SB Nation - Jodie Meeks

Interview With Joseph Lacy, Author of "Mountain Reign"

Truzenzuzex — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:58:16 -0000

Mountain Reign front cover

As a nice tie-in to Roy Williams' comments in my previous post, I present here an interview with Joseph Lacy.

Joseph Lacy is a first-time author of a new book about basketball called Mountain Reign,which he describes as "...a hardscrabble coming-of-age tale about coal country teens struggling to make it to the state basketball finals in Rupp-era Lexington. It has sort of a 'Hoosiers meets October Sky' feel."

The interview with Joe about Mountain Reign follows the jump.

Mandatory full disclosure: I have been sent a free copy of Joe's novel, and no other financial or in-kind consideration whatsoever. This interview was my promise to him before he offered to provide a copy, and I have no financial interest in the novel, either directly or indirectly except as disclosed herein. The purpose of this interview is to make our readers familiar with a new novel about a subject that may interest them.

Tru: How many books have you written?

Mountain Reign is my first novel, and you always hope that people don’t say the new baby’s ears are too big. Previously, I wrote a biography of Ohio native Jim Foulkes, MD. I joined Jim on his mission hospital rounds in the bush country of Mukinge, Zambia (south central Africa) and the seeds of To Africa with Love: A Bush Doc’s Story were planted then.   I also compiled a series of inspirational gift books in a "Prescription" series, including Prescription for Life. I did a satisfying cover story for Iron Master on the life story of my uncle, Ronald Coleman Lacy. Ron was the greatest all-around athlete I’ve ever seen. I’ve also written quite a bit in the medical field, and am currently working on two medical thrillers, Shadow’s Call and Pearl Dive.

Tru: What was the inspiration behind Mountain Reign?

For my money, Hoosiers is the best sports movie ever. So why fictionalize Kentucky basketball when we have dozens of Hoosiers-like tales? Instead of telling one story, I took slivers of many and coupled it with the spirit of Kentucky basketball and came up with Mountain Reign.

I grew up with basketballs bouncing around my ears (Lexington-born, UK alumnus), and gained great inspiration from watching a lot of fabulous players, notably college basketball players. Patrick Patterson and Jeff Sheppard come to mind, but also classic ones, such as Dan Issel, Jamal Mashburn, Pete Maravich, Roger Harden, Tony Delk, Jack Givens, and Rex Chapman. Basketball is a birthright in Kentucky.

As well, I was raised by wonderful Appalachian grandparents and my Hazard-born Uncle Ron. Their profound love and example influence me to this day, and a lot of the hardiness is found in the characters of Mountain Reign.

Appalachia’s story is one of a hardscrabble life and the quality of that life depended upon a man or woman’s independence and self-sufficiency. I set the book in 1950. At that time, the severe terrain and isolation of this population left many of these mountain communities unlike any found elsewhere in the world.

Much of Appalachian writing diverges into stereotype or romantic legend. I wanted neither. I wrote about a sturdy people who happened to be Appalachian. The creative center of Mountain Reign is people. As well, the rich landscape of the Appalachian Mountains presents as a character in itself. Add a little basketball to the mix, then put the reader behind the eyes of teenagers (who can get away with speaking their minds more so than what the domesticated tongues of adults might speak), and you some interesting stuff.

Tru: Were any of your characters inspired by UK players, past or present? If so which characters and which players?

High school players, of course, will not have the polish college players have. In fact, I did not choose one particular player to model my characters after, but took facets from many. And quite a few of those facets came from lesser-sung players.

When Hazelwood’s pint-sized point guard (Stub) barrels down court dribbling the ball like he’s squashing bugs, readers will see a little guy with a big desire to win. UK fans will hopefully see a composite—Dicky Beal, Anthony Epps, or even Ron Lacy, a UK football player (running back under Bear Bryant, an Army All-Star basketball player, and former Mr. America). These guys had motors that didn’t quit. If John Wall had played at Kentucky before I’d finished Mountain Reign, there would probably be a sliver of him in there, too. With Wall, you're tempted to use Ali’s famous line: "Keep the camera moving, ‘cause I'm kinda fast."

Hazelwood plays scrappy, in-your-face defense. I hope readers see slivers of Anthony Epps, Jay Shidler, Cliff Hawkins, Saul Smith, Travis Ford, and Sean Woods.

In Mountain Reign, even some of the opponents have a UK essence. For example, a city player who "looks like he has cantaloupe halves strapped where his calves should have been" muscles his way in the paint with his NFL-style frame (think James Lee) to torment foes with his silky shots (insert Jack Givens or Louie Dampier).

When other characters stroke polished textbook shots, I hope the readers see in their mind’s eye images of Kevin Grevey, Jodie Meeks, and Troy McKinley. When the hometown player sets a rock-solid box out, here’s hoping visions of Charles Hurt, Dan Issel, or Patrick Patterson leap to their minds.   A dribbler blurs through the defense like gale through a corn field, and I hope they ask—was that Roger Harden or Rajon Rondo? Derek Anderson or Wayne Turner? Larry Conley or Ralph Beard?

But most importantly, I hope the reader sees in Mountain Reign the concept of team. Slade (the coach) knows he has a team, and thinks: His boys were playmakers…all elbows and scabbed knees on defense. But not one was authentic hotshot material. Slade prayed that when his opponent looked down his bench, they would see a ratty string of boys they would underestimate.

Role players often are the crucial cement that molds really good teams. Mountain Reign is full of players who exude hustle, who are comfortable in their own skin and use solid fundamentals—who better to embody the team concept than Jeff Brassow, Chuck Hayes, Ronnie Lyons, John Pelphrey, or Richie Farmer. Those guys were as comfortable scraping their chins against the floor chasing loose balls as shooting baskets in warm-ups. The same can be said for other mountain floor burns—Wah Wah Jones, Reggie Hanson, Joe Stepp, Johnny Cox, and Don Mills.

While every UK era has its many stars to draw from, one thing doesn’t change from year to year—Kentucky strives for team. I love what former UNC coach Frank McGuire said: "Kentucky has found the secret of basketball—five guys playing together." That’s what Mountain Reign is all about.

In my book, one of the guys shares his money with his destitute teammates. Not to stretch this analogy too far, but when Jamal Mashburn donated $500,000 from his salary before playing one NBA game, that kind of generosity gets your attention.

Also, you have to remember, up to only a few years ago, the closest modern touchstone to boys’ basketball in the 50s was girls’ basketball. I made sure to attend a high school girls’ game at a small school (Class A) to get a little feel for finesse and teamwork.

Tru: Is this the first book you have written with a basketball theme?

Mountain Reign is my first book with a basketball theme.

Tru: Why did you pick the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the Adolph Rupp era as the setting?

