John Clay’s Sidelines

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Here’s the post-game index on Kentucky’s 117-52 win over Clarion:

• Post-game video interview with John Wall after his 27-point performance.

• Audio of John Calipari post-game press conference.

• Herald-Leader photo slide show from the game.

• Jerry Tipton’s game story from the victory.

• Video post-game interview with Patrick Patterson.

• Video post-game interview with Perry Stevenson.

• Video post-game interview with Ramon Harris.

UK’s Perry Stevenson talks to the media after scoring eight points in a healthy 19 minutes in team’s 117-52 rip of Clarion at Rupp. Stevenson played only the last couple of minutes against Campbellsville on Monday. Perry shows some of the old Perry humor when he says late in this clip that DeMarcous Cousins is like a more mobile Shaq.

Here’s holdover Perry Stevenson, talking about the team, expectations and things during today’s UK Basketball Media Day. Other than Patrick Patterson, some of the returnees didn’t draw the same crowds as the newer players. But they all gave off a much more positive vibe about how things are going at the Craft Center.

Post-game audio from Kentucky after its 65-63 win at Creighton in the NIT:

• UK coach Billy Gillispie and players Jodie Meeks and Perry Stevenson talk about the comeback win over the Blue Jays.

• In the UK locker room, Patrick Patterson talks about the effort behind the victory.

Audio from the post-game after Kentucky’s 61-51 win at Alabama:

• UK coach Billy Gillispie talks about Ramon Harris feinting fainting and being taken to hospital during halftime, and his team’s win over the Tide.

• Jodie Meeks talks about what he saw happen with Harris, and his 27-point performance.

• Perry Stevenson talks about the Cats overcoming turnovers, foul trouble and the Harris situation to get the win.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• According to Columbus Ledger-Inquirer, UK’s Billy Gillispie has told top football recruit he can play basketball at Kentucky if he signs on to play football with the Cats. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK basketball blog.)
• Meanwhile, Jason Leiser of the Palm Beach Post reports that UK Has a commitment from Florida prep running back Donald Russell. (Also on Kentucky Sports Radio.)
• On his blog, Chip Cosby also reports on Russell.
• Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports that St. X running back Deuce Finch has turned down UK in favor of Boston College.
• UK coach Billy Gillispie talks on the SEC teleconference about Saturday’s game at Alabama.
• Alabama coach Mark Gottfried talks on the same teleconference about Kentucky.
• In the Herald-Leader, Jerry Tipton writes that Perry Stevenson is leaving the praise to others.
• In the Herald-Leader, Mark Story writes that Jodie Meeks is showing the marks of a marked man.
• In the C-J, Brett Dawson writes on the beauty of Patrick Patterson’s beast.
• In the Danville Advocate-Messenger, Larry Vaught writes that Alabama’s athleticism worries Gillispie.
• In the Huntsville Times, columnist Bill Bryant writes that Ronald Steele is not to blame for his abrupt departure.
• Eric Lindsey of the Cat Scratches blog has a UK practice report.
• In the Kentucky Kernel, B.W. Jones writes that the Kentucky women are looking at LSU as a must-win.
• Also in the Kernel, Bobby Reagan has the diary of a UK walk-on, part 2.
• Adreaine Payne, a 2010 UK target, tells Chick Ludwig of the Dayton Daily News that recruiters can wait. (Hat tip to Aaron’s UK Basketball Blog.)

Photo by Mark Cornelison.

Ten notes from Kentucky’s 73-64 win over Auburn:

• Perry Stevenson recorded his first double-double since the the season-opener against VMI. Stevenson scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in that game. He had 13 and 12 tonight.

• Patrick Patterson’s 18 rebounds are a career-high.

• Darius Miller played a season-low five minutes. His previous low was seven against Florida Atlantic.

• Jodie Meeks has made 18 of 31 three-pointers in his last three games. He scored 31 points, the sixth game this year he’s topped the 30-point mark.

• UK averaged 1.025 points per possession. Auburn averaged 0.879.

• Kentucky outrebounded Auburn 42-22. That’s the largest rebound margin against an SEC foe since UK outrebounded Vanderbilt by 22 (45-23) on Jan. 12, 2008.

