John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Update: Will probably repeat this link in BBL for Saturday, but here’s Jason King’s profile of John Wall for Yahoo Sports.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes that another level of John Wall could arrive Saturday: “Considering that Wall is off to the best statistical start by a Kentucky freshman in at least 30 years (see chart), Cousins was saying something remarkable even by his ever-quotable standard. ‘I really don’t know how good John is,’ Cousins told reporters. ‘He does something new every game. I’m waiting just like you all are.’”

Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches confirms that there will be plenty of NBA scouts on hand Saturday: “To verify the numbers a bit, a total of 17 scouts and three general managers will be representing 18 different NBA teams at Saturday’s game (in the best interest of all 30 NBA teams, UK cannot release the teams attending ahead of time).”

One note on the scout story, a UK spokesman says that, to his knowledge, this will be the first time an NBA general manager has attended an NBA game. That’s false. Many GMs have been at UK games in the past. Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge sat beside Donna Smith while scouting Rajon Rondo at Rupp.

Update: DeWayne Peevy said this morning that he did not say that a GM has never been to a game at Rupp. In fact, there have been GMs here this year. He’s not sure that there has ever been three at a game before, which is expected Saturday.

Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes that UK is bracing for UNC juggernaut: “On Monday, after the University of Kentucky’s fifth-ranked men’s basketball team defeated North Carolina-Asheville, freshman forward DeMarcus Cousins was asked for his opinion of the Wildcats’ next opponent, No.11 North Carolina. Cousins declared himself ‘not impressed.’ On Thursday, Cousins requested a do-over.”

Tom Leach talks to ESPN’s Andy Katz.

Metz Camfield of the Kentucky Kernel previews Kentucky-North Carolina: “After facing seven mid-major-type schools, the Cats will face off against the No. 10 Tar Heels in one of the more highly anticipated games in all of college basketball so far this season. The Cats have lost their last five meetings with UNC. The Heels are coming off a seven-point victory over Michigan State where they trailed the No. 9 Spartans for only 33 seconds the entire game.”

Danny Jett’s Inner Circle thinks the 2,000 hype is overblown: “So what does it even matter? 2,000 wins is just one more in a long-line of victories. Is 2,000 more important than say the very first? Is it more important than the ’98 National Championship victory, or the ’96, ’78….etc., etc., etc.? The foundation of both Kentucky and North Carolina’s success is rooted much deeper than a running tab of victories. Where did all this 2,000 hype begin anyway? Most certainly right here in the heart of Kentucky.”

A Sea of Blue writes on John Wall and his home state: “A couple of Tar Heel blog posts offer some insight into this whole kerfuffle. This one essentially suggests that it’s illogical for Clifton to like Krzyzewski and dislike Williams. I had to laugh at that, but you can’t blame a Tar Heel fan for defending a coach that has brought them two national championships, or for disliking the coach of arch-rival Duke — at least UK fans and Tar Heel fans share that particular emotion.”

The Carolina March blog on UK-Carolina: “Of course, the same thing can be said about Kentucky. The Wildcats are 7-0, but against a schedule so soft it will put you to sleep. It includes such powerhouses as Morehead State, Sam Houston State, Cleveland State, and Please Find Us Another Patsy to Get Us to 2000 Wins State. The toughest foe on the slate was Stanford, currently at fearsome 4-3, and the Wildcats had to go through overtime to get that win.”

For Kentucky Sports Network, Ira Combs says it’s Heels-time: “Coach Cal, this is your first prime time match up, please do us well and make us proud and set the tone for the rest of 2009-10. Because after last Saturday night we all need a good dose of what it really feels like to be on top.”