football as we know it. Well, if it does, it is exactly what we deserve.
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SEC quarterbacks to watch for:
College basketball
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Will Shelton at Rocky Top Talk writes about new head basketball coach Donnie Tyndall. I think Tennessee chose wisely. Tyndall his a ball of energy, and if they will be honest with themselves, that's one of the big reasons why Bruce Pearl was such a hit. Yes, Pearl won ballgames, and that, obviously, is the meat around the bones of any coach.
Tyndall enjoys the public eye without wallowing in it, is quote-worthy, and linguistically challenged (pronuncing "Vol" like "vowel" and a discordant use of the word "prideful") and on top of that, has proven himself to be a good college basketball coach. Only three times in eight seasons as a head coach has Tyndall failed to win 20 or more games, and two of them were his first two years on the job. Those are solid numbers.
Shelton asks Volunteer fans to "Let Donnie be Donnie," and not to constantly compare him to Pearl:
Comparisons will fly today, especially the one where he's less like Cuonzo Martin and more like Bruce Pearl. Then we'll rush to compare him to Butch Jones because Butch Jones wasn't Tennessee's first choice either, but also and more importantly because we really like Butch Jones. If he drops a "_____ like heck" in the presser, we've hit the trifecta.
Heh. I really like this hire for Tennessee, even better than Martin. This is a man who will embrace the Volunteer faithful, and bring them some good basketball teams. He may even be great — too early to tell — but his bona fides are strong and his personality is exactly what every team needs in a head coach.
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Everybody's talking about extending the NBA age limit to 20. Everybody, that is, except for the NBA Players Association, who still hasn't picked a new president.
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Auburn won't try to get Bruce Pearl's show-cause order lifted early. I think that's a good strategy on their part, and Pearl just won a few points in my eyes for accepting his penalty like a man.
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Jerry Tarkanian is back home after suffering a heart attack. We wish Coach Tarkanian a quick and complete recovery. Coach Cal reportedly called to wish him well.
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Myron Medcalf, not one of my favorite writers, gets this one exactly right:
Yes, there’s often more green in the NBA.
And there’s a lot of blue for the coaches who make the wrong decisions, too.
Sometimes it’s best to just stick with a good thing. The NBA isn’t always a good thing.
You know, if a coach really dreams about an NBA stint, he should give it a try. But when he becomes a legend in college, he should appreciate his good fortune, embrace it, and leave the NBA to others. Am I being self-serving? Yes, indeed. But it's good advice, nonetheless.
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Latest list of players leaving early for the NBA. There's a bunch of people not leaving mixed in there too, possibly for continuity reasons.
Other sports news
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Will colleges use the new NCAA food regulations as an excuse to chop programs? If so, it tells me that they maybe shouldn't be fielding all those teams.
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Terrence Jones settles charges that he harassed a homeless man in Portland by agreeing to pay $10,000 to a charity that benefits homeless people. The charges against him have been dropped in return.
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Contra Rick Bozich, Colin Cowherd doubles down on his John Wall hate, and mocks Bozich in the bargain:
"Ooh, and you made the playoffs in the East. Woo-hoo! Don’t forget the Knicks until the last week were fighting for a playoff spot in the East; they fired their entire staff. So listen, when John Wall came out and did the Dougie, first home game, for 34 seconds, he was a moron. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. I will never back down.
Well, needless to say, Cowherd won't be getting much love from the Big Blue Nation over this. Thanks, Colin, for your crass, narcissistic scorn. Perhaps you should change your last name to "Cowpile," it seems a better fit for somebody who spews this sort of bovine excrement.
Via Aaron's blog