Cleaning Up the NBA

I don’t follow the NBA enough to know what the penalty is for a flagrant foul, but the cheap one by Bynum would cost him way more than what the NBA will give him if I had my way.

The players union should demand that when a player deliberately tries to hurt another player the NBA fine should be up to 50% of a players yearly salary and playing time based on a sliding scale and carrying over from year to year.

If you don’t want to protect your members from your own members then its possible a conspiracy theorist might say Jimmy Hoffa changed his looks and is running the NBA players union, and not buried under a basketball factory in New Jersey or a roller rink in Detroit.

Ok. I know that Jimmy Hoffa couldn’t jump, had a lousy set shot, was white and that the players union won’t do it but conspiracy theory’s know no bounds.

Anyway if the NBA union really wants to be considered a equal partner in the NBA this would go a long way to showing fans they deserve it.

No way LeBron

I’ve always considered myself a sports fan. Naturally I’m a Kentucky football fan and a Kentucky basketball fan. Pro sports don’t sit to well with me simply because I’m jealous of the money they make, most games are boring until tournament time comes around and I’m sick of the games the players play to promote themselves like LeBron, Bosh and Wade have been doing.

After reading that 88% of the people in Spain watched them beat Germany in the world cup game I’m in shock.

The most Americans who have ever watched a super bowl game was in 1982 when a 49.1 rating was the highest ever recorded when people watched the Cincinnati San Francisco game and that was boosted because of a major blizzard in the northeastern United States on game day.

This years final 4 game drew a 6.0% rating. The most to ever watch a NCAA tournament final game was 50,000,000 in 1997 when Kentucky played Arizona.

The best the BCS title game has ever done was 21.6 rating in 2006.

Dare I ask what sort of rating LeBron James will get when he announces his choice on ESPN tonight. What ever the rating 88% is out of the question LeBron. American fans just don’t care that much. Oh and LeBron my figures might not be accurate they were just compiled from a brief search of the internet. So there is still hope you can get a good rating. Win a championship and you might get a 6.0 rating. That compares you with Butler who frankly had better game than you and Cleveland did in the tournament.

Wheres Martin Luther when you need him?

Wheres Martin Luther when you need him to help reform the Athletic church?

Some place along the line the NCAA has reached the conclusion that they own college sports instead of administering college sports. Nothing shows it better than what happened to Memphis recently and what didn’t happen to Duke or what hasn’t happened to USC.

Occasionally they get something right like they did when the allowed Matt Pilgrim to play immediately for Oklahoma St. More often they get it wrong like they did with a bunch of players from Hawaii. Due to a error in not registering software schools in the state use to add kids to the clearing houses list by several high schools one or more classes weren’t submitted in a timely manner to the clearing house for a number of boys and girls. When the schools realized this they attempted to register the software and straighten the classes out with the NCAA but by that time the NCAA wouldn’t accept the classes.

So lets see the high schools made a mistake and tried to rectify it to the best of their ability. The clearing house refused to accept that and do what the colleges did by realizing it wasn’t the kids fault and accept the classes. It left a bunch of boys and girls with the choice of either going the JC route, paying for a year of college or sitting out a year of sports.

If the NCAA wasn’t so secretive aka the lawsuit against Fla. St and the NCAA there would be no problem finding other cases where kids suffer because of the NCAA’s general inflexibility.

How do you solve a problem like this. Its simple to sports fans you force the NCAA to reform. The biggest problem isn’t going to be getting the NCAA to reform its going to be getting college presidents to get together and do what was done a few years ago The CFA forced the NCAA’s hand on television rights when they had every major and mid-major school except for the PAC 19 and Big 10 schools ready to form a new organization to replace the NCAA. Now the schools are making money hand over foot so whats the percentage in upsetting the money cart.

The NCAA is very good at trying to convincing the average fan that collegiate athletics is nothing more than an extracurricular service being provided to enhance the lives of nerdish students who barely remember to go to practice. As a result, the NCAA earns more during its post-season than the NFL and the NBA earn in their respective playoffs, including the Super Bowl.

So the next time you hear the NCAA say the student athlete comes first don’t believe it. What comes first is money, then the NCAA’s reputation, then certain schools and coaches and finally you find the student athlete at the bottom of the pile.

Multi Sport Atheletes

In days past it was not unusual for athletes at college to play more than one sport. There was more time available, they played fewer games and each individual sport was less demanding than today.

So lets try to name some of the multi-sport athletes at UK.

