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Even though Mark Stoops ended the season on a whimper going 5-7, he was still able to hold together one of his best classes at Kentucky and in school history. There wasn't a lot of drama yesterday, no late flips, and no big surprises, which was quite alright with me.
How did Kentucky's class stack up in the SEC and nationally?
Introducing the Kentucky Football Class of 2016. #B16BLUENATION pic.twitter.com/FNZ4UcmUw9
— UK Stoops Troops (@UKStoopsTroops) February 3, 2016
Not a bad looking bunch.
#12 in the SEC.And this is why it's tough to do what Mark Stoops is trying to do. The 'Cats are 10th in the SEC according to Rivals, just ahead of Arkansas, Mississippi State, Missouri, and Vanderbilt. Those are the teams you want to see Kentucky jump.
Tweet of the Day
14 had stars. 15 brought substance. 2016 combined both to construct Stoops' best class.
— Freddie Maggard (@FredMaggard) February 3, 2016
It certainly appears to be his best class.
While You Were Sleeping: Steph Curry isn't human. He dropped 51 points and made it look easy. https://t.co/fF9jX2Nvbu
— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) February 4, 2016
More on this in a bit. I have a #HotTake on Steph Curry.
Kentucky Quickies:
Lamar Thomas was hired as Kentucky's new wide receivers coach and talked to the media yesterday. Normally this wouldn't be much of a story (who gets excited about position coaches), but his ties to the Miami recruiting grounds and the fact that he was hired away from Louisville makes it extra juicy. It's a very interesting read with great quotes from Thomas, Stoops, and Eddie Gran. A big personality just arrived and that may be exactly what the receivers need.
Meet the newest signees of the 2016 Kentucky football class. A pretty comprehensive look from the LHL.
JUCO transfer Stephen Johnson isn't in Lexington to be a backup, he is here to compete.
A complete transcript of Mark Stoops' signing day press conference.
John Clay writes that national signing day should also be a day of disclaimers. It's good advice. Too many times we look at stars by a player's name and think that an immediate impact will be made. Matt Elam is still learning. Aaron Boyd never panned out. The kids need to be coached up. Period.
Jerry Tipton tells us that John Calipari's team may not be that good. I'm starting to agree. Consistency is a skill and this team just doesn't have it.
More Tipton:
Bovada lengthens odds on UK winning national title: from 14/1 on Jan. 7 to 20/1 now.
— Jerry Tipton (@JerryTipton) February 4, 2016
Welp.
Coach Cal's latest mailbag.I'm sure there is some mail that Cal prefers not to read aloud.
Kentucky falls out of the CBS top 25 (and one) after that debacle at Tennessee.And rightfully so.
Coach Cal's guys in the NBA: Karl-Anthony Towns is the POW.
The UK Hoops team are struggling like the men's team. Matthew Mitchell's team has gone from a top 10 Final Four contender to the 18th ranked team in the country that has struggled mightily in the SEC (4-5). They take on #2 South Carolina tonight at 7:00 PM in Columbia.
Sports Quickies
The biggest winners of NSD? Nick Saban tops the list. I'll say it: he's the best ever. EVER.
Steph Curry isn't human. He scored 51 points in a win over the Wizards last night and made....wait for it...11 threes. Lost in all of this is that Kentucky's own John Wall had a career night with 41 points, 17-25 from the field, three-for-three from three land, 10 assists, and only three turnovers. Any other night Wall would be the headline, but he was in the presence of greatness. You can have LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. To me, Steph Curry is the greatest player on the planet right now and he will go down in history as the greatest shooter we have ever seen and we will talk about him when we mention Wilt, Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Russell. That's my #HotTake of the day.
Bill Self wasn't happy that Kansas Jayhawk Brannen Greene dunked on Kansas State in the closing seconds of their game last night. Kansas was up 75-59. Self called it a "dick move". Now that's what I call professional!
Can Cam Newton become the second player to win the Heisman, the national title, the NFL MVP, and the Super Bowl? I'm hoping so. (Sorry Peyton)
Random Quickies
Pretty cool gallery of athletes who became movie stars. On the list: Arnold, Andre the Giant, Bruce Lee, Shaq, and...OJ.
Speaking of OJ, it looks as if FX has a hit with their People vs. OJ Simpson series. The International Business Times finds that Americans are still obsessed with OJ and still divided by race. I haven't been watching it because I had my fill as an eighth grader as I watched it all unfold.
Steven Avery's brother, from the Netfilx sensation Making a Murderer, speaks to Access Hollywood.
Shoplifting suspect leaves cell phone and puddle of urine at the crime scene. When ya gotta go!