MrSEC » Kentucky

Will LSU Have A “Fat Cat” Quarterback In Liggins?

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:48:37 +0000

A decade ago, Kentucky was quarterbacked by just about the biggest man you’ll ever see behind center. Jared Lorenzen was 6-4 and his weight was listed as being anywhere from 285 to 315. From the “Fat Cat” to “Battleship Lorenzen” to “The Pillsbury Throwboy” (a personal favorite), UK’s jumbo-sized QB drew as much attention for his size as he did his record-setting success in the Bluegrass State.

Soon there may be a new quarterback casting a big shadow across the SEC.

LSU signee Jeremy Liggins is listed at 6-3, 270 pounds. But Les Miles says his future field general is a bit heftier than that number now:

“He’s probably closer to 280 than 270 right now. So if a defensive lineman rushing the passer came loose, he might want to bring a friend. He might not get it done by himself.”

Liggins high school coach says “his weight is an issue” but he believes the LSU staff can help with that. Liggins agrees.

“It’s not going to be as bad as people think,” he said of shedding some excess pounds. “I probably have to lose 10 or 15 pounds, but that’s not a problem. I’m talking to a nutritionist who’s telling me how to eat and keep running.” (Having just turned 41, I loathe those young pups who can add and drop weight so easily.)

In case you’re wondering just how big 6-3, 270ish is… Cam Newton has been listed at 6-5, 250. Former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell was 6-6, 260.

And here’s a look at the aforementioned Lorenzen in action back in 2000:

UK’s Calipari Wants Officials To Call “Rough Play”

John — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:50:28 +0000

Since SEC play began, John Calipari has been goading his team to show more toughness in the face of physical play. While the Wildcats have opened league play with seven consecutive wins and grabbed the nation’s #1 ranking, Coach Cal still isn’t thrilled with Kentucky’s physicality.

Apparently it’s time to call in some help.

Calipari said yesterday that he wants officials to start calling more fouls lest there be an increase in flagrant, dangerous fouls league-wide:

“My whole point is if you don’t call rough play, that’s what it goes to. You’ve got to call rough play… We don’t want it to be a rough-house, win-in-the-weightroom game. That’s now how we play.”

Timing is everything. Kentucky hosts Tennessee tonight, a team that Calapari said out-physicaled his team in a close loss in Knoxville two weeks ago. The coach said he expects a “hand-to-hand kind of deal” from the Volunteers this time around. No wonder than that he’s already trying to get the officials to be on the lookout for that type of rough-and-tumble play.

Vol fans will claim Calipari’s being whiny. Cat fans will claim he’s being wise. But in reality, officiating probably won’t make that big of a difference tonight. On paper, Kentucky is third in SEC play in scoring defense while Tennessee is just 10th in SEC play in scoring offense.

If form holds, Tennessee will have to get Jason Bourne-style physical in order to make up for its lack of scorers.

Calipari Says #1 Kentucky Might “Need A Loss”

John — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:42:55 +0000

When you’re gliding through the third month of the regular season with but one loss on your resume, it’s easy to say, “We could use a loss.” Fact is, that’s pretty much just what John Calipari said yesterday. And here’s guessing guys like Darrin Horn, Mark Fox and Cuonzo Martin aren’t too moved by Coach Cal’s “troubles.”

“We probably need a loss. So we’ll come together and say, ‘We’re not losing like this.’ In other words, getting manhandled. ‘That’s enough!’…

My thing is, let’s take one on the chin. Now, what’s (the team) going to do? Is (the team) going to say, ‘It’s OK.’ I don’t think they’ll say it’s OK. That was my message. … IF this doesn’t start changing, we need to take a ‘L.’”

Kentucky’s coach is talking about his team’s tendency to get outmuscled at times. But that probably won’t be an issue tonight at Georgia. Granted, UK hasn’t looked good on the road this year — heck, no one ever looks good on the road anymore — but Fox’s Dawgs just don’t match up well with the Calipari’s Cats:

* Kentucky is first in the SEC in scoring offense, Georgia is last.

* Kentucky is first in the SEC in scoring margin, Georgia is last.

* Kentucky is first in the SEC in field goal percentage, Georgia is last.

* Kentucky is first in the SEC in field goal percentage defense, Georgia is last.

* Kentucky is first in the SEC in rebounding offense, Georgia is 11th.

* Kentucky is second in the SEC in rebounding defense, Georgia is 9th.

* Kentucky is first in the SEC in rebounding margin, Georgia is last.

* Kentucky is first in the SEC in blocked shots, Georgia is 11th.

Calipari’s “we need to take a ‘L’” talk is likely just a motivational tool for his team as it travels to meet an overmatched foe. For if UK loses tonight, Georgia will have pulled — at least on paper — one of the biggest SEC upsets you’ll ever see.

Kentucky Moves To #1; Missouri To #2

John — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:29:15 +0000

The Kentucky Wildcats are back atop the two national basketball polls today, but a team joining the league next season is nipping at their heels.

For all the talk of Missouri not being ready to compete in the SEC, the Tiger basketball program is currently #2 in both major polls with an 18-1 record. Mizzou has a veteran team so they might not be quite so tough when they come aboard next season, but there’s no question MU’s addition will help the league’s hoops reputation.

That’s a good thing, too, because Florida and Mississippi State are the only current SEC teams joining UK in the polls this week:

AP Top 25
1. Kentucky
14. Florida
18. Mississippi State

ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll
1. Kentucky
13. Florida
16. Mississippi State

In a roundball-related note, the SEC has named Ole Miss’ Terrence Henry as its Player of the Week and Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes as its Freshman of the Week.

UK’s Jones Playing Better ‘Cause He’s “Not Thinking As Much”

John — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:08:29 +0000

Kentucky forward Terrence Jones didn’t get off to the start many expected this season. National media members wondered why a kid with so much talent didn’t seem to bring the same energy and emotion from night to night. Big Blue fans fretted.

John Calipari said that his All-American candidate simply needed to start having fun on the basketball court. And that has made all the difference. Jones came close within one rebound against Arkansas on Tuesday of recording his first double-double of the season (he had seven last year), and his play has improved overall in recent games.

Jones knows why:

“I’m just not thinking as much. Just being less conscious about my (injured) hand. Worrying about messing up because I wasn’t playing like I was (as a freshman). Just thinking too much about every little play.”

This season, Jones is averaging 11.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. In 2010-11 he averaged 15.7 and 8.8.

VU’s Stallings Takes Issue With UK’s Schedule

John — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:24:59 +0000

Kentucky’s John Calipari might line up one of the nation’s tougher non-conference schedules each year, but Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings thinks UK’s coach has a pretty cushy ride once league play begins. Specifically, two things stick in the Vandy coach’s craw:

1. For the second year in a row UK will not have a quick Thursday-Saturday turnaround.

2. Kentucky will play four Saturday games against teams coming off Thursday games and that’s more than any other team in the league.

Stallings wants to know whazzup with that:

“Go figure that one out for me, would you? We all agreed to do it, so if you have one, like we have one, I’m not going to complain. To not have any and to be able to play four teams that have to do it to play you… that’s not right.”

Not sure about you, but to this writer it sure sounds like Stallings is complaining.

But let’s give the explanation part a try. First and foremost, the league’s basketball schedule is created in concert with ESPN for television purposes. Guess who the SEC’s biggest TV draw is by far. Now realize that ESPN’s main SEC basketball night is its “Super Tuesday” block. When UK gets moved off of the standard Wednesday night routine, it typically slides to Tuesday, not to Thursday.

The Cats have five such Tuesday night games this season and they will not play again on Wednesday for the rest of the year. They do have one Thursday nighter (against Georgia on March 1st) but that will be followed by a Sunday noon game against Florida. Know why? CBS traditionally kicks a UK game into the noon timeslot on final day of the regular season (this year Florida replaces Tennessee as UK’s last day opponent).

