Big Blue Links for Tuesday:
- Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader talks to Jodie Meeks about his decision to stay in the draft.
- My column saying that Jodie was right to follow his heart.
- Tipton’s blog talks to Jay Bilas, who says a third coach in four years may have pushed Meeks to the NBA.
- Rick Bozich of the C-J writes that UK can still flourish even with Meeks gone.
- Bozich also has ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla endorsing Meeks’ decision.
- Brett Dawson of the C-J reports on Meeks’ decision.
- Eric Crawford of the C-J blogs that Meeks was probably wise to stay in the draft.
- Tom Leach writes Godspeed to Jodie Meeks.
- Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger writes that Meeks’ decision is not a real surprise.
- Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News writes that Kentucky fans are losers for Meeks’ departure.
- Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports writes that Kentucky is still a winner, because Patrick Patterson is staying in school.
- Gary Parrish of CBS Sportsline moves Kansas up to No. 1 and drops Kentucky to No. 2 after the Meeks news.
- Sekou Smith of the AJC reports on the Norcross product turning pro.
- Steve Moss of WKYT looks at the pros and cons of the Meeks decision.
- Bluegrass State Basketball looks at what UK could do with the open scholarship.
- Kentucky Sports Radio wants to bring back Michael Porter.
- At Rivals, Eamonn Brennan writes that Kentucky now goes from buzzsaw to merely good.
- A Sea of Blue looks at what losing Meeks means to UK.
- Wildcatblueinaseaoforange looks at who will shoot the 3.
- Big Blue Sports Report says John Calipari missed out on his biggest recruit — Meeks. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
- Inner Circle says see you later, Jodie.
- Straitpinkie says it’s been real.
- In case you missed it, ex-UK assistant Jeremy Cox has been hired at South Florida.
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.
Excellent article. As much as I would have liked Jodie to come back and help UK contend for a national championship, he did what was best for him. Isn’t the reason people go to college is to prepare themselves for their future career? Jodie has more opportunity this year than in next year’s draft. I do believe Professor Calipari would have made him better prepared for his new career, but I also have seen how players that stay an extra year have their games and ability picked apart.
I hope Joe Dumars makes a wise decision and picks Jodie. Give me another reason to be a Pistons fan.
Maybe John can answer this, but has/will Meeks get an agent? If not, I remember Randolph Morris…
As far as I know, he doesn’t have an agent. But I wouldn’t expect a Meeks return, a la Morris, if he goes undrafted.
If that were to be the case, let’s hope Coach Cal’s desk is better organized and has an easier time finding the paperwork.