John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Louisville might put Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague to the test.
• To beat Kentucky, Rick Pitino says Louisville must do “everything.”
• Watch Kentucky targets Bennett and Randle in action tonight.
• Mike Krzyzewski was watching Shabazz Muhammad on Thursday.
• Sizing up the big battle between Kentucky and Louisville basketball.
• Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is growing up fast.
• But Kidd-Gilchrist needs to avoid that early foul trouble he has been experiencing.
• U of L’s Chane Behanan battling history in game against Kentucky.
• A Kentucky basketball fan talks recruiting.
• Darius Miller says UK must avoid the hype and prepare for physical game.

The in-box is beginning to fill with Kentucky-Louisville e-mails. Here are three.

From Randy:

Read your column this morning-agree-worse thing happened last night is Louisville losing.Now Pitino has their attention for two days and he is one of the best at preparing for opponent……….I can envision this scenario:

1)Pitino concentrates his defense on Lamb and holds him to 10 points.

2) Seva turns Teague over A LOT…….

3)Jones is inneffective due to finger and mental softness….

4) Davis or MKG gets in foul trouble.

It could happen- plus U OF L has to be tired of losing to UK and Teague picking Cal over Ricky P has to eat at him so their will may be greater than UKs……….

Hope I am wrong.

Enjoy the game.

Continue reading ‘E-mailbag: Kentucky-Louisville starting to fill inbox’

Rick Pitino was a tad testy in his post-game press conference after Louisville struggled to beat a 4-9 Western Kentucky 70-60. I’m guessing the head coach heard John Calipari’s comments about teams practicing on Christmas, which some took as a jab at the U of L coach. Pitino did say tonight that he was giving his team some time off before it played Georgetown next week. When asked how much time, Pitino said, “That’s none of your business.”

And read more comments about this post on my Facebook page.

I’m at the Yum Center in Louisville for tonight’s game between fourth-ranked Louisville (11-0) and struggling Western Kentucky (4-8). This is not U of L’s final tune-up before the Cards come to Rupp. The Cards have a tough Big East game with Georgetown here on Wednesday. You can get quick twitter updates from me during the game. I’ll also be posting updates and analysis here during the game.

- Louisville rallies from 13 down to beat Western Kentucky 70-60.

- Couple of questionable plays by Buckles, then Western hits a 3 and U of L lead down to 61-57 with 1:10 left.

- Western scores first basket in 6:27, trails Louisville 61-52 with 2:19 left.

- Louisville on a 12-0 run, leads Western Kentucky 59-50 with 3:54 left. Russ Smith has 20 points for Cards.

Continue reading ‘Updates from Louisville-Western Kentucky at Yum Center’

Rick Pitino and John Calipari have been spending a lot of time together lately. Well, not together. In the same building.

Last night, the Louisville and the Kentucky head coach were both in Chicago to see Jabari Parker, the 6-foot-8 Chicago forward who is rated No. 1 by both ESPNU and Scout. Alas, Parker had an off night (for him), scoring just 15 points, grabbing six rebounds and blocking five shots.

UK’s Anthony Davis was reportedly at the game, as well.

Related links:

• Next Cats’ Jabari Parker profile page
• ESPNU’s Jabari Parker profile page
• Scout’s Jabari Parker profile page

Considering how close we are to Christmas, there is a decent amount of college basketball games on the tube tonight. For local interest, top selection is the 7 p.m. game between Western Kentucky and Louisville at the Yum Center on ESPN2. WKU is struggling under embattled coach Ken McDonald. The Hilltoppers are a mere 4-8 with wins over Tennessee State, SE Louisiana, Bowling Green State and Southern Illinois. Fourth-ranked Louisville is 10-0.

• Louisville insists its not looking past Toppers
• Rick Pitino talks Western Kentucky
• Western not scary but Cards still wary
• Hilltoppers aiming for upset at U of L

Program note: I plan to be at U of L-WKU, so look for updates on twitter.

Continue reading ‘WKU-U of L highlights hoops on television tonight’

Kevin Ware

It’s the end of the fall/winter semester at most institutions of higher learning, which means those mid-year transfers and those in need of a little academic fine-tuning are ready to leave the library and head to the basketball court.

For Louisville, that means standout recruit Kevin Ware is eligible. And Rick Pitino told the media today that he will not hesitate in using the 6-foot-4 guard on Saturday when the Cardinals play Memphis at the Yum Center.

Out of Rockdale County High School in Coyers, Georgia, Ware originally committed to Central Florida, but backed out of that commitment after reports the NCAA was investigating the Orlando school. He then signed with Tennessee, only to be released from his letter when Bruce Pearl was fired.

Ware enrolled at U of L, but his appeal for immediate eligibility was rejected by the NCAA. It was then ruled that he could gain eligibility after the fall semester.

Ware will start out as the backup to Peyton Siva at point guard. He also provides a boost for a roster hurt by injuries and is still waiting on the debut of heralded freshman Wayne Blackshear, who has been sidelined by shoulder surgery.

Meanwhile, Ware was rated as the nation’s 70th best prospect last year by Rivals.

Continue reading ‘Pitino says newcomer Kevin Ware will play right away’

After last night’s split of the SEC/Big East Challenge — UK over St. John’s and Ole Miss over DePaul for the SEC; Providence over South Carolina and Georgetown over Alabama for the Big East — tonight is the second and final night of the head-to-head between BCS conferences.

The big game around here, of course, is Vanderbilt at Louisville. But the Florida-Syracuse matchup promises to be entertaining. Despite what’s going on in cold, upstate New York, Syracuse has one of the five best teams in the nation. And Florida has the deepest backcourt in all the land. It might just warm up the Carrier Dome.

Continue reading ‘Good matchups highlight SEC/Big East resumption tonight’

(AP photo)

Louisville basketball is on the tube tonight. Fresh off a 59-54 survival of Ohio University on Friday, Rick Pitino’s Cardinals meet Long Beach State tonight at 7 on ESPNU. Coached by former Gonzaga and Minnesota head coach Don Monson, the 49ers have an upset win over Pittsburgh, 86-76, back on Nov. 11 to their credit. But Long Beach lost at Montana 73-71 last time out to fall to 3-2.

Louisville is still dealing with a rampant injury bug. Point guard Peyton Siva did return Friday after missing two games because of a sprained ankle. The junior struggled, however, and missed all seven of his shots. Now Stephan Van Treese is out with an injured knee, joining Rakeem Buckles (knee), Mike Marra (knee) and Wayne Blackshear (shoulder) as missing from the U of L lineup.

Meanwhile, over on ESPN2, Kevin Stallings and Vanderbilt play host to a dangerous Xavier team led by guard Tu Holloway.

The TV schedule for tonight:

• Long Beach State-Louisville (7:00/ESPNU)
• Xavier-Vanderbilt (7:00/ESPN2)
• Stetson-Florida (7:00/Fox Sports South)
• Georgia-Colorado (8:30/Fox Sports)
• Tennessee-Oakland (9:00/ESPNU)

Rick Pitino isn’t a doctor, he just plays one in college basketball. The guy really needs his own medical show. Last week, Louisville announced that prized basketball freshman Wayne Blackshear would be out for the season with a torn labrum. Then Tuesday, out of nowhere, Pitino announced that the surgery had been successful – dare we say miraculous? – and that Blackshear could be back in six to eight weeks.

Continue reading ‘The incredible healing powers of Rick Pitino’