John Clay’s Sidelines

(Hat tip to Big Blue Lowdown.)

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Percy Allen of the Seattle Times is not sure what to make of this report by Jake Rosenberg of the Albany Herald-Democrat claims that top recruit Terrence Jones is expected to pick Kentucky. (Hat tip to Nation of Blue.)
• Jones tells Nick Daschel of the Oregonian that he will still consider Oregon.
• Jerry Tipton of the H-L on which will mean more, UK’s center or UK’s point?
• Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal goes with Wall.
• In the SEC this year, the West has not been best, writes Tipton.
• Former UK player Ed Davender pleads guilty in basketball ticket scam.
• Forbes.com says coaches make too much money, including John Calipari.
• No surprise that Jason King of Yahoo Sports names John Wall the Player of the Year.
• Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago talks to Doug Gottlieb, who says Tony Barbee could be the new coach at DePaul, with Rod Strickland as an assistant. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)
• Tom Leach has podcasts with the AP’s Jim O’Connell and CBS’ Greg Anthony.

Continue reading ‘BBL: What’s up with Terrence Jones?’

(H-L photo/Charles Bertram)

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader on the bond shared by Kentucky’s new football coaches: “Charlie Strong was happy when he heard the news that Joker Phillips would take over for Rich Brooks as head football coach at the University of Kentucky, and Phillips had the same sentiment when Tom Jurich tabbed Strong to rebuild the program at the University of Louisville. And both Phillips and Strong were glad to see young up-and-comer Willie Taggart get his shot as the head coach at Western Kentucky University in November.”

A Sea of Blue on Calipari taking a break from basketball to visit someone in need: “Calipari did them one better. Unbeknownst to Kevin, Calipari, touched by the story related to him by Ed Schilling, took a plane to Indianapolis and surprised the youngster by personally visiting him in the hospital. As Cal walked through the door, tears began streaming down the cheeks of the extremely ill young man.”

Mark Story of the H-L on Mark Coury, ex-Wildcat now at Cornell: “When he picked Cornell, Coury became the first men’s hoops player ever to leave the basketball factory here in Lexington for the hallowed academic halls of the Ivy League. Yet that’s not the most unlikely part of the story.”

The Big Lead catches DeMarcus Cousins watching at Erin Andrews. (Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World.)

Wildcat Blue Blog looks at what UK does for SEC attendance: “Some SEC schools struggle to fill their seats year in and year out, except when the Kentucky Wildcats come to town. Then, the entire community seems to want to have a ticket and cram into the arena like sardines. UK has played 6 road games in the SEC so far this season and I looked at the average home attendance in conference play of those 6 teams and then compared it to the attendance for the Kentucky game.”

Inner Circle wants to forgive Billy Gillispie: “Many people say he only has himself to blame. He was the cause of his own demise. Nobody told him to drink and possibly neglect his players. Nobody told him to treat the media with disregard. Nobody told him to think narrow-mindedly offensively and defensively. Nobody told him to recruit the players he was recruiting.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Calipari takes a break to visit someone in need’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that Joker Phillips’ first signee class includes pleasant surprises.
• My column says smooth coaching change paid dividends in recruiting.
• Jerry Tipton of H-L writes that coaches are pushing Patrick Patterson to be more aggressive.
• Denis House of the London Sentinel-Echo doesn’t think DeMarcus Cousins is a good representative of UK.
• Rick Bozich of the C-J says if he is an NBA GM, he’s drafting DeMarcus Cousins.
• But Metz Camfield of the Kentucky Kernel talks to an analyst who says Cousins won’t overtake John Wall.
• Dan Clutter of the Mansfield Journal on two football recruits who stayed true to the Blue.
• Ryan Clark of the Kentucky Enqurier on Joker’s magic trick.
• Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader previews tonight’s UK-Ole Miss women’s game.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Is DeMarcus Cousins a good UK representative?’

