Not Jerry Tipton's Friday Basketball Notebook (the lighter side)

[jbcarol]

*Movin' Away: ESPN released its initial bracketology this week, and the Wildcats were pegged as a #5 seed. This does not bode well for Kentucky. Specifically, John Calipari is walking the exact same path that led Tubby Smith to the frozen north hinterlands of Minnesota. Think about it. First, Tubby won a national championship very early on in his tenure (just like Calipari). Then, shortly thereafter in the year 2000, he found himself as a 5 seed (just like Calipari). Finally, he was run out of town by a rabid mob of blue-clad zealots who didn't much care for his style and lack of winning. (Just like Calipari? We'll see.) And if all of those coincidences aren't eerie enough, consider this: Tubby Smith has 3 children. So does John Calipari! Wow. Let's hope Coach Cal has a winter coat, eh?

* On this date: On this date in 1991, Kentucky beat Arizona State, 94-68. The Sun Devils would get their revenge later that season, however, when UK lost to Duke on Christian Laettner's shot.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=123593

Twitter @NotJerryTipton

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 season in underway, and just like in 1989 and 2009, the Kentucky Wildcats will struggle to make the NCAA Tournament.

*Do They Know It's Christmas: Last Saturday, Butler upset then #1 Indiana. However, in a move that had to have been a blow to the egos of Kentucky fans everywhere, Butler fans opted not to rush the court...

*White Christmas: Saturday against Lipscomb, Kyle Wiltjer played his best all-around game of the season, scoring 23 points (while hitting 7 of 9 threes) and collecting 12 rebounds. This does not bode well for Kentucky. Apparently fed up with Wiltjer's lack of hustle and shooting accuracy, John Calipari opted not to start the sophomore versus Lipscomb. Wiltjer publicly told his coach where to stick it, by playing as well as he's played in his entire career. The fact that Wiltjer would so openly and maliciously embarrass his coach in such a manner speaks to just how much tension there must be between the two...

* On this date: On this date in 2006, Patrick Patterson was tipping off his senior season in high school. A few months later, he committed to Kentucky, where he eventually played and drove a car that you wouldn't think he'd be able to afford.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=123954

[jbcarol]

Touch The Sky: Heading into tomorrow's Kentucky/Louisville clash, it is clear that one coach has all the pressure squarely on his Armani-clad shoulders: John Calipari. Anybody who follows this rivalry knows that Cal absolutelyhas to win this game. What does it say about him and the UK program if they can't beat a team that hasn't won a Final Four game in over a quarter century? Moreover, if Louisville were that good, would they have lost 4 in a row to the Cats?

All Falls Down: Ever since John Calipari got the Kentucky job, the program has been trending sharply in one direction: Downward...

Power: According to nbadraft.net, Kentucky has 4 of the top 16 picks of the 2013 NBA Draft on its roster. This does not bode well for Kentucky. As teams like Louisville and Indiana have shown, in order to be highly ranked this season, a team must have a roster full of upperclassmen who are good college players, but not high level NBA prospects...

On this date: On this date in 1986, Louisville was fresh off its last national championship. None of the parents of current UofL players even knew each other at that point.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=124306

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 Kentucky Wildcats are the first team of the John Calipari era that do not feature a player coached by Billy Gillipsie. The 2012-13 Kentucky Wildcats are also the first team of the John Calipari era to lose to Duke, lose a home game, lose to Louisville, and find themselves out of the polls. Calipari apologists are sure to point out that...

Calipari and the unranked Cats conspired to commit Free Throw Fraud. ... as U of L made a substitution, Alex Poythress replaced Noel at the line. While UK fans will argue that the officials — whose job it is to make sure the proper shooter goes to the line — agreed with the decision to send Poythress to the line, it should be noted that Kentucky just happens to have a winning record in games officiated by Corbett. Coincidence? You be the judge. Eventually, Calipari went on to deny that he had anything to do with the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. However, he has yet to offer proof.

On this date in 2012, Kentucky was in both the AP poll and and Coaches' poll. It was the last January 4 to date that the Cats were ranked.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=124734

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Dear Notre Dame fans talking smack about the SEC after the Sugar Bowl: You are not playing Florida. See ya Monday! Very truly yours, Alabama

http://twitter.com/NotJerryTipton

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
While talking about McCarron's girlfriend, Musberger was a drooling old man. On a related note, Bob Knight is calling the UK game Thursday.