The Appalachian players were the rootstock of Kentucky basketball during this era. And this, at a time when UK was amassing a perennial basketball dynasty, with All-Americans coming off the bench. Rupp would often quote the Bible: "I look unto the hills, whence comes my help."

Also, in 1950 television had yet to homogenize the culture. The time period and geography made for an amazing abundance of rich-textured themes. Living off the land. The blessing/curse of coal veining through the mountains. Segregation. Elizabethan dialect that is a somewhat close to what Shakespeare or Chaucer spoke.

Tru: Which character, if any, will Kentucky fans find most familiar?

Hopefully, they will see glimpses of many players, not just one. What basketball lovers will find familiar is that the boys between these pages love basketball as much as they do. This beautiful game was made to be played well, and to be played well it must be played fast, and be played as a team.

Really, none of the hometown team in Mountain Reign is good enough to play at UK. But what they're really good at is being a team. As an aside, there’s a scene where the coach drives the winding roads to meet an old retired coach from Clay County, Bippy Skyland, for advice. He’s not exactly a Bobby Keith, but they would have liked each other.

Tru: What, if anything, was the most difficult thing about writing Mountain Reign?

On a writerly level, you always worry about the balance of the elements (description, narrative summary, dialogue) used in storytelling. You want your history and facts to be right, but you don’t want to use a ton of research, because it comes off as a data dump and/or authorial boasting, which pulls a reader out of the story. That’s one reason why I couldn't mention all forty-nine of Kentucky’s Appalachian counties (nor many of their great players) between the pages of the book by name—but their spirit is there.

Today, of course, kids of all stripes play ball together. But at that time, you had two Kentucky high school leagues, one white, one black (KHSAA and KHSAL). Then, blacks and whites did not officially play together. Fiction allows you to have a little fun—so I had a black team scrimmage the hometown white team in preparation for a tournament. I didn’t want to rabbit-trail too much from the dominant theme of the book, but I thought this was an important scene (pre-civil rights America). To get a feel for this, I spoke with Henry Lee Logan, the first African-American to play basketball at a predominantly white institution (Western Carolina University) in the southeastern US. As well, I had a friend (an African-American MD who played college ball in the south) read the excerpt for suggestions.

Additionally, one of my main characters is a Melungeon, someone not quite black, someone not quite white. (Try googling "Melungeon" for an interesting read). I interviewed a nurse I work with who is part-Melungeon. Suffice it to say, the self-reliant Melungeon’s skin is not only dark, it’s pretty thick, too. Toughness comes in all shades of skin color.

What do I want people to get out of the book? The enjoyment of a satisfying read and an appreciation for that which is the creative center of Mountain Reign—the Appalachian people.

You can read Mountain Reign reviews or pick up a copy at Amazon.com or Abebooks.com. Lacy is having a book signing at December 19th, (Saturday) from 2-4 pm at Borders Books, Crestview Hills Town Center, Crestview Hills, Kentucky.

Kentucky Basketball: The Cancun Challenge in the Rear-View Mirror

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:44:43 -0000

More photos » by Israel Leal - AP

Big Cuz needs to work on his 15' shot.

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So UK wins the Cancun Challenge, with difficulty. We saw many interesting things in this tournament, from improvement to regression, from near-competence to near-futility. I think what we have seen here is a microcosm of UK's early season, and it is both encouraging and disconcerting at the same time.

On the encouraging side, we have seen that John Wall is everything he was cracked up to be. Every game he seems to get closer and closer to his potential, as he should. The biggest thing holding him back right now is his tendency to try to take over ball games with his remarkable athleticism. He needs to temper this tendency and do a better job of getting his teammates fully engaged. A few times during this most recent tournament, I saw UK players watching John Wall instead of doing a rim-run, or moving into open spots.

We have seen that before, of course, as recently as last year. Sometimes the guys would just watch Jodie Meeks as he went off on one of his famous streaks. While that's the last thing we want with any player, we particularly don't want it when it is the point guard doing it. So Wall must learn to control his tendency to go one-on-three or one-on-four, and use those situations to get his secondary break involved.

But aside from Wall, some other UK players have displayed their youth for all to see, like DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe struggled against Cleveland State, but came back with a strong game against the Stanford Cardinal. Bledsoe's main difficulty seems to be in accepting his role rather than competing with Wall. It's laudable that he is working so hard, but he needs to try to be more of a complimentary player at this point.

Cousins, on the other hand, is just a wild young buck out there. He is as undisciplined a player as I have seen in years, but he overcomes this tendency with his remarkable knack for getting the ball in the basket no matter how hard he is hit. That is a rare gift, but it can be a double-edged sword. We can't afford to go in to him in close-game situations if he is going to shoot 37% from the line. I am sure Calipari will make this clear to him.

Let's have a look at the Cancun Challenge as a whole, from a Four Factors perspective. First, offensive efficiency and offensive rebounding:

You can see here that Kentucky had nice margins in OE in every game except for the Sam Houston St. Bearkats, who had a couple of players shoot a very high percentage from three. For OR%, UK has done a very good job so far on the offensive glass, which makes sense since they are so big, long and athletic.

Now for a look at turnover% and free-throw rate%:

Kentucky has dominated the free-throw rate statistic against everyone they have played. Unfortunately, that has been somewhat negated by the average FT% we we have seen so far. Even so, dominating this statistic bodes really well for UK's future.

On the TO% side, the picture is not quite as rosy. Kentucky is averaging almost 24% turnovers, currently 316th out of 344 teams.

So where did UK go wrong against Stanford, you might ask? How was that game so close, despite UK dominating all but one of the four factors? This chart will tell you:

Now this looks ugly. UK had 22 fewer attempts than Stanford due to the disparity in TO%. We had an even bigger disparity against the Cleveland St. Vikings, but the Vikings shot a pathetic 26% against UK. Stanford shot fully 10% better. Our turnovers nearly cost us the Stanford game, and unless UK gets them under control, that "almost" will become a certainty. The interesting thing is, these turnovers are coming in spite of the fact that UK has not one, but two point guards starting.

Winning this tournament will be a good thing for this young team, but they have a long way to go. Until the Wildcats can either force more turnovers than they make consistently, or reduce the high TO% that they are making, this team will be in serious jeopardy of an upset every game they play, particularly against the tougher teams.

I do expect Coach Cal to get a handle on this problem, and even though the offense we run naturally has a high turnover rate, it cannot be nearly 24%. UK must get this down to 18% or less to avoid beating themselves, and that's nearly the only way this team can lose, as deep and talented as they are.

The good news is, we won the Cancun Challenge. The bad news is, our weaknesses have been exposed.

