Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Basketball Practice Edition

Yesterday the Kentucky Wildcats had an open practice that seems to have impressed the heck out of the media present. That’s a good thing, and there’s more below.

Tweet of the Morning

Chase Jeter to Duke, becomes Coach K's 16th top 25 player since 2009. Amazing. (Calipari has 23.)

— Not Jerry Tipton (@NotJerryTipton) August 5, 2014

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Ira Coombs thinks the Wildcats may run the ball a lot this season, and not just because of a good stable of backs and a new QB:

  There is also one other very important reason you may see the Cats tote the pigskin by land instead of by air this fall . Stoops and Brown may want to send a special weekly message each Saturday when they line up to play over to Madison Southern H.S. and a certain special running back that there will be plenty of touches for running backs in the UK Air Raid offense .

  Heh. Well, if that’s what it takes, I’m all in.

• Maxwell Smith is still in the process of coming back. I feel for Max, but I have no confidence he will be ready this year, let alone play.

• Neal Brown talks about Day Two of the new college football season. Love to hear that both Dorian Baker and Blake Bone stood out. We need big receivers like a flower needs the rain.

  It’s also good to hear that Braylon Heard and Jojo Kemp are starting camp well. Read the whole thing.

• D.J. Eliot talked yesterday about TreVaughn Paschal, and Cory Johnson.

• Ryan Flannigan thinks he’s ready to make an impact at linebacker. I sure hope so, we’re likely to need bodies there if nothing else.

• You have to love it:

  Offensive line coach John Schlarman said he gets up at 4:30 for Cats' pre-sunrise practices this week.

  — Jen Smith (@jenheraldleader) August 5, 2014

  
  

• Just what we need to hear:

  Neal Brown says he's "really really excited" about what he's seeing from freshmen receivers.

  — Thomas Beisner (@Beisner_cn2) August 5, 2014

  
  

Kentucky basketball

• Over at CoachCal.com, we have a practice report. It’s a good one. Consider this from Matt Jones:

  If you were to only watch this practice, you would assume that the Harrison Twins are the stars of the team. They lead the practice, direct their teammates and are clearly in control. I was impressed with both their frames, and the decision making is much improved. Aaron had some eye-opening plays, further confirming my belief that he will be the leading scorer on the team this season. Andrew penetrated well (as last year), but also finished better, something I will be focusing on when in the Bahamas. While last year they shared the spotlight with Julius Randle and James Young, in my mind, after watching this practice, this will be the Harrison Twins’ team this season.

  It should be.

• Kyle Tucker has more on Kentucky’s practice yesterday. I know you will love this:

  On a related note, Kentucky looks like it will be an unholy terror on defense. The combination of length and a bunch of aggressive guys who appear to take great pride in it – there was lots of wild clapping and cheering among themselves after stops – will make these Cats hard to score against. On both ends, the team looks unusually cohesive, especially in the Calipari era of perpetually young teams, at this early stage. It’s easy to see they’ll be light years ahead of last year’s team when this season starts. [My emphasis]

  I love reading this. It’s exactly as I expected it to be. This team is full of guys who know what it’s like to wage a campaign, and young men who can’t wait to help them wage another.

  It’s what we’ve been hoping for, I think.

• Linked earlier but still worth repeating. I’ve lost two dogs this decade and it is always very painful. Our prayers go out to the family. Coach Cal provides a eulogy of sorts here.

• Jerry Tipton has some observations about the open basketball practice yesterday. Consider:

  Freshman Tyler Ulis is not tall (5-foot-9), but he could have a big impact. He’s quick physically and mentally. He thinks ahead on offense (touch-passes) and on defense (As Carly Simon once sang, anticipation). He looks ideal for Calipari’s drive-drive-drive offense.

  …

  If you didn’t know better, you would not think Calipari is coming off hip replacement surgery. His pale legs took him all over the court. His was the lone coaching voice heard.

• The power of UK basketball and the beauty of the Bahamas are a match made in heaven. Indeed. Just a reminder — ESPNU and the SEC Network will be televising the Big Blue Bahamas tour.

• Kentucky gets new uniforms for the Big Blue Bahamas trip.

• 2015 big man Doral Moore from Georgia has a UK offer.

• Remember 2016 Malik Monk, he of the sick athleticism? He’ll be visiting campus on Wednesday.

• Five impressions from the open practice from John Clay. Try this on for size:

  Devin Booker can shoot. The recruiting services told this and at least in Monday’s practice it looked to be true. Booker appears capable of filling the James Young role, although his game may remind you more of Doron Lamb. His ball-handling could use a bit of polish, but nearly all freshmen can improve in that area when matched against college competition.

Other Kentucky sports

• Top Drawer Soccer considers UK’s Arin Gilliland 2nd team best in Division I among forwards.

Links posts

• The Leach Report: Tuesday Wildcat Links

• John Clay’s Big Blue Links

• John Clay’s SEC Links

College football

• SEC position rankings — special teams. UK fares surprisingly well in this one.

• Do college football coaches really drop recruits because of Twitter activity? Apparently so.

• First Michigan, now Michigan State.

College basketball

• 5‘7” slammer Trae Jefferson. Man, this kid has a sick handle.

• Breaking down the top 2014 recruits, 15-11. Trey Lyles is ranked 12th.

• The entire list of games for the 2014 college basketball tip-off marathon.

Other sports news

• Louisvillian gets hit by a Roy McIlroy shot, now he’s reaping the whirlwind — of goodness.

• Whoa:

  BREAKING: Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch surrendering to DEA this morning, will plead to conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids.

  — T.J. Quinn (@TJQuinnESPN) August 5, 2014

  
  

  Bosch and his company, Biogenesis, were a the center of the big baseball scandal that involved Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and Nelson Cruz among others allegedly taking performance-enhancing drugs.

• In case you missed it last night, the SEC Network is coming to DirecTV.

• P.J. Tucker, player for the Phoenix Suns, get’s a “Super-DUI” and gets to visit the hoosegow.

Other news

• Heh. Comcast in damage control over aggressive retention policy:

  Source: Comcast talked to employees yesterday after we leaked their retention guidelines. New policy: make two attempts and then stop.

  — Adrianne Jeffries (@adrjeffries) August 5, 2014

  
  

• Volcanic eruption on Io, a Jupiter moon, is spectacular, and maybe the brightest ever in our solar system.

• Pain at the pump subsiding, for now. But events in the Middle East are liable to drive them back up again.