John Clay's Sidelines

(The State photo/C. Aluka Berry)

SEC links for Thursday:

Seth Emerson of The State reports on South Carolina’s win over Richmond: “Absent two key players, the USC men’s basketball team might lack the manpower to beat a major-conference team. But thanks to continued grit, and well-timed energy, the Gamecocks still have enough to avoid an upset to a smaller school — even ones that have made hay by beating teams from BCS conferences.”

David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger reports on Ole Miss’ win over UTEP: “Sometime soon, this high-wire act by the Ole Miss basketball team is probably going to bite it directly in the rear end. But for now? The Rebels will simply enjoy the spoils of another improbable victory after climbing out of a gigantic second-half hole.”

Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Regsiter reports on Alabama’s basketball win over Samford: “The Crimson Tide took a double-digit lead in the first half and held it the rest of way, earning a 60-45 home victory to carry into Saturday night’s showdown against 17th-ranked Kansas State at the Coors Classic in Mobile.”

Mark Bradley of the AJC has an idea for Georgia’s DC: “He’s the defensive coordinator under Butch Davis, who’s a defensive man himself, and the Tar Heels were decent this season only because their defense propped them up. (Kind of the opposite of Georgia Tech.) Under Withers, Carolina ranked sixth nationally in total defense, ninth in rushing defense and 13th in both passing and scoring defense. As we say in Kentucky, that’s pretty durn good.”

Continue reading ‘SEC links: South Carolina’s impressive second half’

Matt Simms

Phil Simms’ son, Matt, who transferred out of Louisville to a junior college, has committed to Tennessee and will sign with the Vols, reports the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

An excerpt:

Actually, a member from the Simms family was just that crazy. Simms’ older brother, Chris Simms, committed to UT before pulling that commitment and signing with Texas.

“He needs me to salvage his rep down there at Tennessee,” Matt Simms joked. “He’s really happy for me and so is my family. We’re real excited about it.”

Update: If we get a number of people nominating coaches, I can always change it to Sportsperson of the Decade. This is just for fun, remember.

Since we are a little over a week away from the end of 2009, next week this blog will conduct a poll on the UK Athlete of the Decade.

But first, I want your nominations.

It’s open to any student-athlete who played at Kentucky in any sport during the years 2000 through 20009.

I’ll narrow down the list to no more than 10, and we’ll start the poll on Monday.

Thanks in advance for your submissions.

Today in the Media Approval Ratings, we move on to the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Kentucky basketball beat writer Jerry Tipton, a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame. I know, I know, Jerry isn’t going to score highly here, but he is one of, if not the best basketball reporters in the country. Not that I’m trying to influence your vote.

So what say you on Jerry Tipton, thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

Previously: Mark Story, John Clay

Not a great slate of games tonight, but you can catch up on Louisville. The Cardinals play Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. on WTVQ-2 in Lexington. The injury-riddled Cardinals are 5-3, and struggling after losses to Charlotte and Western Carolina, both at Freedom Hall. Heard Rick Pitino’s post-game show after the Western Carolina loss. He promised that U of L’s recruiting class in two years would be the best in the history of the school. Considering Denny Crum won a couple of national titles there, that would have to be some class.

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

Insight Cable will show the UK-Austin Peay game to its customers: “The game is being carried on the Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast channel – one Insight doesn’t usually carry – but the company made an agreement to broadcast the game on basic cable on channel 17 in Lexington, 2 in Louisville, 6 in Northern Kentucky, 5 in Bowling Green and 2 in the Evansville/Henderson area. Channels might be different for customers with digital packages. Contact Insight at (859) 514-1400 for more information.”

Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski on John Calipari: “What’s more, James’ cozy relationship with Calipari has long inspired discussion within the league that the star could make a power play for him to become his coach. Calipari has deftly created the illusion that James is his player, a powerful association in the recruiting battles. In fact, a source says LeBron was on the Rupp Arena pass list – along with his two Cavs teammates, UNC alums Jawad Williams(notes) and Danny Green(notes) – for Kentucky’s victory over North Carolina on Dec. 5. They were supposed to fly down in a private jet for the Saturday afternoon game, but a snag in Cleveland cancelled the trip.”

Tom Leach talks to Greg Anthony about John Wall.

Zagsblog on Brandon Knight: “The 6-foot-3 Knight, the top prospect in the Class of 2010, has narrowed his list to four schools – Kentucky, Kansas, UConn and Florida – and will sign in the spring. Considering Kentucky freshman John Wall will likely be the top pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, does it make sense that Knight will end up following in Wall’s foosteps?”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Could John Calipari become LeBron’s coach?’

SEC links for Wednesday:

• Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger reports that a 7-footer will make debut with Mississippi State tonight.
• Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News reports on changes to SEC football schedules.
• Mike Strange of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes on Tennessee basketball’s win over Wyoming.
• Joe Person of The State reports that Steve Spurrier did not like losing his offensive line coach.
• Clay Travis is no fan of the New York Times’ George Vecsey when it comes to the Tennessee scandal.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: State 7-footer makes debut tonight’

The second day of our local print Media Approval Ratings features Mark Story, sports columnist for your Herald-Leader. Mark is a Vine Grove native, who also has his blog Read Mark Story’s E-mail.

What say you on Mark Story, thumbs-up or thumbs-down?

Previously: John Clay

Light schedule of games, highlighted by your chance to see a Kentucky rival (Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl) and a former Kentucky coach (Minnesota’s Tubby Smith). Minnesota is currently 7-3, with losses to Portland, Texas A&M and at Miami. The Gophers have won three straight.

(AP photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Through Dec. 14, here’s how we would rank the SEC basketball teams thus far.

Click here for SEC basketball results in an Excel file using Google Docs.

1. Kentucky (10-0): John Calipari’s Cats have climbed to No. 3 in both polls. In an eight-day stretch they beat North Carolina, Connecticut and Indiana in Bloomington. Plus, they have John Wall.

2. Tennessee (7-1): Purdue is the only team to have beaten Bruce Pearl’s Vols, and that was by one point on a neutral floor. The Volunteers meet Wyoming tonight. According to Pomeroy, Tennessee has the No. 8 offense in the nation.

3. Ole Miss (8-1): Villanova is the only team to have beaten Andy Kennedy’s Rebels. Still think this is the best team in the West. Ole Miss has good guards, and you need good guards. The Rebels are currently the top-rated SEC team in the Sagarin Ratings at No. 9.

4. Mississippi State (7-2): The Bulldogs are starting to play better, and are on a four-game winning streak. That win over the weekend over UCLA in Anaheim is undercut somewhat by the fact the Bruins are very un-Bruin like. Still, State has the talent if it can put it all together. And who knows what’s going on with Renardo Sidney.

Continue reading ‘SEC basketball power rankings’