Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the official begging of summer, and the day we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our country.
Today's Linkapalooza has stuff from Terrence Jones and Archie Goodwin, as well as some speculation about Anthony Davis, plus a lot more.
UK basketball notebook: Davis possesses rare talent, NBA scout says // Kentucky.com
■ When asked if the Coalition's statement on UK basketball generated feedback, Nichols said, "Oh yeah. We're getting some significant (feedback) from your state."
Heh. I'm sure, and I doubt if much of it is positive.
Bullitt East's Derek Willis not down after tumbling in national rankings // The Courier-Journal
Willis admitted he hasn’t played well this spring. In early April he went to Germany to play with a Team USA squad and said the travel and other events took their toll.
It will be interesting to see if Willis regains his form. In any case, though, he has to know that he will likely be a bench player for UK for his first year or so.
College hoops grades are making news // CollegeBasketballTalk
Finally, the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported on Cuonzo Martin’s continuing attempts to clean up the mess left behind by Bruce Pearl. Progress has been incremental, but it’s going the right direction. According to the paper, team GPA was 2.25 in the spring of 2011, then increased to 2.37 in the fall of that year. The spring 2012 number went up to 2.55. Not quite Kentucky numbers (on the court or off), but a definite improvement.
This is good to hear. The SEC needs for Tennessee to be strong again.
The Thing About the Davis Dilemma // NetsDaily
But does that mean that we keep Davis under all circumstances?
Hell no. Davis should be traded with other fillers not named Lopez or Wallace for Dwight. Why? Because its not about the potential. It's about Brooklyn. Yeah, Brooklyn's back. It's all about Brooklyn and it will be. No matter how great Davis can be in the future, it is better to trade him and fillers for Dwight because we need to focus on the present.
Interesting.
Five draft lotteries that changed NBA history // NewsObserver.com
The 7-59 Bobcats are headed into Wednesday’s annual draft lottery in New York with a 25 percent chance at the No. 1 pick. Kentucky big man Anthony Davis is a prohibitive favorite to be the player the Bobcats or any other team would select. The Bobcats have the best odds, but only three times since the lottery was created in 1985 has the team with the worst record received the top pick.
It's interesting how often the odds get beat in the draft.
Aces help Quigley defeat No. 5 Cunha, advance to Final Four
UK tennis star Eric Quigley advances to the NCAA Final Four in singles.
Mark Story: 10 reasons UK football will be interesting in 2012 //| Kentucky.com
Filling the traditional role of a Lexington Herald-Leader sports columnist — finding the silver lining amid the dark clouds of UK sports — here are 10 reasons to look forward to the coming Kentucky football season. ... 4. Even more entertainment. If the UK season goes as badly as Joker Phillips' many critics claim it is going to, then the same Kentucky fans (some of them) who spent years ripping the lack of honesty of a certain former Louisville head coach will perform contortions to come up with reasons UK should now hire the same Bobby Petrino. Watching that will be an absolute hoot.
I have already seen some of this. No matter what happens to Phillips, Petrino is not an acceptable candidate. He is too ethically compromised.
Rajon Rondo's Historic Game Seven // The UK Nation.com
Former Kentucky star Rajon Rondo led the Boston Celtics to a game seven win Saturday evening against the Philadelphia 76er's. Rondo ended the night with a triple-double 18 points -- on 6-13 from the field and 1-4 from the field -- 10 rebounds and 10 assists. As impressive as his final stats were as a stand alone, Rondo played his best when the Celtics lost Paul Pierce to a charging call at the 4:16 mark of the fourth quarter.
It's getting harder and harder to argue that Rondo is not the best point guard in the NBA.
UK Athletics approaching Barnhart's goals in competition, classroom // Kentucky Wildcats
With four different teams adding to Kentucky's tally, UK Athletics is fast closing in on Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart's benchmark of 15 conference or national championships by the year 2015.
With the work of all UK's varsity teams, the Wildcats are also on the cusp of Barnhart's goals in the classroom.
This is simply outstanding for Barnhart and UK.
Vandy, Miss. St. in title contest // The Decatur Daily - Decatur, Alabama
Florida reportedly adds South Carolina transfer Damontre Harris // CollegeBasketballTalk
Archie Goodwin always had Kentucky No. 1 on his college list, grew up Calipari fan // vaughtsviews
"It was a very easy decision for me to come to Kentucky," said Goodwin, part of UK coach John Calipari’s latest No. 1 recruiting class. "I looked at the way that the system runs and is incorporated and it fits me just fine. Coach Cal was looking for a guy that will get it done and I will do that."
Goodwin is going to be great at UK.