John Clay's Sidelines

(h/t All Ky Hoops)

Enes Kanter takes a walk with ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla.

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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’

(AP photo)

Despite some projection boards which have former Kentucky student assistant Enes Kanter rated as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says the Cavs are set to take Duke point guard Kyrie Irving.

Still think the Cavs will take Kanter with the No. 4 pick, if Cleveland can’t trad up to get Arizona forward Derrick Williams.

The key question is where will UK guard Brandon Knight end up? Word is some clubs do not like the way Knight has been handling the workout process, and it could end up dropping him a few spots. But today is a big day for Brandon. He has a private workout with the Utah Jazz.

As for Windhorst, he is a former Cleveland Plain Dealer who was hired by ESPN to concentrate on LeBron James, whom he has known since high school. Windhorst still has connections to the Cavs’ front office. The guess here is that he’s right about Cleveland targeting Irving.

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

- Michael Wilbon says UK should tell the NCAA to “go to hell” over complaints about recognizing Calipari’s 500th victory.

- Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal writes that NCAA should attack woes, not just talk.

- Central Hardin defensive lineman Patrick Graffree accepted scholarship offer right away, reports Chuck Jones of the Elizabethtown News-Enterprise.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Wilbon says UK should tell NCAA to “go to hell”’

Peter Gammons

Kentucky picked up its ninth football commitment over the weekend, Patrick Graffree, a defensive lineman from Central Hardin. Graffree was off the radar until a terrific showing at UK’s camp over the weekend, prompting the offer.

Meanwhile, there’s more debate concerning Kentucky’s squabble with the NCAA over John Calipari’s 500th victory, or un-500th. Even the great Peter Gammons, a North Carolina grad, let his feelings be known on twitter. (Props to Beisner and KSR for finding it.)

Click on the continue line for Tuesday’s Big Blue Links.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Even Peter Gammons has opinion on UK, NCAA’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Indianapolis cornerback Jonathan Reed commits to Kentucky, reports Nation of Blue.
• There have been questions about Draft Express’ objectivity in judging Enes Kanter, but with that in mind here is the sites’ pros and cons on the Turkish center’s draft prospects.
• As ESPNU reveals its list of the top 150 football prospects for 2012, a review shows Kentucky did not sign a player on last year’s list.
• Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal writes that the Kentucky All-Stars don’t mind that the deck is stacked against it when facing Marquis Teague and the Indiana stars.

Continue reading ‘BBL: UK picks up football commit; Kanter’s pros and cons’

Video from the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

Here is the Enes Kanter interview from the NBA pre-draft combine yesterday in Chicago. Kanter said he came to Chicago because “I’m not scared of anybody.” He also talks about why he decided not to go back to Turkey and stay at Kentucky, after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA. He said John Calipari helped him with his all-around game after being made into a post-up player in Turkey. He also says he learned English in six or seven months, and “it wasn’t that hard.” He said he’ll worry about a lockout if it comes, and does not want to return to Turkey. Asked if there are hard feelings about what happened there, Kanter said, “A little bit.”

Click on continue line to see the video.

Continue reading ‘Video: Enes Kanter says “I’m not afraid of anybody”’

(H-L photo/Charles Bertram)

Kentucky tennis moved into the NCAA quarterfinals by beating Florida out in Stanford, while the UK baseball team was losing to Florida in Gainesville.

Chicago was getting the most eyeballs, however. That’s where NBA draft prospects Brandon Knight, DeAndre Liggins and Enes Kanter are participating in the league’s pre-draft combine.

Kanter apparently wowed the scouts with his workout. For some reason, Draft Express sent out a tweet earlier in the week quoting an unnamed GM as comparing Kanter to Joe Klein. Think Enes issued a rebuttal yesterday.

Click on the continue line to get today’s links.

Continue reading ‘BBL: UK tennis advances; Kanter does well in Chicago’