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Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Steve Masiello Edition

News and commentary from around the Big Blue Internet. Bat Cats host Xavier today, have big series with Vandy this weekend. John Calipari said to have another "tweak" coming. More.

David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Masiello, who was recently hired away from Manhattan by USF, lost that deal today as it was discovered that his resume was inaccurate. He represented himself as having a degree from UK in communications, but he did not graduate.

As a fellow non-graduator who has never represented himself as degreed, I am deeply offended by this practice, and if Masiello is doing it, others are. I'm glad to see resume fraud take the stage, as it has somewhat more often lately. To me, this illustrates two absurdities — one, that a college degree is something too valuable not to lie about, and two, that employers to often ignore otherwise qualified candidates who don't hit that checkbox. My experience in life has validated both observations, but your mileage, dear reader, may vary.

Tweet of the Morning

Indeed. Happy birthday, Larry Vaught. Many happy returns.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football
Kentucky basketball
  • Analysts who bashed Wildcats say that Kentucky is "transformed." In other words, would you pass the garlic, please? My crow needs just a hint of seasoning.

  • Calipari has another "tweak" in mind. Whatever works.

  • Calipari understands that he failed this team:

    In the wake of Sunday’s draining, wrenching victory over Wichita State, Calipari was explaining how he had been getting in the way of his talented point guard Andrew Harrison. There was too much instruction from the coach and altogether too much hands-on advice. Harrison, brought to Kentucky because he was one of the best teenage guards in the world, could not be himself in that atmosphere.

    Over-coaching. No doubt about it.

  • Nate Silver doesn't like Kentucky's chances of beating Louisville Friday. Neither does Ken Pomeroy. Both have UK around a 30% chance to win.

    Don't be offended. This is exactly what you expect when the entire season is taken into account. But this Kentucky team is not the team of late February, and there is simply no good way to take that into account without performing some statistical gymnastics of questionable validity.

    I also found this to be right:

    The SEC is currently 7-0 in the NCAA Tournament, which is more a statement about Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee - especially Tennessee - than the rest of the league. The conference may not be as bad as it looked during the season, but it is not as good as that 7-0 looks in the tournament.

    But also significantly, the SEC had 4 teams in the NIT, more than any other league. That also says something about league strength, and depth. Seven of the SEC's 14 teams wound up in the post-season. Thats right there with most power conferences. What it tells me is that the SEC is getting better, but isn't there yet.

  • Heh. Most of the top freshman flopped last weekend, but Kentucky's soared.

  • Matchups matter more than seed. Exactly right.

  • Talent trumps experience, but can it take Kentucky all the way? First of all, I think the premise is wrong — talent doesn't necessarily trump experience. WSU was one possession away from victory. Talent won that time, but won't necessarily win them all.

    Second, the debate isn't really about talent versus experience. It's how much experience a given level of talent requires to succeed, and that varies significantly.

  • NBA commish Adam Silver says two years of college is best for NBA players. You're preaching to the choir, Nate. Sell it to the NBAPA.

    Don't buy the last line. If the NBA's actuaries didn't show a benefit, why would guys like Silver give a crap? Here's a hint — they wouldn't. The NBA is a business first, last, and always.

  • Greg Fischer is a bad politician. Why alienate your voters like that? Dumb. You'd think a Vandy grad would be smarter than that.

  • Wildcats fans who picked Wichita State in their brackets, how cynical are you? Pretty cynical. Reap the whirlwind.

  • More politicians doing dumb things to Kentucky fans.

  • Myron Metcalf predicts Louisville over Kentucky by double-digits. That's pretty bold.

    I wasn’t impressed by Louisville’s opening weekend (wins over Manhattan and Saint Louis), but I believe that the Cardinals recognize they had more to give in both games. And they’ll prove it with a double-digit win over Kentucky. More experience. More balance.

    More balance? Certainly not when it comes to scoring. Kentucky is far more balanced that way. So what is he talking about?

  • Julius Randle thankful for the life lessons he's learned under Coach Cal.

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