(H-L photo/Charles Bertram)
Big Blue Links for Tuesday:
Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader on the bond shared by Kentucky’s new football coaches: “Charlie Strong was happy when he heard the news that Joker Phillips would take over for Rich Brooks as head football coach at the University of Kentucky, and Phillips had the same sentiment when Tom Jurich tabbed Strong to rebuild the program at the University of Louisville. And both Phillips and Strong were glad to see young up-and-comer Willie Taggart get his shot as the head coach at Western Kentucky University in November.”
A Sea of Blue on Calipari taking a break from basketball to visit someone in need: “Calipari did them one better. Unbeknownst to Kevin, Calipari, touched by the story related to him by Ed Schilling, took a plane to Indianapolis and surprised the youngster by personally visiting him in the hospital. As Cal walked through the door, tears began streaming down the cheeks of the extremely ill young man.”
Mark Story of the H-L on Mark Coury, ex-Wildcat now at Cornell: “When he picked Cornell, Coury became the first men’s hoops player ever to leave the basketball factory here in Lexington for the hallowed academic halls of the Ivy League. Yet that’s not the most unlikely part of the story.”
The Big Lead catches DeMarcus Cousins watching at Erin Andrews. (Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World.)
Wildcat Blue Blog looks at what UK does for SEC attendance: “Some SEC schools struggle to fill their seats year in and year out, except when the Kentucky Wildcats come to town. Then, the entire community seems to want to have a ticket and cram into the arena like sardines. UK has played 6 road games in the SEC so far this season and I looked at the average home attendance in conference play of those 6 teams and then compared it to the attendance for the Kentucky game.”
Inner Circle wants to forgive Billy Gillispie: “Many people say he only has himself to blame. He was the cause of his own demise. Nobody told him to drink and possibly neglect his players. Nobody told him to treat the media with disregard. Nobody told him to think narrow-mindedly offensively and defensively. Nobody told him to recruit the players he was recruiting.”
Jerry Tipton of the H-L reports that Calipari wants more shots: “Through Sunday’s games, Kentucky led the nation in rebound margin (plus 9.8). That advantage might be telling this week when UK plays against South Carolina on Thursday and Tennessee on Saturday. Neither opponent ranks among the nation’s top 140 teams in rebound margin: South Carolina No. 299 (minus 4.3) and Tennessee No. 144 (plus 1.3)”
Brett Dawson of the C-J also writes about UK’s shot selection: “Calipari is convinced his Cats have able shooters. Lately, he’s noticed they don’t look so willing. UK players are passing on shots, Calipari said, and that might be more damaging to the Cats’ offense than simply missing shots.”
Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger on Eric Bledsoe: “Sometimes Kentucky freshman Eric Bledsoe’s emotion can be his worst enemy.”
Tom Leach has a podcast with ESPN’s Andy Katz.
Metz Camfield of the Kentucky Kernel on Patrick Patterson: “After his play went under scrutiny last month, Patterson has emerged in clutch situations for the Cats and has helped lead UK to a pair of road victories over Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. One month ago, Patterson was held scoreless in the second half of a 31-point home-blowout victory over Arkansas. The next game, the Cats’ first loss, he was again held scoreless in the second half and had a season low five points.”
Nick Craddock of the Kernel on Lydia Watkins and Amani Franklin: “After all, the 71-50 dismantling over South Carolina on Sunday was payback for an earlier loss in the season to the Gamecocks, a season-high crowd was present, the win capped an undefeated season at home for the Cats, and the two seniors were honored for their contributions to the program in front of their families. But that sweet game was only made possible by both Franklin and Watkins overcoming so much adversity in their careers.”
Aaron’s UK Football Blog has an update on a 2011 football recruit.
As the season goes on I have a gaining a lot of respect for Coach Cal.