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Season Kickoff Edition

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:00:32 -0000

by Gerry Broome - AP

Don't know 'bout those unis, Tar Heels ...

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Well, what do you know, the basketball season has officially begun, but with a whimper rather than a bang. North Carolina opened up last night against the Fighting Isaiah Thomases, and lo and behold, the Tar Heels were not even a shell of last year's team. But of course, like UK, they are very young but very talented, and they will certainly improve.

The SB Nation UNC blog Carolina March has more, as does this News and Observer piece, about how the Heels did in their first outing versus an opponent that counts. Of course, UK doesn't get a shot at a counter until later this week, but it will get here, folks. Be patient.

Ohio State had a convincing 100-60 win over Alcorn State in a very efficient outing. The Buckeys look to be a very interesting team, and unlike UNC and Kentucky, is loaded with less talent but much more experience. Teams like Ohio State often make a lot of noise in March, and this team will bear close watching throughout the year.

#25 Syracuse was easily handling tiny Albany as I was going to bed, and Murray State was getting set to take on Cal, but that tip is past my bedtime.

After the jump, all the news that's fit for Wildcats.

In Patterson's dream game, he keeps firing from downtown and he can't miss | KentuckySports.com
In Patrick Patterson's fantasy, he dribbles the ball downcourt and swishes three-point shot after three-point shot.

"I'm going to play Jodie Meeks," he said. "Just like Tennessee."

That just seems so...right. Patterson has a nice stroke and a nice release. He may not be Jodie Meeks this year, but I do think he will surprise us all from the arc.
Dunlap, Snowden star in UK women's scrimmage | KentuckySports.com
Basketball Prospectus | Articles | The List: Season-Opening Edition
Another ranking, once again UK is fairly high.
Improving Cobb part of ‘extensive’ injury list at UK | Vaught's Views
One day, we will have a season where we are not so banged up. One day.
Western Kentucky fires coach David Elson in seventh season amid 0-9 season - ESPN
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers have fired coach David Elson amid the Hilltoppers' first fully eligible season for FBS play.
SEC power rankings - SEC - ESPN
11. Kentucky: One of the most time consuming things Kentucky coach Rich Brooks does every Sunday is read off the injury report. The Wildcats (5-4, 1-4) are really banged up. Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb didn’t play last week in the 37-12 win over Eastern Kentucky, but both are expected back this week against Vanderbilt. The Wildcats would like to get all the drama out of the way and become bowl eligible this week. Otherwise, they’ll have to beat Georgia or Tennessee to do so.
Five Bold College Basketball Predictions - Andy Hutchins - The Sporting Blog - Sporting News
The best team in the SEC will be Mississippi State. Forget about the John Wall Show at Kentucky: The only team in the SEC coming off an NCAA Tournament berth and returning all five starters plays in Starkville. Add Renardo Sidney, currently caught in eligibility limbo, and the Bulldogs may have the most imposing frontline in college hoops in Sidney and one-man block party Jarvis Varnado. Maintaining the quietly above-average guard play of last season could be their key.

MSU will be very good, but not better than Kentucky. Andy is letting his hopes write a check that reality can't cash.
Kentucky Sports Radio " Blog Archive " Rich Brooks press conference notes
I'm disturbed that the team is still worrying about MSU. Forget it -- its water under the bridge now. Beating Vandy, Georgia and/or UT would more than make up for it.
NCAA College Basketball Power Rankings - NCAA Basketball - ESPN
I'll take a #4 ranking for now, but I honestly believe we will be better than Texas and Michigan State. Interesting to find Dook all the way down at #9. Cardinals at 21? Nah. That's too high, I don't get it. I also don't buy Minnesota as top 25 yet, but I would have them fairly close.

Butler #10? Not. Maybe 18. Michigan 15? Well, that won't likely last. Georgetown probably deserves to be a bit higher. West Virginia top ten? Well, maybe close.
65 things to watch during the 2009-10 season - CBK News - FOX Sports on MSN
2. How will new Kentucky coach John Calipari mesh the old with the new? Patrick Patterson, Darius Miller and Perry Stevenson must figure out a way to co-exist with the new guys in Lexington — freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Darnell Dodson and Daniel Orton.
KY reports two more H1N1 deaths
Ugh.
Projecting the Field - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com
Last season's first projections just rimmed out. But a new season is about to tip off and Gary Parrish launches his first tournament field projections, following the talent trail to Kentucky and Kansas.

Florida and Vandy both just miss? One may, but not both. Only 5 bids for the SEC and 6 for the ACC. Hmm, must be a last-season hangover.
WBIR.com | Knoxville, TN | Tennessean: Criticizing SEC officials is easy call for some
In our smoke-and-mirrors world, SEC refs are supposedly doing whatever is necessary to keep Florida and Alabama undefeated and on track for a showdown in the SEC Championship game.

The theory holds that SEC powers-that-be want to keep the records of both teams spotless until Dec. 5, thus assuring that the winner plays for the national championship and the loser remains ranked high enough in the BCS standings to lock down a spot in one of the other major bowls.

Heh. Conspiracy theorists -- gotta love 'em.
Can college hoops' opener ever earn buzz? - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
They don’t because college basketball’s opening day is blasé. There’s no national tie-in or big recognition about the season starting. Maybe it’s because the season’s too long, or maybe it’s because the games will be blowouts.

The NCAA knows it and is – slowly – addressing the problem. Kind of.
College basketball preview: Year of the blueblood - Mike DeCourcy - College Basketball - Sporting News
What separates the bluebloods, though, from the nouveau riche — Michigan State, Arizona, Connecticut, Texas, Florida and the like — is how dramatically their cataclysms can be transformed into triumph. It took Williams two seasons to lead the Tar Heels to a championship after inheriting a young team that had finished in the NIT. Howland and the Bruins began a three-year Final Four streak just two years after UCLA endured back-to-back losing seasons.

DeCourcy gets it absolutely right again.
UK at Georgia set for 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 21 | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
Peters: UK’s season is on the line at Vanderbilt | Vaught's Views
Corey Peters has no problem admitting that Kentucky’s season is on the line Saturday at Vanderbilt.

You bet it is. Big time. Wins at Georgia or vs. Tennessee are possible, but very tough.
Memphis making an ultra-clean Calipari break - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
To be fair, no school spends much time lauding the coaches who leave for other jobs, particularly in the media guide. That’s a space reserved for the new regime and the current season’s players. As Mark McGwire might say, why dwell on the past?

Heh. Whatever. I could care less if Cal is ever remembered as Memphis' coach.

Blue/White Game -- After Action Report

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:35:08 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Darius Miller shows off his extra 2 inches in height by bringing the thunder!

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Well, as you might expect from a public scrimmage, there was a lot of fun had tonight in the Big Blue Nation. The Blue/White Scrimmage is now a historical fact.

