SB Nation - Kentucky Wildcats

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Wildcats vs. the World Edition

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:04:47 -0000

I bumped into this Gregg Doyel article down in the FanShots, and thought it deserved a bit more commentary.

I have to admit, I used to really loathe Doyel, but over the past couple of years, he has grown on me. I can't really put my finger on it, he really hasn't been that much different -- maybe I'm just getting less sensitive to sarcasm in my old age and learning to appreciate it more. Embracing the hate, as it were.

Well, this is certainly no hate piece, at least, not directed at Kentucky, or Calipari. In fact, it's just the kind of thing I might write if I actually, you know, had a sense of humor. Here are a couple of excerpts:

The media would hate it [Kentucky going undefeated], but that makes me want it even more. Media groupthink has decided John Calipari is a bad guy, but media groupthink also decided Texas should play Alabama for the college football championship, and that the running back from Alabama is the best player in the country. Media groupthink is silly.

I have often thought the very same thing. Media groupthink is silly, sometimes even extremely harmful, and the thought of angering the media by watching a sacred cow or three get brutally slaughtered and eaten raw really warms the cockles of my heart.

As a bonus, we would also get to watch the cranial conflagrations of opposing fans or just plain UK haters who are dying to see Coach Cal fail, or find some tiny shred of moral turpitude to justify a "See! I told ya so!" Watching both the media and their cognitively dissonant acolytes spray gray mater all over their basement and/or cubicle wall is, to paraphrase the Grinch, "A sight I really must see." But as Doyel says, I'm not predicting it -- just wishing for it.

More after the jump.

Another graf I really like:

Imagine, then, this coach winning the national title this year -- and not losing a game along the way. Kentucky would replace Bob Knight's 1976 Indiana Hoosiers as the last team to go undefeated. From his perch at ESPN, Knight would be miserable. From its perch in Indianapolis, the NCAA would be miserable. Memphis would hate it. Louisville would hate it. Indiana wouldn't believe it. The media would moan.

And what sweet, sonorous music that would make! The mind fairly boggles at the prospect of the angst and anguish of Louisville fans. And Indiana fans? Oh, my. We'd have to bring the Kentucky National Guard with us next time we went to Bloomington for a game. The gnashing of teeth from Tobacco Road would be audible all the way to Pauley Pavilion.

Thanks, Gregg. Yeah, it's just a dream.

But it's a good dream.

Now, for the news:

UK commit injured
Fortunately, it should be minor. Just a concussion, although those can be a real problem.
College football notes: Dec. 17 - Sports - Kentucky.com
Central Michigan is usually a reliable place to find good coaches, much like Western Kentucky in basketball.
Basketball Prospectus | Articles | Around the Rim: Texas About to Get Tested
Junior point guard Jai Lucas will make his Texas debut Saturday as he becomes eligible after transferring from Florida. He is the son of former NBA point guard and coach John Lucas.

Texas Longhorns vs. the North Carolina Tar Heels. Must see TV, in my book.
Wildcats Thunder Blog: Kentucky vs Austin Peay......A Preview
Mashburn to return for Kentucky’s bid for 2,000 basketball victories | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
Awesome! Mashburn was the biggest recruit to come to Kentucky in my lifetime, and what a great player he was. I forgot just how great until I watched the Kentucky Wildcats vs. the Georgia Bulldogs from back in 1993 the other night. I sure would love to have him back.
Man falls into pit in Kentucky cave, dies | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
Prayers for the family.
Kentucky Sports Radio " Blog Archive " Newton Figured To Start in Nashville
Key transfers finally eligible - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
Three top teams get a lot stronger.
What’s going to happen with Liggins? | Vaught's Views
Calipari seems bent on not publicly discussing personnel issues. I agree that at some point, it might make more sense for Liggins to transfer if Cal is just going to treat him like a victory cigar. But I suspect otherwise.
The Big Blue Nation Report: Just a little Christmas Jingle
Heh. Not bad ...
Lawyer: Ex-Connecticut Huskies student manager at center of recruiting allegations has not spoken to NCAA - ESPN
A lawyer for the man at the center of recruiting allegations against the University of Connecticut says his client has not spoken to investigators.
NCAA Tournament: If It Ain't Broke.. | College Basketball by Collegehoops.net
The NCAA Tournament is the single greatest event in American sports. It is three weeks of complete saturation of the best college basketball has to offer, with each game an elimination game, with each game coming one step closer to a championship.

The argument against expanding the tournament. Pretty compelling. But it’s not great because there are a lot of teams playing. It’s great because there are a lot of good teams playing. 31 teams are there because they won their conference championship – they earned their way in. The others represent (in theory) the 34 best teams remaining.
Around the Top 25: Ohio State beats Presbyterian; Thad Matta doesn’t eject any fans | College Hoops Journal
Ouch. How's that phiz feelin' today, Roy?
After long hiatus, Caracter shows signs he could salvage career - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com
UTEP is 5-0 without Derrick Caracter.

And 0-2 with him.

That's what many will mention about Caracter's return to college basketball, and I suppose it's fair to mention because, well, it's true. The record doesn't lie. There's no way around it. But as someone who sat courtside and watched Caracter get 15 points and 15 rebounds in 32 minutes against Ole Miss, I can tell you with a degree of certainty that he's not the reason UTEP lost its past two games.

Wouldn't it be sooooo droll if UTEP wound up playing U of L sometime this year? Caracter vs. Pitino? Oh, I would absolutely love to see that happen.

Please, NIT committee, make that happen. :-)
Tyler Hansbrough, Jonny Flynn shaped decade in college hoops - 2000s: The Decade in Sports - SI.com
BEST COACHING RIVALRY: John Calipari vs. Bruce Pearl Calipari has been at loggerheads with lots of coaches over the years, from Lou Carnesecca to John Chaney to Jim Calhoun to his current doppelganger at Louisville, Rick Pitino. But the state of Tennessee was truly not big enough for both Pearl and Calipari, whose constant jabs at each other in the media, on the recruiting trail and on the court made for great theater. The rivalry crested on Feb. 23, 2008, when Pearl's Vols, who were ranked No. 2 in the country, edged top-ranked and undefeated Memphis 66-62.

I hope it goes from "best" to "epic."
3-Pointers: Krzyzewski backs tournament expansion - Mike DeCourcy - College Basketball - Sporting News
Most important, getting into the tournament wouldn't mean much if 96 teams were admitted. It's like being invited to your class reunion. You graduated, they found your address, so you get a letter. It doesn't mean you were popular.