[jbcarol]

"On this date in 2012, Indiana had already experienced the high point of their entire season."

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=125228

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
UM loses. It's been so long since anybody's gone undefeated that the coach of the last team to do it doesn't even know what a shot clock is.

https://twitter.com/NotJerryTipton

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Jimmy Dykes said "Golden was selfish by being too unselfish." Similarly, Jimmy makes sense by making no sense at all.

[jbcarol]

On this date in 2012, Kentucky was ranked #1. Unlike Louisville, nobody at UK apparently cared enough to make t-shirts announcing it.

*Fire: Kentucky is currently 11-5 overall, and 2-1 in the SEC. If past history is a guarantee of future performance (and it usually is), then John Calipari may very well find himself in the unemployment line at the end of the season. After UK had played 16 games in the 2008-09 season, they were 12-4 overall, and 1-0 in the SEC. In fact, the Cats would go on to win their next 4 games, at which point they stood 16-4, 5-0 in the SEC. Despite winning 80% of his first 20 games that season (Calipari has only won 69% of his games this year), the Kentucky coach would find himself terminated at the end of the season...

[jbcarol]

What was called a "minor procedure" on Willie Cauley-Stein's left knee may reduce Kentucky's size advantage at Auburn on Saturday night by 7 feet.

UK Coach John Calipari downplayed the significance of the repair work on Cauley-Stein's knee on the team's long-term goals this season. The 7-foot freshman apparently had been playing with discomfort not only this season but for several seasons.

Since Cauley-Stein was in junior high school, Calipari said.

"An old thing he never did anything about," Calipari said. "The last couple weeks it just happened to where, all right, let's go. We're one short for a short while. Thank God it was nothing major."

Cauley-Stein's football and basketball coaches at Northwest High school in Olathe, Kan., said he never missed a game in either sport.

Mike Grove, the Northwest High basketball coach, suggested that Cauley-Stein might have needed a repair of a meniscus tear. If so, the player probably would not be sidelined more than five to seven days, he said.

Todd Dain, the Northwest High football coach, all but scoffed at the idea of Cauley-Stein being hampered by an injury dating to junior high.

"He didn't have one problem with a knee," Dain said. "He had a very strong lower body and took a million shots to the knee in football and never faltered. I never knew of any nagging knee injury when he played for me."

Auburn, which starts only one player (6-foot-10 center Rob Chubb) taller than 6-6, would welcome Cauley-Stein's absence.

This week, wing Allen Payne spoke of the Tigers' desire to draw fouls on UK's big men by getting the ball to Chubb in the basket area.

"Maybe get them to where they're playing with one 7-footer instead of two," he said.

Chubb has posted double-doubles in each of Auburn's last two games.

T'eo crap wouldn't have flown if Tipton had been on the Notre Dame beat.

Of course, Tipton wouldn't have lasted a week in South Bend.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Rick Minter hired by the Eagles. I guess that could work. As long as the Eagles don't play Arkansas. Or Vandy. Or Western Kentucky.

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
The goal for Kentucky tonight is simple: Hold Alabama to fewer points than Notre Dame did. They do that, everything else is cream cheese.

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Thamel: "Did you pay players?" Hurtt: "Nope." Thamel: "Promise?" Hurtt: "Yup." Thamel: "OK, story checks out."

https://twitter.com/NotJerryTipton

[jbcarol]

During the telecast of the Kentucky/Auburn game last week, former Auburn star Charles Barkley said that none of Kentucky's freshmen were ready for the NBA. While he didn't clarify whether he was saying that the players were untalented or that John Calipari is doing a terrible job preparing them for the NBA, one must assume the latter...

It sounds odd, but numbers don't lie. Of the last 71 national champions, 70 of them were able to win it all with absolutely no help from one John Calipari. Can these Cats make it 71 of 72? Only if their coach gets out of the way.

On this date in 1948, Kentucky was on the way to its first national championship. As UK's critics are quick to point out, however, the title really doesn't count because the SEC is a football conference.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=126149

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Roy Williams says he pays no attention to advanced stats like "adjusted efficiency," "effective FG%," "assist rate," "class attendance" etc.

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Duke hasn't won a road game in 332 days.