Some questions were answered. Others remain. But overall, there was a lot positive from this intra-squad tussle. Here are the main things I noticed:

Wall and Bledsoe together are scary as heck in this offense. Nobody could stop them.
John Wall is as advertised, but he really needs to work on his perimeter game, it is a significant weakness.
Eric Bledsoe's perimeter game is better than it was. Early progress is a good thing.
Patrick Patterson is showing signs of having small forward skills. That's really great to see.
DeMarcus Cousins is a big, big boy. And he plays like one. But he is quite a bit more athletic than he looks.
Darius Miller was invisible in the first half, and awesome in the second. I don't know what that means.

Darnell Dodson can shoot, but he's no Jodie Meeks.
The athleticism on this team is absolutely remarkable. Perhaps the most athletic college team, top to bottom, ever assembled.
Jon Hood really looks like a contributor this year. He was fearless.
Perry Stevenson was completely invisible the whole game. Ramon Harris was not.
I think we can pretty well figure out who the stars are going to be.
Josh Harrellson can still shoot, and he makes good decisions more often than not. But he has to go to the basket a lot more strongly against the likes of this team.
Speed, speed, speed. This team is going to wear folks down in a hurry.
This team has the ability to be great defensively. Will they?
Did I mention Patrick Patterson was the man?
Mark Krebs can shoot a little.
DeAndre Liggins has a chance to be pretty good in this system.

Overall, I thought the practice was sloppy but fun, and I expect this team to get a lot better. Our athleticism and talent will carry us until we run up against the big boys, but hopefully by then, these guys will have some kind of clue. Even though they tried to execute Calipari's system, most of the time they didn't do a great job. We saw flashes of what makes the DDM so great, but it wasn't a consistent theme.

I do like the way that the team played with respect to effort and pace. I thought overall the team really played hard, and did good work. I expect Cal to get them to the point of competence, if not a well-oiled machine, pretty quickly. This was all good fun, and way more interesting than Big Blue Madness from a basketball standpoint.

I can't wait to see us play our first real game. Go Cats!

Big Blue Daily Mail -- All Over the Map

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 14:49:29 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Coach Cal wants you to be good boys and girls when the Cardinals come to town.

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I know the Big Blue Daily Mail hasn't exactly been "daily" in a while. Mostly, that is due to me working on a couple of really huge projects that take up a tremendous amount of my time, and have seriously curtailed my blogging. I promise this is not a permanent situation, but it will continue for a while yet. So for those of you who miss the daily BBDM, I promise it will return fairly soon -- hang in there. Real life often has a negative impact on my posting, but I have not lost my passion either for blogging or for the Wildcats.

With that out of the way, today's top stories will be Wildcat-related, not Pitino-related, and it will be that way (hopefully, barring some other credible revelation) forever. Coach Calipari has recently asked (without providing quotations) that UK fans be on their best behavior when Louisville comes to town for our annual basketball tilt. I hope that happens, but I don't think it's realistic,and Calipari obliquely threatening not to coach the game if fans misbehave shows the depth of his misunderstanding of the intensity of this rivalry. All I can say is, he had better have his assistant coaches ready to go.

On the football front, Rich Brooks is telling us what anyone who follows SEC football already knew -- neither Morgan Newton or Ryan Mossakowski are anywhere near ready to take on the job of being a starting quarterback in hte SEC, even at Kentucky. Both these guys will eventually be very good, but this year, I don't expect to see much of them.

Top News

'Great summer' brings Meeks back to Kentucky
Jodie will be signing some autographs this weekend: Meanwhile, Meeks returns to Kentucky this weekend to sign autographs in Paintsville on Friday (Brown's Ford, 4:30-6 p.m.). Then he will be in Pikeville (Wal-Mart, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Pikeville High School, 6-7:30 p.m.) and Hindman (Sports Complex 2-3:30 p.m.) on Saturday. He will be in Lexington's Fayette Mall on Sunday at John Millards Art Gallery, 2-4 p.m.
Ex-UK star Issel files for bankruptcy | KentuckySports.com
Tough times for a UK great. Seems like tough times all around, I guess.
ZAGSBLOG " Boyle Confirms Indy, Duke Lead for Irving
Confirmation from Irving's coach that Duke is the leader for Kyrie Irving. Plus, Andre Dawkins will somehow suit up for Duke this year, despite being a 2010 recruit.

UK Basketball News

Calipari asks the media to leave him off the hook about Pitino's infidelity.
UK media relations asked the media to not ask Calipari about the Rick Pitino situation, per the coach's request. I guess I don't blame him. I don't think any good could come from him weighing in on the situation. There are lots of other nice tidbits in here, too.
Danny Jett's Inner Circle: The Immortals: UK's 25 'Legends' #14
Keith Bogans is a legend at A Sea of Blue, and his name is an integral part of the creation of this blog.
Top non-conference games to watch in 2009-10 - CBK News - FOX Sports on MSN
The Loathsome Troll Jeff Goodman gives us a pretty good list.
The Big Blue Nation Report: Calipari is... Boring?
Heh.
Bluegrass State Basketball: John Clay Chats About His Job, UK and Calipari
Definitely worth your time to read.
Cats getting some pre-season love nationally
Indeed.
Rupp Arena: Simply the best
Heh. Guess Gary Parrish was right about that.
One on One with Jodie Meeks
Really nice Q & A with Jodie Meeks, plus some footage of him playing this summer.
Cousins ‘embracing’ competition

UK Football news

Georgia high school a pipeline for Cats | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
Wesley Woodyard and Braxton Kelley are the gifts that keep on giving.
SEC revises media policy - Sports - Kentucky.com
Not very much, though.
Cats LB Thurmond back in action after three surgeries
Great news for UK, and for the young man. I really hope he can make it all the way back and play.
A troubled past won't dim rookie Johnny Williams' future
UK linebacker Johnny Williams is lucky to be alive, and he is intent on making the most of it.
Thursday post-practice comments from Brooks, Phillips
Via Tom Leach.
ESPN.com's Preseason All American Team: Ivan Maisel
Trevard Lindley named first team All-American.
"Rich Tradition" book signing events
Don't miss this at Tom Leach's blog.
Video interview with Joker Phillips after Thursday's practice
As always, a must-watch from Tom Leach.

Other UK Sports news

NCAA Sports News

Ranking the SEC Coaches: Who Passes the Road Trip Test? - Arkansas Expats
High-larious. Literally.
Rush The Court " Blog Archive " Buzz: Duke Adds Andre Dawkins
Duke getting better. I sure hope we get a shot at them!
H1N1 strikes Duke football.
Duke coach David Cutcliffe announced on Friday that nearly half of his 99-player roster has been treated for symptoms believed to be the H1N1 virus, exposing a problem football programs around the country could face this season.

