John Clay's Sidelines

Andre Drummond dunks. (AP photo)

About last night in college basketball:

Connecticut 67, Harvard 53 – Harvard makes the top 25 then falls at Connecticut. Jeremy Lamb led the Huskies with 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Andre Drummond added 12. UConn held the Crimson to just 36 percent shooting. Connecticut is 8-1, its lone loss coming against Central Florida, a game in which Jim Calhoun’s club blew a 17-point lead.

West Virginia 85, Kansas State 80 (ot) – Bob Huggins beat his old team in Wichita as the Mountaineers rallied to win in double overtime. Kevin Jones scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the winners, while Darryl Bryant pitched in 24 points. Starting next season, WVU will be playing Kansas State on a yearly basis.

Oklahoma 73, Oral Roberts 59 – The Sooners are off to a 6-1 start for new coach Lon Kruger. Steven Pledger scored 17 to lead OU. Oklahoma’s lone loss was to Saint Louis.

Continue reading ‘About last night: Harvard gets rude Top 25 greeting’

Update: Mike DeCourcy thinks Drummond is making a bad choice.

Andre Drummond said today that he will go to prep school and stay in the Class of 2012.

He also told ESPN that Kentucky was one of his possible destinations.

Excerpt:

Andre Drummond, the No. 2 overall player in the 2012 class, has been quiet about his recruitment, which has led to countless speculation. On Wednesday, he listed in-state Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisville, Georgetown and West Virginia as his possible landing spots.

“I have a good relationship with all of those coaching staffs,” said Drummond. “They all have a chance to compete for a national championship, and they prepare their players well for the next level.”

The 6-foot-11 Drummond has been so quiet about his recruitment that it was difficult to know where or if the Cats fit into his mix. The fact that he named but five schools appears to indicate that Connecticut native has given it a lot more thought than he has revealed to this point.

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Unhappy ticket-holder doesn’t want Purdue to be “another Ohio State or Kentucky”
• Bowling Green offensive lineman Joe Manley will decide soon between UK and U of L
• Archie Goodwin tweets that he will not be the first Kentucky commitment for 2012
• Ricardo Ledo stands out at the Kevin Durant Skills Academy
• Devonta Pollard is out for a few weeks thanks to a stress fracture in his ankle
• UK Alumni Association plans a Wildcat Plaza with seven-foot Wildcat
• Intense recruit-watch starts for college basketball recruiting
• John Wall plays in a Baltimore summer league game and scores 41
• A Sea of Blue asks who would be on your Kentucky basketball Mount Rushmore?
• Revisiting Kentucky’s “players first” basketball program
• A blogger offers personal wishes to Tony Delk in his new job
• How will Andre Drummond’s status affect next year’s draft? (if there is one)

Tuesday notes and Big Blue Links:

THE CALIPARI CONTRACT EXTENSION – More money, more pressure. Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal writes: “Money will buy you headlines, such as the ones that the University of Kentucky stirred Monday by agreeing on an eight-year, $36.5 million contract with John Calipari. You’ll fly on more private planes, sign more recruits with five stars attached to their resumes and play in a Ritz-Carlton practice facility. You’ll have advantage after advantage after advantage. Then March will arrive – and Morehead State will outplay the University of Louisville and its $3 million-plus coach, VCU will thump Kansas and its $3 million-plus coach and Butler will outlast Florida and its $3 million-plus coach. It happens – and it’s going to keep happening.”

- If Calipari ever leaves for NBA, it won’t be about the money.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL’S MOST OVERPAID COACHES – Jason King of Yahoo Sports gives his list of the sport’s luckiest coaches in terms of dollar signs. Ex-UK guard and current Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford makes the list. Jason writes: “The former Kentucky guard is making $1.8 million per year in Stillwater, where he recently concluded his third season with a second-round loss in the NIT. Oklahoma State made the NCAA tournament the previous two seasons under Ford but failed to advance past the first weekend. From 2005-08 Ford was the coach at UMass, where he failed to lead one of his teams to the Big Dance. So tell me: Does two NCAA tournament trips in six seasons justify $1.8 million? I don’t think so either.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: As Calipari gets raise, Ford among most overpaid’

Remember last year when on NBA Draft night, John Calipari called it the greatest night in the history of the program? I don’t expect him to make the same misstep — possibly his only one in two years at UK — tonight when the league goes about choosing players, two of which have prominent Kentucky ties.

Meanwhile, keep your fingers crossed for the other two, DeAndre Liggins and Josh Harrellson.

Check out the Herald-Leader NBA Draft preview slide show.

Don’t forget tonight’s draft liveblog.

Plus, this morning brings an interesting feature on Andre Drummond, the Class of 2012 stud who may or may not have Kentucky on his list, depending on which (real) recruiting site or source you believe. Drummond told the C-J’s Jody Demling he is “not interested in anybody right now. . . . I’m not going to sit around and play games with the coaches. I’m not going to tell them I’m interested when I’m not. It’s just what I want to do. I don’t want to make everything hectic; I want it to be smooth. It’s funny people throw out schools and I’ve never said anything. But people have to say something, so they throw out random schools.”

Click the continue line for today’s Big Blue Links.

Continue reading ‘BBL: NBA Draft night, plus Andre Drummond likes nobody’

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Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Kentucky target Devonta Pollard is fighting through adversity, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Chris Walker likes the Cats and other NCAA camp notes, reports Tipton.
• Rodney Purvis’ narrowed list doesn’t include UK, reports the H-L.
• NBA camp notes, day two, from Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal.
• Cats Illustrated has a photo gallery from the NBA camp in Virginia.
• Contract signed for upgrades at Commonwealth Stadium, reports Matt May of the Cats Pause.
• Doron Lamb still thinks about the UConn loss every day, says Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Enes Kanter’s workout with the Wizards went well, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Devonta Pollard video; more NBA camp notes’

T.C. Drake

I’m back from furlough, by the way. So in UK news, former tight end T.C. Drake is still recovering from a serious motorcyle accident in Bardstown. Top basketball prospect Andre Drummond denies that he will reclassify for the Class of 2011. In surprising news, former UK guard Derrick Jasper will join former UK coach Billy Gillispie’s staff at Texas Tech. This is the same Jasper who transferred from UK when Gillispie was coach. And John Calipari lashes back at his critics with a late night tweet.

Click on the continue line to get today’s Big Blue Links.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Drummond to stay in 2012; Jasper to join Gillispie’

Florida's Jeffery Demps. (AP photo/Danny Johnson)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

Commonwealth Stadium ranks 10th out of the 12 SEC football stadiums, writes Ron Morris of The State. (He has Georgia way too low, at No. 6)

Urban Meyer says Florida is focused only on Kentucky, reports David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

But Kentucky is last chance for Gators to tune up before Bama, writes Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.

Kentucky expects Florida to play bomb’s away, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

Florida offers a chance for a program-defining win, says my Thursday column.

Fast-improving Kentucky has turned the corner, writes Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun.

Dick Vitale lists Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones among his Diaper Dandies. (Hat tip to All Kentucky Hoops.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Gators claim they are serious about Kentucky’