That's my main concern.
Sprints Is Interested In Hiring a Florida Assistant // 12.17.09 - Team Speed Kills
Even more expansion talk - this time Pac Ten gets in on the action - Block U
Expansion talk in the PAC-10.
Could Big Ten Expansion Force the SEC to Bring In a New School? - Dawg Sports
Kyle King has thoughts on any possible SEC expansion. I would not want the Cardinals in the SEC, but Georgia Tech or Clemson would be very solid additions.
Q&A: StatSheet's Robbie Allen - Blogger So Dear
Blogger So Dear interviews StatSheet founder Robbie Allen
" BBL: Josh Selby now considering Arizona John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links.
John Wall: The Best Freshman in College Basketball History?
Intentional Foul " RIP Chris Henry
Very sad. Prayers to the family.
Vaught's Views: UK's Ramon Harris handling challenges of being a new dad: AMNews.com
He’s not a great scorer and knows scoring is not what this team needs from him. Instead, he’s willing — and able — to play defense, rebound and pass. And he hustles. He never seems to get up on a loose ball or long rebound.

Ramon has carved out playing time on a team where very few thought he could. Impressive young man.
Intentional Foul " Royce White Says Adios
Ouch. Not good for the Gophers.

Kentucky Basketball: Rajon Rondo vs. John Wall After Ten Games

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:50:35 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

How did Rajon Rondo compare with John Wall over his first ten games as a Wildcat?

Browse more photos »

I thought it would be fun to take a look at how Rajon Rondo, now one of the great point guards in the NBA (and surely the best point guard UK had this decade until Wall came along) and John Wall compared after their first ten games as a Wildcat.

Any exercise like this is fraught with factors that simply cannot be properly accounted for, so take this for what it is -- a bit of fun. I suspect a lot of Kentucky Wildcats fans have wondered how the two point guards compared. Both had great starts as freshmen, both starting from the beginning of their time at UK. But the coaching was different, the kind of game UK played under Tubby Smith and John Calipari are very different, and the way Smith and Calipari utilize their point guards is different.

Statistics don't account for that, nor do they account for the skill of the players around them, or the quality of the competition. So we can't take this comparison as holy writ about who was better, or would be better, or who is better in the role of Wildcat lead guard. Still, it is a lot of fun to look at how they stack up against each other, and I think some people may be surprised. In fact, as I write this, I have only completed one comparison, so I will be surprised as well.

Join me after the jump as we compare these two great UK players.

First off, these are "tempo free" stats so we don't have to worry about the fact that Smith tended to play a bit more deliberate game. I will be charting assits%, turnover%, steals%, shot%, eFG%, offensive rebound% and free throw rate%. That includes all the four factors, plus three others.

First, assists:

It seems that Rondo started out hotter in assists than Wall, but at around the fourth game, Wall takes over. You can see that the trend right now favors Wall on this stat, and it's interesting that the flip coincides approximately with much better offensive play by this year's team, and a stretch where the 2005-06 team lost 2 of 4 games.

Second, turnovers:

In this chart, lower is better, of course, and I admit to being a bit surprised to see the trend this way. Keep in mind that a lot of Wall's turnovers can be contributed to a faster pace of play, and even though we are using tempo-free stats, that factor isn't really accounted for here. Despite the fact that the 2005-06 team is entering a dicey stretch of games, Rondo's turnovers certainly weren't the reason they were only .500 in that four-game stretch, as you can see by his trend.

Third, steals:

Rondo set the freshman record for steals in his first year, if I remember correctly, yet at this point, his trend had turned decidedly negative compared to Wall's. Rondo had a couple of really poor games, versus North Carolina and Indiana where he managed no steals at all.

Wall, on the other hand, had two incredible games vs. UNC-Ashville and UConn where he had a very high steals percentage. Can Wall outdo the great Rajon in this category? He sure is on a nice trend right now.

Fourth, percentage of shots:

Wall and Rondo are fairly equal in this area, somewhat to my surprise. It looks like the trend is up for Wall overall, but his last game was a big decline from his high in the UConn game, and represents his second lowest shot% so far this year. At this point, Rondo was also coming off a recent high, which interestingly, was even higher than Wall's.

Fifth, effective FG%:

This is a wild one. Wall is very consistent with his shooting, and has been all year long. Rondo was all over the place, from a high of 81.8% to a low of 11.1%.

Based on what I have seen so far, I doubt we will ever see Wall lower than 35%. I think this will wind up being fairly even over the course of the entire year. Rondo took very few low-percentage shots, and so does Wall, but Wall tends to shoot more (and better) from the perimeter than Rondo did.

Sixth, offensive rebound %:

We all remember Rondo as a fantastic rebounder for his size, and it's obvious looking at this chart that his stats show that in spades. I suspect, but can't prove, that the wild fluctuations in Rondo's stats were as much a function of his teammates has him, and I think the 2009-10 UK club is a much better offensive rebounding team overall than 2005-06. That may be why Rondo's games are so often feast or famine, and Wall appears steadier.

Seventh, free throw rate%:

The final stat we look at is FTR%, and this one also surprised me a bit. Rondo was getting to the line at a significantly higher clip at the 10-game point in 2005-06 than Wall is this year. Part of that is due to the players surrounding him, but Rondo was very aggressive at taking the ball to the glass.

This is perhaps an area that Wall could improve upon. Even in the UConn game, where Wall attacked the glass relentlessly in the second half, he only got to the line about as often as Rondo did on average. It could be that Wall's speed has something to do with that -- you could sometimes catch Rondo on a run-out, but nobody can get close enough to Wall on most run-outs to touch him, let alone foul him.

So there we go, just a few gems to think about while we wait for the Austin Peay Governors game. I like to compare players who have a lot in common, and Rondo has a lot in common with Wall in terms of athleticism, remarkable physical skills, passing ability, and the way they play the game. I think Wall is the more mature player at this point, but Rondo was (and still is) freakishly talented, and has turned into one of the best in the NBA in his position.

I'm confident Wall will be, also.

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Thursday (12/17/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:09:10 -0000

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's best place for sports links, information and entertainment. Today we're being brought to you by Solera in honor of today's Miss Throwdown.

First, it seems that former WVU wide receiver Chris Henry has passed away. He was an amazing talent that we all hoped would get his life together and now it seems to have been tragically cut short. The other news today has shifted from Big Ten expansion to the loss of Doc and any other assistants he may take with him (mostly regarding the recruiting effects). The tips, suggestions and requests are always welcome. Now updated with Gazette articles. See you after the jump...

What You May Have Missed:

Bengals wide receiver dies after Charlotte accident - WCNC.com
R.I.P. Chris Henry

Gold and Blue Report for Thursday - WVMETRONEWS.COM

Hol(l)iday Break - BlueGoldNews.com
4 big points about next years football team inside

News of Note (FB):

Holliday on track for Marshall position - Times West Virginian

Doc has gone back to ties at WVU to start filling positions at Marshall - WVIllustrated.com
IMHO, losing Seider and Beatty would be the biggest losses.

