John Clay's Sidelines

Before Friday’s practice, UK coach John Calipari talked about his good friend, Larry Brown, who will be at today’s Kentucky-Georgia game.

Larry Brown will be a guest at UK-Georgia today. (AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Georgia at Kentucky (4 p.m., ESPN)
  • Kentucky has to get more physical with Georgia this time, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
  • Cats seek a dogged effort against Georgia, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
  • Kentucky looking for payback against the Bulldogs, writes Will Graves of the AP.
  • Cats will try to get more physical with Bulldogs, writes Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.
  • Georgia has already proven it can beat Kentucky, writes Keith Taylor of the Winchester Sun.
  • Kentucky and Georgia heading in opposite directions, writes Andy Katz of espn.com.
  • Seth Davis of cnnsi.com likes Kentucky by seven over the Dogs.
• From the Georgia point-of-view
  • Could tough times be ahead now that Georgia is back on the road? asks Tim Tucker of the AJC.
  • Mark Fox not shaken by tough defeats, writes Roger Clarkson of the Athens Banner-Herald.
  • Bulldogs not ready to panic, writes Fletcher Page of the Macon Telegraph.
• Football recruiting news
  • Lamar Dawson is in Tennessee today for his official visit, reports the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
  • Bleed Blue Kentucky on who should get the credit in recruiting.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Cats-Dogs; Larry Brown; Dawson at Tennessee’

Antonie Walker (AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

Ken Berger of CBS Sports: “To the business types and families crammed in this vessel with a former NBA All-Star, the only priorities were a palatable meal and a clean connection. The tall, athletic-looking man in his mid-30s could have passed for a neighbor or a youth basketball coach or just another traveler coping with the misery of the road. The only giveaway — the lone symbol of Antoine Walker’s long and accomplished NBA career — was worn on his head.” (Hat tip All Ky Hoops)

Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader: “Of course, freshman Jarrod Polson was nervous when Kentucky Coach John Calipari ordered him into the game at South Carolina last weekend. It was the first significant minutes for a player perceived to be a human victory cigar. Nothing more. ‘Yeah, a little bit,’ he said Wednesday. ‘I’m not going to lie. I was a little bit nervous. But at the same time, I tried to keep my composure.’”

Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger: “Forget about the winning lottery numbers or even when it might quit snowing. Those answers don’t matter. What matters is this – where is Boyle County linebacker Lamar Dawson going to play his college football? Dawson has less than a week now before his 9 a.m. press conference on Feb. 2 – the first day of the national signing period – when he’ll pick either Kentucky, Tennessee, Oregon, Southern California or Central Florida.”

Matt Dover of Roll Bama Roll: “The second uncommitted player Bama is targeting is Trevor Lacey, a 6’3″ guard from Butler High School in Huntsville who is ranked as a top-40 national player. He has offers from Alabama and Auburn in addition to Kentucky and UConn. As a top-40 national player, it’s clear he’s pretty highly regarded by the recruiting gurus, but beyond that, long-time Alabama high school basketball observers insist that Lacey is the best scoring guard to come through the state in recent memory, and that he will provide instant offense for someone as a freshman in college.” (Hat tip Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)

Jennifer Smith of the Herald-Leader: “No coach wants to lose three straight games. But Coach Matthew Mitchell said last week that those three losses to start January probably “couldn’t have come at a better time” for the No. 17 Kentucky women’s basketball team. They came in time to – he hopes – kick-start the rest of the Cats’ season.”

John Calipari on Twitter: “I’m very excited to have Coach Larry Brown visiting for a few days. He was at practice & got a good look at our team & can help us improve.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Walker’s comeback; Polson, Lacey, Dawson’

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Kryie Irving says on his Twitter account that he is coming to Midnight Madness.
• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that UK is trying to jump-start its offense.
• My column saying that college football this year has shown you can’t put your eggs in the one-game basket.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal reports that Taylor Wyndham’s hit came in at No. 1.
• Dawson also writes on the ones-versus-ones change at UK practice.
• Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register writes that Alabama is gaining attention after fast start.
• Don Kausler of the Birmingham News writes on Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Kyrie Irving tweets that he’s coming to Madness’