There's that Brandon Knight smile. (AP photo)
Sunday morning notes and links:
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel leads a notes package with Magic draft pick DeAndre Liggins. Robbins quotes Orlando GM Otis Smith as saying, “”Probably more than anything else he’s a tough kid. He works. He’s not afraid to work. He’s one of those guys that we can throw into different situations. Probably the biggest thing about him, I think, is he can defend multiple positions.”
- More on Brandon Knight who seems determined to shed that draft-night impression that he was not happy about being drafted by Detroit. Knight says it wasn’t Detroit, it was falling to No. 8 that caused his reaction. That’s why he picked jersey No. 7 for his rookie season. Seven teams passed on him. Knight was all smiles at the Pistons’ press conference yesterday.
- Knight on playing for John Calipari: “”He expects excellence and perfection. You could have a great game going and he’s going to rip you for one mistake.”
- The one non-college, non-pro basketball game to which you should pay absolute attention? The Nike Hoops Summit. In the 2010 game, Enes Kanter turned heads by scoring 34 points. He was the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday. In the 2011 game, Bismack Biyomobo blocked 10 shots. He was drafted seventh on Thursday.
- We should have known the Jazz would take Kanter. It was WTVQ’s Kent Spencer, I believe, who had the tidbit during the season that Utah officials had been to the Joe Craft Center to work out the Undertaker.
- Five questions with Enes Kanter.
- Chad Ford of espn.com has Anthony Davis at No. 1, Michael Gilchrist at No. 3, Terrence Jones at No. 10 and Marquis Teague at No. 12 in his mock draft for 2012.
- When you look back on it, Cleveland could have taken Derrick Williams with the first pick and still nabbed a point guard in Brandon Knight at No. 4.
- And I keep forgetting to mention this: twitter was so far ahead of ESPN breaking draft picks and trades news on Thursday night it was ridiculous.
- A D-League tryout in Louisville yesterday drew 263 players.
- Paul Biancardi of espn.com had interesting piece last week about potential one-and-done candidates for next season. He listed the obvious three Kentucky players. What was interesting is what he said about each one.
- On Anthony Davis: “NBA comparison: Have not seen anyone like him!”
- On Michael Gilchrist: “He’s a true energy-giver who elevates any practice or game. Each possession, on both ends of the floor, his effort is second to none.” Compares him to Gerald Wallace.
- On Marquis Teague: “The faster the tempo, the better for Teague because he has blazing speed that helps him thrive in transition. He blows past defenders with his tight handle and explosive first step.” Compares him to Marquis’ brother, Jeff.
- It’s unfathomable what Michigan commitment Austin Hatch has gone through. The Ft. Wayne, Indiana basketball star lost his mother and two siblings in a plane crash in 2003. On Friday, he lost his father and step-mother when their plane crashed in Michigan. Austin is now listed in serious condition.
- Trivia someday: Donnie Walsh’s final draft pick was Josh Harrellson.
- A total of 14 power forwards were taken in the draft ahead of Georgia’s Trey Thompkins.
- Only saw the final 20 minutes of the U.S. 4-2 loss to Mexico in the finals of the Gold Cup last night. To be honest, wasn’t even sure I got Fox Sports Soccer. Anyway, that fourth Mexican goal was unbelievable.
- Good Bill Plaschke column on the dynamics inside the Rose Bowl last night.
(AP photo)
- Good blog post from the C-J’s Eric Crawford, who rightly says it is not often that coaches use the word “alcoholism” related to a player’s behavior. Louisville football coach Charlie Strong did just that when addressing Darius Ashley’s second DUI and indefinite suspension.
- Florida wants to stay out to he NCAA’s cross-hairs. Look at what’s happened to Ohio State, Michigan and North Carolina of late. Just to name a few. Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun writes: “UF hired McCloskey to head up its compliance staff in 1992. McCloskey was the director of legislative services for the NCAA in the 1980s and came to UF well-versed in NCAA rules, regulations and procedures. Over the years, he has navigated UF through some delicate situations, including the agent scandal involving several football players in the mid-1990s. Agent Tank Black was eventually convicted of fraud (in 2002) and sentenced to five years in jail.”
- Did you see where former North Carolina player Greg Lee got 93 parking tickets in five different vehicles?And you thought it was tough to find a parking place on the UK campus.
- Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that SEC baseball’s only peer is SEC football. He says: “The SEC hasn’t lost a baseball game to a team from outside the league since the regionals ended. Through the super regionals and the College World Series, four different SEC teams have gone 15-5. The defeats: Florida lost once to Mississippi State in the super regional but beat the Bulldogs twice to advance to Omaha. Vanderbilt lost twice to Florida in the CWS. That’s the kind of dominance that should make even SEC football envious. Hey, have two SEC football teams ever reached the BCS Championship Game in the same year? I rest my case.”
- After having 12 players drafted, Vanderbilt baseball will be in rebuild mode next year.
- The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports that the eligibility of two Georgia football players is at risk.
- Selling out its season-ticket supply may expedite stadium expansion at Mississippi State.
- Georgia’s basketball coaches will be making more money next season.
- I’m a big uniform guy. And I approve of the Buffalo Bills new unis, which actually hark back to their old unis.
- Speaking of uniforms, there is this ongoing rumor that Kentucky football will be wearing new threads this fall. There is no confirmation on that, however. Could be another black-out, if you remember that.
- Reds evened series at Baltimore with a 10-5 win. Good to see Joey Votto break out. The reigning NL MVP hit two home runs and drove in five. It equaled Votto’s home run total for the past 19 games. He hasn’t been getting much to hit so far his season. It’s called respect. But from Votto’s point of view, it’s an adjustment that has to be made.
- I might re-call Travis Wood and send Edwin Volquez back to Louisville.
- Be sure and check out Next Cats for recruiting links.
- Shelvin Mack’s draft night video:
