2009 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball - 4th edition

[dabvu2498]

BLUE TEAM Wall Hood Dodson Patterson Orton WHITE TEAM Bledsoe Meeks Miller Pilgrim Cousins Who ya got?

7 dudes on that list who most of us have never seen play. I would hold off on predicting that game.

[jmac]

WHAS radio announced today that Landon Sloan "officially" said he is going to Morehead. Best of luck to Landon. Seemed like a good kid who may get some minutes there.
Also, they said at that NBA scout thing where they do all the exact #'s such as height and vertical jump etc, Jodie Meeks actual height with no shoes on : 6'3.

Added note: player with best vertical jump- Griffin.

[WVRed]

WHAS radio announced today that Landon Sloan "officially" said he is going to Morehead. Best of luck to Landon. Seemed like a good kid who may get some minutes there.
Also, they said at that NBA scout thing where they do all the exact #'s such as height and vertical jump etc, Jodie Meeks actual height with no shoes on : 6'3.

Added note: player with best vertical jump- Griffin.

I read 6'4.

Slone will definitely be a major contributor to Donnie Tyndall's team at MSU. I hope he gets a waiver and can suit up against his former team. Hopefully the Rupp crowd gives him a nice ovation.

Blake Griffin is definitely the only for sure talent in this years draft. Ricky Rubio may be the second, but everybody else has major question marks.

[cumberlandreds]

I read 6'4.

Slone will definitely be a major contributor to Donnie Tyndall's team at MSU. I hope he gets a waiver and can suit up against his former team. Hopefully the Rupp crowd gives him a nice ovation.

Blake Griffin is definitely the only for sure talent in this years draft. Ricky Rubio may be the second, but everybody else has major question marks.

In Tipton's column about Slone he mentioned that Morehead is contracted to open with UK for the next three seasons. If that's true then Slone will get plenty of chances against UK. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a couple of really good games against them too.

[WMR]

Meeks is definitely 6'3". That's the report from the combine, and they don't mess up those kind of measurements... Meeks also reportedly had the 2nd shortest wingspan of all players at the combine! That's not good.

[New Fever]

Will Barton #7 prospect in 2010 class commits to Memphis.


http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...s/?partner=RSS

[WVRed]

Will Barton #7 prospect in 2010 class commits to Memphis.


http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...s/?partner=RSS

Wow, I had read that he would likely be a lock for UK. Kudos to Pastner for selling him on the idea of playing with his brother.

On a somewhat related note, I was in Cincinnati for the game last night. Since Parkersburg is pretty limited on UK apparel, I went to the Kentucky Korner in the Florence Mall and bought a Cal T-shirt. There was an older man and I am assuming was his grandson in the store who was talking non-stop about Cal and how he did Memphis. When he left I went up to check out and asked the person running the register if he was from Memphis and his reaction was "Oh yeah, he wasn't too happy about us taking their coach".

[WMR]

Yeah what was Cal thinking not staying at Conference-USA Memphis until the day he died. They should thank God every day that he stayed there nine years.

[WMR]

CALIPARI BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY
By Dick Vitale

I am tired of the John Calipari bashing.

It seems like there are columns and radio talk show hosts firing away against the new Kentucky coach because of the NCAA's investigation into his former school, Memphis.

For those bashing the coach, take a break! How guilty is this guy? Do you really think he went out of his way to make sure someone took an SAT for Derrick Rose? Do you think he made sure an agent laid cash on Marcus Camby at Massachusetts?

This guy has been bashed and bashed, and in every case he has been cleared of involvement by NCAA investigators. Isn't that enough?

The answer is no for those that have a personal agenda. I feel there are some envious people, jealous of his success. Remember, he did not come up in a pedigree situation.

When you are talking about Calipari's former employers, Massachusetts and Memphis, he paid his dues and busted his butt. He worked so hard, playing games at all hours to get exposure for his programs.

Let's face reality ... they did not have the ammunition that Kentucky has ... big blue is one of the Rolls Royce programs in America. Just look at their practice facility; it is like a Taj Mahal. I love the passion of those fans in bluegrass country!

