The Big Blue Caravan named “GAM3Day Ready Tour” made it’s way to Louisville today in Shawnee Park. Coach Joker Phillips, Randall Cobb and Qua Huzzie talk about the upcoming season and more….
Thanks to Mr. SEC for sharing the list. We’ve touched on the commits prior, but it’s definitely time for an update from around the league. We all know who is number one, but it looks as if our arch nemesis Florida, South Carolina Tennessee has the second best incoming class:
Alabama
**** Jason Carter, PF, Texas
**** Trevor Releford, PG, Kansas
*** Kendall Durant, PG, Texas
*** Charles Hankerson, SG, Florida
Carl Engstrom, C, Sweden
Arkansas
**** Rickey Scott, SG, Texas
*** Mardracus Wade, SG, Virginia
*** Marvell Waithe, SF, Florida
Auburn
**** Luke Cothron, PF, North Carolina
**** Shawn Kemp, C, Virginia
*** Josh Langford, SF, Alabama
*** Allen Payne, SF, Ohio
Adrian Forbes, PF, Texas
Florida
***** Patric Young, C, Florida
**** Casey Prather, SF, Tennessee
*** Cody Larson, PF, South Dakota
*** Will Yeguete, PF, Florida
Georgia
*** Cady Lalanne, PF, Florida
*** Marcus Thornton, PF, Georgia
*** Donte Williams, PF, Georgia
Sherrard Brantley, PG, Florida
Kentucky
***** Terrence Jones, PF, Oregon
***** Enes Kanter, PF, California
***** Brandon Knight, PG, Florida
***** Doron Lamb, SG, Virginia
**** Stacey Poole, SF, Florida
**** Eloy Vargas, C, Florida
LSU
**** Matt Derenbecker, SF, Louisiana
*** Jalen Courtney, PF, Mississippi
*** KC Ross-Miller, PG, Texas
*** Andre Stringer, PG, Mississippi
*** Ralston Turner, SF, Alabama
Mississippi State
*** Jalen Steele, SG, Tennessee
Brian Bryant, PG, Florida
Michael Carr, SG, Mississippi
(Renardo Sidney will be eligible in 2010, too.)
Ole Miss
**** Demarco Cox, C, Mississippi
**** Dundrecous Nelson, PG, Mississippi
*** Isaiah Massey, PF, Florida
*** Steadman Short, PF, Florida
*** Donald Williams, SG, California
South Carolina
**** Bruce Ellington, PG, South Carolina
**** Damontre Harris, PF, North Carolina
*** Carlton Geathers, C, South Carolina
*** Brian Richardson, SG, North Carolina
*** RJ Slawson, PF, South Carolina
*** Eric Smith, PG, North Carolina
Tennessee
***** Tobias Harris, PF, New York
**** Trae Golden, SG, Georgia
**** Jordan McRae, SG, Georgia
Vanderbilt
**** Rod Odom, SF, Massachusetts
*** Kyle Fuller, PG, California
*** Josh Henderson, C, Virginia
*** James Siakam, PF, Illinois
Everyone continues to talk about it around that water cooler today at work, it’s been heavily criticized by many in the media, and most people I have talked to seem a little taken back by it. I think it’s about time for me to throw my two-cents in on the Calipari remarks. Who is really in the driver’s seat?
Is the Big Blue Nation turning on our savior already? After all his hard work in just one season is the scrutiny BBN can bring with vengeance starting to surface?
Not likely, but it seems as if the enemies are trying to wordsmith Cal’s remarks into more meaning than we should take from them. It was a big day for our program, a history making one at that. Cal most likely thought we all would support the notion of it being “better than a championship” because we have latched on to everything else he has said like a fat kid to a piece of cake!
There is no way Coach Cal really thinks that sending 5 players to the draft is better than winning the whole thing. He just said that. Why did he say that then, right? Well, my speculation is that it’s another milestone he was able to accomplish not only in his coaching career, but his within his short career at Kentucky. Believe it or not, he is still trying to get us to like him, and trying too hard sometimes.
When you put together a 35-3 season ending just short of the Final Four containing 5 NBA first rounders it’s considered a failure? Not in my book and I am sure not in yours. If Cal continues to bring the types of recruits in like he has been #8 will fall nicely like a feather into our laps. Be patient.
We didn’t win it all this past season and we know that, Cal knows that, but what he is trying to do is make something out of nothing to continue to promote the program when he can. Every move with Coach Cal is extremely calculated and if you don’t think that is what’s going on in that statement then you are foolish. It’s a recruiting tool, a publicity magnet, and it works!
Let’s let Cal be Cal and continue to do what he do. You get it? He’s not trying to spark optimism in the fan base, he’s just trying to land the next superstar, the next Cat that just may bring home #8.
He can say whatever he wants, for now, I am good to go if Cal is!
TGR…… If you were King James, what city would you rather call home? I guess you still have to keep Cleveland in the equation.
How about some Tweets from around Kentucky and the sports world? I thought you did!
Josh Harrellson: “enes is a monster! i have never played against someone so good!”
