Big Blue Linkapalooza: Mountaineers Edition

Today is all about the West Virginia Mountaineers, as they tip it off against the Kentucky Wildcats today in the early game of the NCAA Tournament's second third round.

At the end, we'll have some quotes thoughtfully sent to us by Ken DeCelles of SBN's South Florida Bulls blog, Voodoo Five.  Thanks so much to Ken for providing them.

• BBL: All the links you need for UK-West Virginia :: John Clay’s Sidelines

• Column: Requiem for a team - The Daily Princetonian
  Nice commentary on the UK-Princeton game.

• NCAA Tournament: Kentucky coach John Calipari calls Newark 'a great American story' | NJ.com

  If Kentucky beats West Virginia this afternoon in Tampa, Fla., the Wildcats will be one of the top draws in the East Region in Newark next week.

  It will be a bit of a homecoming for Kentucky coach John Calipari, who was a polarizing figure as the Nets coach from 1996-1999.

  Interesting.

• Ignore talk of the Kentucky-West Virginia ‘rematch’ :: Beyond the Arc

• John Calipari: "I Can't Stand Bob Huggins" :: The UK Nation
  Heh. Just a joke, the two are good friends.

• Notes: One-time UK recruit Zollo has no regrets :: High school basketball

• NCAA Tournament: Kentucky's Brandon Knight has the brains to excel on the court, in the classroom | NJ.com

  The chants rang from the Princeton student section on Thursday, similar to the mockery Kentucky heard last season against Cornell: "S-A-Ts! … S-A-Ts! … " The Wildcats are not an Ivy League school, although the contradiction this season might not be entirely accurate.

  Surprised we didn't see more of this, but I probably shouldn't be.

• Old friends in for another tense ride in Tampa - The Boston Globe

  "Cal likes to tell it better than I do,’’ Huggins said yesterday, recalling one of the details the close friends agree on — Calipari’s cousin was in the emergency vehicle that transported Huggins from the Pittsburgh airport to the hospital. "Of course Cal wasn’t dying and I was.’’

  Heh.  It's a good story.

• UK better equipped to handle WVU's 1-3-1 :: The Courier-Journal

• Love 'em or hate 'em, Cal and Huggy surely are entertaining
  I think this guy trends more toward the "hate" side.

• Miller's emergence key for Kentucky
  Darius Miller has really emerged. He needs to stay out of that cocoon.

• NCAA Tournament: West Virgina hopes zone works against Kentucky

• Terrence Jones Dealing with an Illness
  I hope he's feeling better today. We sure need him.

• Jon Hood Will Write His Final Chapter At Kentucky | The UK Nation

  "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here," Hood said. "I'm not going anywhere and I don't understand why anyone would say that. To be honest, it's a pretty stupid remark to go around saying that without having any hard evidence or anything I've said. I've always said I'm going to be here and I'm going to be here."

  I believe him.  He is a Kentucky boy.

• Thoroughman no fan of Kentucky  - Sports - The Charleston Gazette - West Virginia News and Sports -

  "I give them a hard time about it and they give me a hard time about it,'' Thoroughman said. "Last year I think they were mad both that we beat Kentucky and then that Duke beat us. They hate Duke.''

  We would have liked you a lot better if you had beaten the Blue Devils.

• Kentucky basketball: Kentucky basketball fans still wish they had Billy Donovan instead of John Calipari - OrlandoSentinel.com
  Yeah, at least, I don't know, five or six UK fans probably do. Maybe as many as ten. All of them live in Florida, I hear.

• Rick Pitino to Join CBS as an NCAA Guest Analyst
• Some morning notes before the Cats seek revenge :: John Clay’s Sidelines

Now some quotes from yesterday:

• Q. I was just kind of wondering with the relationship you and Bob have, does it put any kind of extra spin on it when you guys recruit against each other? For instance, like Devon a couple years ago, Doron this last year? Obviously you guys are close, but this is kind of a different spin.
  
  COACH CALIPARI: I don't take recruiting personal. If the families decide that they want to play for another coach, whether it's Bob or anybody else, I move on. I don't take a whole lot of transfers. So when kids call and say I made a mistake, I'd like to come, I never take them. You get the first round and that's it because we've moved on to other guys. I've never yelled at a coach or a player for not coming with me, and I wish you luck and hope you do well unless we play you and I hope we smash you if we play you.
  
  With Bob or anybody, I try real hard not to take this stuff personal, move on to the next young man who really wants to play for us or me
• Q. Terrence, a two parter. Have teams changed the way they've played you as the season has progressed? I noticed last night you were coughing. How are you feeling today?
  
  TERRENCE JONES: Today is one of the best days I've had. The trainer has really been taking care of me.
  
  Yeah, teams played all of us different, I'd say, just depending on what the coaching staff sees in their scouting. I've been double teamed or in the post or just leave your man and come if I'm driving. But we've got other guys that have been making plays and really been trying to make teams pay for just focusing in on a couple guys.
• Q. I was just kind of wondering with the relationship you and Bob have, does it put any kind of extra spin on it when you guys recruit against each other? For instance, like Devon a couple years ago, Doron this last year? Obviously you guys are close, but this is kind of a different spin.
  
  COACH CALIPARI: I don't take recruiting personal. If the families decide that they want to play for another coach, whether it's Bob or anybody else, I move on. I don't take a whole lot of transfers. So when kids call and say I made a mistake, I'd like to come, I never take them. You get the first round and that's it because we've moved on to other guys. I've never yelled at a coach or a player for not coming with me, and I wish you luck and hope you do well unless we play you and I hope we smash you if we play you.
  
  With Bob or anybody, I try real hard not to take this stuff personal, move on to the next young man who really wants to play for us or me personally.