Stallings’ issue with Kentucky’s schedule has more to do with ESPN and CBS than it does the SEC office. But before he barks too loudly, he might want to keep these points in mind:

1. The SEC’s highest-rated games tend to involve Kentucky.

2. The higher the ratings for SEC basketball, the better the cashflow into the league long-term via TV contracts.

3. The better the cashflow into the SEC, the more money trickles back to Vanderbilt… who pays Stallings’ salary.

Television rules college sports these days. And with ESPN and CBS already paying the SEC about three billion dollars — that’s billion with a B — over a 15-year span, those two networks are typically going to get exactly what they want from Mike Slive and league office.

And for the record, LSU and Auburn will not play Thursday-Saturday turnarounds, either.

NCAA Officiating Coordinator Makes It Clear UK’s Calapari Isn’t Up To Speed On The Block/Charge Rule

John — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:29:04 +0000

Yesterday we told you that Kentucky’s John Calipari was upset with the way officials were handling block/charge calls in Wildcat games. For the season, UK has gotten nine charge calls to go their way… while they’ve been whistled for charging 39 times. No wonder the coach was upset:

“If I’m in the act of shooting, but I haven’t left my feet, can (the defender) then slide in there,” Calipari asked. “Because that’s what they’re doing.”

Well, uh, yeah. The defender can.

Speaking to The Lexington Herald-Leader yesterday, John Adams — the NCAA national men’s basketball officiating coordinator — said what Coach Cal described could be “a legal defender.”

“Most people will tell you, ‘He was moving!’ It’s irrelevant. … There’s no standard of being set at the time of the contact.

To draw a charge, all a defender has to do is face his opponent (and) have both feet on the floor for an instant. After which, he can move to maintain legal guarding position.”

According to Adams, the defender can move left, right or backward depending on the movement of the ball-handler. He cannot, however, move forward into the man with the ball.

Adams has more to say about the block/charge call here… and it’s an interesting read.

But regardless of the rule itself we still believe that when a block/charge goes in your team’s favor it’s a good call. When it goes against your team, it’s bad call. Pretty simple in our view.

Calipari Thinks UK’s Getting Jobbed On Charge Calls

John — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Ask a fan of any SEC school south of Lexington which team gets all the calls and they’ll likely tell you Kentucky. In the past, we’ve tracked foul calls in the SEC and UK opponents should not really expect to get the short end of the stick. It’s a myth.

In fact, John Calipari thinks the officials might be going a little tough on his Wildcats on charging calls:

“Teams, right now, are saying when they’re running to the rim, throw a body in there and hope it’s a charge, and not a block. Now, 98% of them are being called charges. I don’t think we’ve (drawn) three… all year…

Either these guys — when we leave our feet — are unbelievably quick to get into position or some of them should be blocks.”

As The Lexington Herald-Leader points out, UK has been called for charging 39 times but they’ve only drawn nine such calls. That is quite the disparity.

Kentucky Lawmaker Says Cats-Cards Bill Just An Attention-Getter

John — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:29:10 +0000

Kentucky state senator Tim Shaughnessy got what he wanted from a proposed bill that would force UK and Louisville to meet in football and basketball every year — attention. The lawmaker admitted yesterday that he threw the Cats/Cards talk into his bill just to draw attention to the rest of it, which would mandate better graduation rates and better governance over Kentucky schools.

“UK is the only state institution that graduates more than 50 percent of its students in six years. … That is unacceptable,” the senator said.

What’s also unacceptable? Stirring up fan emotions as part of a ruse. Shaughnessy’s motives appear to be good — who can argue with better schooling? — but sports is an area we believe lawmakers should seldom tread.

Wildcat hoops coach John Calipari seems to agree. “I would hope (Kentucky’s lawmakers) don’t think I need help scheduling,” he said at lunch for lawmakers yesterday. “I hope they have more important things to do.”

Calipari attended the luncheon in order to ask the politicians to help fund new academic buildings on UK’s campus.

Calipari Not A Fan Of An 18-Game League Schedule

John — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:27:14 +0000

Now that the 2012 SEC football schedule has been unveiled, discussion will start to swirl around next season’s basketball schedule (as well as the new football plan to be launched in 2013). Having just done away with divisions this season, the league is even considering a return to that in the future.

Most believe the league will expand its current 16-game conference slate whether divisions return or not. Kentucky’s John Calipari is in the group that expects an 18-game schedule to be launched. And if it’s 18, he doesn’t like it:

“We don’t get as many non-conference games. You just added two Top 20 teams (to the SEC). Missouri hasn’t lost a game. Texas A&M, historically, you know what they’ve done in basketball. We’ve just gotten stronger.

If you look at all the Top 25 programs right now, we’re playing one of those schedules. Can you play all these road games, can you do all this stuff and add two Top 25s? We’ve got to make decisions on our schedule and how we’re going to do this without overloading our players or putting the program in jeopardy.”

We understand where Calipari is coming from — coaches like having the ability to line up some pre-Christmas cupcakes. Everyone does it. But in this case, Coach Cal seems to be exaggerating the dangers of moving from 16 games to 18 (if that’s what the SEC eventually does).

“Can you play all these road games,” the coach asked. Well, technically, each school would only add one road game. Instead of playing eight league foes at home and eight on the road, in an 18-game world the split would be nine at home and nine away. That’s hardly a backbreaker.

Oh, and the guy below? He’s 18 and he does like it.

UK’s Calipari: We Played Better Without Teague

John — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:39:40 +0000

John Calipari knows a thing or two about point guards. First, he knows how to sign the top ones. Second, he knows how to get them ready for the NBA (though the first point could play more than a small role in the second one).

Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, Brandon Knight. All stars. Now enter Marquis Teague. He’s not among the SEC’s 30 best scorers. And while he is third in the league in assists (4.5 pg), his assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4 to 1) ranks just 10th best in the conference.

When you’re playing at Kentucky and following in the footsteps of former Calipari greats like Rose, Evans, Wall and Knight, those numbers just aren’t good enough. And the coach clearly wants more from his freshman.

After Kentucky came from behind to pass and eventually rout Arkansas State last night, the Cats’ coach made it clear that the team got better when Teague left the floor:

“Obviously, without him on the court we played a lot better, there is no argument there. But he also has to play better for us to win, I know that.”

True, but an ouch just the same.

As Jerry Tipton of The Lexington Herald-Leader points out, Teague is just 3-for-16 shooting in the last two games and he’s just 5-for-27 from 3-point range in UK’s last 10 games.

With SEC play tipping off this weekend, it’s no secret that Kentucky will need Teague to be more careful with the basketball.

Semester Over, Calipari Has Simple Plans For His Cats

John — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:37:34 +0000

With the end of the fall semester, John Calipari knows exactly how he wants his Kentucky basketball players spending their time:

“Basketball, eating and sleeping. That’s it.”

What a Merry Christmas that will be.

UK’s Jones Could Play With Dislocated Finger Tomorrow

John — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:36:52 +0000

Kentucky forward Terrence Jones has missed the last two days of practice with a dislocated pinky finger, but that doesn’t mean he won’t play tomorrow against Samford.

“I don’t know yet,” John Calipari said. “We’ll see. I don’t expect him to start if he doesn’t practice today, but I don’t know. … He’s still swollen and black and blue. The doctor said he thought he may be able to practice today, but he looked at it and said, ‘I’d keep him out another day.’”

Wildcat guard Darius Miller has seen the finger and his opinion is as follows: “It’s pretty nasty.”

If it’s that nasty, that black, and that blue, then there’s probably no need for Jones to risk further injuring the finger against 3-6 Samford. The third-ranked, 9-1 Wildcats can probably survive without its sophomore All-America candidate.

UK’s Calipari Wants His Cats To Be More “Vicious”

John — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:22:04 +0000

It takes a lot to satisfy Kentucky’s John Calipari. (Perhaps that’s because he usually has a roster chock full of future NBA all-stars.) Take for instance Coach Cal’s take on his team’s lack of a response — in his view — to Chattanooga’s physical style of play on Saturday night:

“I look at us right now and say, ‘Okay, you know, what are we going to have to do to take this to another level?’ What do we have to do to get guys to understand, let’s just be a vicious team, let’s go out and fight.

