Will UK’s Defense Rise to the Occasion Without Jarmon?

The Bad News. UK really could not afford to lose Jeremy Jarmon at his DE position…Now we have no one with experience at his position. We could ill afford to lose him. Someone is going to have to step up big time…. The dbs are going to be tested severely if the player(s) replacing Jarmon don’t perform. If the pass rush is not there, then the opposing QB can pick us apart in the secondary. We don’t have a single player that has made a tackle at that Defensive End position. That is the bad news.

The good news is we have several young kids that have an opportunity to step up and play. I’m thinking Dequin Evans and Chandler Burden in the fall… We’ve lost Paris, Minton, Stafford, and now Jarmon for various reasons the last couple of years at that Defensive End position.

This just means somebody/everybody HAS to step up that is already on the roster at the DE position, (Ukwu, Wyndham, Burden, Evans, Rumph etc.) There won’t be a size drop-off or manhandling Chandler Burden, at 6’4 295, or Evans the 4-star JUCO at 275lb, but will they bring the speed and talent that Jarmon did?

UK Goes to The Wall!

What does John Calipari do with his # 1 ranked class in the country to enhance his recruiting season? Well, he goes out and lures the #1 player in the class to UK. Late last night, Slam Magazine confirmed that John Wall had selected UK among Miami, Florida, and Duke.

I can’t begin to express how ecstatic the UK fan base is now, what with the job that Calipari has done already in recruiting, and now landing Wall. Described by Dave Telep as, “The nation’s single most unguardable player”, Wall joins a class already loaded with 5- star recruits, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton and DeMarcus Cousins. I foresee us fans talking UK basketball all summer.

There were some who believed that our signing Eric Bledsoe recently would affect John’s decision. It appears it had nothing to do with it. ““I’ve been thinking about it for the last couple of weeks. I sat down and prayed and thought about it. Last night we had a meeting and I just came out and told Brian “(Clifton).

It hasn’t been that long since some of the SEC coaches have said that UK’s dominance of the league was over…Well, that is about to change and change very quickly.

For the betterment of the sport.

For the betterment of the sport the NCAA needs to look at increasing the scholarship limit to 15. Not to make sure we have a better team next year but for the simple reason that if there are 15 on a team like Kansas, NC, Duke or Kentucky its entirely possible that the number 14 or 15 player might decide to play for a team like Butler, Gonzaga or Nevada rather than sitting behind a stream of one and I’m out of hears.

I’m looking at this from a guys point of view sorry lady’s. But come on if a guy could increase his stable to 15 from 13 does anyone think Britney Spears is gonna stay around as number 15 when she could contribute to another team.

Increasing the stable err scholarship limit to 15 will defiantly help the sport to grow stronger besides I’d really like to see a major underdog win the NC before I go on to the big court in the sky.

Brooks to Retire? Waiting On Two Young QB’s ?

Who knows when Rich Brooks will retire? He certainly deserves to stick around a few years to reap the spoils of what he has wrought. He took a team on probation and build it into one that has been to 3 consecutive bowls. No small feat in UK football history. Now, we would all loved to have done more, but realistically the sheer numbers of great players it takes to play in the SEC was lacking. That is what Brooks, Joker and Co. have done…Built up the player base to be competitiive.

Now, I am seeing that on the recruiting trail. With the two big-armed freshmen coming in, and the amount of publicity that has had on the recruiting trail, we are seeing 4-Star players use one of their visits to come to UK…Once we get them here, from all accounts I have read both that the UK staff have a lasting impression on them, not to mention the state-of-the-art facilities.

