Dawn breaks with the Wildcats waiting for two significant things, one much more important than the other. The most important is news about Ramon Harris' condition. I have been able to find nothing substantive other than he was released last night from the emergency room in Tuscaloosa and allowed to come back to the Bluegrass. An ESPN report claimed he was listed as "day to day," which would seem to be a positive sign.
The other big news is that nothing can stop the 'Cats inclusion in at least the AP top 25 tomorrow. For those of you still sweating it, don't. They will get between 175-220 votes in my best estimate, placing them anywhere from 22nd to 25th.
Now, for the rest of the news.
Kentucky Basketball News
- Update on Harris from Third and Long. Looks like good news, but I'd like to hear something more definitive.
- Rivals round-table now thinks the 'Cats are pretty. Not beautiful, but pretty. This was linked earlier in the comments, but I thought it needed front-page treatment.
- Matt Jones has his review of the Alabama game. For the record, there is no such thing as a 71-inch vertical. David Thompson of North Carolina State back in my youth had a 48" vertical, as did Darrell Griffith (I can personally vouch for that one) and Michael Jordan. I have never heard a credible report of a bigger one than 48" in major college basketball or the NBA. Most likely, Brando was talking about a high jump or misread the number. There is apparently one guy out there somewhere with a verifiable vertical jump between 56" and 61" (and he stands only only 5'10" at that).
- Mark Story has some UK basketball records that he says won't be broken.
- Jerry Tipton dissects DeAndre Liggins, and reports that Greg Anthony of CBS sports talked to him earlier this year about how to develop his game at the college level.
- John Clay's links for Sunday.
- The Dothan Eagle says the UK game had the biggest crowd of the season for the Tide, and that JaMychal Green was the Tide's best player. I agree, that guy is going to be all-league next year.
- The C-J has more detail on Harris' collapse.
- Sloppy Wildcats beat cold Tide. Honestly, the defense by both sides was played at a very high level. There were some unforced errors, of course, and added to the forced ones they made the game look sloppy. But defensive struggles' beauty are well below the skin.
- Liggins and Miller praised for their defense yesterday. Both well deserved, these freshmen really contributed to a tough victory.
- More post-game thoughts about the Alabama game.
- More razzies for Mark Gottfried.
- Chris Fisher of Kentucky Ink asks, "Could Jodie Meeks have already clinched SEC POY?" I think he is a prohibitive favorite, that's for sure.
- The Alabama Basketball Blog on yesterday's game. I think the tech on Gottfried was indeed a bad call after an obvious bad call to precipitate his anger. The supposed foul on Senario Hillman clearly wasn't a foul at all. Thanks to ABB for the best wishes, they are a class act, and the only blog I know that consistently covers Tide basketball. They do a great job of it, too.
Kentucky Football/Other News
- UK football puts finishing touches on recruiting. DeQuin Evans, if he comes, would be our third Rivals 4-star player this year. Remarkable. Also, some Derrick Locke news -- he is said to be making "steady progress" and could be ready to go by the beginning of next year.
- Mitchell wants UK women to play with urgency.
NCAA Basketball News
- Neither Tennesssee nor LSU prevail in their non-conference matchups against ranked teams. More grist for the "What's wrong with the SEC?" mill.
- Maryland EPIC FAIL versus the Dookies.
- UConn defeats the Irish at home. Notre Dame is a lot like Kentucky -- two great players and a lack of quality depth. I admit, though, UConn did not impress me in this game.
- UCLA goes down to Washington. The Husky point of view is here.