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Tonight is the McDonald's All American game, and all four of Kentucky's recruits will be participating. Of course, we'll have an open thread and more.
Tweet of the Morning
This week's national SI cover is Kentucky (specifically, Aaron Harrison's game-winner vs. Michigan) pic.twitter.com/7iMRBSGdqE
— Luke Winn (@lukewinn) April 2, 2014
Very impressive.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
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Five Kentucky players who are ready for big roles in 2014
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SEC spring forecast: Kentucky. All eyes on the quarterbacks.
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UK approves $10 million donation for football practice facility. This is another way to turn a loser into a winner — by improving facilities.
Kentucky basketball
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Getting to the Final Four means big money for the team's coaches, including Coach Cal.
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Calipari's statement on coach Orlando Antigua. We'll miss coach O around here.
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Crimson Quarry says that the talent vs. experience thing is muddled. I think it's a matter of degree, more than anything else. When you have enough talent, experience is not as important. The less you have, the more important it becomes.
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Kentucky has grown up right in front of everyone. Yes, and there have been plenty of growing pains.
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Don't be mad at Kentucky or John Calipari:
So cheer against Kentucky if you wish, but don’t knock the Wildcats as some kind of rule-breakers or revolutionaries. All Calipari has done is look at the landscape designed by others and figure out how to win.
There's not a lot of figuring going on here. Everyone knows if you get the best players, your chances of winning go up.
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More "rent a team" stuff, but this sounds like something different:
It looked as if Calipari’s might be another freshmen-laden team with an early exit.
And then the Wildcats demonstrated the other side to my argument, that sometimes — perhaps a lot of the time — talent will win out, that the 2012 national title team may very well not be the exception.
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John Calipari and Bo Ryan are exquisite foils. This is nice:
In any event, it’s my opinion that both Bo Ryan and John Calipari are, ultimately, overwhelmingly positive influences for their players’ futures. They both demand accountability from their stars. They’re both great coaches. (Also, they both yell a lot.) Nevertheless, that they and their teams are so otherwise divergent should make for one hell of a compelling basketball matchup.
I'm a huge fan of Bo Ryan. Huge.
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This year with elite freshman Andrew Wiggins, Kansas didn't escape the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, getting upset in its second game by Stanford. With Jabari Parker, Duke went one-and-done against Mercer.
Meanwhile, Calipari at Kentucky has won his last 10 NCAA Tournament games - the last three, incredibly, against three of last year's Final Four - and he's 17-2 overall in the Big Dance with the Wildcats.
Hard to argue with that kind of success.
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Calipari, caskets, the Final Four. Only Calipari:
"Look, Wisconsin lost 5 of 6. Connecticut hit the dumps. The only team that hasn't is Florida. You all counted us off. I had to be wheeled in, in there (practice gym) in a casket, and I opened it and said, 'We ain't dead yet, boys!' for my guys to believe. You guys didn't know I did that. That wasn't for public consumption."
On clarifying whether the casket thing really happened: "Willie (Cauley-Stein in the back of the room), did I get wheeled in, in a casket, and open it and say, 'We ain't dead yet'? (Cauley Stein: 'Absolutely.') There you go."
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Kentucky's road to the Final Four was the toughest in NCAA Tournament history.
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FiveThirtyEight says Connecticut and Wisconsin's run to the Final Four more impressive than Kentucky's. Whatever.
Other Kentucky sports
Links posts
College football
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Forbes: Let's call timeout on unionizing college football players.
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College Football's strength of schedule. Kentucky is right up near the top. In fact, four SEC schools are in the top ten.