Brett Dawson: “St. Xavier defensive back Daylen Hall commits to Kentucky”
Anthony Wireman: “Ex-Wildcat Heshimu Evans, who is now an official citizen of Portugal, has been named to the national team… Former Wildat Joe Crawford will join the Orlando Magic’s NBA Summer League roster…”
Terrence Jones: “Me Doron brandon and enes just had our first sociology class wow”
Tony Wroten: “man the new camaros r my favorite car right now, i love them joints”
Adam Zagoria: “6-8 2012 SF Perry Ellis lists KU, UK, Memphis, K-State, UNC, Wake Forest, Stanford, Oklahoma and Wichita State”
Michael Gilchrist: “Hitting up this Mickey D’s in Germany smh! We will see how this go”
Drake: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
Bill Simmons: “This Tomlinson/ESPN interview is high comedy. I wouldn’t take him in a 50-round fantasy draft with the last pick in Round 50.”
Aaron Boyd: “Can’t worry bout you; gotta get mine. Homage to my bros who already made it”
NCAA CWS: “3 hits allowed by South Carolina pitching are the fewest hits allowed in a Championship Series game (Champ Series began in 2003) #CWS”
Darren Rovell: “Adidas says TaylorMade-adidas Golf is now the world’s largest golf company at $1B+ in sales. If only Sergio win some majors.”
Mike Tyson: “Thanks for being patient while Im learning Twitter. But I read all the messages and they were cool.”
Dave Telep: “Series premiere of “Entourage” was WEAK. Really? That much time off and we get THAT! WEAK. WEAK. WEAK.”
Dick Vitale: “Please stop all the talk about Strasburg being an All Star. Let the kid have to earn it in a legit manner. 4 game stats not enough!”
Jeff Goodman: “Kentucky freshman Enes Kanter measured in at 6-foot-11 and 261 pounds at Amare Stoudemire Camp this past weekend.”
Herald-Leader Sports: “Latest story: Calipari says UK coaches must figure out how to win with youth”
Rich Brooks: “Going fishing on upper McKenzie tomorrow. Back home looking down on the lower river. Over 80 degrees today… Fishing was good but not as many big ones as last week. Lots of white water on the upper river.”
Joker Phillips: “GAM3DAY READY Tour is in Louisville today. It’s free & registration begins at 4:30 pm. We’ll be at Shawnee Park Great Lawn near Broadway! “
Patrick Patterson: “Back in Lexington until tomorrow. Seeing as many people as I can.”
Daniel Orton: “In atlanta right now. Headin to Orlando. Ready to get to work gotta lotta things I gotta prove. It’s cool cuz I kno I can. Ready to get it!”
John Wall: “Headed back to the R!!!”
John Hood: “Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but you have to do it…because no one else will.”
EMINEM: “Thanks to B.o.B and Keyshia Cole for a dope performance tonight. BET thanks for having me I had fun.”
OMG Facts: “A Chinese martial artist Dong Changsheng pulled a 1200-pound airplane 16 feet… WITH HIS EYELIDS.”
Oscar Combs: “Do you think some media types fear the talent level this Draft will bring to UK in the future? ESPN was a 3-hour infomercial for Big Blue.”
Wesley Woodyard: “hey so some1 told me to stay off twitter for jus a lil while…. so i said aight i will gotta go twitter world but only for a lil while lol”
Darius Miller: “New iPhone…”
Seth Davis: “When new NCAA tourney format is decided this week, I’ll be (pleasantly) surprised if any of the at-large teams wind up in the opening round.”
SportsByBrooks: “Heat beat reporter Ira Winderman: Wade, Bosh, James talk of “splitting Heat cash.””
Bluegrass Baseball: “UK Jr. SS Taylor Black has been released by Cotuit Kettleers of Cape Cod League…he was drafted by the Cardinals in 28th round”
Aaron’s Football Blog: “Dale Trimble who signed with the Cats should have his final test score next week and hopes to enroll end of July. If not, will greyshirt”
Tristian Johnson: “im up, and its going to be a long day!!!!!!!”
Jeff Archer: “ESPN is reporting that Bengals Running Back Cedric Benson has been arrested with assualt following a fight last month in Texas.”
Brent Carney: “LCA football coach Paul Raines has resigned, according to the Herald Leader.”
Bomani Jones : “Maybe I follow recruiting too much, but taking much from what happened in the last lbj/wade/bosh talk seems silly.”
John Calipari: “Special thanks to Homerun Burgers in Louisville for their help last Friday during our Satellite Camp tour. The staff loved the cajun fries!”
Aaron Kall: “2011 five star recruit Quincy Miller is like a younger brother to John Wall”
Thomas Beisner: “I believe it was Socrates who said “Theres no lower point in man’s life than when he realizes his favorite UK player blocked him on Twitter””
First of all, on behalf of TGR, I want to apologize for not posting the “Looker” yesterday. It may have worked out for the better, however, as the story that surrounds this week’s “Looker” continued to spread throughout the media into yesterday evening.
Let me get right to the point. As all of you know, five former Cats made history when they were drafted during the first round of last week’s NBA Draft. It was definitely a great moment in Kentucky basketball, even though it has left many of us wondering how the hell we didn’t win a national championship. The moment was apparently overwhelming for some folks, causing them to make some very wild, grandiose statements.
