John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo)

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Adonis Thomas to cut his list down to five schools, reports Jason Smith of the Memphis Edge. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)
• Bryan Floyd of SB Nation Seattle on UK target Kyle Wiltjer reportedly making his announcement tonight.
• DeAndre Daniels will enroll at the IMG Academy, reports Zagsblog.
• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes that the Kentucky football team is rallying behind Mike Hartline.
• Judge throws the book at Ed Davender, sentencing ex-UK basketball star to eight years in jail, reports Jennifer Hewlett of the Herald-Leader.
• Eloy Vargas has been cleared to play basketball at UK, says H-L staff report.
• Joe Mansour is getting a kick out of Kentucky, writes Ray Glier for the AJC.
• Ex-Boyle County star Jordan Aumiller has moved to No. 1 at tight end, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Future Cat football player Daylen Hall has a huge game for St. Xavier, writes Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal.
• Signing players is only half the battle, writes Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Adonis Thomas to cut list; Kyle Wiltjer to announce’

Here’s the latest from Michael Gilchrist, who has produced a bit of a late-night drama:

Update: Rush The Court also noticed Gilchrist’s tweet.

On his Twitter site tonight, UK commitment Michael Gilchrist tweeted that he thinks he’s going to make three official visits.

Gilchrist, who at one time was rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2011, committed to UK back in the spring.

Was he just fooling around?

Or is he just bored?

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

More on the Elliott Porter saga from Glenn Guilbeau of the Opelousas Daily World: “Porter and his family say they did not learn of Miles wishes until just last week – two days before LSU’s players reported and after Porter had enrolled in summer courses and participated in the offseason conditioning program. Miles said Tuesday at Media Day he told Porter two months ago.” (Hat tip to Bleed Blue Kentucky.)

Quincy Miller tells High School Hoops he’s still interested in Kentucky: “HSH: Indeed. Let’s talk recruiting. What’s your list looking like? QM: Kentucky, Louisville, Oklahoma, Duke, Texas, Tennessee, Wake Forest and Baylor.” (Hat tip to Bluegrass State Basketball.)

UK women take big blow with possible loss of Amber Smith, reports Jennifer Smith of the H-L: “Senior point guard Amber Smith is out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury in a pickup game, the school announced Wednesday. Smith injured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on campus in late July. She is expected to have surgery this week.”

Michael Gilchrist is inspired his late father, writes Matthew Stanmyre of the Newark Star-Ledger: “But once a week, when Michael Gilchrist needs comfort, he watches ‘The Lion King.’ The DVD is already in the console, always ready. All he has to do is press play. He first watched the movie with his father when he was a baby, and they would watch it together nearly every day until he was almost 3.” (Hat tip to Tom Leach.)

Gary Laney of The Baton Rouge Advocate says that John Calipari takes advantage of a rule he doesn’t like: “Can’t say I blame him. Calipari has four million reasons (as in a $4 million salary) to do everything he can to win. When you have that salary, you’re at a place that expects you to win big. If that means capitalizing on a rule that might leave a bad taste in your mouth so you can get it done, so be it. Same thing applies to football and oversigning.”

Continue reading ‘BBL: Elliott Porter saga continues; Quincy Miller and UK’

Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog talks to Michael Gilchrist’s mom, who says that her son will not play against Austin Rivers on Monday night on ESPNU.

Excerpt:

“Absolutely not,” his mother, Cindy Richardson, said Sunday.

Gilchrist played his last AAU event this summer at the Peach Jam.

“Given the fact that he won’t have a summer next year, we thought it would be good if he just vacations for five weeks,” Richardson said.

Update: Gilchrist won’t play against Rivers, after all.

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Mark Story of the Herald-Leader on the games Kentucky fans will never forget.
• Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb are plotting Act II, writes Chip Cosby of the H-L.
• Michael Gilchrist and Austin Rivers go head-to-head on ESPNU Monday, reports Buddy Collins of the Orlando Sentinel.
• Kentucky coach John Calipari is checking out Memphis product Adonis Thomas, reports Jason Hickman of Maxpreps.com.
• John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Randall Cobb doesn’t favor being slotted.
• Edgewood quarterback Zeke Pike picks up offer from Florida, reports Bleed Blue Kentucky.
• Big Red Today shoots down rumor that Billy Gillispie will be an assistant at Nebraska. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)
• Randall Cobb says incoming freshman will eclipse his exploits, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Ryan Clark of the Kentucky Enquirer is not ready to believe Kentucky football is better than Tennessee.