#1–Has to be Ermal Allen. Was all conference in football, basketball, track, and golf. Later played for the Browns backing up Otto Graham. Then was asst. coach at UK for several years. Then asst. head coach for the Cowboys. This will be hard to top.

#2–Wah Wah Jones. All conference end in football. All American in basketball and baseball (all conference in both) played for the Indianapolis Olympians in the NBA.

#3–Al Bruno. played football and basketball on both national championship teams in 1950 (only player to accomplish that) played and coached football in the Canadian league for some 40 years–

#4–Frank Ramsey. Played basketball and baseball. All American basketball in basketball and played for Celtics for years. Was the original 6th man in NBA–

#5–Bill Evans. Played basketball and tennis at UK. Played on the great 53-54 team with Ramsey and Hagan. Played on the 54-55 and 55-56 teams with Bob Burrows and was captain of the 56 Olympic team that won the gold. Was all SEC and SEC men’s champion in tennis.

#6–Lou Michaels. Two time All American football player. Played in the NFL for years. In the college football hall of fame. Played some baseball and threw the shot put in college (very good).

#7–Allen Feldhouse–played basketball and baseball at UK.

#8–Dom Fucci. Played both football and baseball at UK and was All American in both. Played several years for the Lions (kicker). Played pro baseball (catcher) in triple AAA. ) Couldn’t hit the hook. Was an asst coach at UK.

#9–Ralph Beard. Played basketball and baseball. Was Mr. Basketball in 1961.

#10–Randy Embry. Played basketball and baseball. Randy also won a state title in baseball at Davies Co. and is the only Mr. Basketball to coach a Mr Basketball (Branden Davenport 1997).

#11–Cotton Nash. Played Basketball and baseball. Three time All American in basketball and all SEC three times. Played basketball for the Lakers, SF Warriors and the Colonels in the ABA. Played minor league for the White Sox and Twins.

What Are Patterson and Orton Doing With Hell’s Trainer?

Frank Matrisciano. The mental and fitness expert that has earned the moniker of “Hell’s Trainer.” Who is he? What does he do? And why in the world would a highly regarded freshman center and arguably the best frontcourt player in the country seek out such a secretive man to prepare them for the season?

Because they want to experience the same results Blake Griffin, this year’s #1 overall draft pick out of Oklahoma experienced.

I did a lot of research for this post, and it really amazed me just how little information I was able to find. But what I could find was very interesting. Either this guy is a complete basket case, which I do not believe, or he is one of the few innovators left. His methods are definitely different, but anyone who witnessed Blake Griffin terrorize the Big 12 and the rest of the country, realizes they bring results.

Matrisciano is half-italian, half-spanish, and was raised in northern New Jersey. (Couldn’t find a town). He is the youngest of four, has no kids himself, and has never been married. Reportedly he is 43 years old but that hasn’t been confirmed. Frank has been training basketball players since 1992, and though he doesn’t like to talk about the athletes he trained, the list includes the Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas, Celtics’ Leon Powe, the Pacers’ Kareem Rush, and Arron Afflalo of the Pistons.

“I look at them like robots.”

“I take them to a level they’ve never been.”

“I’m just a shadow in the background.”

All quotes from a man that has coined a personal phrase “Law-7.” What that means is for every ten athletes that enlist his help, seven of them leave within the first half-hour. He does not advertise his services, you must know someone within his training circle to get hooked up with him. Matrisciano addresses everyone “sir” and expects the same in return. He admits that in the past he was saddled with nicknames like “Mental Patient” and “Genetic Freak.”

“You don’t know how many say they want to do it,” Frank says. “But it’s easy to say when you’re on the couch. It’s another thing to get up at 5 a.m. and get out there on the sand hills.” He does not accept payment from high school or college players. They are responsible for paying their living expenses and bringing the will and desire to follow through with what they started. Four to eight hours per day five days a week for four to six weeks is what the newbies have to look forward to. Basketball doesn’t get neglected either as part of that time is spent in skills training under former NBA coach Bob Hill.

Survival of the Fittest training. Chameleon training. Two of the terms Matrisciano uses to describe his workouts. Stairmasters, ellipticals, treadmills, and even traditional free weights mean nothing to this man. His playground is San Francisco. Adapting to one’s surroundings and overcoming any obstacle is the mantra he preaches as his charges labor up stairs carrying medicine balls, jog up sand hills in harnesses he tugs at from behind, and run in the soft, sandy beaches while wearing a 65-pound weighted vest. The workouts are held almost exclusively outside and never on a flat or hard surface.

