John Clay’s Sidelines

Big Blue Links for Monday:

Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader reports on UK women winning without Victoria Dunlap: “No Victoria Dunlap? No problem. Kentucky’s leader in nearly every statistical category sat out with a mild concussion on Sunday, forcing the Cats to go to a smaller lineup. But that smaller group did lots of small things and grabbed a huge 91-39 victory over Florida A&M.”

Tom Leach reports that UK could play one game a year in New York: “After the Kentucky-UConn game produced a near-sellout crowd last week, UK coach John Calipari says Madison Square Garden officials approached him about moving one game each season to the Garden. And in our interview before the UK-Indiana game on the Big Blue Sports Network last Saturday, coach Cal said he’s open to the idea.”

Rick Bozich of the C-J writes that even Calipari was impressed with his Cats: “Whoa! Even Calipari has now acknowledged it’s safe to believe the accelerating hype. Three victories over eight December days suggest that with normal Calipari progress Kentucky will be as fearsome as Kansas, Texas or any other national contender by March.”

Tim Etheridge of the Evansville Courier-Press writes on UK and IU: “That, of course, makes his a favorable approach for high-talent point guards, the likes of Tyreke Evans and Derrick Rose, who played the past two seasons - one each - for Calipari at Memphis and now are starting for NBA teams. Wall, who wasn’t made available for comment on Saturday, no doubt is headed in the same direction, though he could first help UK to its seventh national championship with his averages of 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds.”

Nick Craddock of the Kentucky Kernel writes on the UK women’s win: “Dunlap, the Cats’ leading scorer and rebounder, was held out of the game for precautionary reasons. However, her coach and teammates didn’t find out until Sunday morning they would be without her services.”

Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches reports that Dunlap should be ready for Louisville: “‘It’s a mild concussion, so we don’t anticipate it causing any problems,’ Mitchell said after Sunday’s win. ‘She possibly could have gone today, but then you risk it getting worse if she got hit. I thought it was best to not discuss it, because I had confidence in our players. We needed to make certain Vic is safe and has time to recover. I expect her back practicing within the next couple of days. We just need to check with the doctor.’”

Bluegrass State Basketball has a Shagari Alleyne update: “hagari Alleyne, a 7-3 center that played for Tubby Smith at Kentucky, is no longer in the NBA’s D-League. He has signed with the Halifax Rainmen in the Premier Basketball League.”

Wildcat Blue Blog is keeping up with the race to 2,000 wins: “UK will continue their roll with an easy win at Rupp against the Governors. In all reality, UK could be 14-0 heading into their game at Rupp against the Dirty Cards. As for the Tar Heels? It’s very hard to pick against Texas at all this season and even harder in their home state. I look for Texas to give the Tar Heels their 3rd loss of the season.”

Kentucky Sports Radio is enjoying UK’s rise and Louisville’s demise: “While at the same time, a UL fan has gone from the potential of a national championship nine months ago to a shaky future for a program with no clear direction. How will the team this season turn the ship around with shaky leadership from their best players and below-standard talent down the bench? Will their coach get through the Sypher trial without any more public relations issues and no long-term effect on recruiting?”

Straitpinkie looks at UK by the numbers: “The upcoming stretch of games is a perfect example of why John Calipari’s scheduling philosophy is waaay better than Billy Gillispie’s lack of a scheduling philosophy. Cal wants to avoid playing the teams that are rated below 200 in the RPI, because they drag you down all year, even if you beat them. Austin Peay and Long Beach State are 73rd and 36th respectively.”

Inner Circle turns back the clock: “John Calipari’s 10-0 start in his first-year at the helm of the Wildcats matches Adolph Rupp for the best by a new Kentucky coach. Adolph Rupp’s first season as coach at UK was 79 years ago, and it was the start of one of the greatest coaching tenures in college basketball history. What has happened in those 79 years? For starters we’ve had six coaching changes. We have also racked up 7 National Championships. We’ve won a hell of a lot of games and claimed numerous SEC conference and tournament titles. All-Americans have come and gone.”