It's weird. Every season after college basketball ends, it feels like something momentous has happened.
Tweet of the Morning
Kentucky coach John Calipari just told ESPN's Jeannine Edwards during post interview that he will be back at Kentucky next season.
— Andy Katz (@ESPNAndyKatz) April 8, 2014
There it is — your unequivocal statement.
You can follow head coach Orlando Antigua on twitter @USFCoachO #GoBulls
— USF Men's Basketball (@USFMBB) April 9, 2014
We'll never forget coach O.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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Kentucky returns 82% of their offensive firepower from last year. That's pretty impressive until you consider how relatively anemic our offense was.
Kentucky basketball
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This story from SB Nation asks some interesting questions about Kentucky basketball, all pretty much in a negative light, i.e. did Calipari fail, were the players spoiled, etc. I frankly have none of those questions. I think what I learned this season is that when you expect too much of freshmen, you are bound to be disappointed. And if Calipari's coaching job was poor, what do we say about Bill Self?
Anyway, I don't consider any of this post-season navel-gazing particularly useful. My take-away from this season was one that I should have grokked a long time ago. Now that I think I have, I'm not much worried what other people think.
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John Clay says he'd be surprised, but not shocked if Calipari left. I'd say I fall into that same category. This season and last really took a toll on Calipari, more so than any other two year stretch since he's been here. Having said that, I don't think he's looking to leave.
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Here's Rex Chapman talking to Dan Patrick in case you missed it.
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Well, free throws were certainly part of the problem, but not all of it by any means.
Another team coached by John Calipari was done in at that harmless strip of paint just 15 feet from the basket.
Such a facile statement, and only tangentially true.
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Yeah, we can pretty much expect these rumors for the rest of Calipari's tenure. Get used to it.
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Coach Cal says the NCAA is like the former Soviet Union. He may be right, for all I know, but if he is, I wonder if what we wind up with will be better, or worse?
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Willie Cauley-Stein hints at a return to Lexington. Don't listen. We hear this all the time right after the season ends, it's all emotion and no cognition. And I like this comment by former NCAA commish David Stern:
"I don't think he bases the program on it," he said of Calipari. "He bases it on getting the best players. It's not the foundation. It's the result of getting the best players."
Exactly.
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Reaction video from Campus Insiders:
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Runner-up Kentucky — already a thing of the past. Basically the same thing as I wrote here.
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A rare positive Kentucky mention out of Boston.
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Rex: "I'm not a journalist." Well, okay, then don't try to break news like one. I don't do that, for a very good reason. Rex still believes there is "something to [the rumor]," and for all I know, he's right. But it seems a long way from "someting to it" and "#DoneDeal," at least to me. Maybe my grasp of hashtags is just not quite up to snuff.
Other Kentucky sports
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Baseball falls to Morehead St. I hate that, it's just the kind of inexplicable loss that drives you crazy about college baseball.
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Leave it to Alabama to compare Auburn football and Kentucky basketball this season. But I think Kevin Scarbinsky does a good job with it.
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More on Rex Chapman's tweet heard 'round the world. I think the biggest valid criticism of Rex has been the timing of the tweet, just before tip off in the NCAA Tournament final. Not sure what or why, and frankly, don't really care. He doesn't owe anyone an explanation, but he sure has taken a lot of heat for it. The current Lakers coach has http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/lakers/2014/04/08/mike-dantoni-los-angeles-lakers-coach-nba-john-calipari/7475517/.
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Jeff Borzello apparently thinks John Calipari is bigger than Kentucky's program. Whatever. They thought the same thing after Rupp retired, and after Pitino left. Coaches change. Kentucky is still Kentucky.
Links posts
College basketball
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State of the U has a way-too-early basketball ranking for next year. Guess who get's their nod for #1.
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Ken Pomeroy looks at the effect of the rule changes on pace and efficiency.
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Congratulations to UConn on winning both the men's and women's NCAA Tournament.
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Seven teams poised to improve next season.
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The NCAA Tournament is not about finding out who the best team in college basketball is. No single-elimination tournament can be rationally expected to do that. That's why I usually refer to the winners as NCAA Tournament champions rather than "national champions," which to me is a bit like the Mythical National Champion in football.
Other sports news
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Who's Green Bay's #1 wide receiver? I know who I'd pick...
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Eric Bledsoe is back, and he and Goran Dragic are controlling games for the Suns.
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I'm sure you've seen this on Twitter or Facebook. Kemba Walker won a bet with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. MKG does not look pleased.