John Clay's Sidelines

SEC links for Monday:

New basketball coach Tony Barbee tells Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News that Auburn can be a top 15 job: “‘The response has been overwhelming, (such as) going into a high school and having the principal come out and tell me about their days when they were a student at Auburn and what it means to them. You’re going down hallways in high schools, and the teachers got their doors decorated with Auburn memorabilia. It’s been an overwhelming response.’”

Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger on Mississippi State’s Dee Bost staying in draft: “Late Saturday night, point guard Dee Bost told The Clarion-Ledger via text that he was ‘staying in’ the draft. Small forward Ravern Johnson withdrew from the draft, according to team spokesman Gregg Ellis. Bost’s departure means the loss of a floor leader who started from the first game of his freshman season.

Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Herschel Walker: “And that’s kind of how the 48-year-old Walker has lived his life. Always straight ahead. Always unwilling to bend. Always determined to accomplish his goal, whether it was winning Georgia the 1980 national championship as a freshman running back, challenging the NFL’s rule against underclassmen playing pro football by signing with the fledgling United States Football League after his junior year, becoming a member of the United States two-man bobsled team for the 1992 Winter Olympics, appearing with the Fort Worth Ballet in 1988 or winning back-to-back Superstars competitions in 1987 and 1988.”

Michaell Carvell of the AJC reports that Marcus Thornton will announce May 21: “Westlake High’s Marcus Thornton has narrowed down to four schools, and has visited Alabama and Texas. He is expected to travel to UGA and Georgia Tech this week and announce his college decision by May 21. When Thornton went to Texas last Monday, he got to meet and greet T.J. Ford, guard for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Mississippi State loses Dee Bost to draft’

Big Blue Links for Friday:

Michael Carvell of the AJC reports that Marcus Thornton has eliminated Kentucky: “Georgia Tech and UGA are among the four finalists for the AJC’s Mr. Basketball, Westlake High’s Marcus Thornton revealed on Thursday night. Alabama and a surprise school (Texas) are among in Thornton’s short list of finalists. He eliminated Clemson, Kentucky, and Michigan from consideration, and plans on signing by May 21.”

Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal on a new UK recruiting name: “Word started to break over the weekend that the UK staff had hosted an unknown prospect and earlier today Scout.com national analyst Evan Daniels reported that was Remi Dibo. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Beckley (W. Va.) Mountain State Academy made a visit to Lexington last week and currently only has offers from St. Bonaventure, Drexel and Duquesne. He’s a three-star prospect by Scout.

Mr. SEC reports that UK had lowest attendance of (almost) all SEC spring football games: “Vanderbilt did not supply official attendance numbers. (As if any of these numbers are officials. Heck, the last four digits of MSU’s attendance this year just happen to match the score from last year’s Egg Bowl win. Coincidence?)”

Zagsblog writes that Brandon Knight is not going to Europe: “The bogus story quoted Knight saying he would spend next season in Italy, following in Brandon Jennings’s footsteps, instead of going to Kentucky. Jennings skipped college at Arizona and played a year of pro ball in Italy before getting drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, whom he helped lead into a Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA playoffs.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Marcus Thornton out, Remi Dibo in?’

Scott Stricklin

SEC links for Friday:

Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger reports that ex-UK associate AD Scott Stricklin will be named AD at Mississippi State: “Mississippi State will introduce Scott Stricklin as its new athletic director at a 2 p.m. press conference today, The Clarion-Ledger learned late Thursday. Stricklin, a senior associate AD at State and a Jackson native, replaces Greg Byrne, who started his new job as Arizona’s athletic director earlier this week.”

Brad Locke of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal on Stricklin: “Keenum solicited the help of Parker Executive Search in Atlanta, and details of the process were kept well-guarded. Stricklin, who turns 40 on Saturday, was widely thought from the get-go to be a leading candidate and had strong support within the athletic department.”

Rick Cleveland of the Clarion-Ledger on Mississippi State’s baseball problems: “State, depending on primarily freshman pitchers, could just as easily have won two of the three games with Ole Miss. Against Jackson State, they ran into a red-hot team, using its two best pitchers in a weekday game. These things happen in baseball.”

David Climer of the Tennessean writes that on flood relief, Vandy hit it out of the park: “As the region recovers from the Flood of 2010, credit Vanderbilt’s baseball program for pitching in. The Commodores are offering free tickets to their game with powerful Louisville on Tuesday night. Instead of paying for a ticket, fans are asked to donate money for flood relief.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: MSU to name ex-UK staffer Stricklin as AD’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

Jim Rome says Calipari will eventually leave UK for the NBA: “I think he is happy at Kentucky. Just not as happy as he’d be coaching Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Or coaching Lebron James, for instance. Cal’s not spending his career coaching at Kentucky. He’ll do what he’s always done: recruit like a mother, win a ton of games, and then bust out when he finds a situation he likes better than the one he has.” (Hat tip to Tom Leach.)

Terrence Jones tells John Canzano of the Oregonian that he’s still committed to Washington: “Jones picked Washington, but didn’t sign a letter of intent. Key point. What followed this week was the revelation by those close to Jones that the kid walked into that news conference and chose the Huskies not because he was certain, but because he was tired of being squeezed by the pressure. ‘I’m still committed to Washington,’ Jones said on Wednesday, ‘but I’m not willing to sign anything at this point.’”

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune on Calipari and the Bulls: “Pay no mind to Calipari’s denials based on semantics. “I’m not out searching for jobs.” or ‘You won’t hear about other colleges because I have the best job.’ Several NBA sources confirmed Yahoo! Sports’ original report that Calipari has interest. Whether it’s reciprocal is unknown. General manager Gar Forman said he won’t give updates, and team sources didn’t shed any light on the matter.”

Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader reports that Calipari wants an extension, not a raise: “Coach John Calipari made it clear Wednesday that he loves Kentucky and is interested in a long-term contract extension, but that he’s not in search of a raise. ‘I said I didn’t want the compensation to change,’ Calipari said, relaying his conversation with UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart, in an audio tweet on Lexy.com. ‘I’m doing fine.’”

My column saying Calipari’s contract is just fine the way it is: “Make no mistake, John Calipari did outstanding work his first year as Kentucky’s basketball coach. He schmoozed with sponsors, flooded his followers with tweets, pulled in top-shelf recruits, restored the rankings. He pumped vital air into a deflated program. In other words, he did everything outlined in the job description of his contract.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Jim Rome says Calipari will leave UK eventually’

SEC links for Thursday:

Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that Memphis is bidding on 2015 SEC Basketball Tournament: “The SEC has held two men’s basketball tournaments (1994, 1997) and one women’s tournament (2001), all at The Pyramid. Kane said that the SEC never asked Memphis to submit a bid and the city never pursued another bid since moving into FedExForum, because former Memphis coach John Calipari nixed the idea. Calipari made sure the U of M hosted the C-USA tournament, which was in Memphis for five straight years until this past season when it moved to Tulsa.”

Orlando Sentinel on Elizabeth Hasselbeck apologizing to ESPN’s Erin Andrews: “Elisabeth Hasselbeck made a sarcastic remark about Erin Andrews’ clothing saying ‘In light of what happened and as a legal [matter] – and as inexcusable as it was for that horrific guy to go in and try to peep on her in her hotel room,’ Hasselbeck said. ‘I mean, in some way if I’m him, I’m like, ‘Man! I just could’ve waited 12 weeks and seen this – a little bit less – without the prison time!’ Erin Andrews told Access Hollywood she cried when heard the comments and called it “a slap in the face to victims of stalking and sexual predators.”

John Pennington of Mr. SEC thinks Ole Miss perfect example of what’s wrong with college basketball: “After reaching the NIT semifinals this past season, Andy Kennedy’s program appeared ready to finally snap the SEC’s longest NCAA tourney drought and make the Big Dance in 2011. But then star guard Terrico White opted to test his NBA draft status. He can still pull his name out of the draft list, but most expect him to keep it in there. It would be a surprise if he returns. Eniel Polynice is also leaving early to pursue a pro career. His departure appears to have been mutually agreed upon by himself and Kennedy.”

Ray Melick of the Birmingham News thinks that Alabama has given itself a black eye over Justin Knox: “Instead, by playing hardball with Knox and refusing to allow him to transfer specifically to UAB, Alabama and Grant look like bullies. By having his uncle, Darien Knox, going public with allegations against Alabama, it makes Knox — a relatively insignificant player in the big scheme of things — look like a player whom other schools might think twice about signing if it means bringing with him an controlling family.”

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Memphis bids on 2015 SEC Tournament’

Matt Pilgrim

Ex-UK basketball player Matt Pilgrim, now at Oklahoma State, has been accused of rape, according to the Oklahoma State student newspaper, the Daily O’Collegian.

An excerpt:

Police served an emergency protective order against an Oklahoma State University basketball player after another OSU student accused him of rape, according to the student’s sworn statement.

Matt Pilgrim, 22, was served the order Monday afternoon after another Oklahoma State student told police that Pilgrim raped her in her Smith Hall apartment in the North Monroe area on April 12.

(Hat tip to Anthony Wireman.)

John Helsely of the Oklahoman also has a story on the Pilgrim problem.

