John Clay's Sidelines

H-L photo/Charles Bertram

Monday morning notes and links:

- UK announced this morning that it has reached a contract extension with basketball coach John Calipari. Associate AD for media relations DeWayne Peevy alerted media early this morning (12:11 a.m.) to look for a news release this morning. There will be no press conference.

- Andy Katz reports that the new contract will also include a raise in pay. Here’s the link to Andy’s story.

- My quick take: It’s all nice and good, but only the naive will believe that this will put an end to the Calipari-to-the-NBA rumors. I’m not saying he’s going. I don’t think he is going anywhere. I’m just saying a new contract isn’t going to put a stop to the speculation.

- There is the SEC basketball coaches summer teleconference this morning. We will be able to ask Calipari about the new deal then.

- Meanwhile, UK’s official athletics blog, Cat Scratches, has a story with comments from both Calipari and Mitch Barnhart.

Continue reading ‘Calipari’s new deal and other Monday morning notes’

Using Google Docs, you can now look and download John Calipari’s contract:

• Click here for Calipari’s contract with amendment.

Here is the official release from UK on John Calipari’s contract extension:

June 27, 2011

Calipari Signs Contract Extension

Rewarded with an eight-year contract after UK’s first Final Four appearance in 13 years

LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari, who led the Wildcats to the school’s 14th NCAA Final Four appearance last season, has been rewarded with an eight-year contract worth a total of $36.5 million plus the opportunity for performance-based incentives, UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart announced Monday. See attachments for the actual contract which includes an amendment to the previous agreement along with details of the eight-year deal.

“What John Calipari has done on and off the court in the past two years to reunite and rejuvenate this fan base has been magical,” Barnhart said. “He understands the responsibility that goes along with this position and there is no other coach out there that is a better fit for the best basketball program in the country.”

Continue reading ‘UK release: Calipari agrees to contract extension’

(AP photo)

Recent highlights from the blog:

UK vs. Duke in last 10 NBA drafts

A comparison of Kentucky and Duke in the last 10 drafts, after the latest draft Thursday night. After all, John Wall was the No. 1 pick in 2010. Kyrie Irving was the No. 1 pick in 2011. By “comparison” we mean a chart.

Not so much the Kentucky Effect as the Calipari Effect

John Calipari says that the “Kentucky Effect” gives UK basketball players a 20 percent bump in exposure. But considering that Kentucky has had nine players drafted in the two years since Cal has been on the job here, compared to six the previous 10 years, seems like the proper term is “Calipari Effect.”

Dennis Thomas’ former school counts vacated wins

David Teel of the Newport News Daily Press picks up on the Dennis Thomas “vacated” theme and finds that his old school, Hampton, also counts vacated wins in its media guide. The hypocrisy continues.

Video: Terrence Jones says he returned to gain maturity

Think this video got lost in the mix. It was done the same day that UK released its statement acknowledging it made an error in recognizing John Calipari’s 500th victory.

Calipari tells crowd that Duke won’t play UK

Speaking to a group in Richmond, the Kentucky coach is asked why UK and Duke don’t play a home-and-home.

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.

Continue reading ‘Even more NBA Draft leftovers and Sunday notes’

Brandon Knight throws out first pitch at Tigers game last night. John Wall, take notes. (AP photo)

Saturday morning notes and links:

- Enes Kanter arrives in Utah with a chip on his shoulder. I predict that the Undertaker will disprove all this talk about this being a two-player NBA draft. Utah is a perfect spot for the Turkish terror. Solid organization. Decent surrounding talent.

- I was not the only one who noticed that Brandon Knight did not seem pleased on Thursday.  True Hoop says Brandon Knight forgot to smile on Thursday. Wrote Henry Abbot: “He wants to ace every test, and generally does, but in the test of the draft, a guy who saw himself as a candidate for first pick, and who worked out for teams with the top seven picks, well he didn’t appear to be giddy about going eighth.”

- Knight did tweet on Friday: “”Tgbtg! Happy to be apart of the Detroit Piston family. Thanks to all the fans for their support!”

- Note: Tgbtg means to God be the glory.