We are just not that right now.”

For the record, UK jumped out to an 18-2 start and then coasted to an 87-62 win.

Feathers Ruffled, Calipari Says He’s No Chicken

John — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:07:46 +0000

John Calipari said earlier this week that there might be some years when his team is just too young to play one top-notch opponent after another. For that reason, he suggested that Kentucky might drop a traditional rival like Indiana, Louisville or North Carolina from its schedule.

Despite Calipari’s God-like status in the Bluegrass State, many Wildcat fans weren’t thrilled with the idea of losing a big rivalry game. They probably also knew what folks from around the country would say — that UK and Calipari are “scared” to play Indiana, Louisville and UNC every year.

That’s not the case at all according to John Calipari and his Twitter feed:

“I’m the originator of playing anytime, anyplace, anywhere. I just want flexibility in our scheduling to modify based on our roster.”

If you look at UK’s schedules since Calipari took over in Lexington, there’s no denying that he’s played as many big-time teams as anyone else in the country.

That said, you can bet the coach’s tweet will still be met with the following response from folks outside the Commonwealth:

Leach To Washington State, Off The Market

John — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:37:41 +0000

Anyone dreaming of Mike Leach landing in the SEC this year (Ole Miss fans) or perhaps next (Kentucky, Tennessee fans) can stop dreaming. The pirate has landed about as far from his South Florida home as imaginable.

Leach has been hired by Washington State, which might just be the best place for him. If there’s a school as isolated and off-the-beaten path as Texas Tech, it’s Wazzu. In addition, the Cougars have a long history of producing star college quarterbacks… from Jack Thompson to Drew Bledsoe to Ryan Leaf. (We said star college quarterbacks.)

In the wide open Pac-12, Leach could prosper as he did in Lubbock. And if he does — and does so more than Ole Miss — it’s likely the folks in Oxford won’t let their administration forget that they could have had him.

Ex-UK Great Gigs UT Buddy Over Win; Joker A Streak-Buster For Cats

John — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:05:22 +0000

In the 1970s and 80s, Joe Federspiel and Bobby Scott were teammates with the New Orleans Saints. Before that they became legends in their college days — Federspiel as a linebacker at Kentucky and Scott as a quarterback at Tennessee.

Saturday, just seconds after the Wildcats’ streak-snapping victory over the Volunteers, Scott received a good-natured — and pretty funny — text from his old teammate, Federspiel:

“Nobody comes into (our) house and beats us 27 times.”

It was that kind of day in the Bluegrass State. The joy of finally ending the nation’s longest losing streak between annual opponents mixed with the bewilderment that UK had somehow managed to lose 26 in a row against UT in the first place.

But there’s still another streak that’s yet to be snapped by Kentucky. With a defeat this season, the Wildcats dropped their 25th game in a row to Florida.

Never fear, Cat fans, Joker is here.

Joker Phillips — the subject of job security rumors last week — is a Big Blue streak-stopper if nothing else. Last season, his first squad beat Steve Spurrier… a coach UK had never beaten at Florida or at South Carolina. Last weekend, he vanquished the Vols. Might the Gators be next? Having lost 11 games over the last two seasons — with a bowl game yet to play — Florida isn’t as imposing as it once was.

Until Kentucky travels to Gainesville next fall, Cat fans and alums (like Federspiel) can at least enjoy the fact that — as UK broadcaster Tom Leach put it Saturday — “Ding, Dong, The Streak (against UT) is Dead.”

UK Hoopster Poole To Transfer

John — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:27:30 +0000

Kentucky sophomore guard Stacey Poole Jr. will transfer from Kentucky’s basketball team. This just days after his father — former Florida hoopster Stacey Poole Sr. — said he would make the final decision.

John Calipari broke the news on his website yesterday:

“… Stacey and his family felt it is in his best interest to play somewhere else, and I fully respect the family and their decision. I want to wish Stacey nothing but the best in whatever and wherever he chooses to go. He will always be a part of our family and the Big Blue Nation.”

Poole — along with teammate Terrence Jones — was involved in an early morning car accident in Lexington last week that resulted in the entire UK team being hit with a season-long curfew by Calipari. Neither player was seriously injured in the wreck.

30-Point Loss To Vandy A Serious Blow To UK’s Phillips; Defense The Biggest Issue

John — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:23:07 +0000

Did Rich Brooks get while the gettin’ was good, knowing that there were tough times ahead for Kentucky? Or have most of Joker Phillips’ moves — getting rid of some of Brooks’ old assistants, for example — just been bad ones?

Either way, Phillips is captaining a ship that appears to be sinking. Right after Brooks spent years raising it from the bottom of the Big Blue sea.

How bad have things gotten in the Bluegrass State? John Clay of The Lexington Herald-Leader wrote this of the Wildcat football program this morning:

“With two games remaining in this 2011 season, it’s painfully obvious that the last two years under Rich Brooks, and probably even the first season under Phillips as head coach, Kentucky’s recruiting was not as advertised.

This is still a team bereft of playmakers on offense, that lacks stoppers on defense, that does not have the kind of difference-makers you need to compete, much less win in the SEC.

That being said, too many times in Phillips’ 23-game tenure as head coach, Kentucky has shown up flat and ill-prepared. That’s the combination that produces performances indicative of poorly coached teams.

It was striking on Saturday that Vanderbilt, playing under a first-year coach in James Franklin who had never been around the Commodores program until last spring, played with so much more energy and enthusiasm than did Kentucky, a team playing under a second-year head coach who served as an assistant at the same school the previous seven years.”

In Brooks’ final four seasons, the Cats finished 8-5, 8-5, 7-6 and 7-6. Phillips’s first season ended at 6-7 and UK is currently 4-6 with games remaining against Georgia and Tennessee.

While the offense has gone into hibernation this fall without solid replacements for Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke and Mike Hartline, it’s the defense that’s been the cause of Kentucky’s greatest woes… under both Brooks and Phillips.

In 2006, the Cats gave up an average of 34.5 points per game to SEC foes. That number dropped to 29.8 ppg in 2008. It dropped again in 2009 to 27.8. And from there it’s risen under Phillips — from 33.4 last season to a ridiculous 36.0 points per SEC contest this fall.

When your best work in a five-year span is holding SEC opponents to 27.8 points per game, you’re not going to win many contests. The fact that the defense has gotten worse under Phillips’ leadership — by more than a touchdown per game in SEC play — stands as the biggest difference between Brooks’ Cats and Phillips’.

If he can’t turn that around next season — when defensive coordinator Rick Minter will be in his second season — Phillips likely won’t be back in Lexington for Year Four.

Calipari Drops Curfew On Cats After Early Morning Car Wreck

John — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:52:38 +0000

Where were you at 2:30am this morning?

Kentucky basketball players Terrence Jones and Stacey Poole were involved in a car accident in Lexington at that time. Both players received minor injuries when the SUV they were riding in was struck by a man eventually charged with DUI.

The players weren’t breaking a team rule by being out at 2:30am. But that’s about to change according to John Calipari:

“Because of the actions of a select few, this team has showed me an inability to make proper judgment and decisions that they’ve been given the freedom to make. Therefore, going forward, this team will now have a curfew for the rest of the season…

We hold our players to a higher standard at Kentucky. They must learn that they’ve been placed in a leadership role and that every action defines this team, this state and its fans. As always, any additional punishment will be handled within the team.”

A third, unidentified person was driving the SUV when it was hit by the alleged drunk driver.

UPDATE — There is some debate as to whether Jones — who’s still underage — was drinking at the time of the accident.

‘Bout Time: Franklin-Phillips First SEC Matchup Of Black Football Coaches

John — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:28:00 +0000

Saturday will mark a first in the 78-year history of the SEC. When Vanderbilt’s James Franklin and Kentucky’s Joker Phillips meet in Nashville it will be the league’s first ever matchup between black head football coaches.

