John Clay's Sidelines

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.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Reaction to Jodie Meeks moving on’

Mal Moore

SEC links for Tuesday:

• In the Mobile Press-Register, Paul Finebaum writes that it’s time for Alabama AD Mal Moore to go.
• Also in the Press-Register, Tommy Hicks reports that ex-Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage will replace Ken Stabler on Alabama football’s radio network.
• David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free-Press writes that Bama is now below .500 for this decade.
• Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel talks to Tyler Smith, who says he is happy to return to Tennessee.
• John Adams of the News-Sentinel writes that SEC coaches could do well in other jobs.
• Jeff Schultz of the AJC writes that no matter what Georgia Tech does, Georgia has more fans.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Finebaum says Bama AD should step down’

With Jodie Meeks making his announcement today that he’s sticking with the NBA draft, we’ll have a livechat tonight at 8 to talk it over.

What I’ve heard from the local radio call-in shows:

• WVLK-590: I’ll be on with Larry Glover at 6:15.

• WDHE-93.1: I’ll be on with the Pikeville radio call-in show at 6:30 p.m.

Update: Jerry Tipton talks to Jodie.

Will be working on a Jodie Meeks-is-gone column later in the day, but for now here’s three quick impressions to the news the UK guard is keeping his name in the NBA draft:

• 1. I’m a bit surprised, but certainly not shocked. It was pretty evident that Meeks wanted to stay in the draft, if at all possible. He’s done a ton of workouts. He waited until the last minute to announce his decision. Even when most so-called experts believed he would be better-served returning to Lexington for another year, he has chosen to go the other way. I think Meeks believed he would never be hotter as a prospect, and if that he stayed another year in college that would give the scouts more time to pick at his game. If Meeks had returned to UK, it would have been reluctantly. I’d take a reluctant Jodie over no Jodie, but I think he’s following his heart.

• 2. Yes, this hurts UK’s chances at winning it all next year. How could it not? You lose the team’s leading scorer, it’s its best outside shooter, and you’re going to be hurt a bit, even with John Calipari’s bumper crop of talent. One player would could benefit is Darius Miller. Not that Miller is anywhere near Meeks as a perimeter shooter, but he can be a scorer. Without Meeks, Darius will need to score more.

• 3. Hello, Eric Bledsoe. This news certainly opens up playing time for the UK freshman, even with John Wall on the roster. This may have been why John Calipari convinced Bledsoe that the two could play together. Kentucky may go from a team with no real point guards, to two point guards, on the floor at the same time. Of course, the Cats will still need some outside shooting. That may be where Darnell Dodson comes in. And I’m sure conspiracy theorists will contend that this opens the door for perhaps Xavier Henry to back out of his Kansas commitment.

• 4. I don’t look for Calipari to use the open scholarship. The coach has said all along he could end up with 11 or 12 on scholarship. Looks like it’s going to be 12.

• 5. I’m going to miss Jodie. A genuine nice-guy, Meeks took some undeserved flak from the former coach here last year. It makes you wonder if any of what happened over the past two years — missing most of his sophomore year with an injury; the treatment he took from the head coach the second half last year — had anything to do with his decision to leave.

Here’s the “tweet” from John Calipari:

Jodie called..He’s keeping his name in the draft. He’s excited and I’m excited for him. I wish I got the chance to coach him.

Update at 11:50: Here is quote from Jodie, per UK’s official release:

“I want to thank the fans and the city of Lexington. They have been great and I will always be a Kentucky Wildcat,” said Meeks. “I feel comfortable with my decision and I’m confident in my ability. My family and I talked over the weekend and decided this was the best decision.”

Update at 11:40 a.m., John Calipari just confirmed that Meeks is staying in the NBA draft.

Fox Sports’ Jeff Goodman is reporting that Jodie Meeks will remain in the draft.

If true, it’s not all that surprising considering Meeks waited until the last minute — deadline is 5 p.m. — before making a decision, lending credence to those who thought he wanted to stay in the draft.

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• NBA Draft Express’ latest mock draft, updated at 1:25 a.m., has Jodie Meeks as the 47th pick overall.
• WLEX’s Alan Cutler talked Sunday night to Orestes Meeks, who said Jodie has still not made a decision about whether to stay or withdraw from the NBA draft.
• Harrison Goodman of the Washington Times has Meeks atop his list of five players who need to withdraw.
• ESPN draft expert Chad Ford thinks Jodie Meeks will pull out of the draft.
• Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News says that after rumors Meeks would withdraw, all is quiet.
• Bluegrass State Basketball thinks that without a last-minute surprise Meeks will return.
• Gary Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles John Calipari.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Decision day for Jodie Meeks’

SEC links for Monday:

• Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun examines whether Florida is getting a bad rap on crime.
• Seth Emerson of The State reports that Devan Downey has decided to return to South Carolina.
• In The State, Joe Person reports that Steve Spurrier thinks he has a team on the verge.
• In his AJC blog, Mark Bradley writes that ESPN likes the look of Georgia 2009.
• Brandon Marcello of the NW Arkansas Times writes that the Razorbacks’ second game in the CWS may be their toughest.
• Randy Rosetta of The Advocate writes that Arkansas presents a challenge for LSU at CWS.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Is Florida getting a bad rap on crime?’

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader talks to Matt Pilgrim’s father, who says that both Matt and Kevin Galloway did not have their scholarships renewed.
• H-L reports that field has been set for Cancun Tournament.
• Mark Maloney of the H-L reports on UK baseball players taken in the MLB draft.
• Chip Cosby of the H-L blogs on next week’s Bear’s Boys Reunion.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger also talks to Matt Pilgrim’s father.
• On his C-J blog, Rick Bozich writes on former UK commitment Dominique Ferguson.
• At A Sea of Blue, Dicky Lyons posts another entry to his NFL tryout journals.

Continue reading ‘BBL: UK basketball moves and news’