John Clay's Sidelines

(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Kanter and Knight go in first round while Faried, Harrellson and Liggins drafted in second round, reports Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.
• Mark Story of H-L looks at how UK’s first-round hires might do in their new jobs.
• Shelvin Mack’s day ends with emotion, and chance to play with John Wall, writes Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports.
• Kanter gives Utah Jazz an inside force, writes Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
• Jazz comes up a big winner by taking Kanter, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
• Scholarly Brandon Knight brings more than a high IQ to Detroit, writes Kevin Bull of the Detroit Free Press.
• Pistons will find a lot to like about Brandon Knight, writes Mike Rosenberg of the Free Press.
• Orlando believes Liggins can “guard opposing point guards, shooting guards and small forwards,” reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Knicks buy Hornets’ lone pick to get Josh Harrellson, reports AP.
• Draft caps impossible turnarounds for Liggins and Harrellson, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.

Remember last year when on NBA Draft night, John Calipari called it the greatest night in the history of the program? I don’t expect him to make the same misstep — possibly his only one in two years at UK — tonight when the league goes about choosing players, two of which have prominent Kentucky ties.

Meanwhile, keep your fingers crossed for the other two, DeAndre Liggins and Josh Harrellson.

Check out the Herald-Leader NBA Draft preview slide show.

Don’t forget tonight’s draft liveblog.

Plus, this morning brings an interesting feature on Andre Drummond, the Class of 2012 stud who may or may not have Kentucky on his list, depending on which (real) recruiting site or source you believe. Drummond told the C-J’s Jody Demling he is “not interested in anybody right now. . . . I’m not going to sit around and play games with the coaches. I’m not going to tell them I’m interested when I’m not. It’s just what I want to do. I don’t want to make everything hectic; I want it to be smooth. It’s funny people throw out schools and I’ve never said anything. But people have to say something, so they throw out random schools.”

Click the continue line for today’s Big Blue Links.

Continue reading ‘BBL: NBA Draft night, plus Andre Drummond likes nobody’

Kentucky’s Josh Harrellson talks to the media after his workout with the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

Samford athletic director Martin Newton (Southern Conference photo)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• As new athletic director at Samford, Martin Newton has negotiated a deal with Kentucky for basketball games over the next three seasons, with the final game to be played in Birmingham, reports Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.
• Florida’s Billy Donovan beats out Kentucky’s John Calipari for best basketball coach in SEC, according to a media poll Knoxville radio talk show host Jimmy Hyams conducted at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin last week.
• Joker Phillips sees the perception of Kentucky football changing, reports ESPN’s Edward Aschoff.
• My H-L column says Kentucky fans have been no doubt amused by the mess on Rocky Top, which brought Mike Hamilton’s resignation on Tuesday.

Continue reading ‘BBL: UK to play Samford in basketball next 3 seasons’

Jared Lorenzen

This morning’s Big Blue Links is highlighted by the biggest quarterback in Kentucky football history. We’re talking the Round Mound of Touchdown, the Hefty Lefty himself, who, judging by the pictures in the Cincinnati Enquirer, has continued his love affair with food. Lorenzen is playing an indoor team called the Northern Kentucky River Monsters in something called the Ultimate Indoor Football League. The team drew nearly 3,000 for its opener, and has averaged about 1,600 since then. Others are starting to take notice, including those are the people at the Scott Van Pelt Show. Jared seems right down Van Pelt’s alley.

Ryan Harrow, Rodney Purvis, Torian Graham, Brandon Knight and Josh Harrellson are among those in this morning’s Big Blue Links. Click on the continue line to check them out.

Continue reading ‘BBL: The Hefty Lefty is back in the spotlight’

(H-L photo/Pablo Alcala)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• ESPN’s Andy Katz thinks DeAndre Liggins will withdraw from draft.
• DraftExpress hears Kentucky’s combine was a big disappointment.
• Those comments rubbed some the wrong way, reports All Ky Hoops.
• Joseph Uchebo hasn’t heard from Kentucky, reports Nation of Blue.
• Derrick Locke taken in the UFL draft, reports the Herald-Leader.
• But Locke insists he will be playing on Sundays, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, Anthony Hickey, signs with LSU, reports the H-L.
• Andre Woodson turns his attention to coaching, writes Matt May of the Cats Pause.
• Commonwealth Stadium will get its new scoreboards, reports WLEX.
• Kentucky men’s tennis to play host to NCAA regional, reports the H-L.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Katz thinks Liggins will return; Combine disappoints?’

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• UK target Archie Goodwin has game, writes Jerry Meyer of Rivals.
• UAB provost chosen as sole finalist for UK president’s job, reports the Herald-Leader.
• Faculty member says academics are an afterthought at UK, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• UK athletics is under assault from the UK faculty, writes Glenn Logan of A Sea of Blue.
• Calipari taking instructional camp on the road, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Inaugural UK/NBA combine starts today, reports CoachCal.com.
• Liggins and Harrellson will work out for the New Jersey Nets, reports The Hoops Report. (Hat tip Nation of Blue)
• Bleed Blue Kentucky has even more news on UK football offers.
• John Wall attended the White House correspondents dinner, reports Half Smokes. (Hat tip Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog)
• Why does no one understand UK basketball? asks Wildcat Blue Nation.

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• John Calipari visited Trevor Lacey on Sunday after the star guard visited Alabama’s A-Day on Saturday, reports Nation of Blue.
• Josh Selby’s departure puts Kansas in thick of Trevor Lacey sweepstakes, reports Real GM.
• Joseph Uchebo would listen to Kentucky, reports Garrett Tucker of Nation of Blue.
• Larry Warford could be one of nation’s best lineman, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• New Kentucky basketball arena a tough sell for Mitch Barnhart, writes Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.
• Ole Miss baseball sweeps Kentucky to take lead in SEC West, reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.
• Rick Pitino met with Tennessee recruit Kevin Ware on Sunday, reports the AJC.
• ESPN’s announcers were impressed by Kentucky recruits at Jordan Brand, says All Ky Hoops.
• Calipari thinks UK freshmen should put name in draft, but not sure they should keep them there, reports the AP.
• Josh Harrellson thinks NCAA was hard on Enes Kanter because he went to Kentucky, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Calipari visits Trevor Lacey; Uchebo would listen’

According to this tweet from John Calipari:

Continue reading ‘Josh Harrellson gets his twitter account back’

After UK’s 56-55 loss to Connecticut, Josh Harrellson talked about his final game as a Wildcat.