John Clay's Sidelines

Even though their team lost to the DRNT, Keith Bogans, Tayshaun Prince and Nazr Mohammed said they enjoyed Monday’s exhibition game at Rupp.

Tayshaun Prince and Brandon Knight talking to media this morning at the first day of UK ProCamp.

(AP photo)

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Conflicting prep grades calls Eric Bledsoe’s eligibility into question, reports Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News.
• Bad tackling behind problems on UK defense, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Kentucky would like to slow the rush, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Kentucky is trying to get a wrap on its tackling, reports Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches.
• Tayshaun Prince got the ovation he deserved, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• UK volleyball prepared for its conference schedule, writes Ethan Levine of the Kentucky Kernel.
• Defensive woes are overshadowing offense’s output, reports Nick Craddock of the Kernel.
• Bleed Blue Kentucky previews the Kentucky-Akron matchup.
• Eammon Brennan of espn.com blogs on John Calipari meeting the 102-year-old Kentucky fan.
• Akron’s home crowd was in disbelief when Zips turned win into loss, writes Tom Gaffney of the Akron Beacon-Journal.

Big Blue Links for Saturday:

• Kentucky not worried about a letdown against Western Kentucky, reports Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader.
• Kentucky-Western matchups, by Chip.
• Something for everyone in UK-WKU and U of L-EKU, writes Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal.
• Easy does it for Kentucky’s early football slate, writes Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal.
• Western Kentucky plans to stand up to “Big Brother,” writes Nick Baumgardner of the Bowling Green Daily News.
• Western Kentucky hopes to show UK it’s all grown up, writes Will Graves of the AP.
• What’s happening in college basketball sends a clear message, writes ESPN’s Andy Katz.
• John Calipari checks in on Marquis Teague, reports Kyle Neddenriep of the Indianapolis Star.
• Derrick Locke says he is the guy, writes Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.
• Alan Cutler of WLEX reports that Tayshaun Prince is at a loss for words over UK Hall of Fame induction.

Continue reading ‘BBL: WKU wants to prove something to “Big Brother”’

Big Blue Links for Tuesday:

• Anthony Davis could unseat Michael Gilchrist as best player in 2011 Class, writes Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports.

• Tayshaun Prince among six chosen for UK Hall of Fame, says Herald-Leader report.

• Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports that basketball coaches find ways to connect with recruits in 20-day span.

• Hoop Scoop’s latest rankings has Kentucky with commitments from three of the top 13 players.

• Tubby Smith and Minnesota are going after Bowling Green’s Chane Behanan, reports Bluegrass State Basketball.

• UK assistant basketball coach John Robic says August practices will benefit Cats, reports Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger.

• The Huffington Post thinks John Wall’s trick shot is quite impressive.

• A Sea of Blue believes John Calipari is setting UK up for years of success.

• Rob Gidel posts this video featuring UK strength coach Rock Oliver:

Continue reading ‘BBL: Anthony Davis could unseat Michael Gilchrist’

(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 Tuesday:

• Herald-Leader’s Valarie Honeycutt Spears reports that UK is paying $30,000, plus monthly fees, for John Calipari to join Lexington Country Club.
• Chip Cosby of the H-L reports that Kentucky must avoid early KO against Florida.
• H-L’s Mark Story on Kentucky’s uphill battle.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Stacey Poole could be a Cat soon.
• Chris Rodgers of Palmetto Sports reports that Poole will make decision very soon.
• Seth Emerson of The State reports that South Carolina knows it trails on Poole.
• Lawrence Journal-World reports that Adreian Payne will visit Kansas on Oct. 31.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Stacey Poole could make choice today’

Rex Chapman

Big Blue Links for Wednesday:

• Steve Austin of the Henderson Gleaner reports that Rex Chapman’s son is making noise.
• Dick Vitale says that John Calipari is being treated unfairly.
• Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Calipari will be featured speaker at Erlanger event June 22.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Mike Pratt has been amused at flak given Calipari.
• Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports on Jon Hood’s showing with Kentucky All-Stars.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Rex Chapman’s son making hoops noise’

Henry Abbot’s True Hoop blog on espn.com devoted a post to an e-mail Abbot received lauding the value of Tayshaun Prince.

An excerpt:

I think some of the most impressive aspects of his game are the things that don’t show up on SportsCenter. That game he finished with nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal, but no fouls or turnovers. He was very involved on both ends of the floor for the 39 minutes he played, and it’s tough to find a single play where he had a negative impact on the team. And that’s pretty common for him.

I think it’s pretty impressive for him to be known as such a solid defensive player and average less than one and a half fouls per game. He plays smart, he’s always talking to his teammates, and his fast break alley-oop dunks are about as flashy as he gets. I really enjoy watching him play, and I would love to see him stick with Detroit his entire career. I don’t know if there’s a GM out there that would appreciate his contributions as much as Joe D. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there that feel this way about a certain player on the team that they get to watch on a regular basis, but I will still always think that Tayshaun is one of a kind.