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The 2015 Kentucky Wildcats officially gained a knock down three point shooter yesterday when JUCO guard Mychal Mulder signed his National Letter of Intent. Coach Cal had this to say about Mulder:
"I’m so excited to be coaching Mychal," UK head coach John Calipari said. "He’s been in a great program the last two years and been pushed hard by a terrific coach. His teams have won and he’s shared, yet he was still rewarded as a First Team All-American. He fits our program."
That last part is important. He fits our program. Cal has made it clear that only certain guys can play at Kentucky, and that became even more clear during this recruiting season. Mulder will be in Lexington in June to start the summer session at UK and he will be able to work out with the team. Welcome aboard!
Tweet of the Morning:
John Calipari and Jamal Murray on the Alltech Rebelation stage during Murray’s official visit to UK. pic.twitter.com/5o4FF42aTd
— Hoops Hype Canada (@HoopsHypeCA) May 26, 2015
All the misses will be forgotten if John Calipari can land this kid. Do work, John.
Kentucky Wildcats Football:
- One of Mark Stoops' prize linemen from the class of 2016 picked up an offer from Florida. He's a Kentucky kid, the #15 ranked offensive tackle in the country, and an absolute stud. Stoops has to keep this one.
- Stoops just offered class of 2017 pro-style quarterback Chase Brice. He's a four star player with an impressive offer sheet with schools like Alabama still looking in his direction.
- Richard Cheeks, a guest author over at Vaught's Views, lays down the case for the Wildcats to go 7-5 or 8-4 this season. He uses numbers and analytics to make the case. I hope he's right.
Kentucky Wildcats Basketball:
- The plan for 2015 big man Thon Maker still seems to be to enroll in December and play the second half of the upcoming season. His guardian also stated that Indiana and Arizona State have the most contact with him, that he may be an 18 month college player, and that Calipari stated, "When you're ready to be recruited, call me." Maker would be a welcome addition in the middle and could you imagine these two guys on the same team?
- Trey Lyles' father wants him ready for a "man's world." I think he will be just fine.
- 2016 recruit Miles Bridges cut his list to five schools and the Wildcats made it. His list also includes Michigan State, Michigan, Iowa, and North Carolina.
Other Kentucky Wildcats Athletics:
- Kentucky track and field look to book their trip to the track and field nationals in Eugene, Oregon this week in the East Preliminary Championships is Jacksonville, Florida. The women's team tied a school record with 25 entries while the men's team has 13. Good luck!
College Football:
- ESPN lists it's top 100 things to look forward to during college football season. #1 is Urban Meyer vs. Jim Harbaugh. No, Kentucky did not make the list.
College Basketball:
- The Sporting News ranked the top one-and-done big men. Kentucky made the list three times with Karl-Anthony Towns at number eight, Demarcus Cousins at number four, and Anthony Davis at number three. Yes. Third behind Kevin Love and Greg Oden. I'm sorry, but Davis was a once in a lifetime college player that was the best on a team of stars and led them to a national title. He broke records, he won every award imaginable, was the top pick in the draft, and is currently one of the five best players in the NBA. Do better.
- Do you know who Lil B is? Neither did I until this week. Apparently he is a rapper and a huge Warriors fan. He's cursed players in the past and James Harden is the current player to fall to his curse. But that's not what interests me. What interests me is that recent California Golden Bear Jaylen Brown has challenged Mr. B to a game of one on one. He's popular with the kids.
Other Sports News:
- LeBron James is great. His undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers just swept the supposed second best team in the NBA Atlanta Hawks. The Cavs served up an old style whooping last night, blasting the Hawks 118-88. James is now only the second player to go to five straight NBA Finals. The other guy on the list? Bill Russell. Stephen Curry is the reigning MVP and deservedly so. But there is no question to who the best player on the planet is right now.
- FIFA hasn't earned the reputation as the dirtiest organization in all of sports by accident. Swiss authorities arrested five FIFA officials on corruption charges. The next World Cup will take place in Qatar. Allegations of Qatar bidding for the coveted tournament began as soon as it was announced that the country would host the games. Qatar itself has come under fire for poor treatment of workers associated with building the stadiums to host the World Cup among a myriad of other complaints. I am not a huge soccer fan, but it is the world's most popular game and human rights issues are at stake.
Odds and Ends:
- Mad Max: Fury Road was a miracle of movie making for multiple reasons. I've said it on this blog before and I will say it here again, it's the best action film I've ever seen.
- B.B. King's children are alleging that poison was involved in the death of the late Blues legend. There has been a homicide probe launched in response to the claims.
- He's back as Conan. Arnold Schwarzenegger will reprise his iconic character in The Legend of Conan. The film will be a direct sequel to the 80's bloody fantasy epic Conan the Barbarian. He's old, he's not what he used to be, but Arnold as Conan is enough to get me in the theater. But did Conan the Destroyer never happen? C'mon, Wilt Chamberlain was in that!