Kentucky Wildcats Saturday Quickies: Paul George Edition

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George suffered a Kevin Ware-like broken leg yesterday while working out with Team USA. I refuse to watch the video of it, but you can by simply Googling his name. It was apparently a gruesome injury, much like Ware’s, and he’s already undergone successful surgery to repair the injury. It is likely that he will not return for next season, but you never know how these things will go.

Even though I am not a Pacers fan, I wish George a speedy and complete recovery. He is a magnificent player, and I can’t wait to see him back on the court and back in the All-Star game.

In a nice gesture, Kevin Ware offers some recovery advice to George.

Tweet of the Morning

The four-star Dowell twins are at Kentucky right now.

— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) August 2, 2014

And

#PrayforPG pic.twitter.com/TRfWs8MZW3

— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) August 2, 2014

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Mark Stoops at the Kickoff Luncheon in Lexington on Friday brought Neal Brown with him. This is important:

  “Especially at quarterback. We’ve got to identify that crucial spot,” Brown said. “We’ve got to figure out who exactly is going to be in our running back rotation. We’ve got to identify a third offensive tackle. And we’ve gotta get a two-deep at receiver. We’ve got more bodies at that position than we had last year; we’ve got more talent. Now we’ve gotta figure out who exactly that’s going to be (playing).”

  All these things are absolutely critical, but the QB and RB are probably the least important overall. All the quarterbacks are capable, and all the running backs are capable. Receiver and tackle, not so much, or at least, the experience factor is an issue.

• Former Wildcat signee who did not enroll last season will play for Kansas. Hat tip: NextCats.

• Damien Harris is Ohio State’s top target for 2015. Of course, he’s also Kentucky’s top target for that same year. If somehow we could take him, that would be an incredible statement of recruiting prowess by Mark Stoops. Hat tip: NextCats.

  Speaking of Harris, he recently cut the Michigan Wolverines. UK is in his final five. Hat tip: NextCats.

• SDS ranks the quarterbacks in the SEC next season. Hat tip: NextCats.

  Given that UK has had very limited success at quarterback recently, it’s hard to complain about where we wind up.

Kentucky basketball

• Arkansas Fight has an update on 2016 UK recruit Malik Monk. Of course, as an Arkansas, the Razorbacks are after Monk as well. There is some speculation about whether or not the Archie Goodwin connection will help.

• Former UK player Jon Hood and Scott County coach Billy Hicks are in a Twitter war.

Other Kentucky sports

• Help former UK dance team member Christie Horan earn a spot with the Wizards Girls.

Links posts

• The Leach Report: Saturday Wildcat Links

• John Clay’s Big Blue Links

• John Clay’s SEC Links

College football

• Odds on the outcome of the ACC season. I really don’t bet on sporting events, so this is pretty meaningless to me. I know some of you might find it useful, though.

• Heisman Trophy candidates for 2014.

College basketball

• Former UK recruit Montaque Gill-Caesar has signed with Missouri, and will reclassify to 2014 and be available to play this season:

  Missouri has landed Canadian Montaque Gill-Ceasar, who will re-classify and be eligible this season, a source told http://t.co/OpoO5tUB27.

  — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) August 2, 2014

  Congratulations to the Tigers, that’s quite a coup.

• North Carolina State offers a scholarship to a 13-year old girl.

Other sports news

• Celticsblog takes on the myth of Rajon Rondo’s poor perimeter shooting. Rondo is particularly good in the midrange, and off the pick and roll. He struggles in isolation and spot-up situations. Read the whole thing.

• You’ve probably heard about Mike Krzyzewski talking about taking Mason Plumlee over DeMarcus Cousins for Team USA. Cousins’ odds undoubtedly improved yesterday when Paul George went down, but Cowbell Kingdom said he had made the better case for the spot, anyway.

• The NBA may use Paul George’s injury as an excuse to forbid NBA stars from playing on Team USA. If they do, the devolution from employee into a kind of modern slave with benefits for NBA players will be complete:

  But let’s put everything on the table: owners and GMs are concerned with protecting their financial investments in players and in protecting their teams’ on-court aspirations. Players participate in international competition because they love the sport and their countries, and they want to play with friends from rival NBA teams. No one other than a shoe company is getting rich off of Team USA.

  …

  And those NBA owners and GMs supposedly united against stars participating in international competition have shown no inclination to protect players from overwork while wearing their franchise’s uniforms. We have a crushing 82-game seasons with best-of-seven series throughout the playoffs. We have preseasons lasting 7-8 games. And now we’re talking about adding a midseason tournament? “Game-changer,” huh?

  This sounds like things owners do with property, like racehorses — dictate how their lives are lived, and when they can and cannot run. Is it much of a stretch to imagine NBA owners dictating diets in the future?

  You all know I am all about personal liberty, particularly when it comes to individual choice and responsibility. When executives start telling you how to live your life, and you capitulate, just recognize that you have agreed to have a chain placed around your neck for money. You’re a slave. The handcuffs may be made of gold, but they are still handcuffs.

• More than one NBA observer is starting to get the impression that Mike Krzyzewski and Jerry Collangelo have jumped the shark:

  This continues to be confusing on multiple levels. For one, if we’re going to sit here and pretend that DeMarcus Cousins could be cut based on his fit in terms of being a role player in comparison to Mason Plumlee (Mason freaking Plumlee!) and not his attitude, then what role does Rose fill better than either [John Wall or Kyrie Irving]? Rose is not a spot-up shooter like either of the other two point guards can be, and defensively, he’s solidly behind Wall.

  So what are we seeing here? I am becoming concerned that this is more about some kind of politics than anything else. I thought Mike Krzyzewski was brought in to make that kind of petty nonsense disappear?

Other news

• News you can use: Unlocking your cell phone is legal again.

• Microsoft loses in a case where it was ordered to turn over emails to the DOJ in a criminal case from servers located overseas. An appeal is pending.

• West Nile Virus surfaces in Marion County, Indiana. Put that mosquito repellent on, ladies and gentlemen — you don’t want that, trust me.

• New type of engine violates the conservation of momentum, a key derivative of Newton’s first law of motion. It could lead to generational star travel, or less lengthy journeys around the solar system.