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Wildcat Quickies: Marcus Lee Tribute Edition

Saluting Marcus Lee. UK surpasses NCAA APR. Trae Young Spotlight. Why Mo Bamba may be Calipari’s new top priority. More.

By Jason Marcum
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

As you've probably already heard, Marcus Lee is likely leaving Kentucky this year for a shot at the NBA.

People need to realize that Lee is just one of many college players who are simply ready to take the next step in their careers and start making a living for themselves. He's ready for the next step, whether that ends up being the NBA or another professional league.

Now it's not a 100% done deal Lee remains in the draft, but it looks very likely he'll do so and end his collegiate career. While it didn't feature big numbers, game-winning shots or an NCAA championship, Lee did more in three years than a lot of players do in their entire basketball careers.

That seems like a crazy statement, but not many players ever get to make a big impact in a game that gets their team to the Final Four.

One of my favorite moments in UK history was watching this no-name, rail-thin freshman with more hair in his mohawk than muscle on his body coming in and taking over an Elite Eight game against Michigan and propelled the Cats to an amazing win.

Lee's career numbers may not seem like much, but that one game will forever cement Lee in UK lore. It also didn't hurt we saw many spectacular dunks and blocks from him over his three years.

So if this is the end, thanks Marcus for all the great memories, and good luck in your NBA ventures.

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Your Quickies

All 22 UK Teams Surpass NCAA Academic Progress Rate Cut Score - UK Wildcats News
The NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate report Wednesday, showing that all 22 of the University of Kentucky sports teams surpassed the NCAA cut score. 12 UK teams notched perfect 1,000 scores for the 2014-15 school year, including men's basketball.

Duke and Kentucky are fighting for 5-star center Marques Bolden. Who will he pick? - SBNation.com
The Blue Devils or Wildcats? There's no wrong answer for the top uncommitted player in the class of 2016.

Thoughts on three newest offers, Bolden, Thornton - Lexington Herald-Leader
John Calipari passed out scholarship offers to highly-touted guards Hamidou Diallo Tremont Waters, and Romeo Langford. A few thoughts on those new offers, plus a couple of other UK recruiting topics.

Trae Young Spotlight - Scout.com
Trae Young is one of the most dynamic and electrifying scorers in the country, and he's the point guard john Calipari is focusing heavily on in the 2017 class.

Kentucky OT Tate Leavitt hoping to improve after tough spring - Cats Pause
Offensive tackle Tate Leavitt had an up and down first spring at Kentucky due to struggles with technique. To improve, he's watching film of two NFL Pro-Bowlers.

Why Mohamed Bamba may be Calipari’s new top priority - Kentucky Sports Radio
John Calipari is in New York to see Hamidou Diallo and Mohamed Bamba, who, coincidentally are the two players Scout.com's Evan Daniels was most impressed with during the recent EYBL event.

Feedback from class of 2016 signees who attended Saturday's spring game - Rivals.com
Cats Illustrated has reactions from 2016 signees following Kentucky's Blue-White Spring Game last weekend.

Cooking with Kentucky RB Jojo Kemp - Cats Pause
Nutrition is a large part of the formula that makes Kentucky football athletes perform at their highest level, and Jojo Kemp is taking that to a new level.

Five-Run Fourth, Schaper’s Home Run Sends No. 11 UK past WKU - UK Wildcats News
Freshman Jenny Schaper launched a two-run home run to left field in the top of the fourth inning as part of a five-run frame which led the No. 11 Kentucky softball team past WKU.

Five-star Introduction of Shooting Guard Hamidou Diallo - 247 Sports
Hamidou Diallo is quickly becoming a household name with the offers he's getting, which now include UK.

NBA Draft projections roundup - CoachCal.com
A roundup of some of the more popular NBA Draft projections, which show Tyler Ulis is very likely to be picked in the first round, maybe even in the lottery.

Three and out: Tubby Smith, Rick Stansbury and the best hire of 2016 - Lexington Herald-Leader
Mark Story, Cameron Mills and Gene Abell weigh in on the coaching carousel - especially Tubby Smith to Memphis and Rick Stansbury to Western Kentucky.

Check out the progress on UK Football’s new practice facility - Kentucky Sports Radio
UK Football's $45 million, 90,000 square foot practice facility is scheduled to open this summer.

Game of Thrones Season 6 Preview - SB Nation
You'll want to remember everything that's happening in Westeros and Essos.

Wolves bringing Thibodeau full circle with hire - ESPN
KAT has a new coach as The Timberwolves have hired former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to be the team's new head coach and president of basketball operations.

Pac-12 commish: UCLA AD didn't vote correctly on satellite camps - Yahoo Sports
Larry Scott said the conference had 11 schools in favor of keeping the camps. UCLA's AD voted against them.

Duke transfer point guard Derryck Thornton, Jr. down to four - Scout
Former five-star point guard Derryck Thornton, Jr. has narrowed his list to four. The Duke transfer reveals his finalists and discusses what stands out about each program.

ESPN fires Curt Schilling after latest Facebook controversy - SBNation.com
Former major league pitcher Curt Schilling was fired from his announcing job by ESPN after sharing derogatory remarks toward a transgender person on Facebook.

Hilarious Photos of Dogs Underwater - Fuzzfix
Hilarious photos of underwater dogs? You go it.

An in-depth look at NBA jerseys with full advertising - ESPN
With corporate logos landing on NBA player jerseys starting in 2017-18, we wanted to see how it would look if teams went all-in and merged with major companies in their backyard.

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