John Clay's Sidelines

Out at Keeneland for the Blue Grass Stakes, where this entry from the always-hilarious Indian Charlie newsletter was pointed out to me:

Tony Delk

I’m hearing that a couple of former UK players could end up with positions on John Calipari’s first staff at Kentucky. Word is both Tony Delk and Scott Padgett are both under consideration. Padgett is being considered for a full-time assistant’s spot while Delk could be chosen for an administrative post.

Three of Calipari’s Memphis staff members have already arrived in Lexington. John Robic and Orlando Antigua will be assistant coaches. Rod Strickland was Calipari’s director of basketball operations at Memphis, and may fill a similar role at UK. All three were at UK’s open practice on Thursday at the Craft Center.

Word was that Nazr Mohammed called Calipari to put in a good word for Padgett as an assistant candidate. Friends have said that Delk would like to get into coaching now that the former Cat has retired from the NBA.

Patrick Patterson

John Calipari tells ESPN’s Andy Katz that he expects Patrick Patterson to declare for the draft, without an agent, just as Jodie Meeks did.

Calipari also says he will have two more workouts before the roster for next season is sorted through.

He also tells Katz that UK is looking at the commitments made to next year’s schedule.

Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.

In Portland for the Nike Hoops Summit, John Wall was interviewed by the Portland Trail Blazers blog Blazer’s Edge:

An excerpt:

Yeah, it’s a lot of pressure. Talking to some of these guys, some these guys want me to play with them.

I’m getting recruited by [UNC commit] John [Henson], and I’m getting looked at by Carolina,

DeMarcus [who is going to Kentucky], I’ve been talking to him for awhile.

Mason [Plumlee] is talking about Duke.

Then Xavier [Henry who is still uncommitted] too.

It’s pretty tough, it’s just going to have to come down to where I feel most comfortable.

Asked to assess where John Wall might end up, Rivals recruiting guru Jerry Meyer peers into his crystal ball and sees a three-way race between Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina.

An excerpt:

With Kentucky, he would be able to team up with Cousins and play in the dribble drive offense. Prior to Calipari’s transition, Memphis was Wall’s favorite. If Wall would play for Calipari in Conference USA, you would certainly think he would play for him in the SEC. The difference now from when Wall was favoring Memphis is that Duke has picked up its recruiting effort and North Carolina has begun its recruiting effort.

Joker Phillips

ESPN’s SEC blogger Chris Low, who does a terrific job, talks with UK’s head-coach-in-waiting, and head-coach-for-the-offense Joker Phillips for a Q&A.

An excerpt:

On Randall Cobb: “Randall’s still going to be at quarterback some. He’s one of those guys that you have to get the ball in his hands ‘X’ amount of times if you want to be successful. Whether that’s at wide receiver or at running back running the jet sweep, putting him at quarterback in the Wildcat formation or letting him return kicks, he’s a guy that has to have the ball in his hands in some capacity. And a lot of times, the easiest way to get him the ball is to put him at quarterback.”

Roger van der Horst of the Raleigh News and Observer reports that North Carolina State has asked a student to shut down his Facebook page “John Wall PLEASE come to NC STATE!” The group had over 700 members.

The student, Taylor Moseley, did shut down the page.

Wall is the point guard from North Carolina ranked as the nation’s No. 1 recruit by Rivals. He was listing Memphis as the top school on his list of potential destinations. But now that John Calipari has moved to Lexington, Wall has reportedly cut his list to a half-dozen, with Kentucky and North Carolina State both in the mix.

An excerpt:

“NCAA legislation hasn’t caught up with technology, and that’s being discussed nationally,” said Michelle Lee, N.C. State’s interim associate athletic director for compliance, who sent a letter to Moseley requesting that he close the original group. The letter followed an article published Tuesday in N.C. State’s student newspaper, the Technician, reporting the possible NCAA violation.

“Should this activity not cease and/or it continues in the future, we will have no choice but to take further action,” Lee’s letter said.

Further action against Moseley, she told The News & Observer, “could be anything from preventing him from getting student tickets to athletic contests to disassociating ourselves from him, just like we would any other booster.”

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Jennifer Hewlett of the Herald-Leader writes on the death of former UK star Mike Casey.
• Tom Leach writes on Mike Casey.
• The H-L’s Jerry Tipton writes that Nolan Dennis is in no rush to commit.
• Tipton also writes that Daniel Orton is keeping his options open.
• Here is a Herald-Leader page devoted to possible UK recruits.
• Chip Cosby writes that there is strength in UK’s offensive line numbers.
• Mark Story writes that Rajon Rondo and the NBA are a perfect fit.
• David Climer of the Tennessean writes that John Calipari raises the bar high for the SEC.
• Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes that top recruits are scrambling.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Eric Bledsoe has UK behind Florida on his list.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Mike Casey’s passing; recruiting news’

SEC links for Friday:

• Seth Emerson of The State reports that Darrin Horn was in Cincinnati on Thursday, but Horn denies he has had contact with Xavier about coaching job.
• Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer also has the Horn denial.
• Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News writes that recruiting is keeping new Bama coach Anthony Grant on the move.
• Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun writes that Vernon Macklin could help Florida fill a big hole.
• Drew Edwards of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports on what Lane Kiffin called a “horrendous day” for Tennessee’s quarterbacks.
• Randy Rosetta of The Advocate previews this weekend’s LSU-Alabama baseball series.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Horn denies he talked with Xavier officials’

What you can find on the local radio sports shows tonight:

• WLAP-630: Dick Gabriel will have Rich Brooks and Bill Samuels of Makers’ Mark on in the 6 o’clock hour to talk about the bottle signing at Keeneland on Friday morning. At 7 p.m., Dick welcomes Courier-Journal columnist, and recent Basketball Writers’ Hall of Fame inductee Rick Bozich.