John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Charles Bertram)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

Jerry Tipton of the H-L reports from New York on the Kentucky win: “None was bigger than the game-winning shot, which came with the added tension of knowing the Cats had misfired on two earlier attempts to grab the lead in this gritty game.”

My column from New York on John Wall’s Garden party: “In a crowded interview room on the ground floor of the world’s most famous basketball arena, the soon-to-be (if he isn’t already) most famous player in all of college basketball let slip a small smile.
You couldn’t help but smile with him. Big Apple, meet John Wall.”

The Herald-Leader slide show from last night.

Brett Dawson of the C-J reports from New York on Kentucky’s conquering of Connecticut: “Jay-Z was nowhere to be seen. Spike Lee apparently was absent. There was no sign of Woody Allen courtside Wednesday night in Madison Square Garden. Still, “The World’s Most Famous Arena” didn’t lack for star power in the University of Kentucky’s 64-61 win over Connecticut in the SEC/Big East Challenge. When it mattered most – once again – John Wall provided it.”

Also from New York, Matt May of the Cats’ Pause on the growing legend: “It seemed as if Wall was all anyone had their eyes on down the stretch. The freshman scored 12 of the Cats’ last 15 points over the final 7:30, producing an improbable bucket every time UK needed one. ‘We rode John Wall at the end of the game,’ UK coach John Calipari said. ‘We were groping for our offense so I gave it to him and said go get some baskets.’”

Mike Anthony has the game story for the Hartford Courant: “This was a pulse-racing game that, for UConn, ended in gut-wrenching fashion. It was a game that demanded, and received, the very best of the Huskies’ heart and hustle, a game in which they seemed to make tremendous strides in search of the proper identity – but still a game they lost.”

Dana O’Neil of ESPN on the Wall way: “He has been written about and talked about more than any player this side of Tyler Hansbrough, and has turned cynical sportswriters into middle-school girls penning puppy-love letters while dashing to the thesaurus to find the ideal synonym for awesome.”

Jay Mariotti of FanHouse writes that Wall leaves a Garden memory: “The stinkeye, they call it. John Wall, driven to aggravation by his maniacal, foot-stomping coach, flashed the dirty look at least a couple of times Wednesday night at John Calipari. This will be a fascinating sociological study, the relationship between basketball’s next special player and the college game’s $31.65-million, NCAA-defiant, diamond-watch-glittering madman, a coach further burdened by the pressure of working at the unforgiving insane asylum known as the University of Kentucky.”

Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports writes that Wall is head and shoulders above the rest: “Sure, Rose had veterans like Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson on his team. However, the same can be said with regards to Wall and junior Patrick Patterson. There was a moment in practice earlier in the week when Calipari literally asked his team if they had any issue with the heaping of praise that has been tossed Wall’s way through the first eight games of the season. No one had a problem with it, including Patterson.”

A Sea of Blue on the Kentucky win: “Moving along, I was not concerned going in down six to the Huskies at the half. I want to stop right there and ask you all, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation — when was the last time you could have imagined that we could go into half time down six points versus the UConn Huskies in Madison Square Garden and not be concerned? It has been a very, very long time, certainly the better part of a decade at least. That, in and of itself, is a wonderful thing.”

KSR on Wall’s massive night at MSG: “His signature play, though, came with UConn up 61-60 with 1:09 left, their first lead since 11:30. The Cats fell victim to a shot clock violation their previous possession and had come down this time and missed a three and then had the follow from Ramon Harris blocked out of bounds. Wall calmly took the ball at the top of the key, passed it to Darius Miller, who dribbled toward the elbow and dumped back to Wall who went to the rack and got an “And 1″ layup. The basket and the subsequent free throw gave the Cats a 63-61 lead and sucked the air out of UConn’s sails.”

Wildcat Blue Blog on the Kentucky victory: “The slugfest continued in the second half with both teams missing lots of scoring opportunities and Kentucky missing four straight free throws at one point. The second half was about as pretty as a lead pipe brawl and UConn still clung to a 40-36 lead. It was bout this time that I had serious concern about UK’s 3-pointers streak being in jeopardy when Patrick Patterson saved that streak and pulled UK to within 40-39 with 12:00 left.”