Wildcat quickies: NBA Cats Edition

Good morning BBN, these are your Thursday quickies. With the NBA season drawing closer, Kentucky fans will get to see the ever-growing group of former Cats flourishing in the NBA. From the dominant forces in the league, like DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, to the up-and-comers like Devin Booker, to the new rookies like Skal Labissiere, Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray, there are Wildcats all over the league and in all different stages of their careers. The Cats represent 15 different NBA teams, which is half the league, and that’s sure to grow substantially in just a number of years. Kentucky has become the biggest pro factory in college basketball.

Check out a spotlight of some of the pro Wildcats we’ll have an eye on this season here.

Tweet of the day

Bob’s Cubs live to see another series.

Your quickies

Suns preparing Tyler Ulis to float into the rotation - arizonasports.com/

The Suns are preparing Ulis, keeping him engaged and promoting confidence with trust in his abilities. "We’re going to use him in a way they use backup quarterbacks," head coach Earl Watson said at media day. "He has to be close to our coach, the next seat over. He has to read the play-calls of the other team, call them to the back of the bench and learn other teams’ offense, so when he gets the opportunity, he’s well-prepared mentally because basketball(-wise) he’s beyond prepared."

The future is now for UK running back Benny Snell | KyForward.com

In UK's win over Vanderbilt last weekend, Snell carried the ball a career-high 20 times and collected 94 yards. He had 44 yards in the fourth quarter that enabled the Wildcats to milk the clock and score another close win.

Mark Stoops talks with Finebaum - ESPN

Stoops speaks on the progression of the Cats from the start of this year to now. They still have work to do for sure.

Kentucky’s FPI chance to make it to a bowl game - ESPN

The Football Power Index does not give the Cats good chances of making a bowl game right now.

Kentucky’s passing game needs to improve - ESPN

Kentucky has great receivers on the outside, and to help them get to a bowl they need to utilize their receiving targets.

Coaching son adds new dimension for Calipari - Courier-Journal

How does Cal handle being both a coach and a father with his walk-on son, Brad Calipari?

Kentucky practice report - SEC Country

The Cats may be off this weekend but that doesn’t mean they are taking it easy in practice. They’re conducting full practices, and seeing some growth.

Will this be the year Anthony Davis saves the Pelicans - Sports Illustrated

Davis has been expected to lead the Pelicans to success; he’s got the superstar contract and the superstar hype, can he stay healthy, and be the young on-court leader that drives the Pelicans deep into the playoffs?

Anthony Davis expected to miss 10-15 days with ankle sprain - ESPN

This is the only problem with Davis; he’s a franchise-saving talent (as mentioned above), but he has to stay healthy.

LeBron: Cavs wanted, couldn’t afford Wade - ESPN

I think most people suspected this already, but LeBron makes it clear that Cleveland wanted to reunite the two in Cleveland after they both departed from Miami.

The Chicago Cubs really don’t care about curses - New York Times

How do the Cubs deal with their 100+ year curse? It’s simple: they ignore it. None of the players are paying any attention to the “cursed” fate of the franchise.

Maple Leafs rookie scores 4 goals in career debut - NHL

Talk about your draft pick paying dividends...Toronto’s Auston Matthews scored 4 goals in his first NHL game.

Ravens CB Jimmy Smith is eager to take on Odell Beckham Jr. - Baltimore Sun

Be careful what you wish for.

Houston Rockets’ Bobby Brown apologizes for writing on Great Wall of China - ESPN

Brown has received heavy scrutiny for writing his name in chalk on the Great Wall of China, and has had to apologize and delete social media posts because of it.

Wells Fargo CEO steps down - Wall Street Journal

After a rough stretch that Wells Fargo has had to endure, CEO John Stumpf is retiring.

Scientists discover footprints left at the dawn of modern humanity - Washington Post