John Clay's Sidelines

Normally UK’s assistant basketball coaches are off limits to the media, but after Saturday’s win over West Virginia we got to talk to both Kenny Payne and Orlando Antigua. First Payne, then Antigua.

Leslie Phillips (H-L photo/Ken Weaver)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Joker Phillips’ wife handles her roles with flair, writes Mary Meehan of the Herald-Leader.
• Randall Cobb and Kentucky football fans share the same goal, says my column.
• Cobb apologizes for his controversial tweets, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Cobb’s tweet needed to be said, sort of, says Armchair Quarterback.
• SEC media pick UK to finish second in women’s basketball, reports Jennifer Smith of the H-L.
• Student practice performed before a silent Memorial Coliseum classroom, reports Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Georgia has just as much chance to make a statement as Kentucky, reports B.W. Jones of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Chris Matthews has found his work ethic, and the ball, reports Michael Grant of the Courier-Journal.
• Kenny Payne’s NBA experience is an important asset, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Kentucky trying to cure its slow football starts, writes Brent Carney of WLEX-TV.
• Brandon Knight tells Wildcat Den that chemistry won’t be a problem this year.
• Kentucky men’s soccer team is trying to hold things together, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.

Ashley Judd at the UK-West Virginia game. (AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• A tentative menu has been released for the Judd-Calipari dinner, reports Sharon Thompson of the Herald-Leader.
• Patrick Patterson canceled his workout with the Bucks because he doesn’t believe he’ll last to the 16th pick, reports Gary Woelfel of the Milwaukee Journal-Times. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)
• My notes column, which leads with the fact that Calipari’s APR numbers at Memphis rank favorably when compared to SEC schools.
• Alabama superintendent orders review of Eric Bledsoe’s transcript, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Kenny Payne will be in Lexington next week, reports Kent Spencer of WTVQ-TV.
• Bluegrass State Basketball reports that Derrick Millar will receive a shock probation hearing.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Patterson cancels workout; Payne on the way’

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Private investigator who deals with college athletes tells Jerry Tipton of the H-L that UK should have known about questions surrounding Eric Bledsoe.
• John Calipari was ready to speak to the media, until C.M. Newton stepped in, reports Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel.
• A large cloud is settling over Eric Bledsoe’s big moment, writes Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.
• Eamonn Brennan of espn.com says he doesn’t believe that the media hates John Calipari.
• But Mike DeCourcy of Sporting News thinks that the media is are bashing Cal, and he wouldn’t blame him for going to the NBA.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Bledsoe/Calipari hasn’t died down yet’

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thinks that John Calipari is on Cleveland’s coaching list.

• Jay Mariotti chimes in on the LeBron madness in Cleveland, with connection to Calipari.

• Odds of Calipari being next Cleveland coach are 9/4, tweets CNBC’s Darren Rovell.

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader reports that Calipari is tweaking the schedule for Terrence Jones.

• Coast 2 Coast Recruiting has transcript of Calipari interview in which he says Jones re-started recruiting process with Kentucky.

• Kenny Payne on the verge of taking Kentucky assistant’s job, writes John Hunt of the Oregonian.

• Mike Freeman of CBS Sports writes that Rajon Rondo was once uncoachable. (Hat tip to Walter’s Wildcat World.)

• Kent Spencer of WTVQ on Jodie Meeks’ return to school at UK.

Continue reading ‘BBL: CNBC places Calipari to Cavs odds at 9/4′

Kenny Payne

Big Blue Links for Monday:

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports on Kenny Payne’s visit to Kentucky:

A move by Payne to Kentucky would come as no surprise given that he’s a close friend of William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley, the basketball powerbroker with longstanding ties to Calipari. It’s also worth noting that Payne has spent years recruiting McDonald’s All-American Terrence Jones, a Portland native who committed to Kentucky last week. Multiple sources told CBSSports.com that Payne’s probable presence at Kentucky was a factor, though not the determining factor, in helping Calipari lure Jones away from Washington, where he publicly committed last month before waffling in the wake of a phone call with Calipari.

