John Clay's Sidelines

(H-L photo/David Perry)

Big Blue Links for Sunday:

• Ex-UK golfer J.B. Holmes shoots a 60 at the Greenbrier Classic, reports Jerry Potter of USA Today.
• Academic status of several Cats still uncertain, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• My column on Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledsoe returning to the Bluegrass.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal on the return of former players to help out at Calipari Camp.
• Joker Phillips will stick to the plan, writes Seth Emerson for McClatchy Newspapers.
• Randy Beard of the Evansville Courier and Press says Joker has some serious ambitions.
• Andrew Wolfson of the C-J profiles Karen Sypher’s defense attorney, Jim Earhart.
• Scout.com’s Evan Daniels talks to Tony Wroten:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Holmes’ big day, Joker’s ambitions and Cal Camp’

Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledsoe were the guests of honor at the final day of the Calipari Pro Camp at Memorial Coliseum.

Here is video of Patterson talking to media:

Big Blue Links:

• Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports writes that UK target Anthony Davis has quickly become a hot commodity.
• Adonis Thomas shines in AAU play, reports Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
• Chane Behanan has experienced good and bad in his rapid ascent, writes Chad Bishop of the Bowling Green News. (Hat tip to Spam’s Wildcat Page.)
• Brandon Marcell of the NW Arkansas News ranks Joker Phillips 10th out of 12 for his SEC Media Days performance.
• But Joel Barker of Bleacher Report ranked Phillips as giving the best performance at Hoover.
• Brandon Ashley gets an offer from UK for 2012, reports Zagsblog.
• Lawyers in case see Karen Sypher two different ways, reports Andrew Wolfson and Jayson Riley of the Courier-Journal.
• Jacob Tamme’s golf scramble raises big bucks for a good cause, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Patrick Patterson will join Eric Bledsoe at UK’s pro camp, says UK athletics.
• Kirk Hinrich looking forward to playing with John Wall, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
• NCAA coaches set bad example for players, writes Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.
• Bleed Blue Kentucky breaks down the Cats quarterbacks heading into fall drills.

Patrick Patterson’s final diary installment about his summer league experience is now up on SportsIllustrated.com.

An excerpt:

I had a lot of free time during my days there, and since it was my first time being over 21 in Vegas I got to really enjoy the city. One night I was at one of the clubs at The Palms and DJ Jazzy Jeff from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was there. I recognized him right away because he was dressed just like his character in the show. It was hilarious.

We ended up going 3-2 in Summer League play, which is OK, but we really wanted to go undefeated. Fans probably think we don’t care about winning or losing in Summer League games, but our coaching staff really emphasized to us the importance of winning, even in what seems like a few meaningless games.

(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 Saturday:

• My column on the UK success and NBA failures of Melvin Turpin.

• Family is baffled by Turpin suicide, reports Shawntaye Hopkins and Josh Kegley of the Herald-Leader.

• The bigs are buying into John Calipari’s pitch, reports Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

• Players at LeBron’s camp say it’s crazy to criticize King James, reports Tipton.

• Eric Bledsoe has signed with the Clippers, reports AP.

• Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated says no NBA team was willing to hire Calipari in hopes of getting LeBron.

• Rapper J. Cole disses Calipari, reports Nation of Blue.

• DeMarcus Cousins is showing the Kings his leadership skills, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.

• Prospect Amir Williams talks to Jerry Tipton at LeBron camp:

• Chicago prospect Anthony Davis also talks to Jerry:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Turpin memories, recruiting, rappers and video’

Southern Cal AD Mike Garrett has issued apologies to SEC schools.

SEC links for Thursday:

• Tennessee turned down a chance to play Southern Cal in football, reports Austin Ward of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

• Southern Cal apologizes for false recruiting accusations against Alabama, reports Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News.

• Southern Cal apologizes for tampering accusations against Florida, reports Edward Aschoff of the Gainesville Sun.

• Ole Miss dismisses wide out Patrick Patterson from the team, reports David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger.

• Parrish Alford of the NE Mississippi Daily Journal has more on the Patterson dismissal at Ole Miss.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Southern Cal issues apologies to SEC schools’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Laurel Wilson of the Herald-Leader reports on death of Mark Krebs’ mother.

• UK hype can’t dull what was unforgettable, writes Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.

• Daniel Orton uses his twitter account to apologize to Kentucky fans.

• Earl Cox of the Voice-Tribune writes that Adolph Rupp got to pick and choose, just like Calipari.

• Joker Phillips hopes to continue Kentucky’s surge, writes Ben Cook for the Randolph Leader.

• No truth to the Tony Wroten commitment rumors, reports Bluegrass State Basketball.

• Brett Dawson of the C-J reports on the death of Mark Krebs’ mother.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Orton explains himself; Rupp and Calipari alike’

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Kentucky fans learning to live with John Calipari’s Catch-22, writes John Pennington of Mr. SEC.

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader catches up with Joker Phillips at his youth camp in Louisville.

• John Wall pays “younger brother” Quincy Miller a visit, reports Jerry Biggs of the San Antonio News-Express. (Hat tip to Tom Leach.)

• Patrick Patterson writes about his draft night for SportsIllustrated.com.

• Joker Phillips will take a break, just not sure when, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.

• Rick Pitino is trying to fight back against Calipari, blogs Eamonn Brennan of espn.com.

Continue reading ‘BBL: John Wall pays Quincy Miller a visit’

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• Old guard wasn’t buying John Calipari’s remarks about draft being UK’s best day ever, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.

• Should athletics and academics be separated? asks UK professor Bill Maloney.

• Kentucky football can’t afford to take a step backwards, writes Mark Story of the Herald-Leader.

• UK football trying to hold its commitments, writes Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.

• Quincy Miller has a big night in the Virgin Islands, reports Zagsblog.

• DeMarcus Cousins is eager to prove himself, writes Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.

• Like it or not, Kentucky is becoming an NBA farm system, writes Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal.

• Kentucky football ranked 65th in the nation, by the Orlando Sentinel.

• John Calipari wasn’t talking to you, writes Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.

• Calipari talks about next year’s roster:

Continue reading ‘BBL: NBA draft aftermath means football heating up’