What's up with Doc gone? - Charleston Gazette

Manchin on Doc; WVU hoop recruits on display - Charleston Gazette
Vingle's hodgepodge

Mark Ingram, Jerry Hughes lead SI.com's 2009 All-America teams - SI.com
Brandon Hogan and Scott Kozlowski get Honorable Mention status.

Jarrett Brown vs. the world - Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

News of Note (BB):

Kentucky and Syracuse most likely to stay undefeated longest - SI.com
He figures we'll drop our first at Purdue on Jan 1.

Elite Eight | 2005 NCAA tournament - 2000s: Top 10 College Hoops Games - Photos - SI.com

BIG EAST Hardwood Slate - WVIllustrated.com

Recruiting:

Doc or no Doc - WVIllustrated.com
Millines is still committed to WVU

Around the League (and Beyond):

Bearcats suffer setback at UAB - Cincinnati Enquirer
64-47?!?!?

High expectations for Jones - Cincinnati Enquirer

Following Pitino challenge, Louisville basketball gets real in rout of Oral Roberts, 94-57 - Courier-Journal

Do you want to please Jim Boeheim? Expand the NCAA Tournament and watch him beam - syracuse.com

USF's Miller: Leavitt didn't strike me - Tampa Tribune

Jones scores 27 as USF men top UCF, 69-65 - Tampa Tribune

Jasper Howard stabbing suspect pleads not guilty - SI.com (AP)

Lawyer: Ex-Connecticut Huskies student manager at center of recruiting allegations has not spoken to NCAA - ESPN

Rutgers AD Tim Pernetti on Big Ten conference expansion plans: 'We are a proud member of the Big East Conference' - Star Ledger

Briefly on Big 11 Expansion Talk - Pitt Blather

Big East expansion - looking at some numbers - Card Chronicle

Four Things The Big East Conference Needs To Do Right Now - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
"The four things the Big East Conference should begin doing in order to quell the Big Ten's overtures."

Report: Arizona's Mark Stoops heading to FSU - Tampa Tribune

Pac-10 will consider expansion - ESPN

Video of Interest:

Yes, he was troubled, but he was a Mountaineer. Rest in peace Chris.

Video of (Dis)Interest:

I'm a little behind with this video, but it's worth it. Warning: Strong Language.

Year in Review Gallery of the Week:

This is a double bonus gallery. Everything inside is basically SFW, but I'm guessing the linked galleries inside aren't, based on the URL's.

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown is an unbelievable combination of Italian and Venezuelan hotness. This is Carolina Marconi. (Scroll down inside the link a bit for the gallery)

via multimedia.quotidianonet.ilsole24ore.com

This one is only 7 seconds, but....oh, my!

Warning: A little bit of NSFW in this one:

Solera image via 4.bp.blogspot.com

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Rich Brooks Edition

Truzenzuzex — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:24:31 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

Hype? Just ask the guys there in powder blue.

Browse more photos »

As most everyone has heard by now, Rich Brooks has been voted Coach of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com. No, it's not the AP or SEC, but it's still an honor and I think Brooks deserves it, especially considering having to start a freshman at quarterback for most of the season.

In other news, Mike Miller of Beyond the Arc says he wouldn't be averse to expanding the NCAA tournament. Personally, I am fairly agnostic about the idea, but I do wonder when we reach the point of too much of a good thing? If we expand the tournament much more, we are going to be allowing teams in that don't even have a winning record or a conference championship, and at some point there will be diminishing returns.

Then again, all these bowls don't seem to be a problem in football, because if they didn't make money, they woudn't exist. I suppose I could always just ignore the first round of the tournament and start watching from the second round on if they expand.

And for those of you who are wondering, the Austin Peay Governors at the Kentucky Wildcats will be shown in Louisville and a few other Kentucky markets on Insight channel 2. That's good to know.

The rest of the news follows the jump.

Santa Cat is Coming to Town | Coach Calipari
Are Basketball Fans Obsessed with John Wall?
Heh. Well, there you go.
Anything but Gatorade: ALL -AUGHT KENTUCKY BASEKTBALL TEAMS?
Looks like a pretty good list to me.
UK Football Fan: Saturday Reset
Locke exploring the NFL? Really?
Pitt's perfect to add to Big Ten - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
Interesting. I would have been more inclined to Syracuse, but Pitt is closer to Big Ten country than the 'Cuse.
Kentucky-Austin Peay basketball game will be on Insight Ch. 2 in Louisville. | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
I guess I'll be able to watch the game after all.
Rick Bozich | Some ratings are not kind to Louisville, Kentucky basketball | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
Pomeroy's numbers are not as bullish as I expected on Kentucky. The Wildcats are projected to lose six of 16 games in the Southeastern Conference, including two to Tennessee. No surprise that he picks the Vols to win the SEC East at 13-3.

We discussed this yesterday. Those predictions will change pretty quickly if UK blows out a few foes here in the next several days, but it will take an undefeated non-conference season to really affect them -- which is certainly a very real possibility.
TheTimesTribune.com, Corbin, KY - Lots of stuff to ramble about this week
A lot of people are saying UK’s "Great Wall" is the best freshman point guard since the "Magic Man" was manning the position for Michigan State in the late 70s.

So how does John Wall compare to Magic Johnson? Hmm. Interesting ...
Rush The Court " Blog Archive " Morning Five: 12.16.09 Edition
I sure would like to seen Brandon Knight in Blue and White. Hey, that rhymes ...
One-and-done works for Calipari, Wall and UK | Vaught's Views
Wildcat Blue In a Sea of Orange: A rivalry builds: Kentucky vs Kansas, Wall vs Henry, Calipari vs Self
You Know It’s A Great Year When….. | BigBlueRules
Heh.
FeinsteinOnTheBrink: A little more on the ‘list’; Touching on the Roy Williams controversy
Okay, let’s not make this into a big deal because it’s not. Did Roy overreact? Yes—even if some of his loyal supporters have jumped in claiming the fan in question was drunk, was rude, didn’t have a ticket (or should NOT have had a ticket) in that section, had used profanity prior to his crack AND was involved in the conspiracy to kidnap the Lindbergh baby. Deon Thompson, by the way, somehow shook off the ‘heckling,’ to make his free throw.

Heh. Not a Feinstein lover at all, but I think he gets this right.
Men’s Roundup - Scheyer Scores Career-High 36 as Duke Routs Gardner-Webb - NYTimes.com
This is how you get to the top of Pomeroy's rankings.
NCAA Basketball And CBS Headed For A Split? - SB Nation
UK met all criteria for Jon Davis | Vaught's Views
Some hoops nuggets
From Jody Demling.
Kentucky Sports Radio " Blog Archive " Steelers sign former Cat
Congrats, Johnny!
John Wall has our attention at Kentucky. Don't look away, writes Scoop Jackson - ESPN
How does someone 6-foot-4, 185 pounds vanish, then reappear only after points are scored, assists are made with a smile on his face that could light up Manhattan?