Wow. I hope everyone will be okay. Scary. Very scary.
Auburn names Todd starting quarterback - College Football - Kentucky.com
Wow, an E-town grad as QB for the Auburn Tigers. War Eagle, Kentucky boy!

Other News of Interest

Michael Phelps uninjured after two-car accident; police say other driver at fault - ESPN
Michael Phelps just can't stay out of the news. I wonder if the old axiom, "Any press is good press" applies to his situation?
Pence: Sypher's forced abortion story "a fabrication"
Heh. U of L is in no position to preach about abortions. There is one clinic in the city that performs abortions, and both doctors on the staff are faculty members of U of L medical school. Crawford is making sense here, I think.
Eric Crawford gets emails ...
... and more emails ...
... and still more emails.
Sypher says husband was paid to marry her
Weirder and weirder.

The Daily Schadenfreude

U of L fan sees UK conspiracy in Pitino affair.
Your paper's slant only throws gasoline onto the fiery rumor that Coach Pitino's seductress was an instrument of entrapment perpetrated by UK alums who are disgruntled over his coming to U of L.

Heh. This was linked earlier, but I just had to put this in the Daily Schadenfreude. It is much too rich just to sit in a FanShot. Those UK alums are just so ... devious! They really should apply for work with the CIA -- we need agents that can arrange affairs like this so we can spy on our enemies using blackmail.
Pitino should leave and take Jurich with him
That's forgiveness for ya.

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Kentucky Has Six Pre-season All-SEC Players

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:16:57 -0000

More photos » AP

Congrats to Jeremy Jarmon for getting picked in the third round of the NFL supplemental draft by the Washington Redskins.

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Six. Not a bad number for the former doormat of the Southeastern Conference. It's good to have UK football players recognized as among the best in the SEC, even if it means little at this point. But if these guys do live up to their billing, it could be a very good year for Kentucky football.

Congratulations Trevard Lindley, Micah Johnson, Zipp Duncan, Corey Peters, Jorge Gonzalez and Mike Hartline. Mike Hartline? Really? Well, there you go.

UK Basketball News

How I’d Change Sports: Part One " Aaron Torres Sports
Since arriving in Lexington, Calipari has already marked his territory like a Great Dane at a fire hydrant, bringing one of the best recruiting classes in the history of college basketball. And that’s with only three months in Kentucky under his belt.

Read the whole thing. Some of it is not all that complimentary, but trust me, it is very, very funny.
Andre Riddick chokes Rasheed Wallace | Caliparti
A trip down memory lane
Andy Katz's Daily Word: U.S. team hears the boos in Serbia - ESPN
Katz also speculates on the meaning of some of the happenings during the Memphis hearing in which Calipari called in from China.
Darius Miller does a Q&A with Cat Scratches.
Doron Lamb Heading to Kansas in August
I still think this kid will be in Blue and White.
Rush The Court " Blog Archive " Coming Soon To A Discount Bin Near You…
Heh. A funny take on the Billy Gillispie Story. Other than that, I simply don't have much to offer.

UK Football News

No news is good news
No doubt.
Brooks, Petri prepared Jenkins for NFL
Ranking the coaches - Dooley’s desk - Gator Sports
Rich Brooks is moving up the charts.

Other UK Sports News

UK's Agostinelli to make pro debut in Fifth Third
Awesome for Agostinelli. I haven't heard of a professional former UK tennis player in a while.

NCAA Sports News

Which SEC Coach is Most Likely to Bail on His Team? | SECRivals.com
Punishment needed for NCAA violations - Sports
If only.
"BTS Previews: The SEC is still king"
No love for UK here.
How Long Does it Take to Build a Program in the SEC? - Track Em Tigers
A review of the past 25 years of SEC head-coaching experience. It's examined in particular, in years of head-coaching experience.
OSU basketball signee Matt Pilgrim confident he'll be eligible | NewsOK.com
"Me and Pat [Patrick Patterson] had some good battles," Pilgrim said. "My time at Kentucky was wonderful. It gave me time to sit down and figure out how I can make an impact in a game. I think my body matured, got more ready to play."
Florida Gators Country " Basketball " State of the program
This is a really good look at how Florida got where it is right now. It's easy to see how a rash of transfers, injuries and perception problems can lead a program into a mini-decline. Fortunately for Donovan, the perception problem surrounded the 04's ,and now that they are gone, he is in a position to recruit with the best of them.

But with Calipari now at Kentucky, there is an argument to be made that he will be recruiting from behind Coach Cal every year -- Donovan's pick and roll offense is a good offense to learn when heading to the pro game, but right now, the DDM is seen as superior, whether it actually is or not.

Other News of Interest

Some more Meeks commentary from Brew Hoop
Jodie Meeks 31 min, 8/12 fg, 2/3 3fg, 2/2 ft, 20 pts, 3 rebs, 1 stl, 2 to Jeremy called him a quiet assassin in the game thread, and he's absolutely right. With Jennings stealing the show and Alexander finally breaking out, it was easy to overlook another extremely efficient shooting night from Meeks. We also got to see more of Meeks range, as he drilled a pair of long, quick release triples. Meeks now leads the Bucks with 16.7 ppg on .600/.600/.833 shooting in Vegas. We know he doesn't do much else n the box score, but I can certainly live with drafting a lights-out shooter in the second round.

My comment would be that Jodie did little more than score at UK as well, which was always the knock against him. He will need to develop a more rounded game if he wants to earn the big bucks in the Association.
Details on Jode Meeks package with the Bucks
Brew Hoop, the SB Nation Bucks blog, has the scoop.
Bluegrass State Basketball: NBA Summer League: Meeks and Crawford are Solid
Lots of stuff from the NBA summer leagues, from Meeks to Crawford to some Louisville guys.

The Daily Schadenfreude

Nothing today

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- A Quickie from the Road Back to Kentucky

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:23:40 -0000

More photos » by James Crisp - AP

"Heck, yeah, I'm feeling the love!"

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I am on my way back from Deee-twa, home of the Pistons, Ford, General Motors, and as it turns out, other businesses with which I deal. This is an 20-hour+ day, from 4:00AM this morning to about 12:30AM tomorrow morning if my plane is on time. I'll be making up for it by taking tomorrow off and playing golf, so blogging could be light.

So without much further ado (my plane leaves in a few minutes), here is the news:

UK Basketball News

UK recruits are doing the roundball thing well
So says Jody Demling. I so want his job.
Tubby and Calipari hang out together
Just so you know.
Bret Dawson dishes a ton.
Spent a lot of time with college coaches. Two hottest topics: Calipari's immediate impact at Kentucky and Billy Gillisipe's lawsuit against the school. It should come as no surprise that every coach I talked to expects Gillispie to win the $6 million buyout he's suing for, and hopes that he does.