The SEC had never even had a black football coach until Sylvester Croom was hired by Mississippi State in 2004.

Not to walk too far down a controversial road, but when more than 50% of college football players are black, it seems a wee bit odd that only 17 of the 120 head coaching jobs in the country (14%) are held by black coaches.

For now, most college presidents and athletic directors are white and people in power tend to hire people who are like themselves. But hopefully things will continue to improve on this front.

Either way, Saturday’s Kentucky-Vanderbilt game will feature another barrier being knocked down.

UK Hoopster Poole May Transfer At Father’s Behest

John — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:55:30 +0000

Sophomore guard Stacey Poole Jr. might transfer from the Kentucky basketball team. It all depends on the conversation he has with his father — former Florida player Stacey Poole — this weekend.

Does the younger Poole want to leave UK due to a lack of playing time? Apparently not. “He loves Big Blue,” his dad said. “He loves it up there. Kentucky’s been good to him.”

So who’s behind this transfer talk? “I’m initiating everything,” Poole the Elder told The Lexington Herald-Leader. “At the end of the day, I’ll make the call.”

Poole’s father says his son doesn’t look comfortable on the floor for UK.

“You can’t be unsure. When I look at him on TV (the son appears to be thinking) ‘I don’t want to (mess) up.’ You can’t play the game like that. … But he’s not smiling. He’s just all focused.”

“If it was about (playing) time,” the father said, “I’d have acted like a fool last year. I’m for him. I’m for the program. But he’s my son. I want to make sure he’s comfortable.”

Then it’s probably best not to act like a fool now. If Poole’s college-age son wants to stay in Lexington, his father should let him make that call on his own. There’s nothing wrong with a father looking out for his son. But if “at the end of the day, (Papa) will make the call,” well, that’s not so great.

College would probably be a good time to let Poole Jr. grow up and make his own decisions.

UK Going To Black Uniforms Vs MSU

John — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:58:23 +0000

Kentucky players have been asking for them since Rich Brooks’ days as head coach. And on Saturday, they’ll get ‘em — black uniforms.

Now personally, I don’t see what’s “special” about “special” jerseys anymore. Not with every school trotting out “special” jerseys, usually black ones.

But in Joker Phillips’ case, why not give the Wildcats what they want?

UK defeated Jacksonville State 38-14 on Saturday. The performance gave the Cats something — finally — to feel good about. This weekend they’ll host a struggling Mississippi State team. Win on Saturday and suddenly Kentucky’s season might be salvageable. Here’s the remainder of UK’s schedule:

Mississippi State
Ole Miss
at Vanderbilt
at Georgia
Tennessee

At 3-4, a bowl trip isn’t out of the question. Especially if the Wildcats gain some confidence and get on a bit of a roll. As bad as UK has looked this season, a bowl bid would be a remarkable accomplishment.

For that reason, Joker Phillips appears to be going “all in” on Saturday. The black unis could create a buzz amongst his players and that could lead to a season-turning victory.

But if the Cats lose in their slick, new duds, what motivational ploys will Phillips have left at his disposal moving forward?

Mullen Talks Up Kentucky

John — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:42:43 +0000

Football coaches are well known for talking up their opponents. Lou Holtz, for example, used to be a master of that art.

Apparently Dan Mullen is working on an advanced degree in puffery, too. Check out what Mississippi State’s coach has to say about Kentucky, his Bulldogs’ foe on Saturday:

“One of the issues has been turnover ratio and I think that is what’s giving them their negative results. All of a sudden, you take away their turnovers and they’re a pretty hot team right now.”

A pretty hot team? UK did whip FCS-level Jacksonville State 38-14 over the weekend and they did pile up 445 yards of offense.

But out of 120 teams nationally, Kentucky ranks…

118th in total offense
117th in first downs
116th in passing offense
114th in 3rd down conversions
111th in scoring offense
107th in red zone conversions
106th in rushing defense
104th in turnover margin (a checkmark for Mullen on that one)

A pretty hot team?

Calipari Says He’s Serious About His Player-First View

John — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:47:04 +0000

If you’re not believing John Calipari’s recent statement that he would consider a national title to be a disappointment if he didn’t also get some players drafted, check out these comments:

“When you make decisions after the season, if it was just about winning championship, what do you think I would recommend to all of these players? I’d say: ‘Come back. I need to help your free-throw shooting. You’ll be bigger. You’ll be better prepared in the NBA by staying two more years.’

I just don’t do it that way. And as this has happened, we encourage kids to chase their dreams.”

Most Kentucky fans are sharp enough to grasp Calipari’s unstated logic:

* If you’re a player-first program, your recruiting should be good

* If your recruiting is good, you should be in the running for a national title

But if Calipari doesn’t break through at some point with a national crown, you have to wonder if Wildcat fans who are used to hanging banners will be so understanding of Coach Cal’s player-first view.

It’s The Heart Of Football Season In The SEC (Unless You Live In Kentucky)

John — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:32:01 +0000

Every October, just as the SEC football races are heating up, the fanbase of one school turns its eyes to basketball. No surprise, really. With John Calipari at Kentucky the Cats are going to be national title contenders each and every year. While their football team, uh, won’t be.

Well the annual shift in focus in underway. With Big Blue Madness schedule for tonight, the sporting world is focusing in on Kentucky’s 2011-12 basketball team. Examples:

1. Kentucky actually held a rehearsal for tonight’s first practice last night.

2. The Wildcats know that expectations are sky-high.

3. This writer says if Coach Cal doesn’t win a national title soon, people will begin to wonder if he ever will. (Which means little because Jim Boeheim and Roy Williams took forever to get over that hump.)

4. Calipari says as long as he’s in Lexington, UK will always be player-first when it comes to NBA draftees versus championships. (That’s nothing more than a recruiting tool, of course.)

5. UK freshmen are learning just how bright the spotlight is in Lexington.

6. Marquis Teague has big shoes to fill as the latest Calipari-brand point guard.

7. To insure others won’t sell their autographed memorabilia, Cat players have been advised to personalize all autographs.

8. Guard Jon Hood is working to rehab his knee.

For everyone else… we’ll now turn our attention back to football.

UK’s Phillips Not Bothered By Last-Second Carolina TD; What Was Spurrier’s Motivation?

John — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:45:11 +0000

“Nah, that’s what they do,” Joker Phillips said when asked if he were angry about South Carolina’s last-second touchdown in Kentucky’s 54-3 loss on Saturday. “That’s their offense. Why should our problem become their problem?”

Here’s a quick breakdown of the Gamecocks’ final controversial series from Mark Story of The Lexington Herald-Leader:

“South Carolina was leading Kentucky 47-3 Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium when the Gamecocks took over the ball at their own 24 with 3:38 left in the game.

On the ensuing drive, South Carolina completed three passes in what became a 10-play drive. With a chance to let the game clock run out without scoring, the Gamecocks instead rushed to the line of scrimmage to run one more play.

It became a Dylan Thompson 8-yard touchdown run with eight seconds left in what became a 54-3 victory.”

Poor sportsmanship? Not according to UK linebacker Danny Trevathan. “I know (Steve Spurrier) had the lead, but that’s his style of coaching. We needed to stop them.”

Indeed, Spurrier has never been one to call of the dogs. The case could be made that as a good general schooled in the Sun-Tzu’s “The Art of War,” the Ol’ Ball Coach is simply inflicting as much damage as possible on his enemy. Rather than taking a shortsighted view of Saturday’s game, he might have realized that beating down UK (and Phillips) could lead to further unrest in the Wildcat program and hurt them in recruiting. Since Carolina is traditionally lumped in with the Cats and Vanderbilt in the bottom half of the East, a blowout win might also further send the message that USC has arrived for good in that division’s upper echelon.

Sure, that could be the case.

But dollars-to-doughnuts I’ll betcha Spurrier — who often acts like an overgrown kid — just likes to run it up on people… and long-term prospects played little role in his go-for-the-jugular mentality on Saturday.