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Pat Forde criticizes Shabazz's Gucci backpack. Ironic, since Forde's bestie is a guy with an affinity for Gucci. And doing it on tabletops.

https://twitter.com/NotJerryTipton

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Kentucky football got as many commitments from top 250 players today as in the previous 4 years combined.

[jbcarol]

In John Calipari's 4th season at Kentucky, one thing is crystal clear: Rick Pitino got off to a better start at UK than Cal has...

UK and John Calipari announced Monday that the Cats will be renewing their series against North Carolina next season. This does not bode well for Kentucky. Clearly emboldened by the Heels' lackluster performance against N.C. State two days earlier, Cal quickly moved to add North Carolina to the schedule, which can only mean one thing: He is scared of Indiana.

On this date in 1997, Louisville's future coach beat Kentucky's future coach by 25 points. In Rupp Arena, no less.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=126676

[jbcarol]

Cal was on fire during his pre-Texas A&M presser today.

The best part of the whole presser was when Cal used the term "beer muscles" to describe Elston Turner's 40-point performance against the Cats the last time they played:

Cal: "We had the wrong guy on him and the kid gets going and now he's got beer muscles. All of a sudden he's making every shot. "Beer muscles" means Jerry that you're a weakling and when you get beers in you, you want to beat somebody's brains in that's a monster. That's called beer muscles"

Jerry: I've got white wine muscles.

(Note to self: do not approach Jerry if he's had a few Chardonnays.)

Men have to love being around other men

From there, Cal was on a roll. He went on a rant about how his players have to really love playing basketball in order to make it in the league. That includes loving practice, not complaining about being there early and being sad when you leave. Even more, you have to love being around men all the time. "YOU'RE MEN! YOU LOVE BEING AROUND MEN! IT'S THE BATTLE, THAT'S WHAT IT IS! If you don't like being around men, then you shouldn't be in this sport."

Even Cal admitted he didn't know where that came from.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=126709

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 season is about halfway through, and just like in 1989 and 2009, the Kentucky Wildcats will struggle to make the NCAA Tournament. To stay apprised and educated, follow me on Twitter @NotJerryTipton.

Last week, Kentucky waltzed into Oxford and defeated the top 20 Rebels, 87-74. However, this was apparently not nearly as impressive as it first appeared. Since losing to Kentucky, Ole Miss has gone winless not counting the game against Mississippi State Wednesday. In fact, while the Cats were probably pretty impressed with themselves after edging the Rebels by 13, the Florida Gators one upped the Cats, by turning around and crushing Ole Miss by 14. And this isn't an isolated incident for Kentucky, unfortunately. According to various statisticians on the inter-net, every single team that Kentucky has defeated this season has lost another game at some point. So let's not go ordering those championship rings just yet, hmm?

In that win over Ole Miss, UK freshman center Nerlens Noel made history. And not the good kind, either. Despite logging 36 minutes, Noel tied an NCAA record by recording ZERO made field goals for the game. In fact, despite being almost 7 feet tall and extremely athletic, Noel hit as many shots in that game as I did. In the history of NCAA basketball, there have been a total of 494,102 games played.• And not once has someone hit fewer shots than he did against the Rebels. A stunning accomplishment, to be sure. No wonder so many folks were talking about Noel the next day.

• This is just a guess.

After beating Texas A&M in overtime last weekend, UK was 4-1 on the road in SEC play. This does not bode well for Kentucky. NCAA Tournament games, as everyone knows, are not played on the road. They are played in neutral environments...

On this date in 2012, Kentucky fans were more interested in talking basketball than football. Thanks to 6 losses by the basketball Cats, things have changed.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=127125

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Indiana: Worst #1 since Macarena.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Ironic that Pitino whined about ND hitting "ridiculous shots" when he named a horse after his player who does the same thing.

[jbcarol]

The latest bracketology projections have Kentucky as a 9 seed vs. VCU in Dayton, and if that weren't foreboding enough for Big Blue Nation, then UK's 3rd round matchup is sure to be. If Kentucky somehow shocks VCU (unlikely, considering the Rams made the Final 4 in 2011), then they would next square off against the Indiana Hoosiers. As every Kentucky fan is well aware, the Cats have not beaten the Hoosiers in Dayton since 1975...