Hell’s Trainer has pushed many to their absolute limits which some say is his ultimate gift: the ability to identify exactly where each of his client’s “limit” is. He has trained boxers, MMA & Martial Artists, Federal Marshalls, Firemen, Policemen, Pro Athletes, and Military Personnel.

So did Patrick and Daniel make the right choice? Only time will tell, but if Blake Griffin’s domination last year is any indication, Wildcat fans will appreciate the time and hard work our two big men are putting into the team’s success. After all, when you have ran stairs, sand dunes, and inclines of every sort, how hard could it be to sprint up and down a 94′ basketball court?

 http://sewildcatreview.com/blog2.php?p=105&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

World Champions

Congratulations to Darius Miller and the USA U19 team for winning the U10 world championship for the first time since 1991.

Darius Miller had 8 points and 3 steals in the 88-80 win over Greece. He averaged 5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks (5th in his position in blocks), 1.6 steals (3rd in his position in steals), 1.3 assists and shot 73% from the field while playing 14.4 min. a game. Playing like that against teams in a world competition shows how dependable he is going to be for the Cats.

Jamie Dixon had this team primed to win and even surrendering big leads a couple of times during the last two games didn’t faze the team a bit. Dixon had the kids playing the way you have to play to beat the European champions. Dixon “This team was unique in terms of US teams, in that it was best suited for international play. We may not have had as many name guys as other (US) teams but it really was suited, and I think we selected guys who were suited to the international style of play.” Thinking like that shows that we have learned to compete on the world stage again. These kids were fundamentally sound in their skills rather than being flashy.

A panel of accredited media representatives covering the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship selected the MVP and the All-Star Five of the Tournament. The All-Star Five of the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship featured Taylor (Kansas / Jersey City, N.J.) and Gordon Hayward (Butler / Brownsburg, Ind.) of the USA, Toni Prostran (Croatia), Nikos Pappas (Greece), and Mario Delas (Croatia), who was also selected MVP of the championship.

Things I learned from the games. Darius Miller is going to have a good year. Washington St. and Butler are probably going to be real good teams if their representatives in the games are any example of their teams. Toni Prostran (Croatia), Nikos Pappas (Greece) are possible future NBA players. Mario Delas (Croatia) who was selected MVP of the championship is a future NBA player. World basketball is worth watching if ESPN can get their foot in the door with FIBA for telecast rights. Jamie Dixon is a smart coach and is one of the best coaches in the county and I hope coaches the USA again.

Jodie Meeks Congratulations

I would like to congratulate Jodie Meeks on being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks. Jodie now has a chance to live out his NBA dream, by being chosen with the 41^st pick in the second round of the NBA draft. We UK fans want to thank Jodie for being one of the bright spots on an NIT team that struggled mightily late in the season.

One thing that may help Jodie in making the team is the fact that the Bucks were very high on him from the get go, something that they had been keeping somewhat “close to the vest”, as most teams do. Consider this statement out of the Milwaukee camp after Jodie was chosen:

“He was a guy we had on our board for the last few days, and up until even last night, and we said, ‘No way this kid makes it to the second round,’” Bucks general manager John Hammond told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m sure a lot of people are saying that about their second-round picks.”

“We just felt he’s one of the top-notch shooters in this draft. Our guys who were out scouting all year said he may be one of the better defenders, too. He has great strength and is a great athlete, but one thing he can do is shoot the ball the way he can.”

Meeks led the Southeastern Conference and ranked eighth in the country in scoring, averaging 23.7 points per game. Jodie set the school record for points in a game (54 at Tennessee) and three-pointers in a season (117) and shot an SEC-best 90.2 percent from the free throw line. He also had the highest 3 game point total of any player in collegiate basketball with 3 games of 54, 46, and 45 points.

“He arguably was the best shooter in college basketball last year,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles told the Milwaukee newspaper. “He’s a guy who has some toughness, a nice strong body and a really good defender.”

“I don’t think I get enough credit for my athletic ability”, Jodie said.

I believe that with his skill set, Jodie will make the Bucks roster and have a long NBA career. I also believe that he would have benefited by coming back and playing one more year under Cal, and changing his NBA perception from a “catch and shoot guy” to one who can also get to the rim.

Let’s face it, if Terrance Williams can go with the 11^th pick while averaging 12ppg, then anything in that range would have been possible for Jodie next year, if UK had made the deep run in the tournament that most everyone was predicting with Jodie on the squad.

I also must respect the fact that Jodie had been injured, and perhaps had that in the back of his mind, when he decided to stay in the draft. One more injury next year could have ruined his chances for an NBA career, so he choose to strike while the “iron was hot”.