There is nobody else that could have done the job that he did with the Minutemen. Just look at the program before he arrived at Curry Hicks Cage. He was a Frank Lloyd Wright, an architect who build a program into prominence. His intensity, emotion, passion and ability to recruit stand out. He communicates exceptionally well with the modern day athlete.

Calipari has that salesmanship about him. He is one of the few coaches who can handle the pressure of that environment in Lexington. A guy like Rick Pitino did, and he could have won three championships in a row with a little break. Pitino is a future Hall of Famer who would admit now that he should never have left Kentucky for the NBA.

Calipari, like Pitino, has that magical personality to sell the Wildcat program. Unfortunately he has dealt with other issues prior to his first game in Lexington. It has already been a turbulent pre-season as he prepares for the 2009-10 campaign, and the bashers have had a field day.

I understand that coaches have to be accountable for the actions he is involved in. In this instance, he was not involved.

Enough is enough.

Let's give the guy some due. I know there are people who will scream if the NCAA infractions committee says Memphis has to take down that Final Four banner because of the Rose situation. People will say it is Calipari's fault.

The coach is guilty of one thing ... convincing talented players to perform at the schools he represents. These are players other people would have died to have.

I know I am going off, but I have been reading so many articles by people taking shots. I don't feel they are fair.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/dickv...ory?id=4246114

[BRM]

So you guys like Dickie V now?

[WMR]

So you guys like Dickie V now?

I like the article.

[jmac]

CALIPARI BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY
By Dick Vitale

I am tired of the John Calipari bashing.

It seems like there are columns and radio talk show hosts firing away against the new Kentucky coach because of the NCAA's investigation into his former school, Memphis.

For those bashing the coach, take a break! How guilty is this guy? Do you really think he went out of his way to make sure someone took an SAT for Derrick Rose? Do you think he made sure an agent laid cash on Marcus Camby at Massachusetts?

This guy has been bashed and bashed, and in every case he has been cleared of involvement by NCAA investigators. Isn't that enough?

The answer is no for those that have a personal agenda. I feel there are some envious people, jealous of his success. Remember, he did not come up in a pedigree situation.

When you are talking about Calipari's former employers, Massachusetts and Memphis, he paid his dues and busted his butt. He worked so hard, playing games at all hours to get exposure for his programs.

Let's face reality ... they did not have the ammunition that Kentucky has ... big blue is one of the Rolls Royce programs in America. Just look at their practice facility; it is like a Taj Mahal. I love the passion of those fans in bluegrass country!

There is nobody else that could have done the job that he did with the Minutemen. Just look at the program before he arrived at Curry Hicks Cage. He was a Frank Lloyd Wright, an architect who build a program into prominence. His intensity, emotion, passion and ability to recruit stand out. He communicates exceptionally well with the modern day athlete.

Calipari has that salesmanship about him. He is one of the few coaches who can handle the pressure of that environment in Lexington. A guy like Rick Pitino did, and he could have won three championships in a row with a little break. Pitino is a future Hall of Famer who would admit now that he should never have left Kentucky for the NBA.

Calipari, like Pitino, has that magical personality to sell the Wildcat program. Unfortunately he has dealt with other issues prior to his first game in Lexington. It has already been a turbulent pre-season as he prepares for the 2009-10 campaign, and the bashers have had a field day.

I understand that coaches have to be accountable for the actions he is involved in. In this instance, he was not involved.

Enough is enough.

Let's give the guy some due. I know there are people who will scream if the NCAA infractions committee says Memphis has to take down that Final Four banner because of the Rose situation. People will say it is Calipari's fault.

The coach is guilty of one thing ... convincing talented players to perform at the schools he represents. These are players other people would have died to have.

I know I am going off, but I have been reading so many articles by people taking shots. I don't feel they are fair.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/dickv...ory?id=4246114

He needs to put at top :
Attention Pat Forde

[BRM]

So he's cool when he praises Calipari but a dolt when he praises Coach K.

[WMR]

So he's cool when he praises Calipari but a dolt when he praises Coach K.

Huh? I like him calling out his supposed "colleagues" for dirty journalism. I think Dicky V is annoying at times, but I'm not one who thinks he loves one school more than another. He's no Billy PACCker.

[WMR]

He needs to put at top :
Attention Pat Forde

I wonder how many copies of this article Pat has had sent to his email address?