- Were I ESPN, I’d ditch Jon Barry and put Chad Ford up on the studio set with Jeff Van Gundy, Jay Bilas and (if they must) Stuart Scott. If the NFL Draft coverage can have Mel Kiper, Jr. yacking with Jon Gruden, then the NBA Draft coverage can have Ford talking to Van Gundy.

- The NBA Draft did draw a 2.5 overnight rating, it’s highest since 2007.

- In recruiting news first: Ishmail Wainwright has decomitted from Missouri and now lists Kentucky among his possibilities. He’s a 6-foot-5 forward in the class of 2013.

Continue reading ‘Kanter, Knight arrive at new addresses, and more notes’

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

So why did the New York Knicks pay the New Orleans Hornets $750,000 to draft Josh Harrellson with the 45th pick in last night’s NBA Draft.

Zagsblog has some quotes from Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni on Jorts:

“[He's] a need that we need,” D’Antoni said. “He’s a big body, obviously. He came in and had a very nice workout. He showed that he’ll bang people around. He’s tough, he’s big. He had a nice touch shooting-size. He can put the ball on the floor a little bit.

“We’ll see if he can adapt to the NBA game, but we think he has a chance, a good chance, and we’re looking forward to seeing him.”

The Knicks official roster lists the 6-foot-10 Harrellson as a forward. He is one of four on the squad listed at 6-10 or better. The others are Jared Jeffries (6-11), Amare Stoudamire (6-10) and Ronny Turiaf (6-10). The thin Jeffries is not exactly a banger. And Stoudamire likes to play out on the wing, as well.

HoopsData.com lists the Knicks as ranking 24th in the league last year in Offensive Rebound Rate. The Knicks were 27th out of 30 in Offensive Rebound Rate differential. So clearly New York needs some help on the boards. Thus the draft of Jorts.

Continue reading ‘Knicks on Josh Harrellson: “He’s a need that we need”’

(H-L photo)

It’s not so much the Kentucky Effect.

It’s the Calipari Effect.

John Calipari has been spinning Kentucky’s tremendous NBA Draft numbers back to the brand. He’s calling it “The Kentucky Effect.” That’s nice of him. It’s part of the sales pitch. The message: Come to Kentucky and we will get you in the NBA.

All four available Cats were drafted on Tuesday night in Newark. That makes nine players over the last two years. Four of those have been among the top 10 players chosen, six have been among the top 20. Those are incredible numbers.

But truthfully, those are Calipari numbers. Before UK lured Cal from Memphis, the Cats had just six players drafted over the previous 10 years. Good, not great. The Kentucky Effect wasn’t working quite as well then, was it?

True, Calipari didn’t recruit all nine of the Kentucky players who have been drafted over the past two years. (He only recruited five of the nine. Not a bad percentage.) But arguably he was the one who coached at least three of the remaining four into their draft positions.

Patrick Patterson would have been an NBA draft selection regardless, but Calipari helped the 6-foot-9 forward develop more of a perimeter game. Under predecessor Billy Gillispie, Patterson was a post-up producer. Billy G.’s drill sergeant style of play was to feed the post. He had no one to play down low but Patterson. Conversely, Calipari’s style, plus the addition of DeMarcus Cousins, allowed Patterson to roam.

Continue reading ‘Not so much the Kentucky Effect as the Calipari Effect’

(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Kanter and Knight go in first round while Faried, Harrellson and Liggins drafted in second round, reports Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.
• Mark Story of H-L looks at how UK’s first-round hires might do in their new jobs.
• Shelvin Mack’s day ends with emotion, and chance to play with John Wall, writes Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports.
• Kanter gives Utah Jazz an inside force, writes Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
• Jazz comes up a big winner by taking Kanter, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
• Scholarly Brandon Knight brings more than a high IQ to Detroit, writes Kevin Bull of the Detroit Free Press.
• Pistons will find a lot to like about Brandon Knight, writes Mike Rosenberg of the Free Press.
• Orlando believes Liggins can “guard opposing point guards, shooting guards and small forwards,” reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Knicks buy Hornets’ lone pick to get Josh Harrellson, reports AP.
• Draft caps impossible turnarounds for Liggins and Harrellson, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.