Again, I wish Jodie nothing but the best for his future NBA career.

CALIPARI MAY BRING COUSINS, HENRY TO UK WITH HIM…IF

He comes….

AND…. Gary Parrish, of CBSSports.com, is reporting that ESPN #1 overall 2009 recruit Xavier Henry has a clause in his Letter of Intent that requires Memphis to release him without stipulations, if Calipari leaves the Tigers. Henry is a 6’6″, 210 lb shooting guard from Oklahoma.

AND…Demarcus Cousins?

Who is this man-child, and how much would it improve UK’s team to have him? Well the 6-foot-9, 250-pound Cousins is rated the No. 1 power forward, and No. 2 prospect in the country. He considered UK early in the recruiting process while attending one of Gillispie’s summer camps, but ultimately gave a surprising verbal commitment to UAB which he rescinded to pledge to Memphis and Calipari.

How much he would improve a front line loaded with Patrick Patterson, Matt Pilgrim, Orton, Perry Stevenson, et al, is anyone’s guess, but can we say bulls on the boards? That’s what we’ll have if we add the beast Cousins to the mix….

Now that John Calapari is courting the job at UK, Demarcus’ mom was ask how they were taking the sudden news: “The things that have developed over the last 24 hours or so, he is not too aware of,” Ms. Cousins said. “He’s at the aquarium today with the (McDonald’s All-American) group. I’m sure if they had any down time, that someone has mentioned it to him. Right now, we haven’t talked about it.”

On John Calapari:

“He likes the way he motivates his players, said Ms. Cousins. “He has watched Coach Cal for a long period of time. He is the type of coach that is very up-front. There’s no gray area. You know right away that his way is the way it is. You learn and he pushes you, and that is what DeMarcus likes about him.”

Kenny Walker, former UK star and NBA player, seemed ecstatic over the possibility of John Calipari joining the Wildcats as head coach:

He has a very charismatic personality. He’s a great communicator. He’s a great motivator. He’s a proven recruiter. Those are all things you need at the University of Kentucky,” said Walker. “He really has all the qualities you need for this job. He’s very good with fans and the media. He relates well to the players. He is the complete package.”

“All I have heard about Calipari is how much fun it is to play for him and that’s what college basketball is about. Get an education, get some exposure for yourself and have fun. Then take it to the next level if you can. “He will get guys to do that and make it pleasant experience for them, and I don’t think that has been the case at Kentucky the last two years.”

HARANGODY=HARD TO GUARD

UK VS NOTRE DAME –

Before his freshman season, even Luke Harangody’s parents were sceptical when Irish coach Mike Brey suggested he would make “an immediate impact. Brey continued, “He’s as good a story as they come. When his parents heard me say how important he’d be as a freshman, they looked at each other like, ‘You’re sure we’re talking about Luke?’ He’s turned into a player capable of dominating in the best league in the country.

Luke Harangody has proved to be very hard to guard in his last couple of seasons at Notre Dame…The 6’8” 255lb PF has lead the Big East in scoring the last two seasons, and this year averages 23.3ppg in leading the Irish. The Big East is considered the toughest conference this year, and Luke represents the toughest player in the toughest conference…Many think that Luke will be a better NBA player than that other BIG kid, whose name also starts with an “H”.

What Harangody might lack in athleticism, he makes up for in brute strength inside and a deft touch from the outside. Patrick Patterson, UK’s big man, obviously respects his game and details the challenges he will face in guarding the Big Man, “With his size, strength and height you can tell that he’s obviously a post player,” Patterson said. “But when he gets the basketball, he’s able to shoot turnaround fadeaways, step back dribble fadeaways. He’s shooting threes.” AND “”It means I have to play it all over the place,” the Kentucky sophomore predicted. “I know he can post up but I’ll have to play with him out on the perimeter where normally I can back up with big men. Inside the post, he’s a lot stronger and wider than me so I know he’s going to try to back me down and overpower me.”

UK is playing after surviving a second round game with Creighton 65-63 before a roaring crowd in Omaha, Neb., on Monday night. Jodie Meeks scored the last 5 points of the game to put it in the win column for the Wildcats.

The Irish suffered 10 of their 14 losses in the rugged Big East conference, which still has 5 teams in the sweet sixteen, a first….The winner of this game moves one step close to the NIT Championship AND goes on to New York City’s HaLLowed Madison Square Garden for the semi-finals of the NIT. Tipoff is 7p.m. tonight at the Joyce Center on the campus of Notre Dame.