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

UK talking restructured deal with John Calipari: “Barnhart’s comments came hours after the release of a report by Yahoo Sports that cited anonymous sources linking Calipari to the coaching vacancy with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls, who fired Vinny Del Negro on Tuesday.”

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports on Calipari’s interest in the Bulls: “Kentucky coach John Calipari is intrigued with the Chicago Bulls’ coaching job and would be willing to listen to a pitch from management, NBA and NCAA sources told Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday. Sources say the combination of roster talent, tradition and market make Chicago one of the few NBA jobs that could pry Calipari out of Kentucky. The Bulls have been hesitant to pay the $4 million-$5 million annual packages it would take to lure high-profile coaches like Calipari.”

Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader on UK’s undrafted football free agents: “As free agents, players get to pick and choose which team to sign with. Smith, Duncan and Jeffries studied the depth charts of teams around the league to get a feel for where there would be a need at their positions. Agent Greg Linton found homes for Smith (Arizona) and Jeffries (San Diego), while Duncan’s agent, Kevin Robinson, got Duncan a contract in Philadelphia. The three UK players all will be going to teams who didn’t draft a player at their respective positions.”

Jim Moore of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Terrence Jones: “I don’t know about you, but I wake up every day hoping that this will be the day that Terrence Jones makes a decision on where he wants to play college basketball. I can’t stand the suspense. Not knowing where an 18-year-old kid wants to go to school is such a distraction that I have a hard time focusing on other stuff, whatever that stuff may be.” (Hat tip to Aaron’s Uk Basketball Blog.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Chicago, Calipari, contract and more UK links’

Mickie DeMoss

SEC links for Wednesday:

Dan Fleser of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Mickie DeMoss may be returning to Tennessee: “Tennessee’s search for a new women’s basketball assistant coach is featuring a very popular and successful former Lady Vols coach. Mickie DeMoss appears to have emerged as a leading candidate for the opening created by Stephanie Glance becoming the coach at Illinois State last month. A decision could be finalized as early as later this week.”

Kyle Veazey reports that ex-UK staffer Scott Stricklin is still in the hunt for Mississippi State AD post: “Here are the names I continue to hear from sources close to the search and have not scratched off my list: Scott Stricklin, State’s senior associate AD for external affairs; Joe Dean Jr., the AD at Birmingham-Southern; and Whit Hughes, deputy director of the Mississippi Development Authority. All are State grads. Lee Fowler, the N.C. State athletic director, has been mentioned by some in conjunction with the search, too, but there’s no confirmation of his involvement.”

Tim Tucker of the AJC on ex-Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger looking at Louisville: “Former Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger hopes to play football at another college. And Louisville is one place he’ll look, according to a website that covers the Cardinals. After pleading guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery charges in Valdosta on Monday, Mettenberger said in a written statement that he hopes for a “second chance” at college football.”

Josh Hoke of the Myrtle Beach Sun News reports that South Carolina is high on Carlton Geathers: “Most recruiting analysts believe Carlton Geathers is a project. Perhaps it is that challenge that has endeared him to his future coach. The 6-foot-11 Carvers Bay center signed with South Carolina last month. Gamecocks basketball coach Darrin Horn raved about Geathers’ potential before speaking to members of the school’s booster club on Tuesday.”

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Mickie DeMoss may be returning to Tennessee’

With rumors linking John Calipari to the Chicago Bulls job, UK used its Twitter account tonight to say that the school and its basketball coach are working on a new contract.

The tweets from UK Media News:

Mitch Barnhart on Calipari: I’m extremely proud of what Coach Calipari has done in just 1 year as the leader of our men’s basketball program 9 minutes ago via TweetDeck

..Cal has brought Kentucky men’s basketball back to its rightful place of national prominence and I’m excited about our future. 9 minutes ago via TweetDeck

…We have begun initial discussions on restructuring his contract so that he’s the coach at Kentucky until he retires. Go Big Blue! 8 minutes ago via TweetDeck

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported earlier that Calipari was interested in the Bulls job.

But Andy Katz reports that Calipari says he is not interested.

An Oregonian story by Nick Daschel quotes Terrence Jones’ high school coach, Pat Strickland, as saying that Washington is still the leader for the 6-foot-9 forward, who committed to Washington on Friday, but has yet to sign with the Huskies.

Jones reportedly wavered on his commitment after talking to Kentucky coach John Calipari immediately after his press conference.

An excerpt from the Oregonian:

Asked if the indecision has anything to do with Jones perhaps previously committing to Calipari before feeling pressured to sign with Washington, Strickland said no.

“I think when he walked into the gym, he still didn’t know,” Strickland said. “He told me (Saturday) he wasn’t ready to make his decision, but I still think Washington is the front-runner.”