Kentucky Wildcats: Morning Quickies - Never Believe Rick Pitino Edition

If there is one thing that Kentucky fans should have learned about Rick Pitino when he coached here is to never, ever believe him when he says a player will or will not play. Most of the time, it was the other way around from his final pronouncement, whatever that was. I have no idea if Dieng will play Saturday, but I hope so. If he does, the Cardinals will have less of an excuse when we beat them.

Tweet of the Morning:

Dec. 18, 2012, Rick Pitino's exact words: "Gorgui’s latest exam with the doctor didn’t go as well... " Set target for return at 1/2/13.

— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) December 27, 2012

Never, ever believe anything Rick Pitino says about returns from injury.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Incoming Kentucky football assistants helping Florida State prepare for Orange Bowl // The Courier-Journal
  I think this is laudable for all involved. Good luck to FSU.

• Kentucky Sports Radio // What was on Kentucky Football’s Christmas list?
  "Relevancy" means different things to different people. Is "relevancy" six wins and a minor bowl? Is it 3 or more SEC wins? Is it upsets of major SEC teams?

• Kentucky Wildcats Football: New Faces Litter Recruiting Board // Wildcat Blue Nation
  Dec 2, 2012; Lexington , KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops waves to fans before being introduced a the new football coach at the Universit

• Kentucky Sports Radio // Five more recruits "leaning" the Cats’ way
  Good news from the football recruiting trail. Hopefully.

• Mark Stoops not surprised by passion of Kentucky football fans and counting on that support // vaughtsviews

  "This is the SEC and I know the fans of Kentucky want great football. That doesn’t surprise me one bit. I expected that and I expect great support," Stoops said. " I believe in the fan base here. I see their passion, so we’re all in this thing together and we’re looking forward to it, embracing it."

  I like it.
• Trinity coach likes way new Kentucky coaching staff approaches recruiting // vaughtsviews

Kentucky basketball

• Media members sound off on who will be the best player on the court Saturday for UK vs UofL // vaughtsviews
  In all honesty, I don't care who the best player is, or plays for. I care only about who the best team is.

• BOZICH: Pitino Envy Has Tilted To Calipari Dominance - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

  Defense works – Kentucky's defense. Ball pressure by Eric Bledsoe and John Wall. Long and active arms by Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins. Shot-blocking from Anthony Davis. Grit from Michael Kidd-Gilchrest. It's been more defense than Louisville's offense has been able to overcome.

  As JLeverenz discussed here, defense is something Kentucky has been good at this year -- not as good as Louisville, but vastly better than any team Louisville has beaten this year.

• CRAWFORD: What the return of Dieng means for UK vs. U of L // WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community
  Dieng will play, but will he hurt or help? Players out for a long time often disrupt chemistry, and Dieng won't be 100%. Crawford figures it to be a net advantage, although one of his justifications is that it helps Louisville's zone offense, but that's something they won't need against UK. The 'Cats have played almost zero zone all year. I could probably count the number of zone possessions on one hand.

• Somerdale native Kidd-Gilchrist is making an impact back home // Courier-Post
  MKG is reflecting great credit upon himself and the University of Kentucky.

• John Wall aiming for January return // The Kentucky Kernel
  Hope he gets back soon.

• Kentucky Sports Radio // Gorgui Dieng Will Play on Saturday
  Never believe an injury report by Rick Pitino. Never.

• Kentucky Sports Radio // Who is this game "bigger" for?
  In terms of this season, there is no doubt whatever it's bigger for Kentucky. Let's just leave it at that.

• #HateWeek // Chris Diggs – UK Fan Blog

• Can Harrow and Cats handle pressure from Louisville guards and overall defense // vaughtsviews
  I think the answer is yes. We've handled it pretty well whenever we've seen it, and even if Louisville's is better than most, I still think UK can handle it fine.

• Louisville basketball's Gorgui Dieng to start against Kentucky, Rick Pitino says // The Courier-Journal
  Never believe anything Pitino says about players returning.

• UK basketball: Clutch play in big game can bring a touch of immortality // Basketball: Men | Kentucky.com
  This was my second year back from the Navy, and I'll never forget that game.

• Kentucky basketball's Alex Poythress has potential for growth // The Courier-Journal

  "I see where he’s coming from," Poythress said. "Sometimes I do have mental lapses. I’ve just got to decrease those mental lapses and I should be fine. (During such lapses) I’m just thinking more instead of reacting."

  Just play the game, kid.

Links posts

• Morning Five: 12.27.12 Edition // Rush The Court

• Wakeup Call: Creighton's Josh Jones career ends due to heart ailment // CBSSports.com

• The Morning Mix // Troy Machir, CollegeBasketballTalk
• Tom Leach // Thursday Links
• John Clay's Big Blue Links // John Clay's Sidelines

College football

• College football notebook: Failed gamble decides game // Buckeye Xtra Sports
  Western had a successful gamble on a trick play that set up a score. Their final gamble didn't work out for them.

• Poll: SEC team most likely to lose in bowl // BCS Football Headquarters

  The most prohibitive favorite is Florida by two touchdowns over Louisville in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

  I just enjoyed this, so I thought I'd share it. :-)

• College football: Central Michigan beats Western Kentucky in bowl game // The Salt Lake Tribune
  Drat. Good job by Western. EMU has always been a fine football school.

• Brandon Hill signed SEC financial aid agreement with Alabama // Ole Miss sports
  Bet you never heard of this one. Well, I haven't, anyway -- there is such a thing as an SEC financial aid agreement that forecloses recruiting by SEC schools, but it's only available to postgraduate players out of high school. Hat tip: Rush The Court.

College basketball

• 3-point shot: How the other half travels // ESPN

Other sports news

• Randall Cobb will test his ankle on Friday // ProFootballTalk

• Julio Jones lands Pro Bowl berth // The Daily Bama Blog
  That's quite an honor for a second-year player. Congratulations to Jones

• Mashup: Tebow denies asking out of wildcat

  Tim Tebow finally spoke up and defended himself against accusations he asked out of the team's wildcat package for Sunday's loss to the Chargers, although his explanation is open to interpretation. "You work your whole life to build a reputation," Tebow said Wednesday.

  Asking not to be played doesn't sound like Tim Tebow to me. I'm not inclined to believe he did.