Hype? Yeah. But fun!
Riek finally eligible, but will he play? - College Basketball Nation Blog - ESPN
Kentucky coach John Calipari said Wednesday he tried to see if the Wildcats could handle themselves without his tutelage in Tuesday’s practice. They failed.

Well, that's not really a surprise.

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Week of Practice Edition

Truzenzuzex — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:08:58 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

Eric Bledsoe can dunk, too.

Browse more photos »

This week, the 'Cats are practicing hard, getting ready for the Peay.

Back when I was in school, the Austin Peay Governors were the #1 rival of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, and that game was always high-energy. Things have changed now, but every time I think of Austin Peay, I think of my college days on the Hill.

In this issue of the Big Blue Daily Mail, the ejected Presbyterian fan at the North Carolina Tar Heels game tells his side of the story, and the North Carolina athletics director puts his own spin on it, which is predictably a little hard to swallow after seeing the video. But whatever.

Also, it seems that the other Carolina (that would be South Carolina, for those of you who skipped the first two paragraphs) are loving their football and basketball coaches. Nice to see.

Finally, Seth Davis says that Xavier Henry is just as impressive as John Wall. Well, okay. Personally, I don't think so, but as we all know, Seth Davis picked the Germans to win World War II.

There is plenty more in the news after the jump.

Pic shows UT hostesses with recruits; heat rises on Vols | AJC College Sports Recruiting

9 Mountain players named to AP All-State 1st and 2nd team
Fits right in with the earlier post about Mountain Reign.

Basketball Prospectus | Unfiltered
This afternoon the Big Ten announced that it is actively considering adding a 12th member, one that would give the conference a title game in football and the revenue that such a contest would create. When you have a 51 percent ownership stake in your own TV network, you find yourself in favor of a conference championship game in football. Understood.

Gasaway goes on to talk about the basketball implications, which includes some speculation about which team will be invited to join.

2011 UK PG Target Marquis Teague Video

ZagsBlog.com – Knight Next in Line at Kentucky?
"He wants to see how schools do," Beckerman said. "What recruiting classes are so that he can look in and find his spot and enroll at the right school."

Of course if he ends up at Kentucky as the next lottery pick in line, don’t be surprised.

"Kentucky has shown a lot of interest," Beckerman said.

Oh, you betcha.

Blazers compete well at Oak Hill Academy - MidlandsPreps: Basketball - TheState.com
On the court, it was a different kind of experience on Monday night. The Blazers fell to undefeated OHA 89-65. Oak Hill’s markee players put on quite a show. Doron Lamb, who is being pursued heavily by the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona and Uconn, deposited 31 points.

I would love to see us get Lamb and Knight. What a 1-2 punch that would be.

Five Reasons Syracuse Will Go To The Big Ten - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Will Syracuse jump to the Big Televen?

Rush The Court " Blog Archive " John Wall Dance Goes Viral
The John Wall Dance — have you seen or heard about this thing yet? Apparently it’s completely taken over the Bluegrass State, and it’s working its way into the national zeitgeist through means beyond the standard YouTube clips of people doing it at weddings and deer hunts and Great Walls and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades.

Whatever. Good grief.

Broncos' Woodyard Helps Out Troubled Young Man - cbs4denver.com
Wesley Woodyard is doing good, not only only the field, but off it. Great piece to get you in the holiday spirit.

UK Notebook: Florida lineman picks Kentucky: AMNews.com
Another solid get by Brooks and from the state of Florida, no less.

Kentucky-Clemson Preview | BlueRidgeNow.com | Times-News Online | Hendersonville, NC

LostLettermen.com: Dedicated Solely To Former College Athletes

Wildcat Blue In a Sea of Orange: NBA recap Week 8: Celtics, Rondo continue to roll, Rockets Hayes getting some love
Updates on Meeks, Rondo, Hayes, Magloire, Mohammed, Bogans, and Morris.

Lindley has done the best he could | Vaught's Views
Lindley: "He [Brooks] is old ..." Heh.

Intentional Foul " Xavier Henry or John Wall?
Well, I'm gonna say Wall. I think Wall is even more gifted than Henry, but that could be cognitive dissonance speaking.

Kentucky Wildcats in ESPN's Latest Bracketology

Big Blue Lowdown " Wall vs. Henry Rivalry Heats Up
.

Kentucky Basketball Recruiting 2011 G/F Jarrod Davis
Looks good to me.

Coach Self checking in on Selby | The Shiver, Kansas Jayhawks Sports, Kansas Basketball, Kansas Football

New UK commit talks
Jody Demling has the scoop.

NCAA Notebook: Unbeaten For Long? - NCAA College Basketball News | HOOPSWORLD -
There are nine teams the Associated Press Top 25 that are undefeated, but how long will their runs last?

Not much past conference play, I predict.

" SEC basketball power rankings John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's SEC power rankings.

Louisville basketball will get better by practicing, not benching, Rick Pitino says | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
''The answer is not benching people after losing,'' Pitino said Tuesday at his news conference previewing Wednesday's game against Oral Roberts. ''The answer is getting the more out of people.''

Think Card fans are buying what Traitor Rick is selling? Hmmm?

Biggest coaching tree in D-I? - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
Best college hoops trivia question you’ll hear this season: Which active D-I coach has the largest number of former assistants who are now head coaches?

It’s not Mike Krzyzewski. Not Tom Izzo or Rick Pitino or Roy Williams.

Want to know who? Read the rest.

Contracts extended for Horn, Spurrier The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper
South Carolina likes their coaches. Via Rush the Court

Fan UNC ejected tells his side - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
Heh. Well, he can always sue.

Kentucky Basketball: Ken Pomeroy's Analysis

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:13:09 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

We'll get there, guys. Just keep doing what you are doing.

Browse more photos »

Yesterday, Ken Pomeroy of Kenpom.com (not the same guy as our Ken Pomeroy here on A Sea of Blue) came out with his Pythagorean projections of records. What this post will do is examine his projections (which, by the way, change as the season goes on to reflect improvement or regression of teams through their Pythagorean Winning Percentage. We'll get to all that in a few minutes.

Pomeroy's projections are always pretty good, but they are far from flawless. I don't track his performance over the years (you have to pay attention at the very beginning so you can compare the end) and I haven't done that, but I know historically they are pretty accurate taken as a whole.

