John Clay’s Sidelines

A ten-spot from the Blue-White scrimmage:

• 1. This team is athletic. I know that’s obvious. But when was the last time we could truly say that about a Kentucky basketball team. Not that the Cats lacked athletes in the past few years. It’s just that they haven’t had this many athletes on one team since, when, 1996?

• 2. John Wall is ridiculous. But then you already knew that. As for the eligibility issue, John Calipari tried to play coy in the post-scrimmage press conference, answering Alan Cutler’s first question about Wall’s status as if it was another question entirely. But Wall was made available to the media afterward, where he didn’t have much to say about what was going on, or how he felt about what was going on. But at least we got the opportunity to ask.

• 3. Darnell Dodson will fill a key role on this team. The sophomore juco transfer was slighted on the publicity, what with Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton, etc., being in the newcomer class. But Dodson’s outside shot is a needed asset on this team. He made four-of-11 threes on the night, and that after looking a bit nervous in the early going

• 4. Calipari claims that Wall and Bledsoe play better together than they do apart, and that may in fact be true. I’m not going to doubt the coach. So whatever happened to all those who said, before Bledsoe signed, that the two could not co-exist in the same backcourt. I’m with Cal. There’s no reason they can’t do better than that in the same backcourt.

• 5. The best move of the night was when Calipari pulled Joe B. Hall off the front row behind the bench and had him sit on the bench with him. That got a standing ovation from the Rupp crowd of 14,060, and deservedly so. I know, Joe has said all the right things about this Wildcat Coal Lodge controversy. And I have no doubt he understands the difficulties of raising funds for facility improvements, etc. But still, it’s the only thing on campus named in his honor, a former basketball coach who won a national championship and went to three Final Fours. And you’re going to tell me there’s anyone out there who loves the program more than Joe? Mitch Barnhart said the school will find another way to honor Joe. It better.

Continue reading ‘A 10-spot from the UK Blue-White scrimmage’

Above is a Twitpic of John Calipari, Joe B. Hall and friends at Kentucky Speedway.

Earlier this week, Big Blue Uncensored posted some great pictures of UK coach John Calipari, and others, taken at the Calipari Father and Son camp.

I know that plenty of people around the state have already had their pictures taken with UK’s new basketball coach since he’s been in Lexington.

Send me your pics and I’ll post them on the blog.

E-mail them to me at jclay@herald-leader.com.

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• In the Herald-Leader, Jerry Tipton reports that UK baseball fans showed some love basketball’s Jodie Meeks.
• CBS 42 in Birmingham reports that UK target Eric Bledsoe will visit Memphis. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
• Shandel Richardson of the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel blogs that Miami made a good impression on John Wall.
• Mark Maloney of the H-L reports on Louisville baseball’s 11-2 rout of the Cats.
• Joe B. Hall tells Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger that John Calipari totally understands UK basketball.
• CBS Sportsline draft expert Pete Prisco projects Trevard Lindley as a first-round pick in 2010. (Hat tip to Tom Leach.)
• Jon Hale of the Kentucky Kernel writes that Meeks is still undecided on his draft plans.
• Hale also writes that UK baseball still holds its own destiny after loss.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Meeks gets some love; Cards whip Cats in baseball’

Joe B. Hall

Update: Jerry Tipton talks to Joe B. Hall about the phone call. Calipari has also called Eddie Sutton.

My friend Rick Bozich over at the C-J reports that Calipari has already started reaching out to UK connections, including former coach Joe B. Hall.

Said Hall:

“That was awfully nice of him,” said Hall, who coached UK to the 1978 NCAA title.

“Coach Cal is a hot item. He’s a great coach as well as a superior recruiter. His track record speaks for itself. I think Kentucky was looking to do something dramatic in the face of all that has gone down.”