Enter Coach Cal. I realize our readers have read/heard Cal’s comment a hundred times now, but I’m going to provide it to you one more time: “I’d like to say it is the biggest day in the history of Kentucky’s program…the biggest day for the University of Kentucky.” Hmm…really?
As Herald-Leader sports writer Jerry Tipton noted in his article, Cal’s comment did not sit well with many former, well-known UK players and coaches. Hence Dan Issel’s rebuttal: “The dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. If the goal is to be a feeder team for the NBA, maybe that was the greatest day. I thought the goal was to win a national championship.”
Along with Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon, the hosts of ESPN’s PTI, I have to agree with Issel (click here to listen to the audio podcast of yesterday’s episode of PTI; Cal’s comments are discussed at the 11:30 mark). Some people may say that Cal was caught up in the moment, and that he didn’t intend to offend anyone, even the “old guard,” as he put it. Others may say that Cal’s comments revealed his underlying intentions for coaching at UK. I don’t know about you, but I definitely favor the latter.
Well Coach Cal, I honestly never thought TGR would have to say this to you, but you are our “Looker of the Week.” The Big Blue Nation has continued to grapple with your comment, and many faithful followers are left shaking their heads, including me. Maybe Ben & Jerry’s will name an ice cream after Cal and call it “Bittersweet Matrimony”—even though the relationship is awesome while it lasts, there’s a sense of uncertainty that continuously surrounds it. Nevertheless, your “TGR Looker of the Week” t-shirt is in the mail. We hope you wear it during your next telethon or local commercial.
As always, if you have a good candidate for “Looker of the Week,” please let us know. And remember, refrain from making dim-witted remarks and/or engaging in ludicrous acts, or you may just be our next “Looker.” Cheers!
John Wall has been the most talked about professional basketball player in the past week, even ahead of King James, for now. He has been all over the country promoting Reebok and himself, but it looks like as if he might be doing some recruiting also. Wall was in San Antonio this weekend to hang with his “friend”, Quincy Miller. Miller has been a UK target for some time now and is in Texas playing for team USA.
Jerry Briggs – Express-News wrote about Wall’s visit here, and below is a bit of the post…
“Scouts are gushing about John Wall as the next great point guard in basketball, but Wall didn’t come to San Antonio to talk about himself. He came to watch and counsel another rising star, 17-year-old Team USA forward Quincy Miller. “He’s got a chance to do something like I did,” Wall said. “He’s a spectacular player. All he has to do is add on some build, get a little bit … faster and start taking the game more seriously.”
Wall, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, arrived in the city on Sunday. For the past two nights, he has watched as Miller has played for Team USA in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men.“
The boys and girls over at Athlon released their preseason top 25 some time ago, and are now releasing the preseason rankings for the remaining 95 teams, 10 at a time. Being that the cats did not find their name in that top 25, chances were they would find themselves in the middle of the pack, and that was a very safe assumption. The cats find themselves coming in at no. 51 in Athlon’s list. There will be literally hundreds of preseason polls to come out before September, but the Cat’s defense seems to be the biggest concern in the opinion of the polls and rankings I have seen so far. There are many holes to fill on that side of the ball including the spots left empty by Micah, Maxwell, Peters, and Trevard.
Here is what Athlon had to say about your #51 Wildcats:
“No. 51: Kentucky — Joker Phillips inherits a Kentucky program that has been to four straight bowl games, but also is 12–20 against SEC teams in that stretch, including 0–12 against Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. The schedule is forgiving enough that the Wildcats can make a fifth straight bowl game, but the defense isn’t strong enough for Phillips to give Cats fans the breakout season they crave.”
Twenty Under-the-Radar Hotties at the Wimbledon.
The 25 best bikini bodies in sports.
The 25 hottest cheerleader squads in sports.
Ranking the 20 hottest Mistresses in sports and our buddy Karen Sypher makes the list.
Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all met over the weekend to discuss their futures.
Jerry Tipton: Calipari expects kiddy Cats “about every year”.
A team to watch in the SEC this year are the Georgia Bulldogs.
Calipari says the biggest surprise of the off-season is Josh Harrellson.
2011 power forward Anthony Davis Jr. has Kentucky in his list of final schools and will make a decision in mid July.
Coach Cal still thinks the NBA draft was biggest day.
Calipari also notes that Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins could be in the 2011 NBA draft.
Eric Crawford of the Courier-Journal thinks Kentucky is becoming an NBA farm system.
Randy Beard: Calipari has the wrong perspective for college.
Calipari proved again, that there is no one in college basketball quite so good at managing elite talent.
Rivals: Top three picks in next years draft.
A couple of UK targets are playing in the Kevin Durant and Paul Pierce Skills Academies.
Here is the audio feed of Coach Cal on Sacramento radio.
Calipari hopes that people haven’t taken their eyes off Haiti.
Sea of Blue takes on the battles of academics and athletics.
Jodie Meeks will play in NBA summer league.
Former Cat Dwane Casey is a finalist for the Clippers head coaching job.