Mid Season Review

The UK mens basketball program has reached the end of its 2008 schedule. So lets take a look at where they started through where they are today…

The preseason started with as much question as promise. UK had several highly rated new comers and was returning some quality players. But UK was also losing a huge chunk of its scoring and leadership. Off season surgery also placed major question marks on both of its returning marguee players. Meeks was cleared much earlier than Patterson, so he was easily much further along but still was not his old self. There was a point in one of the preseason events (I think it was the Blue White game) that made me sit up a bit on the edge of my seat. it seemed like a small funny thing to most, but I certainly didn’t think it was funny and felt it may be a sign of things to come. Patterson, who is and always has been THE man child, went up for a certain slam only to get rejected by… the front of the rim. I knew right then he wasn’t full strength and he obviously did not have the explosion or lift he displayed last year. The preseason, otherwise, went off without a hitch but then something happened. The season started. And not just against your typical patzy. VMI may have looked like a patzy on the surface, but once you looked deeper you saw something very scary. You saw a high scoring team that played pressure D going against a UK team that had all new roles in three of the four spots on the floor and the most glaring was the point (OK, lead) and it was a recipe for disater. The sky fell and hell opened it doors to the doomed. Ok , maybe not but those who would do anything to undermine this staff revelled in the glory that was a season opening loss. Luckily, the sky did not fall, hell did not open and it turns out all UK needed to do was get better.

And better they did get. Little by little, and bit by bit, UK got better and better with each day. Yes, there was a loss to UNC (who has not lost that has played them), yes there was another loss to a very big and talented Miami team. But there were also wins against K ST, West Virgina and host of other gritty teams, with some real yawners thrown in. So at the close of 2008, UK stands at 11-3. Of those three losses, all are to top 100 teams (yes, VMI is in the 80s), two are to top 50 teams (Miami has even been a top 25 team) and one was to the best team in the land. UK has answered the scoring question easily by turning Meeks lose, getting Patterson back to full strength, and using its third scorer which is a hybrid of Harrelson, Stevenson, Liggins, Stewart, Porter, Slone and Miller, to the tune of 80 something points a game. UK has also found its D when needed by only allowing teams to score in the 60s on average. That is a 20 point or so differential which includes the three losses. The bottom line: This team has gotten better and better every day. And one by one the questions of the preseason have been replaced with answers. The answers were not always the ones people thought they would be. People sometimes have a hard time when that happens. Many thought the answer at the point would be Liggins. Turns out it was Porter. The question of depth would be answered, many thought, by Harrelson and Miller. Turns out its more like Galloway, Slone and Stewart. Many of those people say that you can’t win in big games with guys like Porter and Slone. I say if the other options were able to get it done by now, they would have been able to do it in the gimmi games. How can anyone with a sane mind say that Liggins is a better choice against UL when he isn’t the better choice against App St? That just makes no sense to me at all…

So, now that we have taken a look at the season to date, what are some of the questions moving forward? Is Patterson fully recovered? I say that question was answered when he left from the second block and posterized the poor kid from App St. THAT was the first NBA quality move I have seen in a UK jersey since Prince was taking off from outside the lane for his patented sky dunks. Who will be the third scorer is ALWAYS the question. I think it will contiune to be by committee and I really like it that way. That shows a team is able to mesh and mold around what others are trying to take away. When you have a set third scorer, it makes scouting a little easier. When you have six or seven guys that can each step up when the game plan calls for it, it make it impossible to scout or defend. Can the cats continue to play well with the likes of Porter and Slone? I say they better, or others need to really step it up. I hope its both. The more buttons coach has to push, the better. But I do think Porter and Slone are carving their own nitch on this team. Watch out if Liggins and Miller start doing the same. What about the three spot? I have no clue who will take the lead there. It could be Galloway. It could be Harris. It could very well be Miller if he starts playing more and thinking less. But I think all three will continue to contribute provided Harris recovers. What about the post? I think that is becoming very well defined. Patterson is back to where he was last year, but what if he has matured and is even better? This is a very real possibility. I think it is actually likely. If you think about it, this is an infinately better passing team and with the improved play around him, Patterson’s limit is, well, limitless. Couple that with a guy like Stevenson who is a great complement to him, and then throw in the added support provided by a very skilled Harrelson and an ever improving Stewart, the post seems to be very well manned for the final stretch. So here’s the big question: What should we expext from the home stretch? I have no idea how far this team can go as of yet, but I do not think it is even close to reaching it’s potential. But I am really excited that the answers to all of these questions begins in earnest come January 4th. I say bring on the Cards and..

GO CATS!