That's just at taste. Read the whole thing.
Bearup says Calipari ‘right fit’ | Vaught's Views
He's right, you know.
Dakotah Euton's goatee is like Samson's hair.
Or something like that.
Gilchrist has hoops recruiters salivating | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/07/2009
"Michael loves Villanova," said Cindy Richardson, Gilchrist's mother. "It's Kentucky, Villanova. Villanova, Kentucky."

I just hope it winds up "Kentucky."
More, "Gillispie's got a case" from the Voice-Tribune
Speaking of what’s-his-name, my legal sources insist that UK is in expensive and deep doo-doo trying to get out of paying the $6 million Billy Gillispie’s memorandum of understanding calls for if he was fired without just cause. If it’s on paper, it’s a legal document whether Gillispie signed it or not. Ask your lawyer.

C'mon, UK, settle this thing and move on. Take it out of Barnhart's salary if you must. I'm sure he won't mind.

UK Football News

Woodyard will always be True Blue | Vaught's Views
"The money is one thing, but I always love Kentucky. what I did here I can never forget and never will forget. it's like my second home here. I will always come back to Lexington and will always have that love for Kentucky."

I could read this over and over again. I do miss Wesley Woodyard.

Other UK Sports News

None today.

NCAA Sports News

College: Coaches court recruits on Twitter while NCAA keeps watchful eye | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser
The NCAA will ban Twitter. Just wait and see.

Other News of Interest

Kenny Perry, Calipari enjoy budding friendship
Nice to see this.
Good Thing Courtney Lee Exists (LeBron James)
Heh. LeBron quashing a video showing him getting dunked on. Hilarious.

The Daily Schadenfreude

KUsports.com Message Boards: UK and its dominance
There used to be a basketball school named Kentucky - and it did have a long and proud history.

Unfortunately, it is no more. In making its current coaching hire it has traded decades of tradition for the quick fix. It has sold its soul.

Embrace. The. Hate.
The Dookies never cease to amuse.
At some point, the NCAA has to catch up with Calipari, right? He cannot just walk away from violations repeatedly. And the scholarship crunch is going to scare a lot of recruits away. But hey, better Knight to Kentucky than UNC.

Priceless.
Some UConn sweetness as well.
Gilchrist and Irving might want to play together, which is the main reason Kentucky is looking at Irving. I hate Calipari. He throws the kids who worked hard and are real student athletes off the team for his one and done players. He is a sucky coach, just pays his players and lets them do whatever they want. If he doesn't get his 5 top 25 guys a year his teams are horrible.

Heh. Feel the love.

Statistical Comparison: '08-'09 UK to '08-'09 Memphis

Ken Howlett — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:21:34 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

"Can I get my first Kentucky team to play as well as my final Memphis team?"

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With the University of Kentucky releasing the official men's basketball roster for the 2009-2010 season, I thought this might be a good time to do a statistical comparison between UK and Memphis' 2008-2009 stats (and for those who spout-off about the pungent odor emanating from Conference USA, remember this while reading the statistics below; UK played the 61st toughest schedule last year, and Memphis' slate was rated 62nd). So yes, a statistical comparison is relevant, although not completely flawless.

But regardless, the question to be answered is this: Is Calipari capable of urging on his young-gun group of Wildcats, to at least perform as well as his team last year at Memphis?: Last year Cal led Antonio Anderson, super freshman Tyreke Evans, Robert Dozier, Shawn Taggert, and Doneal Mack. I believe that group of Tigers compares fairly to Patrick Patterson, John Wall, Darius Miller, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton, and Darnell Dodson.

Another similarity, last year Memphis ended the season ranked in the lower half of the top-10, and this year's UK squad will begin the season ranked somewhere in that highly desirable upper-crust neighborhood (finally), but the 'Cats will be relying heavily on unproven youth.

The one major difference is that the SEC should be much tougher than last year. The entire SEC East (except Georgia) has a legitimate claim to being a top-30 team, as do SEC West leaders LSU and Mississippi State. So, I think it's reasonable to assume this years Kentucky team will at least play a moderately stiffer schedule than Memphis challenged last year.

But, hey, it's July, what else are we gonna do? Strap in, mucho information to follow:

Kentucky Memphis UK Opponents Memphis Opponents

Possessions Per 40 Min -- 70.2 68.6 70.2 68.6

Comment: Anyone surprised by those numbers? Most would assume Memphis would have averaged more possessions per 40 minutes. Not so, though.

Points Per Game -- 74.1 75.1 66.3 58.8

Comment: Allowing under 60 points per game, in any league, is impressive.

Points Per Possession -- 1.06 1.09 .94 .86

Field Goal Attempts -- 1938 2176 2080 2031

Comment: UK took 142 less shots than their opponents, while Memphis took 145 more shots than their opponents. Has their ever been a team that was roundly considered to be a "good team," which didn't take more shots than their opponents?

Field Goals Made -- 933 979 820 755

Comment: Wait, UK made 113 more shots than their opposition (more on that later), but that doesn't compare to Memphis' 224 made shot advantage.

Field Goal % -- 48.1 45.0 39.4 37.2

Comment: Stellar shooting by the 'Cats on-the-whole, but when a team fails at so many other aspects of the game, it renders solid shooting a lonely highlight.

3-Point FG Att's -- 573 681 715 574

Comment: Allowing 715 three-point attempts would be acceptable if the opponents made a low percentage, but as you will see below, UK allowed 35.5% from beyond the arc. A huge reason Kentucky didn't go dancin'. Raise your coffee mug if you thought Memphis shot 108 more 3-pointers than UK.

3-Point FG's Made -- 202 222 254 172

Comment: That's a point difference of -156 for UK, and +150 for Memphis (and a "win" difference of 33 to 22).

3-Point % -- 35.3 32.6 35.5 30.0

Comment: Sadly, there simply is no comparison between the type of perimeter defense the two teams played last year. UK's three-point defensive performance was the most abysmal effort since the '89-'90 season.

Free Throw Att's -- 777 868 718 720

Comment: Memphis' +91 over UK in free throw attempts is at least partly due to Cal's DDMO, along with having superior athletes. Lots of one-on-one, and when one is clearly a better athlete, one will be shooting more freebies.

Free Throw Att's Per Game -- 21.6 23.5 19.9 19.5

Free Throws Made -- 601 599 494 494

Free Throw % -- 77.3 69.0 68.8 68.6

Comment: Jodie Meeks' 90.2% free throw shooting certainly helped UK's number is this department. Unfortunately, I expect to see a stout statistical drop this upcoming season.

