John Clay's Sidelines

The day after Kentucky’s Tuesday night win over Georgia, the debate continues about whether the Cats get preferential treatment in avoiding those quick Thursday-Saturday turnarounds.

The SEC-leading Kentucky women are in action tonight at Auburn for a  7 p.m. start.

But the bigger news may come out of the college football ranks, where the lousy bowl TV ratings have caused an examination of eligibility criteria. There is apparently now a push to raise the minimum number of wins needed for bowl eligibility from six to seven. That could have a big effect on a school like Kentucky, which in recent years has made the needed six-wins a major priority.

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• SEC takes care of Kentucky, writes Kevin Scrabinsky of the Birmingham News.
• Teams may need seven wins for bowl eligibility, writes CBS Sports’ Brett McMurphy.
• Calipari pushing Cats to be special, reports Jerry Tipton of H-L.
• New uniforms bring love/hate reaction, writes Mike Miller of NBC Sports.
• Snowden making most of minutes, writes Jen Smith of Herald-Leader.

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader reports that injury and a different team this season has made for a different Terrence Jones.
• Tipton reports in his notes that Doron Lamb at point guard gives Kentucky a different look.
• Michael Grant of the Courier-Journal reports that Terrence Jones is ready for a fresh start with the beginning of SEC play.
• Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel offers three things to watch in today’s Kentucky-South Carolina game.
• Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun reports that Florida is talking to former Kentucky assistant Brent Pease for the Gators’ open offensive coordinator position.
• Mike Huguenin of Yahoo says that in the SEC, everyone is chasing Kentucky.
• Darryl Slater of the Charleston Post and Courier reports that the Kentucky game begins a brutal stretch for South Carolina basketball.
• Brad Senkiw of the Anderson Independent says this is a huge road test for the Gamecocks.
• Herald-Leader staff report says former UK sophomore Stacey Poole has chosen to transfer to Georgia Tech.
• Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports that Brandon Knight exhibited glimpses of his ability in his first start for the Detroit Pistons.

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Noel visiting Louisville for Georgetown game, reports Jeff Goodman.
• Hayes helps Kings to heart-felt win, reports Ron Agnosti of Modesto Bee.
• Knight struggles in Pistons’ opener, reports ESPN.
• Lamar ready to face second straight ranked foe, reports KFDM-TV.
• Live stream offers realistic practice view, reports Aaron Smith of Kernel.
• Top 11 Coach Cal stories from 2011, by Eric Lindsey of CoachCal.com.
• Louisville ready for tonight’s Belk Bowl, reports C.L. Brown of C-J.
• History of UK-U of L as far as rankings, from Kyle Tucker of C-J.
• Kentucky, Duke and UCLA tied for most NBA players, reports Zagsblog.
• UK women move to No. 6 in AP poll, reports H-L.
• Hayes happy to be back with Kings, writes Jason Jones of Bee.
• An in-depth look at UK’s football miracle, by Darrell Bird of Cats Pause.

(H-L photo)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• A source close to prized recruit Jarnell Stokes believes the forward from Memphis will enroll at Tennessee in January, reports Zagsblog. Kentucky is one of the six schools Stokes is reportedly considering.
• Alex Poythress continues to tear it up for his high school team, reports the Leaf Chronicle. The UK signee is averaging 30 points and 16 rebounds per game so far this season.
• On CoachCal.com, the Kentucky coach gives his five keys to building a culture of success. First, he starts with his players first motto. He says that means creating a family.
• As a follow to that, Glenn Logan of A Sea of Blue digs deeper to see if this year’s team is following those five keys to building success.
• Good news on the television front: Insight will carry Saturday’s Kentucky-Chattanooga game, says a Herald-Leader report. The game is to be carried by Comcast, which is unavailable in Lexington.
• Twany Beckham will be eligible to play in Saturday night’s game for Kentucky, reports Mary Jo Perino of WLEX-TV. The Louisville native transfer at mid-year last season from Mississippi State.
• Darnell Dodson could be in uniform for Southern Miss, reports Al Jones of the Biloxi Sun-Herald. You remember Dodson, played at Kentucky two years ago?

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Dominicans hold off ex-Cats 91-86, reports Jerry Tipton of H-L.
• H-L photo gallery from Pros vs. Dominicans at Yum Center.
• Crowd of over 15,000  see Dominican domination, writes Michael Grant of C-J.
• Crum says great seats, no practice, reports Tipton.
• Terrence Jones says he’s ready for leading role, writes Yahoo’s Jason King.
• Kentucky lands commitment from Florida lineman, reports Jody Demling of C-J.
• UK’s football recruiting has improved, reports Edward Aschoff of espn.com.
• Burden anxious to catch punts, reports Jennifer Smith of H-L.
• For Joker, all it takes is eight, writes Mark Story of H-L.
• Who is best UK quarterback of all-time? asks Armchair Quarterback.
• Winston Guy ready to make big plays, reports Hal Morris of Advocate-Messenger.
• Rusin rising quickly in Cubs system, writes Guy Ramsey of Cat Scratches.
• A Sea of Blue takes a trip to the Yum Center for Tuesday’s exhibition game.
• Brandon Knight has no regrets, reports J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today.

Tayshaun Prince and Brandon Knight talking to media this morning at the first day of UK ProCamp.

(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.

Shelvin Mack

Seth Davis pens an NBA draft scouting report for SI.com in which the media dual-threat combines the opinions of several scouts into the voice of one scout, he calls Finch.

Of interest is what “Finch” has to say about some prospects of local interest.

Here is one line from each analysis:

• On Brandon Knight: “To be honest, I think his agent is playing it right.”
• On Enes Kanter: “You love the way he plays.”
• On Shelvin Mack: “I’m a big fan.”
• On Tobias Harris: “He should have gone back to school and lost some weight.”
• On Scotty Hopson: “I just keep waiting for him. Waiting and waiting.”
• On Chandler Parsons: “I watched Florida a bunch this year, and I didn’t come away liking any of them.”
• On Trey Thompkins: “Boy, is he soft.”
• On Josh Selby: “Sheldon Mack would kick his but 10 of 10 times.”

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’

Over at the Big Lead, they have shots from this year’s NBA Draft Yearbook Photo Day.

Who knew they had such a thing?

You remember your school picture day, right? Smooth down that hair. Straightened that collar. Say cheese.

Only difference, you didn’t make a million-plus dollars the next day.

Click the link for pictures of Enes Kanter, Brandon Knight, Kyrie Irving, Jimmer Fredette and others.