Fortunately for the Kentucky Wildcats this year, they are very young, which makes them look worse early as the freshmen learn the college game. As this Wildcat team learns to play good defense, learns the Calipari system, and gets to better understand their roles on the team and how to best maximize their strengths and minimize their weakness, we can expect these stats to have a greater than normal margin for error.

Pomeroy really doesn't factor youth in to his equation (because there is just no real way to do so other than an arbitrary bugger factor), but it really makes a difference when you are talking about a group as talented as the Wildcats are. In fact, there has arguably been no group in college basketball this young and this talented since the Fab Five, and that means that Pomeroy's system has never come up against a scenario this potentially volatile. But let's leave that for now, and look at his projections.

Follow me over the jump.

First, let's examine a reproduction of Ken's projections as of now. I have highlighted the losses for easier reading:

2010 Schedule
(Game Plan)
Date	Opponent	Result		Prob.	Location	Record	Conf
Fri Nov 13	(261) Morehead St.	W, 75-59	73		Home	1-0
Mon Nov 16	(174) Miami OH	W, 72-70	63		Home	2-0
Thu Nov 19	(173) Sam Houston St.	W, 102-92	83		Home	3-0
Sat Nov 21	(211) Rider	W, 92-63	76		Home	4-0
Tue Nov 24	(212) Cleveland St.	W, 73-49	70		Neutral	5-0
Wed Nov 25	(114) Stanford	W, 73-65	65	OT	Neutral	6-0
Mon Nov 30	(334) NC Asheville	W, 94-57	70		Semi-Home	7-0
Sat Dec 5	(44) North Carolina	W, 68-66	74		Home	8-0
Wed Dec 9	(33) Connecticut	W, 64-61	69		Neutral	9-0
Sat Dec 12	(158) Indiana	W, 90-73	68		Away	10-0
Sat Dec 19	(202) Austin Peay	W, 80-61	68	96%	Home
Mon Dec 21	(145) Drexel	W, 65-52	65	92%	Home
Wed Dec 23	(95) Long Beach St.	W, 82-71	72	84%	Home
Tue Dec 29	(259) Hartford	W, 81-57	64	98%	Home
Sat Jan 2	(105) Louisville	W, 79-67	71	87%	Home
Sat Jan 9	(189) Georgia	W, 77-59	66	95%	Home
Tue Jan 12	(34) Florida	L, 70-66	68	30%	Away
Sat Jan 16	(132) Auburn	W, 74-68	72	73%	Away
Sat Jan 23	(232) Arkansas	W, 88-64	70	97%	Home
Tue Jan 26	(92) South Carolina	W, 77-75	75	58%	Away
Sat Jan 30	(63) Vanderbilt	W, 79-72	71	76%	Home
Tue Feb 2	(25) Mississippi	W, 75-74	72	54%	Home
Sat Feb 6	(113) Louisiana St.	W, 67-63	63	67%	Away
Tue Feb 9	(80) Alabama	W, 74-66	66	80%	Home
Sat Feb 13	(9) Tennessee	L, 77-72	71	34%	Home
Tue Feb 16	(14) Mississippi St.	L, 78-68	69	16%	Away
Sat Feb 20	(63) Vanderbilt	L, 76-75	71	46%	Away
Thu Feb 25	(92) South Carolina	W, 82-71	75	84%	Home
Sat Feb 27	(9) Tennessee	L, 81-68	71	12%	Away
Wed Mar 3	(189) Georgia	W, 73-63	66	84%	Away
Sun Mar 7	(34) Florida	W, 69-67	68	61%	Home
	Projected record:					24-7	10-6
	Chance of unbeaten record:					0.00%	0.00%
	Chance of winless record:						0.00%
Projected record is based on cumulative probabilities of
winning each game and may not equal the individual game predictions.
Home games played at Rupp Arena (23,000, 2nd largest in D-I)
Games against opponents yet to be determined are not included in the upcoming schedule.

Trust me, I can feel the gnashing of teeth out there right now. "Whad'ya mean we're gonna lose seven games! This guy is clueless! Tennessee is going to beat us twice, and we only have a 30% chance of taking down the Florida Gators in Gainesville? What a crock!"

Relax, it isn't a crock. The data at this point is relatively sparse, and a couple of games can make a huge change. This is typical of how these calculations look early in the season, so just chill and please don't beat on Ken Pomeroy for his effrontery -- this is a calculation that gets better as time goes on, and these numbers will change, most likely for the better (well, I certainly hope so, anyway!).

To explain why this looks the way it does, keep in mind that Pomeroy's system currently ranks the Wildcats at #41. Now, nobody believes that UK is only the 41st best team in the country right now -- all you have to do is have a look at the polls. Statistical systems cannot measure everything, and one thing that cannot be accounted for in any way is potential, which human systems can account for. Also realize that the more data statistical systems accumulate, the more accurate they are. Right now, only about 33% of the games have been played, so keep in mind that the data at this point is really sparse.

Why are the 'Cats so low right now? Take a look at this graph, brought to you by the magic of Google Fusion (note - clicking on the bar will bring up the value):

What I have done here is taken the top twenty teams from kenpom.com, including their offensive and defensive efficiencies and their strength of schedule, and appended Kentucky's numbers onto the end of that group. To make SOS graph better, I have multiplied it by 100, but relatively speaking, it is still the same thing.

So how does UK grade out? The fundamental basis for Ken Pomeroy's analysis, in the end, is the difference between offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. Remember that for DE, lower is better, and it is represented by the red line, while OE is the blue line. The orange line is the difference between the two.

You may not quite be able to see it, but UK's DE is the worst of this lot, which is why they are not a top 25 team. The OE is competitive, but it also toward the low end of the teams in this list.

The orange line tells the tale. The margin between UK's OE and DE is much lower than the top clubs, hence our relative position in Pomeroy's system. To be honest, our OE is good enough for a top 20 team, no question -- even a top 10. But the DE is a big problem. Currently, UK is ranked 65th in defensive efficiency. That's not a good number at all.

The green line represents strength of schedule, with larger being better. You will note that UK's SOS is better than the Kansas Jayhawks or Syracuse Orange, but is much weaker than the Texas Longhorns or Duke Blue Devils. To make things worse, UK has not been able to defeat these weak opponents by a wide margin, hence our current place in Pomeroy's hierarchy.

There is no doubt whatever that Kentucky will move up this list fairly rapidly, particularly by the time we get to conference play, and as teams like Kansas, Missouri and Memphis start to play tougher squads. Kentucky has only one more daunting game in the non-conference season, the annual tilt with the Louisville Cardinals. If the 'Cats can start playing better defense and blowing out opponents, you will see them move up the Pomeroy rankings fairly quickly.

The Big Blue Daily Mail -- Moving On Up Edition

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:03:47 -0000

Well, it seems that the Villanova Wildcats' loss is the Kentucky Wildcats' gain, as UK moves up a spot to #3 ~~between~~ behind the Kansas Jayhawks and the Texas Longhorns.

