John Clay's Sidelines

Kentucky freshmen Doron Lamb talks to the media before Monday’s practice.

Kentucky sophomore Jon Hood talks about his friend, Josh Harrellson.

At his part of this afternoon’s UK basketball media opp, John Calipari talked about his lone senior, Josh Harrellson.

Some quick hitters from UK basketball media opp previewing Tuesday game with Vanderbilt.

1. Lots of questions about Josh Harrellson, who is playing his final home game on Tuesday. Check back for video. But Cal said he could see Josh in jean shorts, with the cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve.
2. Calipari talked a lot about how road games don’t really matter now because the tournament is played in neutral sites. Cal focused on his team being 17-1 in home and neutral site games.
3. Mentioned that Vanderbilt now has Andre Walker back from injury.
4. Cal told us that he uses us like a “wet rag,” which is something we already knew. He meant that he uses the media to get messages to the players. He said he doesn’t throw players under the bus, but he will make comments about how his kids play. “I don’t say anything out here I don’t want them to hear,” he said.
5. He said he hopes they can make it hard on John Jenkins, but “if he’s on fire, it’s a hard game.” He said Jenkins is just one reason why Vanderbilt is a top 15 team, “or whatever they are.” Vandy is 21st in the latest AP poll. Kentucky is No. 20.
6. Calipari also said he wants his team to have fun, that the team that is having fun is the team that wants to keep playing and goes far in the tournaments. He’s not sure this team is having that kind of fun, yet. “We’re having fun,” said Calipari, “but we’re still unsure, because of a couple of road losses.”

With Senior Night scheduled for Tuesday, UK center Josh Harrellson was made available to the media this morning. In this video clip, Harrellson talks about how he got the nickname “Jorts” and how he likes to give back to the community.

Click here to download an audio version of the Harrellson press conference.

Big Blue Links for Monday:

UK WOMEN GET NO. 2 SEED – Matthew Mitchell’s team completed a successful trip to Auburn, beating the Lady Tigers 76-62 to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the SEC Women’s Tournament. The Cats finished 11-5 overall, behind Tennessee’s perfect 16-0, but in front of Vanderbilt and Georgia, which both finished 10-6.

Kentucky has a first-round bye and will play the Alabama-LSU winner at 3:30 on Friday. Here’s a testament to the toughness of the SEC: Kentucky beat LSU by just 49-47 in Lexington back on Feb. 13.

UK MEN STILL IN HUNT FOR NO. 2 SEED – By my examination, the best way for Kentucky to get that coveted No. 2 seed and first-round bye is for the Cats to win out, and hope that Georgia loses one of its last two. Most three-way ties seem to favor Vanderbilt. But hey, I spent most of Sunday with my head swimming from scenarios. I bit off more than I can chew.

Roll Bama Roll takes a crack at it by way of a percentage chart. (Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World)

Meanwhile, Rick Bozich writes from Saturday’s game that Kentucky could be a dangerous team come March. “Even though the Gators are likely to win the SEC, don’t make the mistake of obsessing on the standings because March arrives this week. Come March, Kentucky will be the more dangerous and dominant team,” writes Rick.

Not sure I agree with that. Still like Florida’s experience, and the Gators were playing on one day’s rest at Rupp. The good part is that it will all be played out on the floor.

Tom Leach talks to CBS’ Dan Bonner at the UK-Florida game on Saturday.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Women nail down No. 2 seed, men still in the hunt’

SEC links for Monday:

SEC REGULAR SEASON – Florida prepares to take on Alabama on Tuesday night in the game that could decide the overall league champ, writes Rachel George of the Orlando Sentinel. Both teams are 11-3 in league play after Saturday losses. Florida lost at Kentucky. Bama lost at Ole Miss. Tuesday’s tilt will be Florida’s third game in six days.

“There’s a lot to get ready for. Although we played Kentucky early in February, it was still a very, very quick turnaround prep-wise,” Donovan said Saturday.

Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that inconsistency has kept its grip on Tennessee. You just have to wonder if all the Bruce Pearl turmoil caught up with Tennessee at the end. No way the Vols should have lost to Mississippi State on Saturday, especially coming off the huge win at Vanderbilt.

Former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes has been fired by Georgia State, reports Ken Sugiura of the AJC. The Panthers were 11-18 overall and 6-12 in their conference.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Florida-Alabama prep for title showdown’

Stan Simpson, the junior college center from Illinois, has just tweeted that UK coaches are coming to watch him practice on Wednesday.

Hat tip to Next Cats.

There was a post here about Kentucky’s tiebreaker scenarios, but it all turned out to be too confusing and too filled with errors.

I’m not smart enough to figure out all the scenarios.

I do know this, a Kentucky win over Vanderbilt and a win at Tennessee clinches the No. 2 seed for the Cats, as long as Georgia loses one of its last two games.

If Kentucky and Vandy finish 10-6, the Cats and Commodores would have split head-to-head. Kentucky would be the No. 2 seed thanks to a 7-3 division record, compared to 5-5 for Vanderbilt.

If Georgia and UK win out, and Vanderbilt beats Florida on Saturday, all three would end up 10-6. Vandy would have the advantage thanks to a 3-1 head-to-head record among the three teams. Kentucky would be the No. 3 seed thanks to its 2-2 mark. Georgia would be the No. 4 seed.

As long as they beat Vanderbilt on Tuesday, the Cats have a shot at a first-round bye even if they lose at Tennessee.

For that to happen, however, the Cats would need (a) Tennessee to have lost at South Carolina on Thursday, (b) for Vandy to have lost to Florida on Saturday, and (c) for Georgia to lose out.

Under that scenario, Vanderbilt and Kentucky would be 9-7. Tennessee and Georgia would be 8-8. By splitting with Vanderbilt, the Cats would be No. 2 thanks to a 6-4 divisional record, compared to Vandy’s 4-6.