John Clay's Sidelines

I’ll be the first to admit my column this morning about NBA stars working out in Lexington made a few jokes at Louisville’s expense.

Most of the jokes had to do with the fact that the River City has openly lusted after an NBA franchise, either for its flashy new Yum Center! or for that old glorious barn known as Freedom Hall.

But e-mailer Mark did not take kindly to a Louisville joke on another subject.

He worte:

The cracked bridge is actual property of the state of Indiana. Please if you are going to take jabs at the biggest tax revenue city in the state try to get your facts straight. I think they teach you that in Journalism 101.

Continue reading ‘Louisville doesn’t like jokes about (Indiana’s) bridge’

(AP photo)

You knew that Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun would not take well to Rick Pitino’s comment that Connecticut’s attempt to join the ACC was “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Calhoun delivered:

“The coach who said that has been talking to every conference in America.”

Calhoun later said the remark was just a joke.

But he did say that Connecticut was attempting to do the best thing for the school, which he was sure is Louisville’s intent, as well. He said that Pittsburgh and Syracuse’s decision to move to the ACC was done in their best interests, as well.

Billy Minardi

The upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11 has to be an emotional time for Rick Pitino, who lost his best friend and brother-in-law, Billy Minardi, to the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Rick has used his blog to talk about his memories.

An excerpt:

It’s now ten years later. I remember vividly the last weekend we spent with Billy Minardi. It was a Labor Day getaway to Pebble Beach Resort. Four man golfing teams would get together from coast-to-coast to compete and share stories. Our team was from Old Memorial out of Tampa, Fla. Tom Shannon, Hugh Connerty, Billy Minardi and myself. Three-day tournament, playing Spyglass, Spanish Bay, and Pebble Beach. Ten years ago, but it seemed like yesterday when on a beautiful day we sat outside the eighteenth green sharing a bottle of Far Niente Chardonnay. It was a spectacular four days.

We watched as pictures would be snapped as every foursome left the magnificent 18th. We traveled back home the next day. That was the last moment Billy, Stephanie, Joanne, and I shared together.

Continue reading ‘On 9/11 anniversary, Pitino remembers brother-in-law’

On the occasion of Louisville approving a contract extension for Rick Pitino, I wrote that I wouldn’t count the Cardinals coach out.

This brought some pushback, of course. UK fandom has never nor will it ever forgive Pitino for taking over the Cardinals program.

And let’s not even get into the sordid personal stuff. For the sake of this discussion, I couldn’t care less.

Going by the black-and-white numbers, however, it is indisputable that the Louisville Rick has not duplicated the success of the Kentucky Rick. Not by a longshot.

Click the continue line to find two charts as illustration.

Continue reading ‘No doubt: Louisville Rick Pitino is no Kentucky Rick Pitino’

(AP photo)

C-J sports columnist Eric Crawford reports that U of L has approved the terms of Rick Pitino’s contract extension.

Excerpt:

Pitino’s base salary will remain at $3 million annually through the 2102-13 season, then rise to $3.9 million for the final four seasons of the contract. That $3.9 million amount matches what he will be making the next three seasons with his base salary and share of a retention bonus combined.

That retention bonus goes away after 2012-13 season, and Jurich said the new base amount is just designed to keep Pitino’s salary where it is.

Despite all the jokes, and notwithstanding the first-round NCAA loss to Morehead, Pitino did one of his better coaching jobs last season. He took a Louisville team picked to finish near the bottom of the Big East and ended up tied for third in arguably the nation’s best basketball conference. He did it without Jared Swopshire, who missed the season with injury. He also was without Rakeem Buckles for much of the season.

Louisville also beat both national champ UConn and national runner-up Butler last season.

Yes, John Calipari has seized the upper-hand as far as the in-state schools, but Pitino has done a better job recruiting at U of L than he had done previously. Plus, we know he can coach. I’m not about to write the guy off.

South Carolina's new football uniforms (AP photo)

SEC links for Friday:

• NCAA visits Baton Rouge to have a chat with LSU about Willie Lyles, reports Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times. “LSU defensive line coach Brick Haley was with Lyles at Clear Springs High in League City, Texas, in the spring of 2010, according to a Foxsports.com report. Linebacker Trevon Randle of Clear Springs High signed with LSU last February,” writes Guilbeau.
• Gene Chizik pushed the wrong button at the wrong time with the NCAA, says Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News. The Auburn coach asked the NCAA why it had not announced it was finished with its investigation into the school’s football program. The NCAA said it wasn’t finished.
• Joe Medley of the Anniston Star writes that Chizik’s comments strain the relationship between Auburn and the NCAA. Medley says it was “off-field gaffe to rival any Les Miles on-field fumble.”
• Arkansas had the most selections on this year’s coaches’ pre-season All-SEC teams, says Mr. SEC. There were 14 Razorbacks chosen. Kentucky was next-to-last with three. Tennessee was last with just two picks.

Continue reading ‘SEC: NCAA pays Baton Rouge a visit to talk about Lyles’

(AP photo)

Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports ranking of coaches in the 50-60 age bracket lists Roy Williams as No. 1, Rick Pitino as No. 2, Tom Izzo as No. 3, John Calipari as No. 4 and Bob Huggins as No. 5.

Only Goodman was not ranking the coaches for how they are doing currently, but for what they’ve accomplished over their careers.

The key excerpt:

It got me thinking of who are the most accomplished coaches in the country in each age group. Some age groups (the 50 to 60 range) were easier than others — and Gary Williams certainly would have made the list if he hadn’t called it a career this past offseason.

Continue reading ‘Goodman’s ranking of Pitino over Calipari is correct’

This is what coaches do when they speak to boosters — they rib the rival. And here is Rick Pitino’s “second-rate league” quip about the SEC when speaking at a Cardinal Caravan stop in Shelbyville.

Korey McCray. (UCLA photo)

News flash: UCLA hires Korey McCray as an assistant basketball coach. McCray was previously head of the Atlanta Celtics AAU basketball program, known for turning out terrific talent.

News flash: Louisville hires Wyking Jones as an assistant basketball coach. Before his job as assistant at New Mexico, Jones was with Elite Youth Basketball, where he managed all 45 travel teams and Nike-sponsored tournaments.

Notice a trend here.

Once, coaches tried to get around AAU basketball coaches when recruiting hot prospects. Now, they simply hire the coaches, or managers, or directors.

Continue reading ‘Newest trend in recruiting: Hire the AAU coach’

This is from last night when Louisville coach Rick Pitino was in the TNT studios talking about the NCAA Tournament. Rick said Notre Dame would not lose to Florida State. Sir Charles said the Irish would lose.

(Hat tip to Nation of Blue.)

Continue reading ‘Rick Pitino and Charles Barkley debate the Big East’