Big night tonight for the UK women's team, as they take on the Dayton Flyers for a berth in the Sweet Sixteen. Greg will have lots more on that later today.
Tweet of the Morning:
Calipari is going to leave UK and what he has going on for the greener pastures of UCLA and the Wear Twins.
— SaveUK (@SaveUK_) March 26, 2013
I had to laugh, the sarcasm fairly drips from this tweet. Sadly, this is exactly what some are saying.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
- Football spring practice highlights:
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Kentucky excited for football? New coach makes the difference // USA Today
First-year coach Mark Stoops has given the Wildcats’ moribund football program new life, rapidly remaking Kentucky from an SEC doormat into one of the trendy programs in the Southeast.
Wow, we’re “trendy” now? No kidding?
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UK football: Josh Clemons rushing back into form after long layoff // Kentucky.com
Clemons acknowledged being a little hesitant to put much weight on it during the opening day of spring practice. After having to sit and watch his teammates for a season and a half, he was scared that too much pressure would bring back the swelling.
Scott quickly told him that he would have to give it a try at some point.
It’s really hard to trust a knee that was hurt. He will, though.
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Mark Stoops angry at 'average' practice // courier-journal.com
“I’m not buying that,” Stoops said. “They know what’s going on now. Now it gets back to habits. Now it gets back to: ‘This is Day 5, Monday morning, and I’m going to go back to my old ways and just get out here and BS around, mill around for a few periods and then we’ll play a little bit.’ It’s not good enough. It’s not acceptable. You have to play good every snap. Every play is important. Every snap, you’ve gotta have some passion for what you’re doing. If you’re just out here milling around … (bad) position on the football, all that stuff’s going to get you beat.”
Sounds like Stoops isn’t settling for anything less than the best a player can give. I knew this was coming. After several good practice reports, you knew one of them wasn’t going to live up to Stoops’ standards.
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Stoops, Brown Talk Spring Practice on Monday // UKAthletics.com
Good stuff from Mark Stoops and Neal Brown.
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DJ Gillins, Mike Edwards, and Mikel Horton Updates // kentuckybluesportsnews.com
I don’t know this guy at all, but it seems like he knows what he’s talking about. I just don’t know his track record. (Hank)
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These have to be from the entire football staff and the whole team and maybe all UK athletes. (Hank)
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Defining recruiting success for 2013's new college football coaches // SBNation.com
Realistically, Kentucky cannot be expected to out-recruit any of the four major football programs in the East Division, beating Vanderbilt and Missouri on the recruiting trail remains the goal. Stoops must also battle Charlie Strong at Louisville, which is picking up recruiting momentum thanks to much improved play and a move from the Big East to the ACC. Louisville is arguably the No. 1 football program in the state right now, and Stoops must recruit well enough to stop that designation from being cemented in the minds of future recruits and fans.
Must. Stop. Louisville. Words to live by.
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UK's new 'Air Raid' has one problem: receivers // Kentucky.com
“We’re light on numbers even to get through practice. These guys are having to do something they’ve never done. In a spread offense, we’re playing fast. We’re going to play a lot of snaps out here. Their legs are getting dead.”
This is a genuine problem that has Neal Brown concerned.
Kentucky basketball
- Kentucky Sports Radio // It’s All Just “Speculation”
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Despite Katz report, UK says Hood and Polson have not made decisions about next year // vaughtsviews
Normally when Katz talks Big Blue, it’s golden because his information likely is coming straight from Calipari. However, this time UK says his information is not accurate.
Good to know. Interesting stuff in here, read the whole thing.
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“He’s [Julius Randle] all about winning. In one of our playoff games, he was double teamed in the open court and triple teamed in halfcourt,” Mayberry said. “He took four shots in the game. He didn’t force anything. He knew if he forced things he would take tough shots or turn the ball over. He decided to be a great teammate. Some guys missed easy shots, but he kept passing. He’s always willing to do what it takes to be on the right side of the scoreboard.”
That’s exactly the kind of player we need. But nobody will be able to do that to him at Kentucky. Not with the Harrisons and the rest of the talent we have coming in. No way.
Other UK sports
- No. 7/7 UK Hoops Faces No. 18/15 Dayton in NCAA Second Round // UKAthletics.com
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Hartley and Gross Named All-SEC // UKAthletics.com
Go, Gym Cats!
Links posts
- Tom Leach // Tuesday Links
- The Morning Mix // Troy Machir, CollegeBasketballTalk
- John Clay's SEC Links // John Clay's Sidelines
- John Clay's Big Blue Links // John Clay's Sidelines
College football
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SEC East burning questions: Can Dawgs hold off Gators, Gamecocks? - NCAA Football // CBSSports.com
He has no questions about Kentucky, and given our woeful status recently, justifiably so.
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College football's most-penalized teams and flag-happy conference refs // SBNation.com
More than you ever wanted to know about game officials for the various conferences.
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Now, exactly five months after the injury, Marcus is contemplating working out at South Carolina’s pro timing day on Wednesday and has set a goal of playing in the NFL some time before the 2013 season ends. How has he reached this point? Surprise, surprise: hard work, exercise, and – this time around – an added emphasis on nutrition.
Very interesting stuff, especially the rigors of rehab and the emphasis on eating right.
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Does Steve Spurrier think there should be a "gentlemen's... // www.ajc.com
And Spurrier’s views on “flips” is also telling. The gentlemen’s agreement, it seems, is a Big 10 thingy at least until Meyer showed up at Ohio State. The coaches up there think Urban is a turd because he recruits SEC style. Hahaha. (Hank)
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Agree or disagree with top recruit's comment on UGA? // www.ajc.com
This is interesting… (Hank)
College basketball
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3-point shot: Poaching coaches and teams // ESPN
Smart has now become the most-coveted coach. If he wanted to push he could likely have the pick of the Minnesota, UCLA or USC jobs. Or he could stay put at VCU. I wouldn’t be at all surprised by the latter. Smart could have had the Illinois job, but stayed at VCU.
I don’t blame him for staying at VCU versus the Illini. That’s not a great job, it’s a good one.
But UCLA is a great job by any reasonable definition, and if they come calling, he’s out of his mind to turn them down.
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Losing, off-court issues justifiably lead to firings of Ben Howland, Tubby Smith // Yahoo! Sports
Forde’s take. He spends a lot more time on Howland, and honestly, I think he just wanted to make his point.
The message has always been win, or get replaced. If the AD doesn’t think you’re winning enough, the rest doesn’t matter.
I’m not really lamenting the firing of either coach. They made their beds, and now … well, now they need a job, or a summer home. Either way, life goes on.
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2013 NCAA tournament - A Sweet 16 field for everyone // ESPN
Well, almost everyone. Nothing for Kentucky fans.
Other sports news
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The John Wall reality check // SBNation.com
And it’s laughable to put Wall in the same stratosphere as Westbrook and Harden.
Isn’t it?
It definitely was last week.
But now here we are, digesting another unreal performance from Wall in a month full of them, and the question’s not so easy.
Indeed.