Joker has divided the country finding recruits in states that we weren’t that strong in before. He is mostly responsible for making inroads into LaGrange Ga. where such great ones as Wesley and Braxton came from, as well as a couple this year. Joker is slowly building a great relationship in SC where we snagged Cartier Rice, Gene McCaskill, Matt Lenz, Taylor Wyndham and others

Joker and Chuck Smith snatched the best player out of the state of Indiana, the 4 Star QB, Morgan Newton, 6’5″ 220 4.5, and took the best running back in the state for good measure, Dakotah Tyler 200lb 4.4 forty…..Joker and the boys are definitely going after the great athletes, and they are getting some looks. Recruiting has gotten progressively better, and I think Rich Brooks wants to stick around a couple of years, to see how his freshmen QB’s do and beat UT and some others on our hit list…

Yeah right

Yeah right Nike with a small N caves in with the Witness Jodie Meeks t shirt. Does anyone besides me believe they are doing it because of fan pressure. Thanks Jodie for the great game and thanks nike for demeaning it for a dollar. You could have got the a better dollar value by releasing it earlier but thats why you pay big bucks to your advertising agents.

When is the dollar craze in college basketball going to stop? What happened to amateur sports? Why does the NCAA constantly cave in to the dollar pressure.

They turn down European players for accepting money for playing with teams because they don’t have HS basketball as we know it yet allow other non amateur entities to pay for travel, hotel and other expenses for our HS players in the summer.

Where did this pay the player without compensating them start. This goes back a long time before the present basketball embarrassment of today.

I swam for a AAU team in Hawai’i in the 50′s and boy was I excited when we got free Janzen swim suits not realizing I was being paid. Janzen paid for teams to travel to swim meets

Janzen started the whole thing but what guy besides a European wants to wear a Janzen suit now. Baggy is better.

Fidler leads Blue Team to Win over White….28-23

Randall Cobb caught four passes for 70 yards, and his 26-yard TD reception on the game’s first drive, set the tone for the Blue team, which held off the White 28-23 at Commonwealth Stadium. “If that guy is on the bus you’ve got a chance,” UK offensive head coach Joker Phillips said.

The UK staff has been disappointed that none of the young receivers have stepped up this spring, but a “walk on” made the most significant contributions for a squad that has been thin on kids who can catch a football.

Nick Melillo, made a name for himself yesterday…The 6’2”, 215 lb, former Trinity star, caught 4 passes, 2 of which went for touchdowns, to help keep the game close. Rich Brooks was effusive in singing his praises, “One guy stepped up from nowhere and made some plays and that was Melillo, so guess what, he’s going to move ahead of some scholarship players right now. He deserves a look and deserves to move up the depth chart.”

Mike Hartline had a sub-par performance missing on 8 of his first 9 passes, but in all fairness, the Blue Team was stacked with such defenders as Jeremy Jarmon, Trevard Lindley, Micah Johnson, and Danny Trevathan, and the offense had Cobb. Between missing the long passes, and seeing the short ones dropped by the receivers, Mike had a difficult day with his playmaking, even though he would wind up with superior numbers on paper to Fidler…

Will Fidler, the oft forgotten backup to Hartline/Cobb, had his best day ever as a wildcat, leading the Blue team on a 12 play 93 yard scoring drive on the Blue’s first possession, that set the tone of the game, and contrasted with the difficulties that Hartline was having completing a pass early on, even though Fidler competed only 4 more passes the rest of the way.

Brooks reportedly had a meeting with the Newton family this weekend, whose son, Morgan, is one of two high profile QB’s recruits the cats have signed for the fall. Brooks is said to have stated: “GET READY” when speaking to Morgan and his dad, which indicates that Rich has no problem throwing the freshman signal caller into the thick of the QB race.

Brooks told the Newtons that Morgan absolutely had a chance to be the starter in the fall.

PLAYER STATISTICS:
RUSHING
White – A. Smith, 18-67; Conner, 10-33; Bowland, 1-4; McCaskill, 1-minus-11
Blue – Allen, 16-96; C. Williams, 7-56, TD; Cobb, 1-6

PASSING
White – Hartline: 17-33, 208 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Blue – Fidler: 10-24, 110 yards, 2 TD, INT

RECEIVING
White – Melillo, 4-43, 2 TD; A. Smith, 3-54; Drake, 3-22; Bowland, 2-17; McCaskill, 2-17; Conner, 1-29; Adams, 1-18; Boyd, 1 -8
Blue – Cobb, 4-70, TD; Grinter, 2-26; Roark, 1-9, TD; Bogue, 1-7; Allen, 1-0; C. Williams, 1-minus-2

As The Basketball Spins

The more I read this week about the player situation the more can’t wait for the week to get over. John Clay in todays LHL says players are in limbo. Players say they want to be here next year but it seems like many are expecting some of the players leave. These same players are representing the state and the fans. They are expected to work hard on the court, be perfect off the court, win all their games and go far in the NCAA. In simple words they are expected to be loyal to the university and the fans. Will the university and the fans be loyal to them in return is the question now.