Does Calipari Have Pitino Envy?

John — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:27:34 +0000

John Calipari and Rick Pitino have a longstanding rivalry that traces far back, before the two wound up as competitors in the Bluegrass State. And every time Calipari gets a chance to take a shot at Pitino or his school, he does so.

Take, for example, what he said about Wildcat fans who camp outside just to get tickets to UK’s first practices of the season:

“It’s a unique thing. There’s no other state — none — as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State. California — UCLA has all those. … North Carolina has Duke. It’s Kentucky, throughout this whole state, and that’s what makes this unique.”

Rick Bozich of The Louisville Courier-Journal suggests Coach Cal has “a king-sized case of Rick Pitino Envy.” Here’s guessing most UK fans will disagree with that one.

Instead, it appears Calipari has a little Steve Spurrier/Dan Mullen to him. When he sees a chance to dig at his rival — and boost his own school in the process — he’s not afraid to take it.

In this case, his own fans will cheer the above comment, but it’s unlikely that Calipari’s words are powerful enough to erase Louisville’s tradition, Louisville’s arena, and Louisville’s program from the minds and memories of non-UK fans throughout the nation.

UK’s Barnhart Talks ACC And Louisville

John — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:10:43 +0000

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart appeared on Louisville radio today and addressed two rumors that are currently circulating — UK to the ACC and Louisville to the SEC.

On the possibility of UK moving to the ACC: “No. I would say no we’re not a better fit in the ACC. We’ve got a great dynamic league… And I don’t want Kentucky to ever think about doing anything but be in the Southeastern Conference.”

On the possibility of vetoing a potential Louisville move to the SEC: “That is Mike Slive’s call, not mine. I’m not gonna get ahead of him in this entire process. It’s his call. I’m not gonna say one way or the other (that UK wouldn’t veto Louisville), I’m gonna do what’s best for our league and if Mike Slive says he thinks this is best for our league I’ll look at it and say, ‘This is what I think this means for Kentucky.’ But that is not something he has crossed that bridge with us yet.”

So UK to the ACC? No way. A UK veto of Louisville? Maybe.

Phillips Asked About UK Leaving The SEC

John — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:55:32 +0000

The possibility of a Kentucky exit from the SEC continued to get play today as a reporter asked Joker Phillips during his Monday presser if the Cats should bail on their longtime home.

“I don’t think it’s… it’s not my job or my deal to be thinking about, but I think we are in a good situation right here were we are.”

Seven NCAA Tournament championships, 14 Final Fours and some people actually believe Kentucky would be better off moving to a tougher basketball league in order to aide a football program that’s less important to Wildcat fans in the first place?

Don’t underestimate this angle of the ACC talk, folks — by pointing out just how futile UK’s hopes are in football, reporters are able to twist the knife a bit deeper into Phillips’ back. Every time he has to answer a question regarding the weakness of his program, Phillips is further painted as incompetent.

And that’s a little rough on a guy who’s just 17 games into his job.

Rumors Of UK-To-ACC Just Column Fodder, Nothing More

John — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:51:48 +0000

Personally, I enjoy the writings of Lexington Herald-Leader columnist Mark Story. (I’m sure he’s thrilled with that fact). But there’s one drum he won’t stop beating and it’s leading to me having to answer a whole lot of emails.

Over the weekend, Story suggested that due to Kentucky’s poor football history, the Wildcats should consider leaving the SEC for the more basketball-friendly ACC:

“UK basketball, having proven beyond all doubt it can dominate a football-first SEC, could test itself in a hoops-crazed ACC against the likes of North Carolina, Duke and Syracuse.

Kentucky football would move intoa league not nearly so top heavy as the SEC, yet could retain its current recruiting pipelines into states like Georgia and South Carolina (because UK would still be playing against Georgia Tech and Clemson in those states).”

Sounds good. Makes sense. No wonder such a simple “what would you think about this” column has spawned a thousand messageboard posts and a few dozen emails to my inbox.

But this is just someone tossing something up against the wall to see if it sticks. And Story did the same thing last year, too.

When the Big Ten was rumored to be on the expansion hunt last summer, these words appeared under Story’s byline:

“For a singular reason, I think it would behoove the University of Kentucky to at least consider trying to become part of the Big Ten’s expected expansion process.

That reason is football.

UK and the overwhelming majority of its fan base may see Kentucky as a basketball school, but even here in Lexington it is football that brings home the financial bacon. …

Even with the presence of traditional titans Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, history says there is significantly more chance for football upward mobility up north.”

Story is a columnist. As a writer, his job is to provoke thought and start talk. Unfortunately, in the internet world we now live in, it only takes a few folks who don’t understand his mission to begin the “UK’s leaving for the ACC!” rumor mill in earnest.

I’m amazed how many times in our own comment boxes that readers will suggest I include something in my story… that I’d already included in the story. The lesson: Many of us don’t finish a read — or stop to consider whether a story is a news article or an opinion-based column — before we start thinking of how we ourselves should respond. Either in a comment box or on a messageboard.

Thus the emails I’ve gotten today saying things like this: “I heard over the weekend that the ACC is keen on Kentucky and the Cats want out. Is this going to happen? What are you hearing?”

Uh, no. It’s not going to happen. Kentucky is a founding member of the nation’s most successful athletic conference. (Sorry, Pac-12, we don’t count cross-country ballroom dancing as a sport.) UK is in a league that is incredibly stable, the school makes money hand over fist, and it has a voice equal to all others in the conference.

In addition, there’s is no bad blood between Kentucky and any of its conference-mates, a la Texas A&M and Texas.

That leaves the most likely UK motivation for leaving the SEC as fear. And personally, I can’t recall any major schools jumping leagues out of fear. Money, stability, and academics? Yes. Geography? Yes, that too. But the desire to tuck tail and run? Nope.

Keep the Big Blue Nation in mind here, too. Kentucky fans are basketball crazy. Are we to believe they would sacrifice some basketball success in order to achieve a bit more football success? Because just as Virginia, Wake Forest and Maryland would be easier foes on the gridiron, Duke, Carolina and Syracuse would present a very serious upgrade on the hardwood.

So whaddya think? That Cat fans would be happier with a third-place finish in ACC hoops so long as they could notch another couple of football victories per season?

Sorry. Not buying.

Florida State is a school that is said to be open to discussing a move from the ACC to the SEC. They’re viewed a football school in a basketball league… the opposite of Kentucky. But unlike UK, an FSU move would add cash to that school’s coffers. The Cats would take a paycut. Also, the ACC lives in constant fear of a Big Ten or SEC raid. The SEC doesn’t have to worry about such stability issues.

Story was doing his job and tossing out an idea. Unfortunately, that mental spitball has launched a wave of rumors about UK and the ACC “seriously” flirting with one another.

But this website will say the same thing we said when it was rumored Arkansas would leave for the Big 12 and Vanderbilt would leave for the Big Ten — we’ll believe someone’s leaving the SEC just as soon as they actually do it.

UK Replaces Ring Of Honor, Bruises Some Egos

John — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:21:34 +0000

This year, Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington has a new look. A video ribbon board wraps around the upper deck of the stadium… just as others do at most large stadiums in the country. The video boards run some “fire ‘em up” messages during games, but their prime mission is to deliver advertisements.

Well, the new ribbon at Kentucky replaced a Ring of Honor that once listed the names of 45 ex-UK greats from Bear Bryant to Tim Couch. And that’s not sitting well with some of the guys whose names were on that wall.

A sampling…

Sam Ball: “I feel like me and the other 40-plus football players that paid the price to build Kentucky’s football program and paid the price to be Wildcats are now just about forgotten. It’s almost disrespectful.”

Mark Higgs: “(It) was like a slap in the face. Now, they’re advertising Coke and putting on a laser show. It’s terrible, just terrible.”

Joe Federspiel: “You see your name, see all the good players who have played at the University of Kentucky, it’s a real honor. What they’ve done now is sort of a slap in the face to former players.”

