Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: LeBron James Edition

LeBron James is exercising his early termination contract option with the Heat, and will place himself in the free-agent market. Once again, it looks like we are in for a "Summer of LeBron." But that doesn't necessarily mean that LeBron is leaving the Heat:

Whether this means that James will leave the Heat is another matter. He can re-sign a restructured contract with the Heat and this may well be the first step in that rather than “The Decision II” with Jim Grey. One thing is certain: he can now start wheeling and dealing with Carmelo Anthony possibly in play, too.

Frankly, this is smart business. I really don't think LeBron wants to leave the Heat, but what he does want to do is gain a measure of control over who surrounds him next season. I won't pretend to know what he's thinking, but people like James who wind up getting French-fried by their opponent in the NBA Finals will not be happy campers, and will want things to change.

This, I think, is his attempt to make sure Pat Riley treats him as an equal partner in personnel decisions. Very few players have this kind of power, but James is definitely one of them. However, in order to properly leverage that power, he has to flex those muscles in order to demonstrate he is serious. A president like Riley would expect no less.

The Heat need much better point guard play and better perimeter shooting. It will be worth watching to see how the best player in the NBA leverages his clout to get that done, and how willing a partner Riley will be.

Tweet of the Morning

8 of the 12 mock drafts in the chart have Randle to the Lakers at #7. 3 have him going to Boston at #6 http://t.co/YdyyjUIyJ1

— Ben Roberts (@NextCats) June 24, 2014

I will defer to their "wisdom."

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• In case you missed it yesterday, Kentucky got another big (as in 6'4", 310# big) offensive line commitment yesterday in George Asasfo-Adjei. The Herald-Leader also has an article on the subject.

• Mark Stoops visits with ESPN:

• Cawood Ledford calling a huge play from back in 1965, Kentucky vs. Ole Miss. You'll love it:

  Larry Seiple, the punter you see running the ball above, will be inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame. Seiple was the punter and occasional tight end for Miami, and won three Super Bowls there. I remember all three of them.

Kentucky basketball

• Dwayne Bacon, who had a breakout performance in the NBPA Top 100 camp last week, is now on UK's radar. He's currently ranked the 28th best prospect in the class of 2015.

• 2016 UK target Thon Maker will visit Kansas, Missouri and Duke this month. Hat tip: NextCats.

• So now the question comes up: Will UK try to build an on-campus arena? John Clay has it thus:

  My guess is that UK will ask JMI to explore the possibility of financing an on-campus basketball facility. And you have to wonder if that’s at least part of the reason that the university did not fully support the Lexington Center’s $351 million plan to renovate Rupp Arena.

  Hmm. Could be, I guess, but I can't really figure out why UK would really want to go that way. That would force UK to foot the bill by itself (no matter which pocket the money comes out of), and that would mess around with their infrastructure plans. Getting some level of public financial support would seem to be necessary, and tying it in with the city of Lexington seems like a better way to get that support.

  Having said that, Lexington politics is not something I'm familiar with. So rather than gainsaying Clay, I think I'll just say I'm skeptical that it makes sense in view of the stated priorities of the University to build an on-campus facility. Count me among the doubters that this will be seriously considered.

• Mike DeCourcy says that Karl-Anthony Towns Jr. has a "better package of experience, skill and potential" than Julius Randle had. I think this is right.

  Towns' experience in AAU ball is much lower than Randle, but he has much more international experience. I think less AAU ball is generally better — it is my opinion that players often develop very bad habits and very swelled heads in AAU competition.

• Mitch Barnhart professes not to have been worried about losing Calipari in the recent spate of NBA coaching carousel moves. I leave his veracity to your contemplation.

• Time Warner Cable is playing a perilous game with the SEC network. I assure you, I will drop them like a bad habit if they don't carry the network, and if they force me to go through that trouble, I will not return.

• Two Kentucky targets, Skal Labissiere and Thon Maker go head to head:

• Is Julius Randle an "overlooked" prospect in the draft? I don't think people fully appreciate how quick-footed Randle is for his size, and how well he can handle the basketball. He is also an underrated shooter. He didn't get many perimeter opportunities at Kentucky, but he is a capable perimeter player, and his energy is off the charts.

Other Kentucky sports

• The SEC announces its sportsmanship awards.

Links posts

• John Clay's Big Blue Links

• The Leach Report: Tuesday Wildcat Links

College football

• Team Speed Kills writes an open letter to Jeff Long pointing out that the College Football Playoff selection committee must be seen as credible for it to be successful. Year2 says that credibility was part and parcel of the BCS selection process.

• The Ol' Ball Coach's mouth never fails to deliver.

College basketball

• How do coaches balance the lure of the NBA with the necessity of running their programs? No idea why they didn't ask John Calipari, who has done both more successfully than anyone.

• Where are the top ten draftees for 2014 in five years?

• Picking boom or bust prospects in the NBA draft.

Other sports news

• Do we feel sorry for Tiger Woods yet? Well, no, not really. I do regret his injuries — having had lower back pain, I totally sympathize with how awful that can make your quality of life.

  But Woods isn't a sympathetic figure because he won't allow himself to become one. That is weakness, and weakness is not in him when it comes to his public persona. His personal life may be a mess, and his golf game too at the moment. But his mental toughness has never really been a question mark, and in golf, that far outstrips things like mechanics and form. Mental toughness will make a 3 handicapper into a PGA professional.

  So no, I don't think Woods will be getting much sympathy. He isn't made that way. It also doesn't help that he's never done anything whatsoever to engender anything like sympathy, from his womanizing to his profane on-course behavior. Hat tip: Real Clear Sports.

• BrewHoop talks NBA Draft risers and fallers, both this season and in others.

• This is pretty cool. Former Centre basketball coach Tom Campbell wins the Kentucky State Amateur golf tournament. I just missed qualifying for the State Am in 1974 by one shot.

• Southern Cal to offer 4-year rides in football and basketball. Interesting. I hope more schools adopt this idea.

• Keenland will host the Breeders Cup in 2015 for the first time. Well, that should make for an interesting daily-double.

• Johnathan Tjarks has your NBA Draft guide and preview.

Other news

• More iPhone 6 rumors.