As John Wall continues to garner Freshman of the Week awards from the SEC, Kentucky has a week to ponder it's recent success versus the North Carolina Tar Heels, Indiana Hoosiers and Connecticut Huskies, as well as working to improve their game, particularly on the defensive side.

If Kentucky's game versus IU proved nothing else, it showed that the 'Cats can handle a hostile arena with aplomb, even one that's said to have done some pretty ugly things lately. John Gasaway of Basketball Prospectus ponders the remarkable sequence that Daniel Orton had in the North Carolina game where he blocked a shot and dished an assist in the same short time frame, and in a later post, notes that DeMarcus Cousins is getting 22% of UK's misses back.

The news follows the jump.

idsnews.com | Indiana Daily Student |
This wasn’t the first time this season that Assembly Hall has been a hotbed of insults. Student fans were as loud on Dec. 1 against Maryland, but their chants included racist and derogatory slurs toward Maryland senior guard Greivis Vasquez of Venezuela and sophomore forward Jin Soo Choi of South Korea. This time, the yells were mostly targeted at Calipari.

Wow. Glad we didn't see any "racist and derogatory slurs" on Saturday.
The Big Blue Nation Report: Five Quick Questions for Mr. Leach...
An interview with Tom Leach
Hot UK plays it cool in potential 10-0 start | KentuckySports.com
Awesome job by Matthew Mitchell. Could UK hoops finally become a contendah?
Grading SEC Coaches | SEC Corner - al.com
Brooks gets surprisingly high grades.
Wildcat Blue In a Sea of Orange: Rich Brooks Wildcats garner post season honors
Monday's news & notes: UK's Wall making headlines, MSG a home away from home
Kansas freshman Xavier Henry is just as impressive as John Wall - Seth Davis - SI.com
Henry is the first to recognize that Wall has earned every bit of his publicity, but he will not concede that Wall is the better player. Henry also confesses that Wall's hot start has provided him with extra incentive. "It does kind of motivate me that he plays like that and gets all this attention, so if I play just as well then I should get the same," Henry told me in a telephone interview. "Just don't sleep on me. That's all I've got to say."

Play somebody, Xavier. Then talk smack.
Basketball Prospectus | Unfiltered
The always-worthy John Gasaway.
Izzo speaks out after Roy Williams throws another shot at Delvon Roe | College Hoops Journal
Another bit of bad behavior from Roy Williams.
Is Roy Williams the biggest phony in college basketball? | College Hoops Journal
CHJ takes Roy Willams down -- hard.
Ex-Cat Shagari Alleyne Signed by Halifax Rainmen
Is Wall or Cobb the better athlete? | Vaught's Views
Who cares? Both are great.
" BBL: Could Kentucky play in New York every year? John Clay’s Sidelines
John Clay's Big Blue Links.
Kentucky and Louisville have flipped fortunes | College Hoops Journal
The Kentucky Wildcats aren’t in the clear and aren’t guaranteed a Final Four berth this season. The Louisville Cardinals aren’t mired in mediocrity and aren’t one of the eight worst teams in the Big East, all of the sudden.

But that doesn’t mean these two intrastate rivals haven’t switched positions in the past eight months. Think about where each of these programs were on Selection Sunday. It’s remarkable, when you think about it.

Indeed.
courier-journal.com | Chris Diggs - UK Fan | The Courier-Journal
When IU fans have to go back twenty years and talk about NCAA violations to put down a rival, I can't help but laugh. Seriously. Out of the last 20 meetings, the Cats have won 15 of those years. Why don't we talk about that? Why don't we talk about what is the most important thing, what happens on the floor?

Or, we can talk about something else that happened this decade -- Cell Phone Kelvin Sampson.
Thoughts on Kentucky and Kansas
Very thoughtful and interesting comments from a Kansas fan. I think Kansas is significantly better than UK right now, but at the end of the year, it could be a horse race. I would read this if I were you. He gets a few little things wrong, but mostly he does a very good job.
Wildcats Break for Exams - KENTUCKY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Which basketball team will stay unbeaten longest? - Mike DeCourcy - College Basketball - Sporting News
Always worth a read.

Big Ten exapansion talk...again?

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:54:24 -0000

As I mentioned in yesterday's headlines post, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez reopened expansion discussion with these comments:

Speaking to Wisconsin's athletic board on Friday, Alvarez, the former longtime Badgers football coach, said the conference already has investigated possibilities for expansion "from all over the country." And though he places no timetable on the search, Alvarez thinks conference commissioner Jim Delany will respond to a group of athletic directors and coaches who want expansion. "I have a sense he is going to take this year to really be more aggressive about it," Alvarez told the board. "I just think everybody feels [expansion] is the direction to go, coaches and administrators."

Expansion is not something that the Big Ten undertakes lightly. Penn State joined in 1990. Michigan State joined in 1950. Before that, the last new members to join were Indiana and Iowa in 1899. The University of Chicago is the only school to leave the Big Ten permanently (per Wikipedia, Michigan left the conference from 1907-1916, but was a charter member when the conference was formed in 1896). All current and former members of the Big Ten are major research institutions ranked in the top 100 by US News & World Report and are members of the Association of American Universities. The Big Ten cares about its brand, academically and athletically.

Certainly, expansion isn't a new topic around here. In this post, nearly two and a half years ago, after comments by Jim Delany about expanding the geographic borders of the conference, I discussed the various possible members in states that border the current Big Ten footprint (but not schools within the footprint. Last May, I mentioned Joe Paterno's East Coast expansion dreams. So, here's a rundown of the candidates.

One issue that I don't think matters to the discussion is the Notre Dame issue. While it's an interesting issue, it doesn't add much to the expansion discussion because 1) Notre Dame is extremely unlikely to join the Big Ten; and 2) if #1 ceases to be true, then Notre Dame is an obvious fit as the 12th school and no further discussion is required. This post will focus on the other schools both inside and outside the footprint that might be plausible candidates. My inclusion of any school in this list should not be considered any sort of an endorsement. I will list every school in or adjacent to Big Ten territory that has anything approaching a big time athletic program.