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Tennessee to be looking up at Kentucky in football is a rare sight, writes John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Kentucky picked to finish fourth in the SEC East, ahead of the Vols, reports Chip Cosby of the H-L from Hoover.
• John Calipari and Orlando Antigua are keeping tabs on Quincy Miller, reports Jason Hickman of Maxpreps.com.
• Anthony Davis tells Zagsblog that UK, Syracuse and Ohio State are all about even on his list.
• Michael Gilchrist will take a six-week break from basketball, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)
• David Turner is UK’s new assistant head football coach, reports Mary Jo Perino of WLEX-TV.
• Seattle’s Tony Wroten loves Kentucky basketball fans, writes Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal.
• Bluegrass State Basketball lends a hand to flood victims in Eastern Kentucky.
• The hits just keep on coming for Tennessee, reports Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Rick Bozich of the C-J says don’t laugh about Kentucky being picked ahead of the Vols.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Tennessee not happy being picked behind UK’

Brandon Knight at ESPY Awards.

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Greg Nord says he returned to Kentucky to be the best, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

• Brandon Knight is named Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, reports Christy Cabrera Chirinos of the Sun Sentinel.

• Alexa Steele of the Washington Post on why John Wall skipped the ESPYs, where he won Best Male College Athlete.

• Former UK chaplain, Ed Bradley, is fighting cancer, blogs Steve Moss of WKYT.

• Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes that DeMarcus Cousins is showing Kings he means business.

• Mark Story of the H-L is fixing March Madness and preparing for football.

• There’s no rest for Michael Gilchrist, blogs Eamonn Brennan of espn.com.

• Tom Leach has a video interview with Nord, who will coach special teams and tight ends.

• Cousins outplays Wesley Johnson, who was drafted ahead of him, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

• NBA.com’s Rookie Ladder has Cousins ranked No. 1, with Derek Caracter at No. 2, Wall at 3. (Hat tip to Kentucky Sports Network.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Knight, Wall, Cousins, Gilchrist all shine’

(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Fresh from Germany, Michael Gilchrist scores 26 in Peach Jam game, reports Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News.

• Gilchrist wants to bring Anthony Davis to Kentucky, reports Zagsblog from the Peach Jam.

• Tony Wroten tweets: “I Have NOT committed anywhere yet. But UK is in the lead right now. Then comes UW,Uconn,Nova.”

• Kentucky football makes Greg Nord hire official, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

• Joker Phillips has big plans for Kentucky football, writes Olin Buchanan of Rivals.com.

• Houston Rockets reach deal with Patrick Patterson, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

• Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN’s True Hoop likes DeMarcus Cousins’ finesse.

• Cousins turned in his second double-double, reports Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

• Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that John Wall is headed to Los Angeles for the ESPYs.

• Wall gets a double-double in his second summer league game, reports Lee in the WP.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Michael Gilchrist scores 26 in Peach Jam debut’

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• Kentucky’s recruits help U.S. take FIBA title: “University of Kentucky commitment Michael Gilchrist scored 18 points, and the United States won FIBA’s Under-17 championship with a 111-80 victory over Poland on Sunday. Fellow UK commitment Marquis Teague chipped in eight points and eight assists for the U.S. (8-0), which won its games by an average of 34.8 points.”

• Chris Tomasson of AOL FanHouse on Rajon Rondo being added to USA roster: “USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in an interview Sunday with FanHouse that Boston star Rajon Rondo has committed to Team USA, hoping to be part of the team that will play later this summer in the World Championships. Colangelo said he spoke to Rondo on Saturday, and he confirmed his desire to participate. Rondo previously had begged off this summer due a family commitment.“

• Matt Middleton of the Augusta Chronicle on Peach Jam: “The event will be held at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, the USC Aiken Student Activities Center and Aiken Tech. The 17-and-under Southern Kings, for example, feature several members of the Richmond Academy team that advanced to the state semifinals, as well as former Evans big man Jaleel Roberts, now of Greensboro Day School in North Carolina. The Peach Jam, without a local presence, still holds the national talent edge, with the three top players in the country set to attend: Kentucky recruits Michael Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, and point guard Austin Rivers, son of Doc Rivers.”

• AP report on John Wall’s summer league debut: “The 19-year-old Wall had a team-high 24 points and eight assists for the Washington Wizards during their 84-79 victory over the Golden State Warriors in an NBA Summer League game on Sunday. But the guard also led all players with eight turnovers, including three in the first quarter before a standing-room crowd at Cox Pavilion.”

• Michael Lee of Washington Post says Wall overcame a shaky start: “John Wall’s summer league debut was mostly predictable and somewhat surprising, with the 19-year-old rookie making hurried mistakes in the early going before settling into a commanding floor general before the buzzer sounded. He made mistakes – some were eye-covering, others were laughable – but his speed, athleticism and instincts will help him adjust to this league pretty quickly until he eventually figures out what he’s doing.”

• Video highlights of Wall’s game:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague shine overseas’