John Clay’s Sidelines

Hoops Links for Wednesday:

• Sports Illustrated’s Alex Wolff on how basketball shaped Barack Obama.
• In the Austin American-Statesman, Kirk Bohls reports that ex-Texas star T.J. Ford is high on incoming transfer Jai Lucas.
• At ESPN.com, Andy Katz writes that Minnesota needs to get its glass game in order.
• In the Cincinnati Enquirer, Paul Daugherty starts out his Wednesday Morning Line post with an ode to Miami coach Charlie Coles.
• On his blog, C-J columnist Rick Bozich asks if Auburn or Rutgers is worse.
• At SportingNews.com, Mike DeCourcy looks at the Big Ten.
• At SportsIllustrated.com, Seth Davis argues that college players should be allowed to pull out of the NBA draft.
• FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman feels sad for Alabama’s Ronald Steele.
• At CBS Sportsline, Gary Parrish writes on North Carolina coach Roy Williams.
• David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times writes that UCLA doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt.
• Mike Kern of the Philadelphia Daily News previews tonight’s Villanova-Connecticut clash.
• In The State, Paul Strelow previews tonight’s Clemson-North Carolina matchup.

Surfing the blogs for this and that:

• At Kentucky Sports Radio, Matt Jones has a Jai Lucas update, that states that yes, there is mutual interest between the Cats and the tiny guard.

• Our own Jerry Tipton is having a hard time finding a spot for an SEC team on his AP college basketball top 25 ballot.

• ESPN.com’s SEC blogger Chris Low reviews the Kentucky football season.

• On his blog in The State, Seth Emerson ranks the SEC’s football coaches. (Spoiler alert: Rich  Brooks is somewhere between seventh and ninth.)

• A Sea of Blue continues its series on the 1966 UK Rupp’s Runts team.

• How to celebrate your dad’s birthday, Big Blue Nation style.

• In the Fan House, Matt Snyder predicts the Indiana-Kentucky rivalry will be great again. Have patience.

• CBS Sportline’s Gary Parrish believes ex-U of L assistant and now ex-Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus will land a better job back in college.

• Mr. SEC has the video of the heckling of Auburn AD Jay Jacobs.

Continue reading ‘Net surfing: Lucas, Brooks, IU and birthday cake’

Photo by Gary Fountain.

So the rabid rowdies over at Kentucky Sports Radio are having a spirited debate about whether UK should pursue former recruit and now Florida transfer Jai Lucas, a debate sparked by our H-L’s mention this morning that Lucas has included Kentucky on his transfer list.

(First of all, I thought Matt Jones, who ably runs KSR when not hosting his radio show, or filling in on the Padgett/Ragone morning show, or figuring his billable hours, had boycotted the H-L, but that’s another issue. We kid Matt because we care. And as a Duke law school grad, we know he can take it.)

As for the Lucas issue, what’s the debate?

Of course, the Cats should jump at Jai.

I know, he’s barely 5-foot-9, or 5-foot-8, or 5-foot-7. He could ride the favorite in next year’s Derby, for heaven’s sakes. (Stay away from Dutrow.) In other words, he’s no taller than me, and that’s not good.

And yes, yes, yes, if he is getting squeezed out of the point guard spot at Florida, wouldn’t Kentucky fans want him to be squeezed out of the point guard spot here, as well. Kentucky’s job isn’t to pick up Billy Donovan’s discards. Kentucky’s job is to beat Florida. One way to beat Florida is to get better players than Florida.

Still, I think Lucas is a good player. He is chase-worthy. He knows how to play the game. He has lineage. He’s a smart kid, savvy, even if his lack of height makes him a liability on defense. Best news: Lucas can run the point. Kentucky could use someone who can run the point. You can always use someone who can run the point. And he turned out to be a better scorer than I expected last season, too.

I’m not saying Lucas will be a big star.

I am saying that if I’m Billy G., I jump all over Jai.

What about you?

Jai Lucas and Patrick Patterson after last year's game in Gainesville. Photo by David Perry.

In a bit of a surprise, Florida guard Jai Lucas announced Wednesday that he was leaving the Gators basketball program and would transfer elsewhere after the fall semester.

Remember, Lucas picked Florida over Kentucky and Oklahoma State. He is good friends with Patrick Patterson, UK’s sophomore center. In fact, at one point, Lucas claimed the two had a pact to attend the same school. Or at least Lucas wanted the two to have a pact. So could Lucas end up in Lexington.

It’s possible. Billy Gillispie loves players, and more players. And point guard is a potential problem for the current team. And the Cats do have a commitment from G.J. Vilarino, the 6-foot point guard from McKinney, Texas, who is rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals. Vilarino is not in the service’s top 150 prospects for 2009.

Lucas started 36 games for Florida last year, averaging 30.1 minutes per game. He averaged 8.5 points, and shot 43.5 from behind the three-point line. But at 5-foot-9, barely, he’s more of a point guard, and Billy Donovan played Lucas more as an off-guard. Nick Calathes, the Gators’ 6-6 sophomore star, is Donovan’s point guard. Plus, Florida earned a commitment from five-star prospect Kenny Boynton, a point guard rated as the seventh prospect in the country by Rivals.

So Lucas wants to go where he can play the point.

“Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do, but it will be best for me in the long run,” Lucas told KRIV-TV in Houston.

He also said he has “nothing but time,” will stay in school at Florida through the fall, then make a decision.

SEC links for Thursday:

Joe Schiefelbein reports in The Advocate that LSU coach Les Miles denies ever calling Nick Saban “the devil.”

Clarion-Ledger columnist Rick Cleveland writes about Mississippi State fans who want Sylvester Croom gone.

Tennessean columnist Joe Biddle writes that UNC coach Butch Davis is the best fit for Tennessee.

Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun writes about Jai Lucas decision to transfer from Florida.

Ian Rapoport writes in the Birmingham News that Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson’s goal is to beat LSU and Auburn.

Mike Herndon writes in the Mobile Press-Register about Vanderbilt wide receiver George Smith, who after surviving a life-threatening illness, has reached out to a Mobile family.

In The State, Joseph Person writes about South Carolina’s Marvin Sapp, who is making the most of his senior season.

Bob Holt writes in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that John Pelphrey is putting a lot on his Arkansas guards.

Knoxville News-Sentinel John Adams writes that her love of practice and her young team keep Pat Summitt spry.

Robbie Andreu writes in the Gainesville Sun that the Florida secondary has made a nice recovery.

Mark Bradley writes in the AJC that Georgia Tech’s 7-2 season has been better than Georgia’s 7-2 season.