After today’s announcement that A.J. Stewart, Donald Williams and Jared Carter will not be with the team next season:
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
I’m glad we confirmed one player leaving in AJ. Always thought he would be on the list. But what a let down. Everyone knew Williams and Carter weren’t coming back. We still need 1 (or 2 if Jodie returns) more cut(s). Of course, if any freshmen don’t qualify, I guess we could avoid other cuts.
Recognizing that the Clearinghouse has not spoken, are Wall and Counsins the only one’s in among the unknown in qualification?
I know this is not the issue most are concerned with right now, but as I was taking notice of how balanced the incoming class is, a hypothetical question came to mind.
What would be the outcome of a pick-up game between the five incoming true freshmen (Wall, Bledsoe, Hood, Orton, and Cousins) and five (potentially) returning players, say Liggins (or Galloway), Meeks, Miller, Stevenson, and Patterson?
The amazing part is that such a question could be posed in the first place.
If Meeks comes back it still means two more will be cut. I’m guessing players in that list would include Matt Pilgrim, DeAndre Liggins, Kevin Galloway and Josh Harrelson.
Who will next? to make room for Jodie.
Hey John…you might want to add KY Mr Basketball to the roster!
Do you mean Jon Hood? He’s on there.
What about a red shirt? Would we be able to redshirt somebody and not have it count against the limit?
If Pilgrim were to transfer, would he have to sit out another year, or would he be able to play immediately for another program?
My guess would be that Harrelson, Pilgrim or Liggins are the most likely out since they all have multiple years of eligibility remaining.
Galloway and Harris would likely be safe in that they are seniors and Cal would want to avoid the Pitino/Rhodes comparison.
there are only 2 guys from kentucky on the list and they were both ky mr basketball
Redshirts, as long as they are still on scholarship, count against the limit. For them not to count, you’d have to take their scholarship.
Oops…I counted 5 Fr. and was looking for the missing newbe while forgetting at the time DD was a JC transfer coming in at a SO.
No problem.
I know it’s unlikely but would giving up your scholarship to stay on a team like this seem reasonable to you?
I know it’s a lot of money but if I was one of the guys on the chopping block I would have to seriously consider walking on, as opposed to transferring, sitting out a year, then getting to play on a scholarship somewhere else.
I had to copy this post of last March, author witheld, and ponder…can anyone be so wrong about so many things?
03/16/2009 01:03:42 PM:
As a lifelong UK fan it’s my feeling that the biggest problem with UK basketball is the fans themselves. It’s unrealistic to expect KY to be the dominating powerhouse of its heyday because of the parity in basketball today. The incessant pressure from the fans is going to keep many players from wanting to come here, and who in the world would want to coach here?! If BG is let go after only two years, who in his right mind would take the job? And this right after Tubby left because of fan pressure! If this keeps up, UK basketball has no place to go but down. Billy Gillispie was hired as the coach and he deserves a reasonable chance to prove himself….two seasons are not reasonable! You’re all acting like a bunch of spoiled brats - you’re doing more to embarrass the university than anyone involved in the basketball program. Grow up!
Add Liggins to the departure list too….. i hear he’s gone as well
Hey John,
If Meeks comes back, How many player’s need to be cut?
None, after the Galloway and Pilgrim moves.