Coach Calipari is being straight with them in telling them that if they don’t fit the system they wont get any playing time and it would be better if they go some where they will fit in. I can applaud that and am sure the players can respect that. The question is can Coach Calipari, the university and the fans respect it if they tell the coach they want to be here next year and be a Wildcat.

With the possibility of signing several players with better basketball talent we will just have to tune in to the next As the Basketball Spins for the answer.

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.”

BCG Likes and Dislikes

I’ve taken some time over the last few days to reflect on what was the shortest tenure at the UK basketball helm. I think its worth while to reflect on the things that I liked and disliked. I’ll never forget the day UK signed him. My dad called and asked me what I thought. I said, “call me back in two years and I’ll let ya know”. The two years are up, so nows the time if there was ever a time for my review.

• I LOVED the mans dedication. He was dedicated to the returning players from day one. He was also dedicated to what he had done at A&M as well. He had the top center coming in there, and it was a kid that wanted to follow him. He said no. He also gave the returning kids a fair shot. Some say he gave them too much of a fair shot, but that will always be up for debate. He could have easily cleaned house. It would have made all kinds of room to bring in talent. As it was taking on the returning players was a move that cost him several games, but was the right move. IU, on the other hand, cleaned house which should make for a much faster return, but I think the cost in respect can not be recovered.
• I liked how hard he worked. The man was tireless too a fault. I don’t know how anyone could maintain that sort of work ethic without falling apart and in the end, that may very well be what happened.
• I liked that he had a plan and stuck to it. I didn’t really LIKE the plan, but I always respected what he was trying to do.
• I liked how he kept his head down and stayed with it even with a local media that hounded him from day one. The pounding was more than I think anyone could take, and in the end, maybe he couldn’t take it. But I do respect that he always tried to take the high road, half time interviews withstanding of course.
• I did like the player development last year. This year was another story, although several of the guys did get better. But the ones that did were not the ones UK really needed to get better. No one knows if it was the coach or the players but the safe bet is BOTH.
• I didn’t like the style of play, which was not different in many ways to TS. The D gave up too many threes and the offense was far too rigid.
• I didn’t like how he rode one or two players. Playing two on five never works. He drew up some very creative out of bounds plays so I know it was possible to run more things. He simply chose not to.
• I didn’t like some of the reports on things that he did. Of course I will never know how much of it was true. But it seems that he took all the frustrations out on the guys. He really needs another outlet in the future because players are not to be kicked like “proverbial dogs”. NOTE, I do not condone animal abuse, so that was simply a phrase.
• I didn’t like his vocabulary. He was limited at best when he spoke. As an ex player, the repeat phrases over and over, like, “play tough, play smart, and play together”, would get on my nerves very quickly and would lose any motivational pull very quickly.
• I didn’t like the over sized teams. He kept way too many players. Even with having a scout team, it takes away from valuable practice time for kids you really want to develop. The math is simple. The more players you have, the less time you have to spend with each.

In the end, I guess its easy to say he wasn’t a fit. It’s kind of lame and it covers up a lot of real reasons he isn’t UK’s coach moving forward. I think the jury will never be able to decide if he could get it done because there is no way to tell after two years. I do think the pressure was greater than he ever expected. And to be honest, the pressure was way higher than it really should have been. In the end, he obviously did not deal with it very well, but that doesn’t excuse a bunch of people from piling on a whole lot more than there should have been. We’ve seen a few of the writers say they kind of feel sorry for him, but in the end I don’t think what they feel is sorrow but more like guilt. At the end of the day, this was the best move even it it was handled in the worst possible way. He was a lame duck coach after two years who the media hated with all their non-hearts. Now, maybe, UK can bring in someone that can get a fair shake.

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.

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