INSIDE THE FOOTPRINT (from east to west)

University of Pittsburgh

Football: The Panthers have a strong history and have won multiple national championships, but most recently in 1976. The Panthers' fan support pales in comparison to that of Penn State, but in recent years have been reasonably respectable. It has been a generation since Pitt could legitimately be considered a football power, but the Panthers certainly wouldn't be a stretch for Big Ten membership in this regard.
Basketball: Historically, Pitt has been an afterthought, but thanks to the accomplishments of former coach Ben Howland and current coach Jamie Dixon, the Panthers have transformed into one of the best programs in the country. In the late 1990s, Pitt tore down its football stadium, became a tenant of the Steelers at then-new Heinz Field, and built a state-of-the-art basketball arena where the football stadium once stood. Pitt seems to have staying power as a basketball power.
US News Ranking: 56 (five current Big Ten members are ranked lower).
AAU member?: Yes.
Fit/Big Ten interest: Pitt, as a large research university within the Big Ten footprint, has much in common with Big Ten schools, and would have been a good fit at any point over the last few decades. Still, the Panthers plow no new ground. The Big Ten, thanks to Penn State, already has a strong presence in Pittsburgh. The Panthers, even during an excellent 2009 season, averaged only 53,000 in attendance at a stadium with a capacity of over 65,000. Would Pitt, plus the addition of a championship game, result in a net revenue gain for the conference? I have my doubts.
Likelihood of interest:I suspect that from a financial perspective, membership would be tough to decline for Pitt. The Big East, however competitive, provides a fraction of the football revenue. In 2007-08, Pitt ranked #61 in Division I-A with $39 million in revenue. Northwestern was last in the Big Ten with $41 million in revenue that year, and Indiana was next-to-last with $56 million, nearly 20 million more than one of the most prominent programs in the Big East. Also, it would be an academic boon for Pitt. The interesting question would be to what degree Jamie Dixon and his East Coast recruiting would play a role. My guess is that Dixon would be opposed, but my further guess is that his opposition wouldn't be enough.

University of Cincinnati

Football: Barely more than a decade ago, Cincinnati was on IU's schedule as a MAC-style warmup game. In 2009, the Bearcats were a missed Texas field goal away from playing for the national championship. Still, Cincy plays in a 35,000 seat stadium, and Brian Kelly's decision to head to Notre Dame seems to confirm that the Bearcats have nowhere to go but down.
Basketball: Cincinnati is a legitimate historical power. The Bearcats won two NCAA titles in the 1960s and were excellent under Bob Huggins in the 1990s and 2000s.
US News Ranking: Tier 3 (all Big Ten schools are Tier 1)
AAU member?: No.
Fit: It's really pointless to debate Cincinnati's athletic merits, whether Ohio State would oppose it, or anything else. A tier 3 commuter school like Cincinnati never will garner the support the Big Ten's presidents.
Likelihood of interest: Cincinnati is a Big East school with no long history in the conference and located in the heart of Big Ten territory. I presume Cincinnati would jump at the chance in the unlikely event it were offered.

Iowa State University

Football: Other than some recent wins over dramatically more talented Iowa teams, not much to write home about. Iowa State ranks #103 in all-time winning percentage among current Division I-A members. Only Northwestern and IU rank lower. Unlike even Northwestern and IU, Iowa State has never played in one of the current BCS bowls.
Basketball: A bit better than football, but not much. Iowa State hasn't been to the Final Four since 1944 and has only 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.
US News Ranking: 88, below all Big Ten schools, but Tier 1.
AAU member?: Yes.
Fit/Big Ten interest: This is a school that is often mentioned in discussions on Big Ten expansion, and the appeal is completely lost on me. The Cyclones have a lackluster history in both sports, the Big Ten already has representation in Iowa, which is a fairly small state with no major media markets. Unless the creation of a championship game is some sort of cure-all, I can't imagine how anyone could argue that adding Iowa State would make the Big Ten a better conference.
Likelihood of interest: I sincerely have no idea. I have no read on Iowa State fans. I don't know if they prefer to be in a different conference from their rival Hawkeyes or if they would rather go toe-to-toe with Iowa in the Big Ten. I presume, perhaps unfairly, that most Big East teams would make the leap. It's a tougher read when the prospective team has a generations-long connection to a prominent conference. Iowa State ranked #63 in football revenue in 2007-08, and the Big 12 has inbalanced revenue distribution.

OUTSIDE THE FOOTPRINT

Rutgers University

Football: The Scarlet Knights played in the first-ever college football game but haven't done much to distinguish themselves since then. Rutgers has parlayed some success under Greg Schiano into strong attendance, stadium expansion, and the like, but would it be appealing for Rutgers to leave an eastern conference that it theoretically can dominate to join a conference where it must compete with Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State? Rutgers has won 50 percent of its games (#78 in I-A) and has never played in a New Year's Day bowl or in one of the current BCS bowls.
Basketball: The Scarlet Knights have been to the NCAA Tournament six times in school history, most recently in 1991. Rutgers plays its home games in the RAC, and 8,000 bandbox.
US News Ranking: 66, within the range of Big Ten schools.
AAU member?: Yes.

Fit: Academically, fine. Athletically, the Scarlet Knights are well below average in the two sports that matter. Rutgers is a popular hobby horse for Joe Paterno and others, usually based on Rutgers's presence in the greater New York metro area/media market. This strikes me as overblown. If being in such an area matters, then why does Rutgers play in a 8,000 seat basketball arena? Why was the football stadium only recently expanded from 41,000? This would be a nice addition for Big Ten alumni who live in New York, but letting Rutgers in wouldn't turn NYC into a Big Ten town.
Likelihood of interest: Rutgers is one of the more profitable Big East football programs with 2007-08 revenue of $50 million. I presume the academic pull would be strong, but I can imagine some reticence about the idea of New Jersey's state university joining such a distinctly midwestern institution.

Syracuse University

Football: The Orange have been down for several years, but they are a traditional football power. Historically, if not recently, the football program would be a reasonable addition to the Big Ten.
Basketball: Under the leadership of Jim Boeheim, Syracuse has been one of the most successful programs of the last 25 years, winning the 2003 NCAA title and finishing second twice (wouldn't the "Keith Smart, Keith Smart!" chant be fun?). Of course, Syracuse was a charter member of the Big East and is highly identified with that conference.
US News Ranking: 58, pretty average for the Big Ten.
AAU member?: Yes.
Fit: Syracuse would constitute an expansion far northeast of ithe current footprint. While one can argue whether western New york and western Pennsylvania have more in common with the midwest or the east coast, my less-than-knowledgeable impression is that as a university, Syracuse is very tied in to New York City and draws much of its student body from metro New York despite the geographic distance. Syracuse is as far east as Baltimore. Still, Penn State was an eastern power before joining the Big Ten, so Syracuse doesn't seem like much of a departure. Academically, although a private school and a bit smaller than most Big Ten schools, SU would fit just fine.
Likelihood of interest: I really don't know. In terms of revenue, it would seem to be a solid move for Syracuse. On the other hand, Syracuse is one of the more tradition-rich football programs in the Big East. It's possible to picture Syracuse dominating the Big East in football. The Big Ten? Not so much. Basketball, it seems to me, would be the major stumbling block. My guess is that Jim Boeheim wields a lot of influence at Syracuse, and my further guess is that he wouldn't be interested in such a major idenity shift for his program.