The rosters for the Jordan Brand Classic game were announced this week, and 5 future Kentucky Wildcats will participate. Uh-oh. Bad news for the Cats. Since John Calipari was hired in 2009, 18 future Wildcats have been selected to play in this game. However, of those 18, a mere 6 went on to win a national championship...

The 1996 and 2012 UK teams swept the Gators, and they both won it all. However, several other UK squads have lost to Florida, and ultimately fallen short of the big prize. Will the same thing happen this year? I'm no fortune teller, but yes.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=127572

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Give Pitino credit. He was able to do something his 1st year at UofL that it may take Calipari 4 years to do at UK: Miss the NCAA Tournament

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
ESPN letting Bob Knight go. Wow. Besides not knowing players' names, anything about the modern game & what a shot clock is, he was great.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Archie Goodwin spends more time on his back than Karen Sypher's slutty cousin.

[jbcarol]

The Hammer Going Down: After the Cats' humiliating beatdown last Saturday, UK fans everywhere were asking the same question: "Will Kentucky ever beat Tennessee again?" The numbers suggest no...

Run From Your Memory: It was announced this week that Arkansas has already sold out its tickets for the Hogs' March 2 showdown with the Cats. It appears Razorback fans know something that Kentucky fans probably don't want to admit: In the 110 year history of Kentucky basketball, John Calipari has never taken a UK team into Fayetteville and won. Never. Ever. And while Cal is winless in Bud Walton Arena, everybody's favorite scapegoat, Billy Clyde Gillispie, is undefeated in that building in UK/Arkansas games. And you know who else holds that same distinction? Former UK standout John Pelphrey. I guess this is why Louisville coach Rick Pitino lobbied for Pelphrey to get the UK job instead of Calipari. The Rickster sure does know his basketball.

In UK's historic loss to Tennessee, Jarrod Polson earned plaudits from Big Blue Nation by scoring 11 points and snaring 4 rebounds. This does not bode well for Kentucky. Before the UT game, Kentucky fans assumed that Polson would return next year to provide a stabilizing presence on yet another roster full of unseasoned and unsure freshman. However, this no longer appears to be the case. Polson had more points and rebounds than Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress, both of whom are projected to be lottery picks...

On this date in 2012, Kentucky had one loss and was ranked #1 in the country. They would go on to lose to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=127901

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
After going 2-0 last week, UK's RPI dropped. Luckily, the Selection Committee doesn't rely on RPI to decide who gets in. Wait. What?

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
At the NFL Combine 40 yard dash, Manti Te'o ran a 4.81. To be fair, he was giving his girlfriend a piggyback ride at the time.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
Dave Neal: "Hood, er, Polson on the follow." They all look alike, I guess.

[jbcarol]

On Wednesday, Kentucky coach John Calipari picked up his first legitimate win as UK coach over SEC doormat Mississippi State. While his official record against the Bulldogs was 4-0 heading into this week's contest, each of the four victories was marred by controversy, conspiracy and outright cheating.

In last Saturday's overtime win against Missouri, Julius Mays scored 24 points, including several key baskets down the stretch. He also provided emotional stability to a team full of untested greenhorns. This is not what John Calipari wanted to see. By relying on a transfer senior to propel the Cats past (unranked, lol) Missouri, the Cats unwittingly transformed the image of the Kentucky program from "where the nation's best freshmen play" to that of "where journeymen seniors who plied their trade in the Horizon League play."

On this date in 2013, Kentucky was unranked.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=128412

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
It was no surprise that UGA won the 2008 SEC Tournament. If anybody should be comfortable playing in an empty gym, it's Georgia.

[HamIAm]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
It was no surprise that UGA won the 2008 SEC Tournament. If anybody should be comfortable playing in an empty gym, it's Georgia.

ouch

[jbcarol]

ESPN recently aired a documentary on the 2008 SEC Tournament in Atlanta, and the tornado that struck the Georgia Dome while the tournament was being contested. The premise of the feature was that an unlikely 3 pointer by Alabama's Mikal Riley saved hundreds of lives by sending the game to overtime. One point the film failed to make, however, was this: Had that tornado (which was the first to ever hit downtown Atlanta) not struck, Billy Gillispie would still be the coach at Kentucky. The chain of reasoning goes like this: If there's no tornado, then UK plays Georgia that night in the pro-UK Georgia Dome instead of the next day in an eerily deserted gym on Georgia Tech's campus. UK wins that game, instead of losing on a fluke play in overtime...

