John Clay's Sidelines

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’

Here’s chart with Rajon Rondo’s stats in the NBA Finals, which Rondo’s Boston Celtics lost 4-3 to the Los Angeles Lakers:

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Minnesota’s Royce White could be Kentucky-bound, writes Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
• Sons of Dirk Minniefield and Rex Chapman are succeeding on the court, writes Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader.
• Rankings rankle some recruits at NBA-sponsored Elite Camp, writes Tipton.
• Some Day 1 notes from the NBA Elite Camp, courtesy of the Courier-Journal’s Jody Demling.
• Michael Gilchrist is trying to get Tony Wroten to Kentucky, writes Adam Gorney of Yahoo Sports. (Hat tip Bluegrass State Basketball.)
• Quincy Miller is keeping his options open, reports Zagsblog.
• Daniel Orton could go as high as No. 10 to the Pacers, writes Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
• Randall Cobb is the 14th best football player in the SEC, according to Chris Low of espn.com.
• Video of Darin Minniefield and Zeke Chapman:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Minnesota thinks Royce White is UK-bound’

(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Jacksonville State from the OVC is added to UK’s 2011 football schedule, says a Herald-Leader report.

• More on Jacksonville State’s visit to Commonwealth Stadium, from Al Muskewitz of the Anniston Star.

• John Wall to work out for the Wizards this morning, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

• Can Rajon Rondo return strong for Game 7? asks Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.

• A relaxed Rondo is the key to Boston’s chances, writes Ron Borges of the Boston Herald.

• Rondo upset about Ron Artest’s elbow, writes Chris Forsberg of espn.com.

• Rondo overstates the stitch count, reports RealGM.com.

• Rondo can’t afford to be a missing person, writes Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe.

• Kenny Payne wants to take the next step at Kentucky, reports Rod Walker of the Clarion-Ledger.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Rajon Rondo gets ready for Game 7′

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Doug Smith of the Toronto Sun reports on a good deed done by ex-UK center Jamal Magloire.
• Chip Cosby and Beth Musgrave of the H-L report that UK is addressing grad assistant case.
• Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe on Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen meshing for success.
• Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post writes that Rondo has seized his time to shine.
• Mitch Lawerence of the New York Daily News writes that the Lakers have to slow down Rondo.
• Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun writes that Rondo has been putting on a clinic.
• Eamonn Brennan of espn.com writes that schools are ultimately responsible for eligibility.

(Hat tip to Cat Scratches.)

Continue reading ‘BBL: Jamal Magloire does a good deed’

(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Monday:

• UK football grad assistant Matt McCutchan is arrested on intoxication charges, reports Beth Musgrave of the Herald-Leader.
• This time Rajon Rondo’s triple-double meant something, writes Frank Dell’Apa of the Boston Globe.
• Video of the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan and Chris Gasper talking about Rondo and Game 2 of NBA Finals.
• John Calipari is all about helping kids, writes Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
• Kentucky is better off in athletics than it was a year ago, writes John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Tom Thibodeau not John Calipari will coach the Chicago Bulls, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Rondo’s triple-double means something’

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal catches up with Eric Bledsoe in Indianapolis: “Draft and workout questions were the only ones Bledsoe would answer Wednesday after a late-morning workout for the Indiana Pacers, who have the No.10 pick in the first round, two more picks in the second round and a massive need at point guard. Bledsoe declined to answer any questions about the New York Times story last Friday that said the NCAA was re-examining his eligibility for the freshman season he completed at UK.”

Hat tip to Kentucky Sports Network for this Bledsoe video:

Eamonn Brennan of espn.com on whether UK should have known better: “Third, this means Kentucky has to be really, really, really careful when it clears its athletes. People are going to pay more attention to Kentucky’s recruiting classes with John Calipari at the helm. You could argue that this is fair, given the success of Calipari’s recruiting efforts at Kentucky and the Rose-related infractions that followed his departure from Memphis. You could also argue that it’s unfair, given that plenty of programs have the same problems, and, hey, why aren’t people writing about them as much?”

Eric Crawford of the C-J reports that John Calipari compares his job to politics: “‘One thing, I will say this: Coaching at Kentucky is like being in politics,’ Calipari said. ‘You’ve got your core group that absolutely loves you, and the others are trying to unseat you. That’s just how it is when you’re at Kentucky. … We’d rather not have (controversy), but I can’t control if someone chooses to write something. I don’t have any control over that.’”

Garry Parrish of CBS Sports says no school has stood up to Calipari: “Instead, Kentucky chose to not take a stand, which isn’t a surprise given that no athletics director has ever been able to properly stand up to Calipari and tell him something was off-limits the way multiple athletics directors told their coaches last year they could not enroll Lance Stephenson. Kentucky left Bledsoe’s status up to the NCAA and only the NCAA without recognizing that its new coach’s old school had just been burned by that same approach.”

Jody Callahan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal on Calipari giving $1 million to a Memphis charity: “Bennett’s organization, founded in 1987, was instrumental in helping former Tiger Antonio Burks turn his life around after a discouraging childhood. Calipari grew close to Bennett and the group after recruiting Burks to the Tigers in 2000. The group was founded to work with youths of the Foote and Cleaborn Homes communities. Bennett’s oft-told story is that he began his organization with just a van and a basketball.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Should Kentucky have known better?’

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Wildcat Blue Blog on UK’s interest in a pair of 7-footers from India.

• The Yahoo Sports story on brothers Sim and Tanveer Bhullar, 7-footers who are now playing in Pennsylvania.

• John Calipari could be in the picture with Cleveland, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader on slight improvement for UK basketball team’s GPA over spring semester.

• Boston Herald says Rajon Rondo and Celtics want to reverse the Sports Illustrated cover curse.

• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal also writes on the UK grade point average for basketball, which was well below the average for the school’s other sports.

• WLEX-TV on John Calipari’s mother battling cancer.

• New Jersey may prefer Derrick Favors over DeMarcus Cousins, reports Mark J. Miller of Yahoo Sports. (Hat tip Bluegrass State Basketball.)

• Nation of Blue on President Obama praising John Wall when asked about the Wizards.

• D.C. Sports Bog also talks the president and John Wall.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Kentucky interested in twin 7-footers from India’

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’