John Clay's Sidelines

Big Blue Links:

• Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports writes that UK target Anthony Davis has quickly become a hot commodity.
• Adonis Thomas shines in AAU play, reports Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
• Chane Behanan has experienced good and bad in his rapid ascent, writes Chad Bishop of the Bowling Green News. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
• Brandon Marcell of the NW Arkansas News ranks Joker Phillips 10th out of 12 for his SEC Media Days performance.
• But Joel Barker of Bleacher Report ranked Phillips as giving the best performance at Hoover.
• Brandon Ashley gets an offer from UK for 2012, reports Zagsblog.
• Lawyers in case see Karen Sypher two different ways, reports Andrew Wolfson and Jayson Riley of the Courier-Journal.
• Jacob Tamme’s golf scramble raises big bucks for a good cause, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Patrick Patterson will join Eric Bledsoe at UK’s pro camp, says UK athletics.
• Kirk Hinrich looking forward to playing with John Wall, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
• NCAA coaches set bad example for players, writes Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.
• Bleed Blue Kentucky breaks down the Cats quarterbacks heading into fall drills.

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Anthony Davis could unseat Michael Gilchrist as best player in 2011 Class, writes Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports.

• Tayshaun Prince among six chosen for UK Hall of Fame, says Herald-Leader report.

• Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports that basketball coaches find ways to connect with recruits in 20-day span.

• Hoop Scoop’s latest rankings has Kentucky with commitments from three of the top 13 players.

• Tubby Smith and Minnesota are going after Bowling Green’s Chane Behanan, reports Bluegrass State Basketball.

• UK assistant basketball coach John Robic says August practices will benefit Cats, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.

• The Huffington Post thinks John Wall’s trick shot is quite impressive.

• A Sea of Blue believes John Calipari is setting UK up for years of success.

• Rob Gidel posts this video featuring UK strength coach Rock Oliver:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Anthony Davis could unseat Michael Gilchrist’

Brandon Knight at ESPY Awards.

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Greg Nord says he returned to Kentucky to be the best, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

• Brandon Knight is named Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, reports Christy Cabrera Chirinos of the Sun Sentinel.

• Alexa Steele of the Washington Post on why John Wall skipped the ESPYs, where he won Best Male College Athlete.

• Former UK chaplain, Ed Bradley, is fighting cancer, blogs Steve Moss of WKYT.

• Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes that DeMarcus Cousins is showing Kings he means business.

• Mark Story of the H-L is fixing March Madness and preparing for football.

• There’s no rest for Michael Gilchrist, blogs Eamonn Brennan of espn.com.

• Tom Leach has a video interview with Nord, who will coach special teams and tight ends.

• Cousins outplays Wesley Johnson, who was drafted ahead of him, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

• NBA.com’s Rookie Ladder has Cousins ranked No. 1, with Derek Caracter at No. 2, Wall at 3. (Hat tip to Kentucky Sports Network.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Knight, Wall, Cousins, Gilchrist all shine’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Don’t normally link to subscription stories, but espn.com’s Doug Gottlieb lists Enes Kanter as top pick for 2011 draft.

• H-L staff report on friend and family member saying they paid Eric Bledsoe’s rent in Alabama.

• Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News breaks the story on relative and friend claiming they made Bledsoe’s payments.

• Eamonn Brennan of espn.com blogs that the new Bledsoe claims are a little fishy.

• My column on coaches seeing and being seen at the Adidas Invitational in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

• Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports that many eyes are on Bowling Green’s Chane Behanan at Indy event.

• United States’ U-17 national team, led by Michael Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, rips Serbia, reports USA Basketball.

• Marcellus Barksdale is a do-everything recruit, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

• Daniel Orton says John Calipari has done nothing wrong, writes Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Could Enes Kanter be first pick in the draft?’

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thinks that John Calipari is on Cleveland’s coaching list.

• Jay Mariotti chimes in on the LeBron madness in Cleveland, with connection to Calipari.

• Odds of Calipari being next Cleveland coach are 9/4, tweets CNBC’s Darren Rovell.

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader reports that Calipari is tweaking the schedule for Terrence Jones.

• Coast 2 Coast Recruiting has transcript of Calipari interview in which he says Jones re-started recruiting process with Kentucky.

• Kenny Payne on the verge of taking Kentucky assistant’s job, writes John Hunt of the Oregonian.

• Mike Freeman of CBS Sports writes that Rajon Rondo was once uncoachable. (Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World.)

• Kent Spencer of WTVQ on Jodie Meeks’ return to school at UK.

Continue reading ‘BBL: CNBC places Calipari to Cavs odds at 9/4′

(H-L photo/Joseph Rey Au)

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• Ryan Meyer wants to know if Kentucky basketball is hated by America? (Hat tip to Danny Jett’s Inner Circle.)
• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that Kentucky basketball copycats Alabama football.
• Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes that C-USA is haunted by the ghost of John Calipari.
• Jennifer Smith of the H-L on Kentucky women’s win over Auburn.
• Bluegrass State Basketball reports that Bowling Green’s Chane Behanan has UK third on his list.
• My column on guessing when UK’s first basketball loss comes, if it comes.
• Tom Luicci of the Newark Star-Ledger on whether UK can keep the top spot in the polls.
• Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel says UK is the story of the college basketball season.
• Tom Leach has a podcast with ESPN’s Jimmy Dykes.
• Robbie Nieswanger of the Arkansas News on new UK line coach Mike Summers.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Is Kentucky basketball hated by America?’

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Herald-Leader’s Valarie Honeycutt Spears reports that UK is paying $30,000, plus monthly fees, for John Calipari to join Lexington Country Club.
• Chip Cosby of the H-L reports that Kentucky must avoid early KO against Florida.
• H-L’s Mark Story on Kentucky’s uphill battle.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Stacey Poole could be a Cat soon.
• Chris Rodgers of Palmetto Sports reports that Poole will make decision very soon.
• Seth Emerson of The State reports that South Carolina knows it trails on Poole.
• Lawrence Journal-World reports that Adreian Payne will visit Kansas on Oct. 31.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Stacey Poole could make choice today’

Matt Lentz (H-L photo by Charles Bertram)

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes on the bulked-up football Cats.
• Mark Story of the Herald-Leader writes on the archive of memorable UK football games.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal writes on UK running back Alfonso Smith.
• Dawson blogs about the John Wall highlight dunk.
• Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that recruit Rakeem Christmas doesn’t like UK’s style of play. (Hat tip Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that an Alabama linebacker still has UK on his list.
• A Sea of Blue calls the SEC a media gestapo.
• Kentucky Sports Radio has a couple of updates on recruit Chane Behanan.
• Straitpinkie takes a look at the UK quarterbacks.
• Wildcat Blue Blog writes that John Calipari and Jim Calhoun will battle on and off the court.
• Bluegrass State Basketball writes that UK is better off without Dominique Ferguson.
• Cat Scratches has a few UK football notes.