Kentucky Wildcats: Morning Quickies - Morehead St. Edition

Welcome to the last workday of the week for most people, and the eve of Thanksgiving Day. I hope you all have a good one.

The Wildcats take on the Morehead St. Eagles tonight at 7:00 in Rupp Arena. We'll have more on that later.

Tweet of the Morning:

I'll say it again: UNC's problems start at defensive end. Butler shot 48 pct from three and made ten more free throws. Back to basics.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) November 21, 2012

We have spoken often of the pitiful defense North Carolina plays, and those chickens seem to be coming home to roost now that they don't have John Henson around to guard the rim. Take a look at what the Butler Bulldogs did to the North Carolina Tar Heels last night:

Folks, that's ugly. The only stat in which the Tar Heels weren't beaten resoundingly was ballhandling.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Kentucky football OC Randy Sanders: Max Smith is top returning QB // The Courier-Journal

  "Unless they’re in some kind of quarterback run game, there’s no question who the best one is," Sanders said. "There’s a reason it took us eight games to pass up the yardage total that Max (Smith) had. There’s a reason we went from averaging 320-some yards a game passing and 30-some points to where we’re at now. So there’s no question who the best one is."

  Sanders is right. Maxwell Smith is the best quarterback currently at Kentucky. But others will have a chance to catch up to him in the off season.

• Kentucky Wildcats Football: Former Cat Winston Guy With a PEDs Suspension // A Sea Of Blue
  Time to learn from a mistake.

• Gene Chizik could join Joker Phillips, John L. Smith in SEC finales // timesfreepress.com
  I'd just about bet the farm on it.

Kentucky basketball

• Kentucky basketball's Harrow will be 'low man on totem pole' upon return // The Courier-Journal

  "He’s obviously the low man on the totem pole," Calipari said. "You’ve got to start from behind. That ain’t all bad for him either, because now he’s going to have to fight for time. He’s behind everybody, which means you’ve got to earn it in practice. It’s not all bad."

  Harrow is behind, and has a long road to return to starting.

• Proof that Kentucky fans are everywhere // John Clay's Sidelines
  Heh. Classic.

• Video: John Calipari previews Morehead State game // John Clay's Sidelines
  Cal looks a bit distracted in this video. Interesting.

• Latest test for UK's makeshift backcourt is Morehead's full-court pressure // CoachCal.com
  Mays and Polson give me some confidence in UK's ability to break the press. Harrow is quicker, and that is an advantage getting the ball in, but he also plays faster, and that can be a disadvantage in the press. Patience, and getting the ball in the middle of the floor are the two keys to breaking the press.

• Julius Randle Vs. Aaron Gordon // Ky Cat Stats
  Honestly, I'd take either one.

• Karl Towns Mulling Kentucky & Duke // ZagsBlog.com
  You can never rule out Duke if they are involved. Never.

• Dakari Johnson’s Mother Breaks Down His Six Schools // ZagsBlog.com
  I like our chances with this guy, but if somebody doesn't go, 2013 will be a huge class.

Other UK sports

• Wildcats Begin Final Week of Regular Season at Missouri // UKAthletics.com
  Volleyball tries to continue the victory train today at Missouri. Remember to vote for Ashley Frazier for the Senior CLASS award. Vote early. Vote often.

• Softball Signs Three Quality Players for 2014 // UKAthletics.com

Links posts

• Tom Leach // Wednesday Links
• The Morning Mix // Troy Machir, CollegeBasketballTalk
• Wednesday morning buffet // Get The Picture
• SEC M5: 11.21.12 Edition // Rush The Court

College football

• USC’s backup QB guarantees a win over No. 1 Notre Dame // SI Tracking Blog – Tracking MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and NCAA On Twitter
  And so it begins ...

• Trash Talk: Kiffin's seat is at least warm // NBC Sports
  Heh. The Kiffster hasn't lived up to expectations, it seems.

• NCAA gives ultimatum to players in UM investigation; Canes, Dolphins, Marlins, Heat chatter // Sports Buzz

  The NCAA has delivered a new and disturbing ultimatum to numerous former University of Miami football players: Either talk to us or we’ll believe Nevin Shapiro’s claims against you.

  This is "due process?" I get the guilty until proven innocent thing is a new deal with the NCAA, and honestly, that's just the way things go. But this does seem to go beyond that quite a bit, since these guys are no longer under the auspices of the NCAA.

  Taken with the Shabazz Muhammad mess, I think the NCAA needs to investigate itself.

• There's Gruden, Then There's Everyone Else // Rocky Top Talk
  Think the Vols and the Razorbacks will have a meeting of the minds on this guy?

• Arkansas coaching search: James Franklin reportedly wasn't interested // SBNation.com
  Heh. That's commentary on either how far Vandy has come, or how desperate the Razorbacks look. Maybe they could rehire Petrino?

College basketball

• 3-point shot: Rescheduling Florida-G'town? // ESPN
  Katz makes a good point about conference realignment and the tournament rules. Change.

• AP News // Jack Taylor scores 138 points for Grinnell
  Yes, this was one guy. In a basketball game.

• Indiana vs. Georgetown College Basketball // SI.com
  Indiana escapes in overtime.

• Log5: Maui Invitational // Kenpom.com
  Early season Log5's: Not a good bet.

• Basketball Prospectus // As Sweet by Any Speed
  Analyzing Jack Taylor's performance for Grinnell. 138 points, no matter how you get them, is remarkable. The interesting thing was that despite his volume, Taylor was reasonably efficient.

• Brennan: Why I'm over realignment issue // ESPN

  Now, after three straight years of this nonsense -- of rumors and breaking news and tortured explanations of why San Diego State totally makes sense as a football member of the Big East -- I'm done being angry. I'm just done.

  I'm the same way, except I've never been angry. Let the teams go where they will, I could care less. in the end, the SEC will still be the dominant football conference, and the ACC looks like it will be the dominant basketball conference.
• Tuesday's college hoops roundup: Indiana survives, UNC falters, someone scores 138 points // SBNation.com

Other sports news

• Hornets' Davis out with foot injury // WGN

  Hornets rookie forward Anthony Davis suffered a stress reaction in right foot, coach Monty Williams announced before Tuesday night's game against the Knicks.

  Ugh. Listed as day to day.