Rebounds Per Game -- 39.8 42.2 35.5 36.6

Comment: Even with a beast like Patterson patrolling the paint, UK only managed a +3.2 rebounding edge. That fact might be why I heard Billy Gillispie plead numerous times for someone, anyone, to help PPat down low.

Offensive Reb's Per Game -- 10.6 13.5 11.9 11.2

Offensive Rebound % -- 34.4 38.0 31.2 30.4

Comment: A weakness all year for UK, was the polar opposite for the Tigers. On the year, Memphis sported a +3.9 offensive rebounds per game advantage over UK -- Memphis averaged 2.3 more offensive boards than their opponents, and UK averaged 1.3 fewer offensive rebounds than their foes.. That's four more possessions per game from simply not giving up offensive position, and hitting the boards like you mean it.

Defensive Reb's Per Game -- 26.3 25.8 20.2 21.9

Defensive Rebound % -- 68.8 69.6 65.6 62.0

Assist % -- 60.7 53.7 46.3 48.2

Comment: Memphis' low assist rate is probably due to the DDMO. But, UK's 60.7% is impressive for a team without a natural point guard. Kentucky's ability to snuff out the assist was admirable, but with opponents running down the floor shooting uncontested 3's, a team's defensive assist numbers tend to look better than the reality.

Assists Per Game -- 15.7 14.2 10.6 9.8

Assist to Turnover -- .93 1.13 .71 .64

Total Turnovers -- 608 464 532 570

Comment: UK committed 144 more turnovers than Memphis, while playing roughly the same pace. UK was a +38 versus their opponents, while Memphis was -106. That's an average of four more possessions per game for Memphis, and yet another primary reason for UK's sub-par year. Committing 76 more turnovers than one's opponents is unacceptable if a team has any designs on winning.

Turnovers Per Game -- 16.9 12.5 14.8 15.4

Steals Per Game -- 6.6 8.9 7.7 5.9

Comment: Yet another major defensive difference in UK and Memphis. The inexperience of UK's guards last year is the primary culprit for UK's low steal number, but whatever the reason, the boys in blue lose another 4.1 possessions per game to the Tigers.

Blocks Per Game -- 6.6 6.0 3.8 2.8

Comment: The shot blocking was impressive last season for Kentucky. With both Patterson and Perry Stevenson coming back, along with the addition of Daniel Orton and DeMarcus Cousins, UK will not be absent at any time, the presence of at least two shot blockers on the floor.

Final Thoughts

So the question isn't, "Can Calipari teach these guys his offensive system in a timely fashion," rather it's, "Can Calipari get these guys to rebound and play defense with purpose?"

That's the way I see it. Last year Memphis didn't blow opponents off the floor with offensive explosions, instead they beat their foes with great defense, solid rebounding, and mindful ball-handling. All areas of weakness for Kentucky.

Now, is Calipari capable of delivering a defensive team which will be vastly improved over last season's sporadic efforts? Well, one thing I keep hearing about our man Cal is that his teams always play hard for him. And one of the by-products of such an arrangement is generally a solid defensive team, because defense is mostly about effort; I don't care which type of "D" one is playing, playing with effort is the key element to defensive competence.

Of course, a modicum flexibility in a coach's defensive philosophy is also an ingredient which should be liberally sprinkled into any successful defensive potion. At least THAT, should not be a problem this year.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!

Super Early 2010 Bracket

Chris Dobbertean — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:34:30 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

The return of Sherron Collins is a major reason why Kansas is the top overall seed in Blogging the Bracket's Super Early 2010 Bracket. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

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Well, here it is. This is my first attempt at putting out a bracket based on pure conjecture, so go easy on me. At the very least, we'll all have something funny to laugh at when the real thing comes out in March.

Some of you probably wanted me to put something out as soon as UNC cut down the nets in Detroit, but I wanted to wait until the draft and recruiting seasons played out. The result is a bracket that will undoubtedly be something to ridicule in March, but is better than anything I could've put out in April.

More specifics after the jump.

The power conferences dominate this field, thanks to the confinued dominance of the Big East and a resurgent SEC--and despite a down Pac-10. The Big East may not have the monster year it had in 2009, but it still has nine teams in this early projection. Cincinnati was a late addition thanks to the signing of Lance Stephenson earlier in the week. Marquette and Seton Hall are knocking on the door, as they are in the First Four Out and Next Four Out groups, respectively.

The Pac-10, meanwhile, is lucky to have four teams in. California, Washington, and UCLA are in good position. Arizona's place in the field will depend on how well their highly-regarded recruiting class adjusts to the college game. Arizona State finds themselves just outside the field thanks to the loss of James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph to the NBA, but a good showing in the NIT Season Tip-Off could catapult their season.

The Big Ten returns the same seven teams who made the field in 2009. Michigan State is on my early top line, but Purdue could easily join or surpass them. The ACC has the same number of teams, six, but Derrick Favors-led Georgia Tech replaces Florida State. UNC and Duke both find themselves on the two line right now.

The SEC should recover from a year which saw them earn an 8 seed, a 9 seed, and a 13 seed. Kentucky would have been on my top line had Jodie Meeks not stayed in the NBA draft. Tennessee should be much improved, while Mississippi State shouldn't need to win the SEC Tournament to get in thanks to the return of Jarvis Varnado. Devan Downey and Dominique Archie's return to South Carolina means the Gamecocks will again be a contender. Florida is back in the field for now, but the Gators' place will depend on how well the recruits adapt to Billy Donovan's system. Vanderbilt joins UF among the Last Four In, while LSU finds themselves just outside after the graduation of Marcus Thornton.

The Big 12, however, looks to be very strong. Kansas and Texas should be excellent and if the new recruits can adequately fill in for the Griffin brothers, Oklahoma as a 5 seed may look very silly. I have them with six entrants, much like 2009. but Kansas State replaces Oklahoma State in this bracket.

Outside of the major conferences, it's not looking so rosy at the moment. The only two at-larges come from the A-10 (Xavier) and C-USA (Memphis, as Tulsa has a chance to break the Tigers stranglehold on the league crown this year). This will undoubtedly change as games are played, however.

I'll talk more about teams and their chances at improving their resumes as I dive into early-season event talk over the next few weeks. In the meantime, have a Happy and safe 4th of July weekend!

Poll

Who is your very early preseason #1?

Kansas

38 votes

Michigan State

6 votes

Texas

10 votes

Villanova

3 votes

Kentucky

19 votes

Someone else (feel free to comment)

13 votes

89 votes | Poll has closed

Kentucky Basketball: Wheels Within Wheels

Truzenzuzex — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:35:12 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - AP

Would you buy what this man is selling? If you want to be an NBA star, you will.

