Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Where's Trey Edition (Also Happy Birthday to Coach Cal)

Whither Trey Lyles? The Big Blue Nation wants to know. I think this is what Manfred Mann meant by "The Roaring Silence."

In the same commentary, Tyler Thompson makes this excellent point:

Karl Towns was named NBC Sports’ National Player of the Week, but not SEC Freshman/Player of the Week

Someone explain this to me. Towns averaged 17 points and 10.5 rebounds in UK’s two wins last week and is finally starting to look like the Top 5 prospect he’s been projected as all season. Johnny Jones knows. "He’s just a phenomenal player," Jones said of Towns this morning. "He can step away from the basket, turn, face up, shoot midrange, at the same time back to the basket that can really challenge you toward the rim when he’s taking the ball to the rack. Great physical size and specimen. He can go either way so it makes it very difficult to defend him in there."

I understand spreading the love and making everyone feel good about themselves, SEC, but I’m calling you out on this.

The SEC named Bobby Portis, who had better numbers this week as POW, so I get that, no worries. But it named Riley LeChance of Vandy FOW, who did not have better numbers. He averaged 17 points and 4 turnovers per game in two games. KAT, leaving aside the 10.5 rebounds, had only 4 turnovers total in two games. No doubt LeChance deserves an honorable mention, but …

Tweet of the Morning

@KySportsRadio pic.twitter.com/czexFbe4qP

— Chris Alcorn (@kycorn25) February 10, 2015

BOLO for Trey Lyles, last seen in the vicinity of Columbia, Missouri. I think they kidnapped him. Update: Lyles has been found:

Fortunately, WDRB has obtained Lyles’ whereabouts: He’s sitting in the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans until such time as beignets and chicory coffee can work their healing influence. No, wait. That was me.

I wish it was me. Then there’s this.

Also:

Happy birthday to John Calipari! Hope the celebration is still going strong in April. pic.twitter.com/F65GkyYJhI

— Jennifer Palumbo (@JenNimePalumbo) February 10, 2015

Happy Birthday Coach Cal! You’re almost as old as me. You get closer every year.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• RUMOR: Is Kentucky about to flip a 4-star QB from Tennessee? Well, it’s a nice thought, and the way the guy hints at it is very clever. Hat tip: Hank

• Bryan Station wide receiver walks on at UK.

Kentucky basketball

• Kentucky faces one of their toughest remaining tests. I’d take issue with the "one of" part — this is unquestionably, and statistically, Kentucky’s toughest remaining regular-season contest. It is made even more difficult by the late game Saturday and the distance returning from and going to the opponent’s arenas.

  If Kentucky is going to stumble this season, it will most likely happen tonight.

• As mentioned above, Karl-Anthony Towns was named National Player of the Week by NBC Sports. Well deserved.

• Nice compliment from Johnny Jones:

  We look forward to playing in front of a great home crowd against one of the greatest teams ever assembled in college basketball.

  Flattery will get you nowhere.

• How good can Kentucky be? Historically good:

• John Robic pre-LSU:

• Kentucky still on the list of 2016’s Harry Giles, along with some other big names.

• Nick Saban vs. Coach Cal — who built the better powerhouse?

Other Kentucky sports

• Kelsey Nunley co-SEC Pitcher of the Week. Expect to see a lot of this.

Links posts

• The Leach Report: Tuesday Wildcat Links

College football

• SEC Morning Links from ESPN.

• In-game technology might be a big subject of discussion

College basketball

• Why don’t coaches take stands on social issues, like Dean Smith did? I’ll tell you a good reason why — in today’s world, unlike in Dean Smith’s time, you stand a good chance of absolutely alienating half your fans. Partisan positions more tightly held now than back in the 1970’s, and coaches nowadays are businesspeople as well as professional teachers of basketball.

  I think it is a good thing to leave social positions out of sports. Sports bring people together. Social issues, and political debates in general, divide them; that’s why we don’t allow political commentary on A Sea of Blue. We need more of the former and less of the latter in the world. John Calipari’s subtle embrace of social issues by charitable action is the smart and unobjectionable way to make a difference as a coach, while raising awareness without crusading.

  Debating hot-button issues in the media is a very bad way for anyone other than politicians to deal with social issues, as many companies have discovered to their woe. Most basketball coaches nowadays understand that. Different times.

• Duke survives Florida State. FSU always seems to give Duke a tough time. Maybe they should be rivals?

• This is a trick question, right?

  How can losing at Kansas cost [Iowa State] 11 spots while [Arizona] losing at Arizona State only costs three?

  I dare anybody to try to answer that.

• Travis Ford, Big 12 Coach of the Year? I think he’s certainly a candidate.

• Jim Boeheim’s showing his pale gray ass again. In other news, the sun came up again today as it has every day since before the dawn of humanity.

• SEC roundup: Week Six

• John Gasaway’s Tuesday Truths. Always a must-read.

• Gonzaga receives a first-place vote in the Coaches Poll. Seriously?

• North Carolina announces Dean Smith memorial details.

Other sports news

• Do you really think it was a good idea to taunt the Manimal, Kevin Durant? I know you’re great, but that just doesn’t seem like a plan to me.

• When you’re John Wall, one cell phone just won’t do.

• Stephen Curry meets Mo’ne Davis, and asks for her autograph. Very classy move by Curry, and hey, it might be a savvy collector’s move, too.

• It’s good that Jahlil Okafor is getting dunked on now. When he gets to the NBA, he’d better buy a hard hart, or maybe a football helmet.

Other news

• iOS 9’s biggest feature? Not being broken. Well, yeah, that’s a definite feature.

• The jury has been selected, and the trial is about to begin for "American Sniper" Chris Kyle’s killer.

• It’s come to this: Left shark got a television commercial.