The University of Kentucky, at last count, has sold over 33,000 tickets for its Spring football game. This does not bode well for Kentucky. Though UK bills itself as "the greatest tradition in the history of college basketball," the numbers tell a different story. The 2012 football Cats averaged almost 33,000 fans per game. That's over 16,000 fans per win. The basketball Cats, however, are averaging a mere 24,000 fans per game, which is a little over 1,000 per win. John Calipari may be the highest paid basketball coach in America, but it's the Kentucky football fans who are driving the financial bus at the university...

On this date in 1996, Kentucky beat Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, 100-76. The Gators would get the last laugh, however, when Kentucky lost to Mississippi State in the finals, while the Gators were at home relaxing.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
At Indiana, Tom Crean is 81-80. No wonder IU fans celebrate that win over UK. It's the only thing keeping him from a losing record.

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton
If he loses, he's 80-81. Your math = your grammar. RT @TheJacobMullins Your a dumbass. It's the only thing keeping Crean from an even record

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 season is winding down, and just like in 1989 and 2009, the Kentucky Wildcats will struggle to not make the NCAA Tournament.

A national newspaper recently published an article in which Kentucky coach John Calipari and Louisville coach Rick Pitino discussed the one and done rule and why they choose to take (or in Pitino's case, not take) advantage of it. Pitino's reasoning is that he doesn't feel he can build a relationship with another person in just 7 short months, and that he needs much longer before he can really get to know someone. Calipari says this is just an excuse, and that hints that Pitino simply can't land the elite recruits that only need one year of college. Whatever the merits of each coach's argument, one thing is not debatable: Rick Pitino has had a great deal more success with his approach than Calipari has had with his. Louisville is a top 5 team headed for a possible #1 seed, whereas Kentucky is unranked and on the bubble. Not convinced that this settles the argument? OK, how about this: 80-77. I could cite additional statistics and facts, but that would only serve to belabor the point. Say what you will about each man, but their different approaches to recruiting and coaching have led to widely different outcomes, especially in the recent past.

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 season is mercifully over, and despite having the #1 ranked recruiting class in the country, Kentucky failed to make the NCAA Tournament, and were unceremoniously dispatched in the First Round of the NIT by Robert Morris. Hard to see things being any different in 2013-14...

Blue: After Kentucky's disappointing end to its disappointing season, UK freshmen Willie Cauley-Stein, Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress all promised that they would return to Kentucky next year for a run at a national title. Reading between the lines, one can see what a fatal blow this is for Big Blue Nation: Nerlens Noel (impliedly, by his silence) has declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft. This was apparently such an easy decision for him that he opted to not even travel with his (former) team to Pennsylvania for the game against Robert Morris. If it weren't bad enough that Calipari had players bolting for the NBA after just one season in Lexington, he now has kids doing this after half a season in Lexington. Is this what college basketball has become? Shaking my head.

On Wednesday afternoon, Julius Randle committed to John Calipari and UK. This does not bode well for Kentucky...

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=130052

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 12h
Marshall Henderson played awful. It's almost like he was distracted by off-court issues. Well played, Fake Ryan Harrow.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 17h
This soccer game is like hanging out with Cameron Crazies. Lots of yelling, face paint, excitement & foreigners, but nobody ever scores.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 12h
Texas Tech interested in Tubby Smith. One thing's for sure. He'd be the greatest ex-Kentucky coach Texas Tech has ever hired.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 2h
Inspired by the UK football staff sending 115 letters to Drew Barker, Tom Crean uses Snapchat to send 115 pictures of himself to a recruit.

-Drew Barker- ‏@D_Barker7 2h
@NotJerryTipton lmao

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 20h
Pitino blames narrow win on entire team being sick, "hacking and coughing." Dunno about the coughing part, but they were definitely hacking.

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 23h
Since Louisville opted not to cut the nets, Tom Crean is currently driving to Indy with a ladder and a pair of scissors.

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 season is mercifully over, and despite having the #1 ranked recruiting class in the country, Kentucky failed to make the NCAA Tournament, and were unceremoniously dispatched in the First Round of the NIT by Robert Morris. Hard to see things being any different in 2013-14...