Myron Medcalf of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Tubby Smith is ready to take the stand:

Jurors will hear directly from the Gophers men’s basketball coach Monday when he takes the stand to offer his view of what happened the night in 2007 when Williams claims Smith called him and offered him a $200,000-a-year assistant position on the Gophers staff.

(Hat tip to Bluegrass State Basketball.)

Mike Fields of the Herald-Leader on a former UK golfer winning the ADI Classic:

Mark Blakefield calls Maysville home, but the former University of Kentucky golfer ought to consider opening a bank account in Georgetown. On Sunday, Blakefield won the Hooters Tour’s ADI Classic at Cherry Blossom Golf Club for the second time in three years and pocketed another $30,000.

In his Sunday notebook, Jerry Tipton writes that job rumors are part of the Calipari package:

The reader saw a method to his madness, a “beauty” to this “annual rite.” Calipari keeps himself and his program in the media’s crosshairs and, more importantly, in the minds of fans and, even more importantly, in the minds of recruits. Speculation that Calipari might leave for some high-profile job elevates him and his program in the eyes of every high school five-star recruit.

Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes that the Pistons may trade up to get DeMarcus Cousins:

The thinking is that Cousins can be had if the Pistons can move into the No. 4-5 range (currently occupied by the Timberwolves and Kings). Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars has said several times that all options are open. Pistons officials get excited about Cousins because he’s a legitimate center and would give sorely needed balance to the perimeter-oriented roster.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Kenny Payne visits UK about staff opening’

Kenny Payne

Daily randoms for Monday:

One DUI arrest may not be enough to earn UK assistant basketball coach Rod Strickland a pink slip, but four is definitely red-flag territory. Rumor mill was already churning that John Calipari was seeking a way to hire Kenny Payne, the ex-Louisville star who was on Ernie Kent’s staff at Oregon. Kent was fired, so Payne is a free agent. Strickland being pulled over at 3 a.m., coupled with his past arrests for similar transgressions, may give Calipari reason to engineer a staff switch.

Here is Payne’s bio.

Only hearts of stone were not touched by Phil Mickelson’s Masters win on Sunday. The Phil smile. The Phil-Amy hug off the 18th green. Amy and the kids. Phil strikes me as something of a goofball, which is just fine. I’ve rooted for Mickelson ever since the golf/national media claimed he would never win a major. Hate that “never” talk. Annoys me almost as much as the “gets it” crowd. Think this is Mickelson’s third green jacket, if I’m not mistaken. And Phil won it his way, too, making incredible shots that if he had missed would have been widely criticized.

What struck me about Tiger was the same old Tiger in his post-round interview on Sunday. He said he only came to win. That’s all he cares about. OK, so he does care about some other things. But would have felt better about the Woods weekend if he had thanked the fans for their support, said he was happy to do so well after a long layoff, etc. It’s all-or-nothing for Tiger, which I guess makes him great. Doesn’t mean he’s a great guy.

Interesting note from New York Daily News about how Amy Mickelson walked right past Tiger to hug Anthony Kim.

Continue reading ‘Could Strickland’s DUI open door for Kenny Payne?’

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that UK quarterback Mike Hartline wants to go beyond managing the game.
• Chip blogs on the UK football leadership council.
• H-L’s Mark Story writes what a difference a month makes for UK, U of L.
• Herald-Leader reports that UK women have signed two basketball standouts from D.C. area.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger writes that Daniel Orton is 100 percent committed to the Cats.
• Vaught also gets a sense from Orton’s father that UK thinks Patrick Patterson may be leaving for the NBA.
• Kentucky Sports Radio has the same feeling about Patterson.
• The C-J’s Chris Diggs thinks Kentucky is in the driver’s seat for Xavier Henry.
• Ryan Abner of the Oklahoman reports that John Calipari has told Henry family he will apply with NCAA for waiver allowing C.J. Henry to play immediately. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
• The C-J’s Rick Bozich shoots down rumors that Kenny Payne will be on Calipari’s staff.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Orton 100% committed, Patterson maybe less so’