Kentucky Wildcats Morning Quickies: Jud Heathcote Edition

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation, and welcome to the Tuesday Morning Quickies.

This morning’s big story is a sad one… and a happy one, as many such stories are. Jud Heathcote, the former coach of the Michigan State Spartans who led MSU to their first NCAA Tournament championship in 1979, has died. That’s the sad part.

The happy part is that he lived a robust 90 years, and coached one of the iconic games ever in NCAA history — the showdown between Magic Johnson’s Spartans and Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores — a game that foretold a legendary rivalry that spanned more than a decade in the professional ranks between two of the greatest basketball players in history. He had another Big Ten championship in 1990 to go along with those in 1978 and 1979. Heathcote was Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1978 and 1986, and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Current MSU coach (and a legend and Hall of Famer in his own right) Tom Izzo coached at Heathcote’s side, and took over for him in 1995. Izzo had this to say about his former mentor and friend:

“Without a doubt, he was one of the most influential people in my life, giving me a chance when no one else would. Any coaching success I’ve ever had is because of him.”

Godspeed, coach, and congratulations on a life well and fully lived.

Tweet of the Morning

Indeed.

Your Quickies:

Kentucky football

• Mark Story talks about how he would define progress for Mark Stoops in his fifth season. I think he hits the high points, although honestly, I’d be more results-oriented than process-oriented. Nothing shows the process is working more than results in the W-L column.
• Three takeaways from the Wildcats’ depth chart. My big notables are Lynn Bowden as the #2 flex receiver and two freshmen backing up Tavin Richardson as flanker. In general, our receiver depth is really young.
• This year’s game against Southern Miss must be different than last season. I think it will be, but it is on the road.
• Former Kentucky letterman Talbot Todd has died.

Kentucky basketball

• Prime Kentucky recruit Romeo Langford has cut his list to seven, and Duke is no longer on it.
• If you haven’t been reading James Streble’s favorite John Calipari teams series, what’s wrong with you? Do the needful, it’s still summer.
• Karl-Anthony Towns lauds Kentucky’s athleticism.

Other Kentucky sports

• Kentucky soccer begins their road schedule today at ETSU.
• Former UK player Evelyn Akhator leads Nigeria to FIBA AfroBasket championship. Congrats!

Links posts

• The Leach Report: Tuesday Wildcat Links

College football

• How a single phone call to an escort service led to Hugh Freeze’s downfall.
• What kind of culture has a football program suspending eight players for their season opener? Seriously, Florida’s player misbehavior problem has extended literally over decades and across several coaches.

College basketball

• Two big unanswered questions for Duke: Will Marvin Bagley be eligible, and will Coach Kryzewski be healthy enough to coach this season. I didn’t know this, but Coach K has undergone six surgeries in the last 17 months. Wow.
• Dick Vitale’s Roundball Chatter mentions something I didn’t know — this will be the last season for the Great Alaska Shootout.

Other sports news

• Asked: Are you interested in an O.J. Simpson interview? My answer: No way, and no how.
• Malik Monk on his brother, Marcus:

Other news

• Okay, it’s not Kentucky related, but it’s hilarious:

• Kentucky man helps with hurricane Harvey relief, called a hero.