Asked at his press conference today if he wants Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia to be a UK pipeline, a la LaGrange in Georgia, Joker Phillips said absolutely.

Todd Holcomb of MaxPreps.com sheds a little light on why. Stephenson had 29 players sign with colleges today. That’s 29 of 31 seniors. Unbelievable.

Two of those signees were running back Raymond Sanders and athlete Ronnie Shields, who both inked with Kentucky.

Here’s an excerpt:

Stephenson coach Ron Gartrell says he’d rather every player sign a college scholarship than win every football game. He did pretty well at both goals this academic year.

Gartrell’s team went 12-1, losing a 22-21 heartbreaker in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals to Colquitt County. That’s not an unusual finish for a school averaging 10 victories this decade.

But on Wednesday, 29 of 31 seniors signed college scholarships. That’s twice as many signees ever for Stephenson, a DeKalb County school already known as a factory of college football talent.

Kentucky head coach Joker Phillips and recruiting coordinator Chuck Smith talk about the school’s football signees.

This is the video of the livestream from Joker Phillips press conference discussing UK’s recruiting class. Video not hte best, but you can hear all of Joker’s comments.

(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?’

(H-L photo/David Perry)

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

Linda Blackford of the Herald-Leader on Kentucky coaching history: “That’s why Keith and other advocates are celebrating the increase to 15 football coaches of color this year. With Wednesday’s hiring of Joker Phillips, Kentucky becomes the first state in the country to have three black head football coaches. That means ALL of the state’s Bowl Subdivision football coaches are minorities.”

(H-L photo/David Perry)

In the H-L, Jerry Tipton’s game story on Kentucky’s win over Georgia: “Properly awakened, Cousins took charge. He scored seven of his 16 points in the final three minutes to help Kentucky outlast supposed pushover Georgia 76-68 in a Southeastern Conference opener Saturday. At 16-0, UK established its best start to a season since Rupp’s Runts opened with 23 straight victories in 1965-66.”

My column saying this was an SEC eye-opener for UK: “Talking is one thing. Playing is another. Kentucky started slow. For the second straight game, it made just two of 14 three-pointers. It was outrebounded 36-33. It was nip-and-tuck all game until Cousins scored seven of his team’s last 11 points as the hosts finally put a gritty Georgia away.”

(Note: I committed a turnover Saturday, as well. Wrote that Georgia lost by 28 to Pepperdine. It was Missouri, not Pepperdine. As a Georgia friend e-mailed me this morning, Pepperdine is horrible. Missouri is good.)

Jody Demling of the C-J on the Kentucky win: “Cousins and Wall combined to score UK’s final 11 points over the last 2:44, pushing UK over the edge in a game that had more ties (12) and lead changes (six) than any other Cats game this season. Cousins hit 5of6 free throws and had a basket in the run, while Wall hit two free throws and sealed it with a one-handed dunk in the closing seconds that UK super fan and actress Ashley Judd said ‘made my heart go pitter-patter.’”

Ashley Judd says she checks out the Cats Pause, so maybe you should read Matt May’s game story: “When John Calipari was asked what he liked most about his Kentucky basketball team on the eve of Southeastern Conference play he wasted no time lauding his young team’s will to win. That innate ability was on full display once again just 24 hours later.”

Herald-Leader photo slide show from the UK win.

Brian Rickerd of the State-Journal says UK still has work to do: “If the Kentucky Wildcats don’t come out of the fog they played through Saturday in a 76-68 win over the Georgia Bulldogs, UK won’t even make it through next week undefeated, let alone through the end of this season. And if the Wildcats don’t make significant improvements in their perimeter shooting and, to a lesser extent, their hustle on the boards and on defense, they won’t be playing any games this season in Indianapolis.”

