Camp Cal officially begins today at 18:00 hours (I figure military time is appropriate in this case). Ten days filled with fun and adventure.
Good luck to our guys. Get better. We want to see worldbeaters emerge on the other side of this thing. You've got one big scalp to make you feel better.
Tweet of the Morning:
Wow, is today a special day for birthdays or what? We've got three birthdays to celebrate today: @EVargas30, @CoachPSpradlin and @KingJames.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) December 30, 2013
Happy birthday to Eloy Vargas, Preston Spradlin (UK Assistant Director of Basketball Operations) and LeBron James. Many happy returns.
Also, informationally:
The Kentucky at Vanderbilt men's basketball game will air on CBS and tip-off at 3:30 pm ET on January 11, 2014.
— DeWayne Peevy (@UKDeWaynePeevy) December 30, 2013
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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Looks like our hopes of flipping Marcelys Jones just aren't going to be realized. It was a long shot, anyway.
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Dyshawn Mobley apparently plans to transfer to Eastern Kentucky. Interesting.
Kentucky basketball
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My colleague Mike Rutherford at Card Chronicle has an outstanding retrospective on the game. We have taken some shots at CC lately for some comments, but this is high-quality writing and should be read. Here's a taste:
I also have a little bit of a rivalry crush on Willie Cauley-Stein. His length is staggering and he moves incredibly well for someone that size. There were multiple times where one of Louisville's guards got in a 1-on-1 situation with WCS and felt the need to try and take advantage of it, and not once did it work out well for the Cards. He's also a seriously funny dude who would be adored if he suited up for the good guys.
Mike also takes on the officiating:
I thought the officiating in the first five minutes of the game was horrendous. I did, and I don't think it's an unreasonable thing to say. You are perfectly within your rights to disagree. It's an observation just like saying I thought Randle was terrific and Kentucky's size was the difference in the game.
Things evened out once everyone settled down and eventually there were missed calls both ways - Russ walked at the end of the game, he wasn't touched on one of his and-ones, Randle charged into Chris Jones, etc. I can't agree with anyone who places blame for Saturday's final score on the shoulders of the officials, but I'm also not going to lie and say I thought there was an even whistle for 40 minutes.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is how you remark on officiating. It is a biased, but honest take with a reasonable attempt at objectivity for a fan site writer. Nobody will ever mistake Mike for a UK fan, something I'm sure he's quite thankful for. With that said, he doesn't make excuses and he doesn't retreat into abject homerism.
I think he is a little too easy on Pitino in this one, but surely we can excuse that. This is a very well-done article full of pithy observations that every Kentucky fan should read.
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The Louisville Cardinals are still #1 at KenPom. You may dismiss this at your peril. Despite the loss to Kentucky, Louisville's defense is still spectacular, and they are still a solid offensive team. If they get production from their young front court and are able to play inside-out, they will be a very dangerous team come March.
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This is awesome, in case you haven't seen it yet. It was the subject of much positive commentary from the national media:
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CBT's latest effort for a top 25. I think 13 is a fine spot for Kentucky at this point.
Other Kentucky sports
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Larry Vaught muses on the likelihood of Kentucky winning the services of Rashad Vaughn.
Links posts
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Rupp Arena renovation is a numbers game. We need to maintain capacity of at least 23k.
College football
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It's Mississippi vs. Georgia Tech tonight in the Music City Bowl.
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College and Magnolia looks at the Florida St. receivers in advance of the BCS championship game.
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Greg Ostendorf and David Hale writing for ESPN.com look at the matchup between the FSU offensive line and the Auburn defensive line.
College basketball
- Garnet and Black Attack evaluates the Gamecock basketball team. It will be interesting to see how South Carolina fares in the SEC, which is pretty weak.
Other sports news
- Randall Cobb returns from injury, catches game winning touchdown against the Bears.