Wow. Now maybe UK did step out of line by taking down the Ring of Honor. If nothing else, the school dropped the ball by not alerting the ex-Cats honored on the wall that their names were coming down. But shouldn’t these players let someone else do the complaining for them?

Not all schools have a Ring of Honor. So from the get-go it was a nice gesture on the part of UK. Nowhere is it written that a few ex-Cats must have their names on the wall at Commonwealth Stadium.

A slap in the face? Really?

This is just my take, but even if I felt that way, I’d leave it to someone else to say it. It strikes me as being a bit arrogant for anyone to say, “Hey, I want my name on the stadium!”

Kentucky officials point out that they have posted the names on flags around the stadium and twice per game they show the names on the video ribbon board.

Apparently that’s just not good enough. We expect to see a new Ring of Honor created somewhere else inside the stadium by next fall. The only way to quiet bad press like this is to yield to the complaints.

UK’s Phillips Says There’s Nothing Illegal About UF’s Punt Block Tactics; Head Of Officials Agrees

John — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:49:28 +0000

Earlier this week, Kentucky coach Joker Phillips made the following comment about Florida’s penchant for blocking punts:

“We’ve got receivers and DBs on our punt team to try and get that speed on the field. They’ve got big guys pulling this guy that way, and this guy that way and a little fast guy with world-class speed comes up the middle to block it.”

By the time Phillips’ comments hit the internet, he was accusing Florida of doing something illegal. Phillips said during yesterday’s teleconference that he’d done no such thing:

“Nothing illegal with that. Nothing. They do a great job and within the rules. Everybody does it. We try to do it also, so it’s nothing illegal. I wasn’t saying that it’s anything illegal. I was saying that do a great job of it.”

He stopped short of saying: “Please don’t whip the heck out of my team because I made you mad, Will Muschamp. Please.”

But here’s the thing, Phillips did seem to be suggesting in his earlier comments that UF uses a technique officials refer to as a “pull and shoot.” And a pull and shoot maneuver is indeed illegal.

But SEC coordinator of officials Steve Shaw told The Florida Times-Union that he saw nothing wrong with Florida’s punt block tactics during the Gators’ game with Tennessee last week (in which UF did block a punt):

“We reviewed all of them and there’s nothing on any of those plays that rises to the level of a pull and shoot. There’s always going to be hand-grabbing and shoving but nothing to the level of a pull and shoot.”

Punt blocks and inflammatory comments aside, Phillips had better start winning some games at UK or it’s his head coaching career that might be pulled and shot.

UK’s Phillips Knows When He’s Being Holtzed

John — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:06:05 +0000

Louisville’s Charlie Strong has been poormouthing his Cardinals leading into Saturday’s Governor’s Cup game with Kentucky. He even said earlier this week that he doesn’t know if his team can beat the Wildcats.

But Joker Phillips is paying his rival no mind:

“Tell Charlie I’m not going to play into his games. We both worked with Lou (Holtz). Early in the week, you’re a terrible football team. Later on in the week, you’re pretty good, you’ve got a chance. And by the end of the week, the other team doesn’t have a chance. I understand that.”

UK has won four in a row against the Cardinals. If second-year coach Joker Phillips wants to coax a few more Cat fans into his camp, he’d better hope his team can make it five in a row on Saturday.

Report: Texas Lawmakers About To Get Involved In SEC Expansion

John — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:00:14 +0000

According to Orangebloods.com — the Rivals site covering the University of Texas — lawmakers in the Long Star State are on the verge of involving themselves in Expansionpalooza 2011. If they do, that could potentially be bad news for the SEC.

Until late last week, Texas politicians had given Texas A&M a free-pass to exit and head east to the Southeastern Conference. But now legislators are worried that Texas and Texas Tech could bolt from the Big 12 and race west to the Pac-12. Some/many/most politicos in Texas don’t want to see that happen. So…

According to Orangebloods:

“Sources said the reason lawmakers are hot is that they received assurances from the Big 12, including (UT president Bill) Powers, that the Big 12 would survive without Texas A&M.

And because of those assurances, lawmakers did not take an aggressive stand against Texas A&M withdrawing from the Big 12. But that may be changing.

Sources said members of the Legislature are or will be reaching out to Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin to tell him the Aggies may no longer have the blessing of lawmakers to leave the Big 12, especially if it looks like the Big 12 will collapse.”

In addition the site claims that Big 12 sources have said there is “an increasing likelihood of litigation” against the SEC.

Good luck to the Big 12 on that front.

The Big Ten began the expansion craze last summer. The Pac-10 then began flirting with Texas and others in an effort to swipe four- to six-teams from the Big 12, which would have extinguished the conference in one push. The Pac-1o was conducting an all-out raid last summer. By comparison, the SEC simply answered a phone call this July.

When the smoke cleared in 2010, Nebraska had left for the Big Ten and Colorado had departed for the Pac-12 (as it’s now called).

Unless the judge overseeing such a silly case attended Baylor, the Big 12 would have a hard time convincing any sane person that it was actually the third school out the door that destabilized the league. Especially when Oklahoma president David Boren has been making comments like this to the press:

“The Big 12 is not the same Big 12. I was extremely disappointed when Nebraska departed. Disappointed when Colorado departed.”

Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel also stated last week:

“Obviously we have some issues in our league… When Nebraska leaves one year, Colorado leaves and then also now Texas A&M. So it’s three real good football teams (that) are leaving.”

Do a Google search and you’ll find countless other Big 12 figures who’ve been publicly stating the obvious — that Nebraska and Colorado exited and hurt the league a full year before A&M started looking for an escape hatch.

But while a tortious interference case would likely be hard to prove, that doesn’t mean such a lawsuit still couldn’t gum up the works for Mike Slive and the Aggies. The mere threat of a lawsuit could cause SEC presidents to slow down out of fear that the person hearing such a case really would be a Baylor grad… angry that his Bears are in danger of being left for dead in this round of realignment. (Nevermind the fact that the Bears left TCU, SMU, Houston and Rice for dead when Baylor jumped to the Big 12 without remorse in the mid-90s.)

Back in 2003, several Big East schools filed suit against the ACC for a raid that netted the Southern league Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech. In 2005, the ACC settled that suit for a grand total of $5 million. Pocket change.

But television contracts have jumped to another level since 2005 and the Big 12 — whoever’s left of the Big 12 — would likely ask for a cool billion of SEC cash. Well, even if there were just a 1% chance of losing that kind of cash, the SEC would need to do some serious risk/reward analyses. Perhaps the league would decide to stand pat and not offer A&M a landing spot. If that were to happen, would the Big 12 then be forced to re-admit a suddenly homeless Texas A&M? Now that would be a happy, long-lasting marriage, to be sure.

Bottom line? This thing isn’t over, folks. In some ways, it may just be getting started.

Oh, boy. Great. ’Cause who wants to talk about football?

UPDATE — Pete Thamel of The New York Times reports that Judith Zaffirini — the chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee in Texas — claims the state senate has no intention of getting involved in conference expansion and realignment.

A Calipari Corn Maze In The Bluegrass State

John — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:14:04 +0000

How much do people in the Bluegrass State love John Calipari? Enough to build a 10-acre corn maze featuring his likeness. And the likeness is pretty good, too. For a corn maze.

“Really, we just want to let Coach Cal know how much he means to Kentucky and how much Kentucky appreciates having him lead our basketball team,” said John Kelley, the man behind the maze.

The appreciation UK fans have for Calipari is just amazing. And to think, if you’d connected Billy Gillispie’s name with the word “maze,” most Cat fans would have had sweet dreams of him freezing in a hedge maze.

With that in mind, here’s a clip of the final scene from “The Shining,” done Benny Hill style. Nuthin’ to do with nuthin’, but I laughed:

Purdue’s Painter Praises UK’s Miller

John — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:19:23 +0000

After coaching Darius Miller in this summer’s World University Games, Purdue head coach Matt Painter had nothing but praise for the Kentucky guard:

“That (UK) staff has done a great job with him because he’s really made improvements in all areas of his game. … He’s a great teammate and a good person. I think Kentucky’s got an unbelievable chance to go far this year, if not win it all. If Darius Millers is one of your guys in the mix, with a lot of young talent, he’s going to do a great job helping to piece things together because he’s that quintessential teammate.”

