Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: We Need Football Fast Edition

Okay, as we run up to the college football season, things are getting really weird out there. We need college sports soon, or it just might require a collective, mass appearance on Dr. Phil.

Tweet of the Morning:

Thank you! RT @BigTimeBelanger: @jamalmashburn is the greatest #Wildcat ever. Period. Go Big Blue! #BBN

— Jamal Mashburn (@jamalmashburn) August 13, 2013

One of my favorites ever. Fo' shizzle.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Nate Willis, JUCO cornerback out of Arizona Community College, has made the grade and will enroll at UK. We badly need his help at that spot. More from Ben Roberts.

• Franklin County's Ryan Timmons is making a strong early impression at Kentucky. This is no surprise to anyone who has seen him play.

  As a side point, I don't really mind that much when the announcer emphasizes a first down a little, but thank God we won't be hearing air raid sirens on anything but touchdowns.

• As posted by Wild Weasel earlier, a sortable UK football roster for 2013.

• Stoops very pleased with yesterday's practice. No new injuries to report but this interesting Q&A:

  Q. Mark [Stoops], do you reach a point with Nate Willis where it's too late for him to come in and help you this year?

  A. No.

  Heh. No equivocation there. We need secondary help bad.

  Also, some QB talk. Max Smith's shoulder seems to be fine. Neal Brown very pleased with the freshmen, and Alex Montgomery's name comes up all the time.

• Ira Combs talks UK football. Ira says Maxwell Smith and Jalen Whitlow are showing more consistency than Patrick Towles.

• Rivals has a nice piece on who benefited from realignment. Also contains just a hint at why Missouri is vulnerable to a UK loss in the next season or two. [Hank]

• Are you ready for some football? [Hank]

• Want to get a feel about the Stoops and Eliot defense? Read here and here from 2012. [Hank]

Kentucky basketball

• UK makes Devin Booker's final five. He'll be in town for Big Blue Madness.

• Chad Ford's NBA Draft Big Board for 2014 includes 7 Wildcats, according to Ben Roberts. I'm not a subscriber, so I'm happy to take his word for it.

• Consider this, from Myron Metcalf:

  Kentucky

  Best case: An undefeated season. I know, I know: That's crazy. But when you consider how close the 2012 group came (a last-second shot at Indiana and one blase SEC tournament performance were their only losses) and the talent the 2013-14 group has at its disposal, is it really that crazy? A national title is the obviously expectation going into the season; what if the Cats somehow do more?

  Worst case: Losing in the Final Four? Losing in the national title game? Expectations are so high that almost anything but a national title will feel like the worst possible outcome. Crazy, but that's where we are.

  He's absolutely right. That's where we are.

• Who will lead Kentucky? Fortunately, this year Kentucky has a number of candidates, from Julius Randle to the Harrison twins. Don't be surprised to find Willie Cauley-Stein exerting leadership, either. Hat tip: Aaron's blog

Other UK sports

• Kentucky volleyball begins the season ranked #17.

Links posts

• John Clay's SEC Links

• John Clay's Big Blue Links

• The Leach Report — Tuesday Wildcat Links

• Rush The Court — Morning Five

College football

• An ex-NCAA director of enforcement tells Jerry Hinnen that Johnny Manziel should sit if his situation is unresolved. It's a risk playing Manziel, as the NCAA could come back later and vacate all those games. I don't care one way or the other, it's a roll of the dice.

  As Jerry says, if the NCAA recommends holding him out, I'm positive the Aggies will do that.

• Louisville has taken the step of not allowing players to autograph items for fear they will appear on eBay. I sympathize with that decision and, were UK in their shoes with a Heisman candidate, we'd probably do the same thing.

• Speaking of bad boy Johnny Football, there is a report that he was involved in two previously unreported paid autograph signings. Good Bull Hunting whistles past the graveyard. Team Speed Kills says, "Show me the money."

• The SEC's new bowl pool system is announced. This always confuses me. [Via Hank]

• This is hard to believe, but it's true. [Hank]

• A little SEC love for ya [via Hank]:

• Dixieland! [via Hank]:

• The Curious Index — EDSBS.

• ESPN looks at some potential hot seat coaches.

• Oh, dear. This is just wrong in so many ways. But it is damned funny.

College basketball

• Ranking the games of the NCAA tip-off marathon. Kentucky-Michigan St. is number 1 on this list, and rightly so.

• More on the college basketball tip-off marathon from Andy Staples.

• College basketball team capsules, Twitter style.

• The coach for Washington D.C. based DC Assault was arrested Friday on federal drug charges.

• The SEC's biggest offseason storylines. Yes, of course Wiltjer's leaving was big — he left with a NCAA Tournament championship ring. That's a big deal.

• Still more on the college basketball tip-off marathon from NBC.

• Big Ten Powerhouse examines the five top basketball coaches in the Big Ten. I think they got this pretty much spot on.

Other sports news

• Can the NCAA enforcement staff pick up the pieces? I have no idea.

• John Wall says his full-court ally-oop pass wasn't faked. I'd have to see it again with a wider angle before I believe it.

• "I picked the wrong vice. I should have picked alcohol."

  Funny, in a tragic sort of way.

• This is just tragic.

• No president LeBron? Darn.