• Kentucky made 26 of 32 free throws for 81.3 percent. In games in which the Cats took 30-or-more free throws, that’s the best the Cats have done since making 26 of 30 for 86.7 percent in first-round NCAA Tournament win over UAB on March 17, 2006.

• Kentucky committed 22 turnovers, the seventh time this year the Cats have committed 20-or-more. UK is 4-3 in those seven games.

• Kentucky has held all four of its SEC opponents under 40 percent from the field. Vandy shot 31.6. Tennessee shot 37.9. Georgia shot 31.1. Auburn shot 38.8.

• Auburn coach Jeff Lebo: “There is no doubt that defensively Kentucky is a very good team. Their intensity in the second half certainly got us out of sync. They pressured us very hard and they have some great size in the perimeter and they ahve some great shot-blocking ability and that really hurt us.”

Post-game audio from UK’s 68-45 win over Georgia:

• Billy Gillispie talks about his team’s 23-point win in Athens. (9:01)

• Jodie Meeks talks about returning to his home state and putting up 22 points. (5:07)

• Perry Stevenson talks about winning the game’s MVP award for his 13 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. (3:31)

• Patrick Patterson talks about his 15-point effort and UK’s team effort. (5:10)

Photo by Mark Cornelison.

Three points on UK’s 84-52 win over Central Michigan last night:

• 1. At least from a statistical standpoint, UK’s defense was much-improved over last Saturday’s nipping of Florida Atlantic. The Cats allowed an average of 1.05 points per possession against the Owls. That was down to 0.78 last night. True, Central Michigan is not as talented as Florida Atlantic, it did not appear. The Owls made eight of 17 three-pointers on Saturday, where the Chips made just five of 18 last night. But after CMU started the game making seven of 16 shots, the Chips cooled considerably, making just 11 of 42 the remainder of the game.

• 2. UK’s turnover count continues to improve. The Cats were not quite as careful with the basketball as they were on Saturday. Billy Gillispie’s club committed a turnover just once every 9.09 possessions versus the Owls. The figure was once every 5.4 last night. But there were 70 possessions in the CMU game, compared to 63 against FAU as Mike Jarvis’ team milked the clock. Kentucky’s points per possession figured out to 1.20 last night, compared to 1.195 on Saturday. After shooting 53.6 percent last night, the Cats have shot better than 50 percent in each of their last three games.

• 3. Perry Stevenson played 23 miutes last night without scoring. The junior forward took just one shot, a miss. He did grab four rebounds, make three assists and blocked two shots. But it was the first time since Jan. 12, 2008, in the double-overtime win over Vandy, that the Louisiana native has failed to score. The last UK player to play more minutes without scoring was Derrick Jasper, who played all 40 minutes in UK’s NCAA loss to Marquette without scoring a point.

Photo by Pablo Alcala.

Some UK player assessments after the 93-69 win over Appalachian State:

• Jodie Meeks: Billy Gillispie called his junior guard incredible after Meeks made 14 of 21 shots, including nine of 14 three-pointers and nine of 10 free throws. Meeks scored 24 points in the first half. It was the most points by a Cat in Freedom Hall, topping Mike Pratt’s 42. It was the sixth most points by an individual Cat in UK history. Meeks admitted his defense was not the best, but he sure was hot on the offensive end. In three career games at Freedom Hall, Meeks has made 20 of 35 shots, including 15 of 28 three-pointers.

• Patrick Patterson: He tied his season high of four blocked shots, but Gillispie was not crazy about Patterson’s defensive effort. Offensively, the sophomore scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Made just six of 13 shots, first time since going 4-for-10 against Delaware State that he has been under 50 percent from the floor. Patterson did make all seven of his free throws, his best accuracy showing as a Cat on that many attempts.

• A.J. Stewart: The sophomore played a season-high 15 minutes, scoring a season-high nine points. That’s his most minutes since 21 at Alabama back on Feb. 9 of last season. The nine points are Stewart’s most since scoring 10 against Liberty on Nov. 21, 2007. Gillispie’s only complaint was that Stewart made too many “not-thinking” plays.

• Ramon Harris: Good to see the junior back on the floor, even if it was for only nine minutes after that frightening collision with Michael Porter in Lamar game. Harris’ defense was such that Gillispie cracked that Appalachian State might not have scored in the first half if not for Harris. Ramon said it wasn’t a case of being rusty, just a case of him not focusing enough when in the game.

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