*Crumblin' Down: A couple of weeks ago, after a season that ended with a loss in the Round of 32, Minnesota fired Tubby Smith. In 2007, after a season that ended with a loss in the Round of 32, Kentucky did not fire Tubby Smith. What does this mean? Obviously, that Minnesota takes basketball a lot more seriously than Kentucky does. At Kentucky, Tubby set school records for Final Four droughts, most consecutive 10+ loss seasons, etc. At Minnesota, he set no such school records. Yet UK let him hang around, and Minnesota gave him the ax...

*Your Life is Now: On Monday, Archie Goodwin announced his intention to turn pro. This could very well be a fatal blow to Kentucky's chances to end its "missing the NCAA Tournament" streak...

*Check It Out: In the past week, UK players Kyle Wiltjer and Willie Cauley-Stein announced that they would be returning to school for their junior and sophomore seasons, respectively. This does not bode well for Kentucky. The Cats, of course, had a historically disappointing season in 2013, missing the NCAA Tournament and getting crushed in the NIT by Robert Morris. Does next year's team really want the residue of that team to infect it next season? Sure...

* On this date: On this date in 2013, Louisville is about to win a national championship. Looks like the Mayans were off by a year.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=130776

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton @NotJerryTipton  14m 
Even though the season doesn't start for 7 months. Kentucky is practicing today at the Jordan Brand Classic in New York City.

[jbcarol]

*The Thunder Rolls: Last week, 5 star recruit Aaron Gordon committed to Arizona over Kentucky. This marks the second consecutive year that a high profile recruit has spurned Kentucky...

*Friends In Low Places: Last week, freshman Alex Poythress announced he will be returning to UK next year. This does not bode well for Kentucky...

* On this date: On this date in 1987, Indiana was fresh off its last national championship. The TV show "Alf" was popular.

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=131225

[jbcarol]

Kentucky's Spring Game, played last Saturday, was attended by almost 51,000 Kentucky fans. Of the 60 Spring Games played so far this season, this attendance ranked 2nd, behind only Nebraska, and ahead of former BCS champions Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida State, etc. This has to irk John Calipari to no end...

Nerlens Noel declared for the NBA Draft and is being projected as the #1 overall pick this June. This does not bode well for Kentucky...

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=131878

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 42m
Don't know which decision was worse. Punting on 4th and 2 from the 37 agaisnt Tennessee, or this: pic.twitter.com/S53QlfFTUQ


https://twitter.com/jokerphillips/status/327456461112373250/photo/1

jokerphillips Joker Phillips 1h
Only Gators Get Out Alive! #comeplaywrforthejoker

[attachment deleted by admin]

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 season is mercifully over, and despite having the #1 ranked recruiting class in the country, Kentucky failed to make the NCAA Tournament, and were unceremoniously dispatched in the First Round of the NIT by Robert Morris. Hard to see things being any different in 2013-14...

In reviewing tapes of the various all-star games in which the Harrisons played, they can be seen talking to refs, pleading with teammates to try hard, exhibiting emotion and showing an overall desire to beat their opponents. This year's Kentucky team had its share of issues, but it definitely wasn't plagued with this problem...

One underreported story line from last weekend's Nike Hoop Summit involved the only UK commit to have played in the game who is an underclassman: Karl Towns hates America. Though he lives and plays in New Jersey, he opted to play for the World team, which, as it turns out, was formed with one goal in mind: Beat the Americans...

On Monday, it was announced that Andrew Wiggins was canceling in-home visits with North Carolina, Kansas and Florida State. This does not bode well for Kentucky...

[jbcarol]

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 1h
Of course the allegations against Lance Thomas proved to be meritless. When Duke is involved, charges are always bogus.

