John Clay's Sidelines

The first three-plus minutes of the Calipari confab with the media after the Cats cuffed Coppin.

Some quick notes from Kentucky’s 91-61 win over Coppin State tonight:

• John Calipari said he “loved” the way Darius Miller played.
• Miller had seven points, six rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes.
• Kentucky shot 74.1 percent in the second half.
• UK averaged 1.307 points per possession.
• Coppin averaged 0.882 points per possession.
• UK shot 57.4 percent for the game, best since 59.3 vs. Boston on Nov. 30.
• UK made 13 of 16 free throws for 81.3 percent.
• A clean-shaven Josh Harrellson grabbed just four rebounds.
• Harrellson had a string of three straight double-digit rebound games.
• Jon Hood scored a season-high seven points.
• Terrence Jones made nine of 12 field goals on the way to 18 points.
• Doron Lamb went from 32 points to 17 points.
• DeAndre Liggins has 15 assists over his last two games.

(Photo Indiana Elite)

Greg Rosenstien of the Indiana Daily Student reports that D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera has de-committed from Xavier and is now considering a handful of schools, including Kentucky and Louisville.

Rivals ranks the 6-foot-3 guard from Indianapolis as the 25th best player in the Class of 2012.

Excerpt:

“I just wanted to get a feel for some other schools that I was interested in,” Smith-Rivera said. “I’ll get to take a couple visits and weigh my options a little more. I realized (the decision) was a little early in the process.”

The 6-foot-3, 210 lb. guard said the list of schools he is considering includes Florida, Miami, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State.

(Hat tip ESPN college basketball blog)

The current poll question deals with the conflict of Jan. 8.

As a Kentucky fan, if you could go one or the other, which would you choose?

Some facts and figures about Louisville basketball after Monday night’s 104-74 win over Morgan State:

• The Cards will enter Friday’s game against Kentucky off their two best offensive performances of the year. U of L averaged 1.435 points per possession in that 114-82 whipping of Western Kentucky, then 1.315 points per possession in the mauling of Morgan State.
• The Cardinals have made 33 of 53 three-pointers over their last two games. That’s 62.3 percent.
• Louisville has made double-digit threes in three straight games.
• Preston Knowles has made 15 of 29 threes over the last three games.

Continue reading ‘How well is Louisville playing right now?’

According to his Twitter account, Terrence Jones had a rough night.

Fang Mitchell (AP photo)

Good morning and welcome to an all-in-one SEC/Big Blue Links:

KENTUCKY-COPPIN STATE TONIGHT – Let’s be honest here. Even in yesterday’s media opp with John Calipari and his players, there wasn’t much talk about tonight’s game with Coppin State. (It’s a 7 p.m. tipoff at Rupp, by the way.) Doron Lamb was made available after his 32-point performance last time out, and he was the center of attention.

– Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader writes that Lamb is making a case to join the starting lineup.

– In his notes, Tipton writes that Brandon Knight has the look of a leader.

– Brett Dawson of the C-J writes that Lamb is looking forward to Friday, but knows the Cats must focus on Coppin first.

– Lamb isn’t complaining about his bench role, writes Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel.

– Lamb has embraced his role, says Brett Carney of WLEX-TV.

– Lamb was Andy Katz’s National Player of the Week.

– Jason Knight of Yahoo Sports has a Q&A with Brandon Knight.

COPPIN STATE SCOUTING REPORT — Fang Mitchell’s team is 4-5 with losses to Oklahoma (77-57), Connecticut (76-64) and Wisconsin (80-56). Mitchell’s team plays at Texas on Friday. Its leading scorer is guard Michael Harper, averaging 15.3 points per game. He’s reached double figures in all nine games this year. Ken Pomeroy’s computer has Coppin State ranked at No. 306. Kentucky is sixth.

– Wildcat Blue Nation calculates the Coppin State numbers.

LIVEBLOG – Don’t forget the liveblog tonight. I’ll have the pre-post up this morning.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Lamb linkfest; another football offer pulled’

After his record-breaking 32-point performance last week, Doron Lamb had a plane to catch. He didn’t have time to talk the media. Today, before practice, he faced blanket coverage.

Click here to see this video on YouTube.