That right here is pretty much the definition of effusive praise.

Ticket Sales “Very Slow” In Nashville For UK-WKU Game

John — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:44:00 +0000

A few facts to start this post:

1. Kentucky and Western Kentucky will open the season against one another… in Nashville. Nashville, Tennessee.

2. The game will be played on a Thursday night with a 9:15 ET kickoff.

3. The Wildcat fanbase is well known for caring a lot more about basketball than football…

4. Even when UK is coming off a better season than a disappointing 6-7 campaign…

5. And facing a better opponent than Western Kentucky which is coming off a dreadful 2-10 campaign.

Now, here’s what the head of the Nashville Sports Council said yesterday about ticket sales for the game that he described as “very slow”:

“We’re a little befuddled, a little big disappointed. We thought we’d be doing a little better at this point than we are. But there’s still time.”

Scott Ramsey also admitted that the goal for the game was to fill 40,000 seats in the 67,000-seat stadium. Ticket sales are not even on pace for that number right now.

Here’s our only question: Looking at the five facts we listed above, how could anyone be “befuddled” that UK fans coming off a disappointing season last year aren’t snapping up tickets to drive to another state and watch the Cats play a terrible WKU team on a weeknight?

Calipari Says Charity Work Is Part Of His Job

John — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:57:22 +0000

Ask anyone outside the state of Kentucky (anyone not named Vitale) about John Calipari and you’re likely to hear some pretty negative remarks. Cheating will no doubt come up… even though the coach has never once been accused of any wrongdoing by the NCAA.

But lost in the hubbub surrounding Coach Cal’s recruiting methods is the fact that he has done an awful lot of good in the communities in which he’s lived. Calipari was a charity force in Memphis and he’s now becoming much the same in Lexington. And don’t forget the Haitian relief telethon that he helped to organize last year.

UK’s coach flat sees charity work as being part of his job:

“If you want to cheat that position (of coach), you sit in there and watch basketball tapes. I understand what my job is here: coach basketball. But I think I cheat that position if that’s all I think about all day.”

Calipari made those comments yesterday while announcing plans to launch a new charity venture designed to teach Kentucky youths how to handle their money. The project is called “Vault: Understanding Money” and it targets kids in grades four through six.

Why wasn’t this program geared toward high school students? “They’ll say I’m doing it for recruiting,” Calipari said.

Say what you will about his ethics, but UK’s coach is nothing if not community-involved.

Calipari Is “The New NBA Nexus”

John — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:56:45 +0000

Nexus — “A means of connection; a link or tie; The core or center.”

According to Matt Moore of CBSSports.com, Kentucky’s John Calipari — even from his perch in the college game — is the new nexus of the NBA. Why? Here’s his take:

“Calipari is coaching the Dominican national team against a collection of former Wildcats (in an exhibition game at Rupp Arena). Cal has used every edge in keeping the factory rolling. William Wesley’s close associate, LeBron James, and his brand will be sponsoring gear for UK this year. All-Stars are hanging out on campus and could be hired as special assistant coaches.

The reality is that with New York a tar pit where both the players and owners are stuck drowning in their own stubborness, and Miami evacuated as the Triad go about their globe trotting ways, there’s a new center of the NBA universe. Maybe Calipari isn’t emperor of this kingdom, and he’s just the friendly father figure he makes himself out to be. It doesn’t change the fact that the future of the NBA flows through Lexington, and it’s Calipari tending the waters.”

UK Hasn’t Had An O-Lineman Drafted Since 1993

John — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:08:50 +0000

It’s expected that the strength of Kentucky’s 2011 squad might be in the trenches, along the offensive line, specifically. Joker Phillips’ bunch has size and athletic ability on their side.

But it’s been a while since the Cats have had road graders up front. A long while… as John Clay points out for The Lexington Herald Leader:

“… What’s truly astonishing is the number of UK offensive lineman picked (in the NFL draft) over the last 10 years. That would be zero. Zilch. Nada. In fact, Kentucky has not had an O-lineman chosen since guard Todd Perry was taken by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round (in) 1993, and the then Houston Oilers took tackle Chuck Bradley in the sixth round.”

Such a drought is hard to believe when talking about an SEC program.

Phillips Has Cats Working In “Kitty Litter”

John — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:33:13 +0000

Will Muschamp isn’t the only coach in the SEC preaching the importance of turnovers (as we noted earlier today). Joker Phillips also has his Kentucky Wildcats working in the “kitty litter,” appropriately enough.

According to Jennifer Smith of The Lexington Herald-Leader, UK’s coach directed a number of players to stay after practice and work on a turnover drill designed to teach — of course — how to strip and how to hold on to the pigskin.

“That’s our kitty litter; it’s a drill I did way back,” the second-year coach said. “We go over there and recover fumbles and get hot and sweaty and help everyone understand how important turnovers are to this football team.”

UK To Open New Brooklyn Arena?

John — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:06:08 +0000

Next fall, the New Jersey Nets will complete their move to Brooklyn where they’ll begin play in the new $1 billion Barclays Center. Scheduled for a September 2012 opening, the new arena’s first basketball game might actually feature a team from the SEC.

According to Crain’s New York Business report: “A major highlight will be the site’s first basketball game, a college matchup of Kentucky versus Maryland, according to sources.”

For more than a year, John Calipari has voiced his desire to coach in the new arena. On March 13 of 2010, UK’s coach was quoted in a press release announcing IMG’s play to bring college basketball to Brooklyn:

“Basketball is really the heart of Brooklyn, and there is no place that has developed more all-time great players than the borough. There’s not question about it. We want to play there first.”

Sounds like he’s going to get his chance.

Phillips Says Nothing Prepares You For Being Head Coach

John — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:55:42 +0000

We linked you to this story over the weekend, but we think one quote deserves a bit more attention.

Houston football coach Kevin Sumlin once explained to Joker Phillips the difficulty in being a first-time head coach. This weekend, Phillips told the Lexington media that he now understands what Sumlin meant:

“He said, ‘Nothing really prepares you for it.’ Everybody says if you’re a coordinator, it prepares you to be a head coach, but that’s not true. There’s so many little things that you have to take care of…

There’s nothing that really prepares you for all of the things that come up during the season.”

That’s an honest admission by Phillips and that’s a comment that’s not often uttered by recently promoted coaches.

King Ready To Be UK’s Go-To Guy

John — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:04:32 +0000

Last year, the Kentucky offense was a 1-2 punch of Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb. If one didn’t have the ball in his hands, chances were, the other one did.

With both Cobb and Locke gone in 2011, the Cats will be looking for a new point-person on offense. Receiver La’Rod King tells The Louisville Courier-Journal that he’s ready to be that guy:

“I’m still kind of a young guy, but now I feel like I have the most experience game-wise. So I know what to do in pressure situations, and I know what to do when we hit adversity…

“It’s not pressure, it’s more expectations. … I don’t want to be labeled as a #1 receiver, I just want to be a go-to guy. If you need a play, I’ll be that guy.”

The 6-4 receiver caught 36 balls last year for 478 yards and five touchdowns.

UK Spokesman Overreacts To Story By CBS Sports

John — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:07:27 +0000

If you follow SEC basketball — or this site — then you probably remember the claim made last August by Michael O’Brien of The Chicago Sun-Times. You know the one. That the father of prospect Anthony Davis had negotiated a $200,000 deal for his son to attend Kentucky.

Needless to say, it got major play nationally. Those types of huge claims — especially when they appear in a legacy newspaper — always will. Davis was asked again about the situation last week at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Ohio.

With Davis now enrolled at UK as a freshman and questions being asked of him, CBSSports.com Gary Parrish tackled the story yesterday. Surprisingly, the fact that he dealt with the topic at all led Kentucky’s senior associate athletic director for communications to respond more like a fan and less like a professional.

