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Remember Zeke Pike, the #1 quarterback in Kentucky who decided to go to Auburn rather than stay in state? Seems he's a bit of a pistol, and not just the kind Gene Chizik likes:
After his arrest Saturday night on a charge of public intoxication, it's obvious that Pike needs time to clear his head, get his act together and decide if he really wants to play college football.
...
Before patting Gene Chizik on the back for (choose one) sending Pike home or allowing him to go home, a question seems in order. Given what we knew about Pike before he got to Auburn, why did Chizik sign him in the first place?
Seems Pike was not such a good boy in high school, either. Which brings me to the Tweet of the Morning that identified the Scarbinsky article above to me:
Towles looking good. RT @KevinScarbinsky The column: Auburn doesn't need any more of Zeke Pike's aggravation right now. bit.ly/KAGD6l
— KentuckySportsReport (@MyKSR1) June 26, 2012
Heh. Indeed.
Your quickies follow the jump.
UK-U of L Game Will Render Clues to Upcoming Season – But Likely Won’t Decide It for Either
U of L has everything to gain and nothing to lose, the reasoning goes. It’s the Cards’ annual chance to upend a team from the mighty Southeastern Conference. What does Kentucky gain by beating a team from an inferior conference?
Of course, ask yourself this: Have you ever heard a UK football fan make that argument in the giddy moments following a victory over the Cardinals – especially after a game Kentucky wasn’t supposed to win?
Heh. Touche.
No matter what the value of this game may be from a big-picture standpoint, talking about eliminating it is a joke. It isn't ever going to happen. The end.
Now that that is established, a loss to Louisville this year would likely fatally damage Kentucky's bowl hopes, as the Cardinals are more beatable on paper than any team in the SEC including the Vanderbilt Commodores. So if Kentucky wants to get to a bowl, they'd better find a way to beat Louisville. It's that simple, in my opinion.
More Cardinal shuffle: Rakeem Buckles out the door // John Clay's Sidelines
This just in: Louisville’s revolving door for men’s basketball just keeps spinning and spinning and spinning.
So Pitino's sending his cast-offs to his son. This just bothers me. Probably shouldn't, but it does.
Harrellson sees UK teammate Miller as NBA contributor
"Darius is a tremendous player," Harrellson said Thursday evening after playing in a pickup game in Maysville. "Very smart. He knows his role. He's been in every part of college basketball there is. He's been the leader for the last two years of the Kentucky Wildcats, and he's very, very mature, so he's gonna go in and he's gonna help any team he goes to.
Word.
Kentucky Wildcats' John Calipari says Missouri Tigers, Texas A&M make SEC stronger than ever // ESPN
"Think about what happens now. Now we start moving up a notch in where everybody is. I think, again, seven teams in our league, half of our league is going to be in the NCAA tournament. That's what I believe. And I think that will be from here on in."
I think Calipari's right. Mizzou and TAMU have developed SEC-worthy basketball programs that should make the league better. They are not going to dominate anything, but they will be contenders for NCAA bids along with Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and of course, Florida and Kentucky.
UK basketball: Freshmen to lead the way again this season // Kentucky.com
I think that this Kentucky team is going to be better than many of you think. Jump on the early bandwagon for the best seats, there's plenty of room left.
Mock NBA draft lottery based on production playing NCAA men's basketball // ESPN
I'm not really sure what this is worth. I read about 5 paragraphs and stopped. You may find it more interesting.
2012 NBA Mock Draft 5.0: Falling into place // CBSSports.com
Can somebody explain to me why you'd draft John Henson or Arnett Moultrie ahead of Terrence Jones? Did these guys play on some alternate-reality national title team, or demonstrate the kind of power, quickness and control that Jones did? I'm afraid I just cannot see that, and I'm willing to accept the premise that I'm just a clueless homer in need of instruction.
The rest are at least plausible, even if I disagree with some of them.
Cats strike out on a few recruits // Bleed Blue Kentucky
It's tough out there on the football recruiting trail.
Kentucky Sports Radio // How Hot Is Joker’s Seat?
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for -- Queen
Pretty soon, we'll be going to "Some Like It Hot..."
NCAA shouldn't punish Penn State; let's leave that to the civil court system // CBSSports.com
The death penalty for Penn State football? That's illogical. Literally, it makes no sense. The NCAA's death penalty is appropriate when a school has broken NCAA rules, not state laws. I wrote that on Twitter on Monday and instantly was peppered with some manner of the following:
Exactly right. The NCAA is in business to enforce its rules, not right the wrongs that are more appropriately addressed by the legal system. The Sandusky matter is not something the NCAA should weigh in on.
The criminal justice system has spoken. Now, the civil justice system should speak. The NCAA should remain silent.
The latest numbers on the transfer epidemic // CollegeBasketballTalk
And according USA Today, this year’s transfer rate was 10.9%. Perhaps more telling, however, is the fact that 40% of freshmen basketball players never make it to the end of their sophomore season. Just 2% leave to play pro ball, meaning that about 27% of incoming freshmen end up leaving school for something other than a professional contract of another scholarship. [sic]
That is a surprisingly high number. I share Dauster's concern.
Feds: Ex-Baylor hoops player tried to extort Robert Griffin III // NFL - SI.com
Court documents say that last week, Hurd contacted a representative from a St. Louis agency, threatening to publicize derogatory information about a client unless he was paid a "substantial sum" of money. The representative is identified in documents only by the initials B.D.
Unbelievable.
'Killer competitor' Montrezl Harrell could make Louisville's good front line great // Sporting News
"(Harrell) won’t take a backseat to Gorgui or Chane at the 5 or the 4," Pitino told ESPN. "He’s a killer competitor. That’s going to keep both of those guys on their toes every single day. I haven’t had a player signed this late that will have this kind of impact."
Good grief, Pitino, don't you ever get tired of this kind of hype? Harrell is a known quantity, and a very good competitor. But he lacks the size and skill to seriously challenge either Deng or Behanannan.
Bradley Beal rises, Jared Sullinger falls in NBA Mock Draft 3.0 // Sam Amick - SI.com
Kendall Marshall 11th? Just don't believe it.
Y! Sports/DraftExpress: Top Ten Big Men // Yahoo! Sports
Another ranking placing Terrence Jones below John Henson. To me, that's insane. Henson has no offensive game at all, and Jones is a better all-around defender.
College Basketball Nation Blog // ESPN
2. Izzo spent some idle time he had Monday making calls to NBA teams as he continues to push for Green. Green is likely to go in the first round but where is still anybody’s guess. Teams like Indiana really like him at No. 26 but he’s also a candidate for Atlanta at No. 23 if not higher. "He’s going in the first round and will play in the league a long time,’’ said Izzo. "He can contribute in so many ways. He’ll be like [Udonis] Haslam and [Shane] Battier. He can rebound, he can shoot and he has the smarts. You’ll say who can he match up with but he knows how to play. He’s got great character.’’
Props to Izzo. This won't hurt his appeal with recruits.
Study: How the BCS leagues have fared in the APR since its inception // CBSSports.com
Nice piece by Matt Norlander. Kentucky is doing well, in the top three in the SEC. I'm very happy to see that.