I hope everyone is enjoying their President's Day. The Kentucky Wildcats are still at #1 in the AP poll with the same two holdouts voting for Syracuse. They are a unanimous #1 in the Coaches Poll.
Now, for the rest of the news:
What do you think of this? Remember, this is not in order, so don't quibble about that. What do you think of the selections?
Book Review: Duke, Kentucky And The Last Great Game // Aaron Torres
Very good review of "The Last Great Game." I don't really do book reviews, but if I were doing one, it would be very similar to this one.
UK basketball notebook: Rick Stansbury needs straitjacket against UK // Kentucky.com
The NCAA won't bother with UK practices on television. A precedent was set with the Longhorn Network showing Texas football practices twice a week last season.
So apparently I was wrong about this. Good.
Kennedy: Cats reminiscent of UNLV
To Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy, watching Miller and his Kentucky teammates run roughshod over the Southeastern Conference this season is like seeing ghosts. The former UAB star and honorable mention All-American laced up his high tops opposite those Runnin' Rebels and sees so many of the same characteristics in John Calipari's 2011-12 squad.
Interesting comparison. I'd say this team is more like the 2007 Ohio St. Buckeyes, only more talented and better overall.
SEC Realignment: Progressive Scheduling And Preserving Rivalries // SBNation.com
This gives me a headache just reading it.
Rick Bozich // Ole Miss' Andy Kennedy a Wildcat believer // courier-journal.com
"They don’t half-step at any position," Ole Miss forward Terrance Henry said. "They have, I’d say, a pro at every position. They have good bench play. Overall they’re the best team in the country."
Kyle Wiltjer gives Kentucky a big lift // bellinghamherald.com
"The reason we had a lead at halftime was because of Kyle Wiltjer," said UK Coach John Calipari after the Cats' 77-62 victory.
No doubt. Wiltjer is such a threat from outside that you can't really wrap your head around it. He just keeps getting better and better.
Everything Kentucky // HD Version Video of Darius Miller Dunk
Just in case you'd like to relive that monster jam in HD quality.
UK teammates loved Darius Miller’s throwdown dunk // vaughtsviews
"I like to keep calm, but you can’t after that," Wiltjer said. "It was a great dunk. I just hope I was close enough that I am in the clip on (ESPN) SportsCenter tonight because that has to be the top play. Coach drew up that play and he really hammered it down."
BBL: All the links you need from UK’s win over the Rebels // John Clay's Sidelines
Just in case I missed a few.
Calipari has his own motivation for Rupp Arena fans to cheer for wins // vaughtsviews
Kentucky Sports Radio // The Maturation of Boogie
We have all known DeMarcus Cousins could/would be good at both the collegiate and NBA level. Yet what DeMarcus has done lately has been impressive indeed. As of right now, Cousins is playing like one of the best big men in the entire league, with his numbers up there with NBA elites like Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, Kevin Love, and Blake Griffin (I still have to double check Love’s numbers to make sure they aren’t some sort of hoax sometimes).
That's great to see. We knew the Big Cuz could be a very good NBA player, and now, it seems like he is beginning to tap that marvelous potential.
Scratch depth from shrinking list of UK weaknesses // CoachCal.com
Kennedy said UK doesn’t have a particularly deep bench, pointing to the production his team got when Anthony Davis went out of the game in the first half with two fouls, but with each passing game, the depth issue is becoming like the rest of the Wildcats’ supposed weaknesses: hollow and overrated.
Depth sure didn't look like a problem yesterday.
Mike Humes, a spokesman for the company, said he was told Wednesday’s practice was the second-highest rated program of the day on ESPNU, the channel that broadcast UK’s workout live from 3-5 p.m. Only an actual game between Notre Dame and Rutgers rated higher — apparently, although Humes said they don’t track official ratings for ESPNU programming.
Amazing.
Poppin' Bubbles: Winners and Losers // CBSSports.com
Bubble talk will really be increasing from now on.
No. 16 Murray State turns away No. 21 Saint Mary's (Cal) // FOX Sports on MSN
Murray State jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never trailed, building a double-digit advantage early in the second half and cruising from there.
ESPN fires writer of offensive headline about Jeremy Lin // CNN.com
The headline read "Chink in the Armor," referencing the New York Knicks' 89- 85 loss Friday night to the New Orleans Hornets that ended the team's season-high winning streak.
Miller's dunk sparks barrage of 3-point bombs, win over Ole Miss // CoachCal.com
It was just one play, just one dunk. It only counted for two points and one field goal in the stat sheet.
But oh did Darius Miller’s dunk change the complexion of Saturday’s game against Ole Miss.
Illinois Illini should stand by coach Bruce Weber through rest of season // ESPN
It's a shame that his tenure at Illinois has come to this, since he's someone that has been good for the game. If this does end up being his final season with the Illini, he would be a perfect fit for a school in a conference like the Missouri Valley, where he coached at Southern Illinois before arriving at Illinois.
Nerlens' Notebook: Kentucky, 'Cuse visits // ESPNHS
Reading between the lines of a young man's post is fraught with danger. Still, if you are a UK fan, you have to love what you read here.
Via Nation of Blue.
Calipari Compares UK's Three Point Shooting To "Linsanity" // LEX18.com
So then they came back and said, ‘no, we are not letting him score, and he had 13 assists.' That's basically this. You just whatever they are giving you, you've got to take."
Exactly right.
Link: Peeling back the layers, Cousins laid back and humble // CoachCal.com
If you’re looking to pass a little time tonight, take 10 minutes out of your evening to read this fantastic, in-depth story on the misunderstood DeMarcus Cousins. Written by Alejandro Danois of The Sporting News, the feature takes us through a journey of Cousins’ basketball career to illustrate there is more than meets the eye with the former Wildcat and John Calipari player.
John Calipari’s Success in the One-and-Done Era // Alec Difrawi
Few coaches have had a run like Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari in the last few years. Calipari has always been a polarizing figure in college basketball, and as a result his fans have to be happy, even if his critics are not. Whether a fan or a critic, it’s hard to deny the success he has had in his 20 seasons of coaching.
Pretty nice piece. Worth the five minute investment.
Mississippi State guard can see "why guys want to play" for John Calipari // vaughtsviews
"From what I see, he [Calipari] is a great coach. He uses players to their max potential. I can see why guys want to play for him. He puts guys in the pros and lets them make plays. Who wouldn’t like that? " Bost said.
List of ways to beat UK dwindling // The Kentucky Kernel
The Rebels played well. They honestly did. Not a good shooting team, Ole Miss decided to abandon the perimeter (where it was shooting under 30 percent for the season) and attack the inside, and it worked.
Unfortunately for the Rebels, even when you play well against the Wildcats, it's hard to play well enough.
Jim Boeheim and John Calipari Have a History of Choking in March // The Big Lead
The guys on this blog are notoriously anti-Calipari.
NC State Wolfpack not happy about ejections of Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani // ESPN
NC State athletic director Debbie Yow and more importantly Corchiani and Gugliotta would like to know why they were ejected.
One former official told ESPN.com Monday that this is a consistent failure of the current system. You can debate whether it was right or wrong to toss Corchiani and Gugliotta, but publicly stating a reason would certainly lessen the noise.
All Hess or at least the ACC had to say is that they were ejected for saying "blank." Instead, the answer is crickets.
If I were NC State, I wouldn't let this go. But I'm not, and they will. Too bad.
Bracketology 2012: Michigan State Conquers The Top Line // SBNation.com
My question is this: If Louisville is 4, can you see any way they don't wind up in Kentucky's region? The NCAA claims not to seed that way, but I'm not buying.