John Clay of The Lexington Herald-Leader caught DeWayne Peevy’s Twitter posts about Parrish:

“I guess we now know one media seat that will be available at Rupp this year. BBN don’t give them what they want, your clicks! #WeAreUK”

A couple hours later he posted the following:

“Maybe tomorrow I will think better of my comments, but I’m always going to protect my kids. #WeAreUK #LaFamilia”

Okay, that’s all well and good. But in this case, Peevey’s kids really didn’t need much protection. Parrish’s post was hardly a hatchet job.

First, the title of the piece was “Fair or not, Kentucky freshman Davis must face ‘scandal.’”

Scandal was in quotation marks. “Fair or not” suggests the claims by The Sun-Times might not have been true. In fact, Parrish took an even bigger dig at those claims when he wrote:

“With whom did Davis’ father negotiate this alleged deal?

O’Brien never went that far.

His report, even if true, was thin.

But that didn’t stop the story from making national headlines.”

Seems like O’Brien would have more reason to be upset with Parrish than a senior AD at UK. Parrish, in fact, continues by quoting the player on the topic:

“I knew the truth,” he said. “I knew I didn’t take anything and I knew my family didn’t take anything. So I really wasn’t worried about it.”

Again, it doesn’t sound like Parrish is trying to take any shots at Kentucky. If Peevey or other folks in the Bluegrass State don’t think this story will be brought up again and again — just as Parrish suggests — then they didn’t pay much attention to the Cam Newton situation at Auburn or the Terrelle Pryor situation at Ohio State. When claims are made of cash or car keys changing hands, people will follow up.

Parrish was simply pointing out that that will be the case with Davis, too, and he used “the questions Davis faced in Ohio last week” as an example.

Heck, he even went so far as to post the following about John Calipari (something fans of the other 11 SEC schools don’t like hearing):

“… Davis is the only Calipari recruit to ever be publicly tied by a mainstream media outlet to a recruiting scandal before enrolling. That might surprise some given Calipari’s reputation among most college basketball fans. But the truth is that the NCAA never has charged Calipari or any of his programs with a major recruiting violation, and no major website or newspaper had ever alleged serious cheating until the Chicago Sun-Times staff writer Michael O’Brien reported last August that Davis’ father had negotiated a deal worth $200,000 to send his son to Kentucky.”

After seeing Peevey’s tweets and reading Parrish’s piece, it’s worth asking if Peevey read the story or just scanned it. He certainly seems to have overreacted on this one.

It’s one thing for a team’s supporters to misread stories assuming — and in some cases hoping — they’ll find a diss of their squad. It’s another thing altogether for a senior AD at a major university to threaten a writer’s press pass over a story that’s fairly written.

Maybe players aren’t the only ones who should have their Twitter privileges taken away.

The New UK Football Uniforms Are… “Checkerboardy”

John — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:25:34 +0000

Not sure if “checkerboardy” is a word or not, but it’s the only thing that comes to mind when looking at the new Nike uniforms Kentucky unveiled this afternoon.

Well, okay, Purina-esque works, too.

Overall, the unis aren’t a huge departure from previous years — all blue at home, all white on the road. Only now UK has the option of wearing a white helmet instead of the usual blue.

The biggest change — as you can see more clearly if you enlarge the photo at left by clicking this story’s headline — is on the sleeves. Both the blue and white jerseys feature a blue/navy checkerboard pattern.

Personally, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Nike’s often “out there” designs, but this one isn’t as radical a redesign as I had feared.

(And, yes, we are angling for Nike to once again fly us to New York to cover the unveiling of their new Pro Combat uniform collection. The Trump Soho was very nice.)

Calipari Is Literally Worth Every Penny

John — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:55:31 +0000

Yesterday, we appeared on WKJK-AM in Louisville. During a discussion with Kentucky play-by-play man and show host Tom Leach, we pointed out that John Calipari’s new mega-contract with Kentucky is simply a wise investment by the school.

With every win Calipari puts on the board — and we’re talking about the ones the NCAA allows him to count — exposure increases for UK. That’s exposure for the school, not just the hoops program. Winning brings exposure and exposure brings revenue (and even new students).

That was our take anyway.

Turns out, Coach Cal has now detailed that very thing on ESPN Radio:

“Our licensing revenue doubled last year and half of that double goes back to the general fund for our campus, $4.5 million in licensing. The other thing is we had 14,000 applicants for 4,000 positions for the freshmen, which is the highest in the history of the school. What you hope is you’ve added value… for everybody, not just me.”

When Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007 and it was announced he’d make about $4 million per season, fans and media members gasped. “How can any school pay a coach that much?”

“Mal Moore can answer that,” writes Kevin Scarbinsky of The Birmingham News. Saban has taken the Tide to BCS games (more money, more exposure), won a national title (more exposure), led the school to a stadium expansion (more money), and driven up merchandise sales (more money).

That big money UA and UK are spending for their top o’ the line coaches? It’s actually smart money. The schools are getting good returns on their investments.

There’s a reason so many of us feel guys like Calipari and Saban are “worth every penny” of their huge contracts — the bottom line proves they are.

Writer: UK Extension Won’t Stop Calipari To Knicks Rumors

John — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:00:57 +0000

Marc Berman of The New York Post doesn’t think John Calipari’s new $36.5 million deal with Kentucky will stave off rumors that he might head to the New York Knicks. At least not as long as “powerful agency CAA still thinks it runs the Knicks.”

As you probably know by now, Calipari buddy William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley works for CAA. As long as Wesley is friends with Coach Cal and CAA continues to sink its tentacles into the Knicks, Calipari-to-the-Knicks rumors will circulate.

Berman seems to believe them, by the way:

“Will (Calipari) be coaching Kentucky when he’s 60, when the contract ends? Don’t bet on it. The time is just about now to make the switch to the NBA. His time as head coach of the Nets in the late ’90s should be a distant memory by now. It is almost time for him to get another shot.”

Berman points out that during this week’s SEC teleconference, Calipari said, “Obviously there’s buyouts and all that kind of stuff in there,” when asked about his new contract.

Ah, ha!

Only Calipari had this to say on ESPN Radio this week:

“What (AD Mitch Barnhart) ended up doing is moving some longevity bonuses up a little bit, some other bonuses around a little bit and then he put stuff toward the end of the contract. We added some buyout stuff so he felt comfortable. … I’m not looking to leave. this was about him wanting to reward me without going bonkers. I was fine with that. If we keep doing well at Kentucky, they’ll come back.”

Good to know that $36.5 million isn’t going “bonkers.”

Berman also claims — as others have — that UK’s coach would jump to the NBA if a coach/GM or coach/president job were offered to him. We still believe, however, that if Calipari is as smart as we at MrSEC.com think he is, he’ll remember how Rick Pitino walked away from the greatest gig in college basketball only to wash out in the NBA. Now Pitino plays second-fiddle to Coach Cal who’s occupying his old seat in Lexington. If Calipari is smart, he’ll stay right where he is.

(Thanks to John Clay of The Lexington Herald-Leader for bringing this one to our attention.)

Ex-Cat Harrellson Talking Big For An NBA Newbie

John — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:09:18 +0000

In the run-up to last week’s NBA draft, there wasn’t a lot of talk about ex-Kentucky big man Josh Harrellson. When he was drafted 45th overall by the New York Knicks, the eyebrows of more than a few SEC fans were raised.

But while hoops fans might have been surprised to see Harrellson drafted, the former Wildcat is talking like a man who feels he belongs:

“I’m going to protect my stars. Amar’e, Carmelo, if someone getting rough with them, I’m going to protect them. I’m going to make my presence felt. They’ll know I’m there.”

A hat tip to KentuckySportsRadio.com for finding that quote.

So basically Harrellson sees his role as that of an enforcer, a cementhead, a goon. Sounds like the New York Rangers should’ve drafted him rather than the Knicks.