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I, along with others, have expressed concerns about implementing Calipari's now-famous Dribble Drive Motion Offense next year due to a lack of perimeter shooting, and there has been much give and take on that point. We all know how the DDMO is supposed to work -- players attack the rim with the objective of a layup, a dump-off to the big player on the weak side, or a skip pass to the open shooter depending on where help comes from. Simple. Elegant. Effective? Well, yes and no.

The obvious hole in the scheme is shooting. In order for the DDMO to be effective, you must have people capable of making the three-point shot. Kentucky has almost no proven perimeter shooting now that Jodie Meeks has moved on to the NBA. Does that mean that UK's season is doomed to failure? Can Calipari even run the DDMO with this bunch?

Before I attempt to answer that, let's take a look at this interview with Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal by Bluegrass State Basketball which does much to validate my concerns and provides an excellent opportunity for fans of the Big Blue to comment not only on the DDMO, but on all things John Calipari. But first, I want to look at some of Wolken's comments to BSB:

As far as the DDM itself, it’s definitely wide open; guys have freedom in that system, and it’s a good sell on the recruiting trail. Otherwise, I’m not a huge fan of it. I saw Memphis get taken out of that offense way, way too much by zones and junk defenses, and it can look downright ugly when that happens and shots aren’t falling. The fact is, when teams go zone, you can’t really run the DDM. You have to have make shots and force teams to go back to man. That was really the flaw for Memphis last year, and Calipari knew that. Every time I talked to him, he lamented the fact that they hadn’t recruited enough shooters and was really in the process of changing his recruiting approach to get more guys who could make shots even if they weren’t as athletic. If you look at the game tapes, Memphis barely ran the DDM at all last year. There’s no doubt that going to the DDM when he did made Calipari think differently about basketball, and I think it really rejuvenated his career. On the other hand, I know a couple coaches who would take you into the film room and just trash it. At the end of the day, it’s really all about players.

So can UK run this offense with the current players it has? Well, the answer to that may not be what you think, and there is still a lot we don't know about our perimeter shooting this year. But what I find even more fascinating than how effective the zone and junk is against the DDMO is Wolken's comments on recruiting.

I think Wolken validates perception that I pointed out on this blog some time back. The reality is (at least in my opinion), the DDMO is more valuable as a recruiting tool than as an actual offensive system. Does it work? Absolutely, under the right conditions. Can it be stopped? Sure, and the zone is the easiest way to clog up the works. But there is a much larger method to this madness.

The DDMO works best with big, quick, athletic players who can shoot. Well, let me tell you that basketball in general works best with big, quick, athletic players who can shoot, no matter what offensive style a team runs. Calipari is an innovative coach, but not in the way that many people have been lead to believe, i.e. adapting Vance Walberg's progenitor, the attack-attack-skip-attack-attack offense into some kind of X and O marvel.

No, Calipari's innovation is much more subtle and powerful. He has developed a system that he doesn't really need to run all the time, because its true value is how it is perceived by recruits throughout the country. They see the DDMO as a way to showcase their individual skills, and it absolutely is all of that, and when teams try to play man against UK next year, they are going to see just how effective it can be. But in reality, it can only be run well against a man-to-man defense. It is easy for good coaches to design defenses to make this scheme look and play ugly and ineffectively... BUT (and this is a big, big BUT), even the greatest defensive scheme in the world will not give the opponent bigger, quicker, more athletic players.

Calipari understands perfectly well that the DDMO is vulnerable to the zone. That's one big reason it isn't just a straight copy of Walberg's system. Walberg may be considered a guru by some, but his system is not only imperfect, it is downright vulnerable to a zone or junk defenses. And sticking with it in a zone without good shooting is a recipe for disaster, which is perhaps why Walberg is coaching at ~~Pepperdine~~ UMass and not Indiana or UCLA.

But Calipari's real genius is how he has marketed and packaged this stuff to appeal directly to the best basketball players in America, and if you don't think it does, just take a look at his recruiting success since he implemented it. If you put teams that include four or five first-round NBA draft picks on the floor, it doesn't really matter what kind of a scheme you run -- these guys are generally going to be too good for most teams under all but the most adverse of circumstances.

Now for another interesting tidbit:

BSB: How do you see Kentucky’s season playing out? How do you see Memphis’ season playing out?

Wolken: It will be extremely interesting to watch Kentucky this year with a whole team of guys who have never been coached by John before. Obviously, they’re loaded with terrific players, but it might take awhile for things to click. Derrick Rose wasn’t an elite college player until mid-February. Tyreke Evans was horrendous until mid-January. Even with guys of that ability level, it doesn’t happen automatically. Kentucky will certainly be a Sweet 16 caliber team. They’ll have an opportunity to go further if they figure out who’s going to make perimeter shots, since that seems to be an area of concern right now

I think this is a great point by Wolken. I know that everyone is all excited about this great recruiting class and all the marvelolus athletes and players UK has coming in, but we do need to take a reality pill -- it is rare for teams as young as UK will be next year not to have some growing pains, although for a fact, it has been a long while since this much freshman talent has been present on one team. But if guys like Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans struggled early on, you can best believe that even John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins aren't going to step in and be elite players from day one in the college game.

But if Wolken's examples hold true to form, there is a good chance that UK will be very dangerous by February, and that's when it counts. I think we will muddle through on superior talent in the early and mid part of the season, but it could get really exciting when these young freshmen begin to turn into sophomores. And of course, Patrick Patterson, Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson will be there to provide leadership both on and off the floor.

Be sure and read the whole interview, it is jam packed with good stuff.

SB Nation - Jodie Meeks

Interview With Joseph Lacy, Author of "Mountain Reign"

Kentucky Basketball: The Cancun Challenge in the Rear-View Mirror

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Season Kickoff Edition

Blue/White Game -- After Action Report

Big Blue Daily Mail -- All Over the Map

Top News

UK Basketball News

UK Football news

Other UK Sports news

NCAA Sports News

Other News of Interest

The Daily Schadenfreude

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Kentucky Has Six Pre-season All-SEC Players

Top Stories

UK Basketball News

UK Football News

Other UK Sports News

NCAA Sports News

Other News of Interest

The Daily Schadenfreude

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- A Quickie from the Road Back to Kentucky

Top Stories:

UK Basketball News

UK Football News

Other UK Sports News

NCAA Sports News

Other News of Interest

The Daily Schadenfreude

Statistical Comparison: '08-'09 UK to '08-'09 Memphis

Super Early 2010 Bracket

Who is your very early preseason #1?

Kansas

Michigan State

Texas

Villanova

Kentucky

Someone else (feel free to comment)

Kentucky Basketball: Wheels Within Wheels