[jbcarol]

The 2012-13 season is mercifully over, and despite having the #1 ranked recruiting class in the country, Kentucky failed to make the NCAA Tournament, and were unceremoniously dispatched in the First Round of the NIT by Robert Morris. Hard to see things being any different in 2013-14. To stay apprised and educated, follow me on Twitter @NotJerryTipton. Here's the weekly notebook:

Last week, Louisville's Russ Smith announced that he would be returning to Louisville for his senior season. This is bad news for Kentucky on a couple of levels. First of all, it draws attention to the fact that Kentucky has never had player return to school because he loves it so much. When Kentucky's players are on the fence (e.g., DeMarcus Cousins, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Nerlens Noel, etc.) they always end up leaving. (The fact that there are exceptions to this only proves the rule.) Second of all, it gives Rick Pitino yet another arrow in his recruiting quiver. Immediately after the championship game, Smith's father told reporters that Russ was definitely gone. However, Smith apparently loves and respects Pitino so much that he completely ignored his father, and did what Pitino told him to instead. In other words, Russ Smith cares more about Rick Pitino than he does his own father. It's like Pitino always tells players who are contemplating a jump to the NBA, "If you want to do what's best for me and my family, come back. And I talked to some scouts, and, ummm, they said you should definitely come back. Gotta go. #L1C4."

On this date in 2007, some Kentucky fan somewhere was proudly sporting a t-shirt that read "Ushering in the Billy Gillispie Era."

[jbcarol]

Sometimes You Just Can't Win: Kentucky took a massive P.R. hit last week when the NCAA decided that Duke was guilty of no wrongdoing in the Lance Thomas case. Thomas, of course, is the former Blue Devil who — while a student-athlete at Duke — walked into a jewelry shop with $30,000 in cash and proceeded to purchase $97,000 worth of jewelry. The store owner extended him $67,000 of credit, even though he was a college student at the time with no apparent means to pay the debt. By clearing Thomas, the NCAA only brought attention to the fact that it had previously punished John Calipari and UMass for essentially the exact same thing back in 1996, when Marcus Camby accepted jewelry from an agent. Though the NCAA has yet to explain what exactly differentiates the Camby case from the Thomas case, one can only assume that there has to be a significant difference between the two situations, because why would they punish UMass but not Duke? Whatever UMass and Calipari did back then, it must have been really bad. The longer the powers-that-be in Indianapolis remain silent, the worse this looks for Kentucky.
[url]

It is currently the offseason, which means just one thing in Lexington: John Calipari is openly soliciting NBA head coaching jobs. Despite the fact that Kentucky's season ended over 7 weeks ago, Calipari has yet to publicly announce that he is not interested in any NBA coaching job. Though he has made several public appearances this Spring, and his tweeted about topics ranging from yogurt to books to smart cars, he has conspicuously opted not to vehemently deny interest in becoming an NBA head coach again...

The NBA playoffs are currently being contested. This does not bode well for Kentucky. Last season, UK uber-frosh Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were selected first and second overall by the New Orleans Hornets and Charlotte Bobcats, respectively. However, despite investing significant sums of money in these players, neither teams was able to make the playoffs this year...

On this date in 2023, Andrew Wiggins will still be deciding where he wants to attend college.

@NotJerryTipton is a spoof on 30-year UK basketball beat writer Jerry Tipton. Tipton is known for finding some negative aspect to note to ensure he would rank last among SEC media homers. His paper won a Pulizter for bringing UK basketball down in the late 80s.

The real Tipton was also once polled on what is the toughest arena to play in in the SEC during his years of coverage (Rupp was not excluded).

Tipton said it was no contest. Though he was only there once, the toughest was Barnhill.

[jbcarol]

Earlier this week, Andrew Wiggins committed to Kansas over Kentucky. This is the continuation of a very disturbing trend for John Calipari and Kentucky. Ever since Louisville won the national championship last month, UK has failed to receive a commitment from a single...

It was recently announced that the 2014 NCAA Final Four will be aired on TBS. This does not bode well for Kentucky... The NCAA apparently made a business decision that ... not many people will want to tune in to watch the Cats, so hey, might as well put the thing on a channel that many folks probably haven't tuned into since they were watching "Gilligan's Island"...

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=133569

I have enjoyed having all games available on the four networks during Thursday and Friday afternoon of "Round Two" and playing director myself.

[jbcarol]

As it stands currently, Kentucky is the winningest basketball program of all time. However, it does not appear that this distinction will last very long. Presently, Kentucky holds a mere 10 game lead on the 2nd place team, Kansas. However, the Jayhawks gained 10 games on the Cats last season. If that happens again – and there's no reason to think it won't – then poof...

On this date in 1951, Kentucky was celebrating its 3rd national championship. (Congrats on your achievement, Cards!)