Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Baseball On The Brink Edition

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, and welcome to the Tuesday Morning Quickies. Today’s lead story is the advent of the SEC baseball tournament, and the Bat Cats tilt with the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round today. First pitch is slated for 5:30 PM ET in Hoover, Alabama.

Kentucky and ‘Bama are tied for 8th in the SEC, and UK has the higher seed by virtue of winning the series against the Tide earlier this season. Kentucky had to win it’s last series against Missouri just to get to .500 in the SEC season and tie Alabama.

Kentucky is firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble, and a loss to Alabama today would most likely burst it.

Tweet of the Morning

Predictions: Lee, Briscoe, and Onuaku all want to go pro. But only Onuaku will stay in the draft.

— The Real Big Game (@Round_Daddy) May 24, 2016

I hope he’s right. That would make the Wildcats an even more serious threat to win #9 next season.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Frank Beamer and Steve Spurrier are swagging in retirement, but they are coming in well behind former UK coach Rich Brooks.

• Florida signee says Kentucky has a sharp eye for talent:

  "If you notice, one school that offers everybody first is Kentucky," Taylor said. "They really got an eye for finding talent. Then all the other SEC schools come behind them, so I give them props."

  Too bad he couldn’t give us his commitment instead.

• Mark Stoops says, “Pressure? What pressure?”

• Kentucky currently has the #3 class in the SEC, and Rivals is surprised.

Kentucky basketball

• For those who need a Kentucky connection to enjoy the NBA playoffs, Mark Story writes about the Toronto Raptors and Oklahoma City Thunder, both of whom have ex-UK assistants leading them. Okay, there is also Patrick Patterson playing for the Raptors. That’s the best connection to me.

• 5-star small forward Michael Porter Jr. cuts UK from his list. He was a long shot anyway. I suspect he follows his father to Washington.

• Kentucky still on 2017 5-star point guard Paul Scruggs list, although Coach Cal has yet to extend an offer.

• What will Marcus and Isaiah do? Nobody seems to know not even the Great Know-It-All himself:

  3 weeks ago, Marcus Lee was 95% headed to Draft and Briscoe was 95% returning. Now both are basically toss-ups. Unsure what either will do

  — Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 24, 2016

• Kentucky to host Kansas this upcoming season in the Big 12-SEC challenge. Well, this is no surprise, and I’d really like to return the favor from last year.

Other Kentucky sports

• Should be interesting.

  We confirmed @UKCoachMitchell to host KSR one day (June 14) while I am on vacation. He will have guests and take fan calls.

  — Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) May 24, 2016

• Three baseball players receive All-SEC honors from the SEC coaches.

Links posts

• The Leach Report: Tuesday Wildcat Links

College football

• Ken Starr, former nemesis of president Clinton, will be getting the ax at Baylor:

  #Baylor regents will remove 6-yr school prez Ken Starr by end of the month, sources tell https://t.co/XBNn1ev7Ha. https://t.co/LUMSl44bAI

  — Chip Brown (@ChipBrownHD) May 24, 2016

College basketball

• Usports as some 2016-17 college basketball power rankings.

• Jeff Goodman says Coach K and Coach Cal hate each other. I frankly take everything Goodman says about Calipari as either a lie or a rumor.

Other sports news

• Draymond Green was not suspended for a controversial leg kick that knocked Oklahoma City big man Steven Adams down. Former player and NBA executive vice president Kiki VanDeWegh explains why.

  Essentially, he and the people investigating the play decided Green’s kick to Adams’ groin was a flail. Okay, well, it looked really bad to me. But I only have one angle and virtually nothing else, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

• Dwane Casey shows you how to play defense — from the bench. Looks pretty good doing it, too.

• Heh.

  Don't succumb to peer pressure. Contrary to popular belief your hair does not affect how you play. https://t.co/SBexR6xlxj

  — Patrick Towles (@patty_ice_8) May 24, 2016

Other news

• Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? The New York Times says not so much. Myself, I find it to be critical to my well-being these days. I suppose it winds up being in the eye of the beholder.

• The Universe explained in four minutes. This is freaking awesome and not to be missed.

• Is the standard view of quantum physics about to be shattered into very small pieces, and simplified in the bargain? One could only hope.