Mike Summers

Chuck Jones of the News-Enterprise on UK’s will to win: “Pick the winner from the statistics given below. Team A shoots 47.2 percent from the field, including going 6-of-14 from behind the 3-point line. It makes 80 percent of its free throws. It also pulls down 36 rebounds. Team B connects on 43.3 percent of its attempts and goes a dreadful 2-of-14 from 3-point range. It manages to hit 66.7 percent of its foul shots. Team B also grabs just 33 boards.”

H-L report on hiring of Mike Summer as UK line coach: “‘Mike and I have had a great seven-year run together and I appreciate all his hard work and dedication through that time,’” Petrino said. ‘He’s got an opportunity to go home and be with his family, which is a priority I can understand. I want to thank him and wish Mike and his family the best.’”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Cats’ win, Tomlin’s visit, Summers hire’

(Photo John Clay)

Recruiting. That’s what it’s about. Joker Phillips knows it. He’s the best recruiter on the staff. Now that he’s the Kentucky head coach, he wants his smart, aggressive recruiters on his staff. That’s why he has already begun the business of shaking up the staff, letting offensive line coach Jimmy Heggins and defensive line coach Rick Petri go. The guess is Phillips wants aggressive recruiters in those spots.

Here’s another reason why: Charlie Strong is making waves at Louisville. Like Phillips, Strong is a top-notch recruiter. The former Louisville defensive coordinator has already shown that in the Louisville area, now he’s making some scores in areas closer to his former Gainesville home.

Chip Towers of the AJC and InsidetheVille.com (subscription) reported early this morning that B.J. Bulter, a defensive end from Kissimee, Florida, has switched his commitment from Georgia to Louisville. Butler’s high school coach said that Georgia had dropped Butler, but that may have been after he told Georgia coachs he would drop his commitment if offered by Louisville. Butler is a four-star recruit, according to Scout.com.

Chris Hays writes in the Orlando Sentinel that, “Strong, on the other hand, knows exactly what he’s doing, and we will likely see several players committing to the Cardinals soon after a huge recruiting weekend beginning Friday. Butler is just one of more than 15 players scheduled to visit Louisville, including six players from Florida. Two of them, RB Corbin Lamb and WR Michaelee Harris have already committed to the Cards. The other four, Butler included, are players who have committed elsewhere, but are now very much open.”

Word is some of the UK players are not happy about the position coaching changes. But it’s Joker’s team now. His staff. Better that he does what he believes needs to be done now than not make those changes because of loyalty to staff members hired by the former coach.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

Mark Pope

Jerry Tipton of the H-L on ex-UK player Mark Pope, who gave up medical school to coach at Georgia: “Then he gave up a career in medicine last summer to become Georgia’s basketball operations coordinator. He’ll be a coach-in-training on the Bulldogs’ bench Saturday in Rupp Arena, where the closest he’ll come to doctoring will be keeping first-year coach Mark Fox supplied with water and cough drops. Pope acknowledges that his career change is a head scratcher.”

Jimmy Heggins

Rick Petri

Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Joker Phillips has let two assistants go: “One day after signing a contract that will pay him at least $1.7 million annually for five years, Phillips let offensive line coach Jimmy Heggins and defensive line coach Rick Petri know they would not be on his staff.”

H-L report on UK women’s overtime loss at Georgia: “Jasmine James knew she was going to be called on to win the game. Whatever nerves the freshman had evaporated by the time she took the three-pointer with 17 seconds left in overtime that went through and gave No. 8 Georgia a school-record 15-0 start with a 61-60 win over Kentucky on Thursday night.”

Kentucky Sports Network talks to C.J. Leslie, who will be playing at Lexington Catholic this weekend.

Mike Fields has the details on Leslie appearance at Catholic and Quincy Miller’s appearance at LCA.

Mark Story of the H-L gives out his Orange Globes: “Kanye West has shown up, ripped the microphone from the hands of Joan and Melissa Rivers, and demanded that every one of my mid-season Kentucky college basketball awards go to John Wall. OK, he might have a point.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Joker Phillips reportedly lets two assistants go’