Thursday Headlines: Fabulous Practice Edition

It’s still early, but as we’re about a month out from the Bahamas trip and with several practices complete, it seems like John Calipari really likes this team.

“Practices have been fabulous,” Calipari said Tuesday. “You’ve got some vets, you’ve got some new guys, you’ve got some rookies. They’re all coming together.”

Calipari spoke Tuesday and said the young guys are meshing well with the veterans and specifically mentioned the improvement of players like Jacob Toppin and Daimion Collins, along with a healthy CJ Fredrick and Lance Ware, who has spent much of the offseason in the weight room getting stronger.

“It’s fun. We’re fast, guys can score, we’re downhill runners,” he said. “Jacob (Toppin) is way better, Daimion (Collins) is way better. It’s just good to see. CJ (Fredrick) is getting healthy, thank goodness. We can start with him now. … Antonio Reeves, you know? Lance (Ware) has put on pounds. … We’ve seen the impact he can have on games when he plays, his energy, he’s a really smart player. Now add on the weight so he can physically dominate.”

That Bahamas trip in August should reveal a lot of where the offseason hype has been coming from, but it’s also important to remember there is still a lot of growth and development between then and the start of the season.

“The biggest thing is, let’s get these guys to be a team,” Calipari said. “We’re going to the Bahamas, and I hope everybody watches and says, ‘They have fun, they play hard, they play for each other. And wow, this is only the summer.’ We do have good players, guys who came back, some of the freshmen that came in. … This is a great group.”

Tweet of the Day

Always good to see this stuff.

Headlines

Rhyne Howard continues to make history - Herald Leader

What a year she’s having.

Mark Stoops named to preseason watch list for Dodd Trophy - Cats Pause

It’s one of the top honors for college football coaches.

Anwar Stewart gets an extension - KSR

Well-deserved.

Adam Silver is hopeful about age change in new CBA - ESPN

Could a change finally be on the horizon?

Could Tyler Herro be a piece in a Donovan Mitchell trade? - Bleacher Report

It’s being talked about.

The Blue Jays fired their manager mid-season - Yahoo

Not often you see a team with a winning record let go of their coach mid-season.

Mike Gundy has thoughts on Big 12 expansion - CBS

Nobody should be surprised here.