University of Maryland

Football: A solid but not overwhelming history in the ACC. Maryland has had a BCS appearance in the last ten years.
Basketball: Maryland is a basketball school in a basketball conference, and has won the NCAA Tournament in the last ten years.
US News Ranking: 53, solidly in the middle of the Big Ten.
AAU member?: Yes.
Fit: Certainly, Maryland's academics and athletics are up to snuff. Of course, like Syracuse, adding Maryland would be a major move eastward. On the other hand, Maryland is located in the suburbs of the major media market of Washington DC, and as far as I can tell as an outsider, seems to be more a part of the region's consciousness than Rutgers is in New York City. If Maryland were interested, I would think they would be a reasonably strong candidate.
Likelihood of interest: It strikes me as unlikely that Maryland would be interested. Despite recent strides in football, Maryland is a basketball school, and currently is one of the better programs in college basketball's most prestigious conference. My guess is that fan and alumni resistance would be strong.

West Virginia University

Football: The Mountaineers are an above average football program with a nearly .600 winning percentage and five top ten finishes in the last 22 seasons. WVU would be a worthy addition in football.
Basketball: The alma mater of Jerry West has a long and decent NCAA Tournament history and has qualified for the Sweet 16 three times in the last five years. WVU is no powerhouse, but has a solid basketball program.
US News Ranking: Tier 3. That's pretty bad for a state's flagship public university (all Big Ten schools are in Tier 1, roughly the top 100).
AAU member?: No.
Fit: I suspect that for Big Ten presidents, academics might be the dealbreaker. In academic prestige, WVU has more in common with Cincinnati and Louisville than with Big Ten schools. Also, WVU adds no major media markets. It's a shame, because I don't think WVU would be a bad fit athletically.
Likelihood of interest: I presume, with no real knowledge of the institution, that there would be interest. Obviously, part of that interest would be based on revenue and prestige, but as a state, West Virginia strikes me as something of a region of its own. It's not really southern, eastern, or midwestern, and certainly isn't tied to the east coast the way Rutgers and Syracuse are. I presume WVU would be game if the Big Ten were.

University of Kentucky

Football: UK has a solid program, but the Wildcats are an afterthought in the extremely competitive SEC East. As IU fans will recall from the longtime football series between IU and UK, the Wildcats have impressive fan support for a team with a below average record.
Basketball: Obviously, the Wildcats are one of the most accomplished programs in the history of college basketball. This addition would dramatically increase the prestige of the Big Ten. Imagine: IU-UK, MSU-UK, Purdue-UK, Ohio State-UK, Illinois-UK, every year, usually twice a year.
US News Ranking: 128. Lower than all current Big Ten schools, but not dramatically so.
AAU member?: No.
Fit: Obviously, basketball would be awesome. Football? Well, Kentucky has good fan support, but generally is considered a have-not. I'm not sure how the revenue picture would look. Kentucky would add the Lexington market and would enhance the Big Ten's presence in the Louisville and Cincinnati markets.
Likelihood of interest: I really don't know. Kentucky strikes me as a state that despite its central geography really treasures its southern identity. Leaving a southern conference to join a midwestern conference might clash with that. Academically, it seems to me it would be a great move for a school that is not currently Big Ten caliber but is within striking distance. In football, UK would be leaving a long history in the SEC, but might be convinced that it has a better chance of competing in the Big Ten. In basketball, UK has owned the SEC, but of its three biggest rivals (Louisville, Indiana, and Tennessee) two are non-conference. It's an intriguing question.

University of Louisville

Football: The Cardinals had a brief moment in the spotlight earlier this decade, but aren't a traditional football power by any stretch.
Basketball: The Cardinals have won two NCAA titles and are a top 10 basketball program historically, or top 15 at least.
US News Ranking: Tier 3 (all current Big Ten schools are Tier 1).
AAU member?: No.
Fit: Louisville would be a decent fit athletically and geographically, but my guess is that academics would be a dealbreaker.
Likelihood of interest: I presume that the opportunity to move into a more lucrative conference, particularly for football, would be attractive. Louisville's history in the Big East is relatively short, and the Metro/Great Midwest/Conference USA were constantly adding and losing members. This wouldn't be like Kentucky leaving the SEC after generations of membership, for instance. My guess is that UL would move, but it's academic.

University of Missouri

Football: An average program historically but currently on the upswing.
Basketball: Thanks to Maryland's recent tournament success, Missouri probably now owns the dubious distinction of "best basketball program without a Final Four appearance." Still, Mizzou has a solid basketball program.
US News Ranking: 102. Below all Big Ten schools but not dramatically so.
AAU member?: Yes.
Fit: Missouri would be an expansion of the conference's borders but into a midwestern portion of the country. bordered by Illinois and Iowa Missouri has good programs in both major sports, is the flagship university in its state, and would add the Kansas City media market and would solidify the Big Ten's presence in the St. Louis market. Again, I don't have a good enough handle on the numbers to know how they would work.
Likelihood of interest: Well, check out this thread on Rock M Nation. Some Mizzou fans are in favor, others are adamantly against the move. Mizzou has a long history in the Big 12 and its predecessors, but also some discontent with the current (in their view) Texas-dominated Big 12. The Big 12 has a less even revenue distribution formula than the Big Ten. I suspect that academics might carry the day if Mizzou were invited.

University of Nebraska

Football: While the last few years haven't been kind to the Huskers, they are an elite program.
Basketball: Nothing special, but neither was Penn State basketball.
US News Ranking: 96, slightly below the tail end of the Big Ten.
AAU member?: Yes.
Fit: Nebraska borders the Big Ten by virtue of a short border with Iowa, and would be quite a western expansion. Nebraska adds no major media markets, but particularly in football, the Huskers are the only show in town. Academically, NU is good enough.
Likelihood of interest: I really have no idea. Given the significance of Nebraska football, the long history in the Big 8/Big 12, and the fact that a Nebraska program playing to its potentional should own the Big Ten North, my guess is that there would be little interest.

Well, those are the candidates, both within and adjacent to the footprint. What do you think? Who do you prefer? Did I miss anyone? I welcome all comments.

Interview With Joseph Lacy, Author of "Mountain Reign"

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

Mountain Reign front cover

View full size photo »

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.

Tremble In The Presence Of Syracuse Basketball

Sean Keeley — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:34:52 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

Browse more photos »

The college basketball world was already aware that it had made a mistake in overlooking Syracuse in it's preseason rankings. Now it's beginning to realize just how horrible a mistake that was...considering The '09-'10 Syracuse Orange might just be the greatest collection of human beings ever to put on uniforms and play the game of basketball in a sanctioned, NCAA season.

First of all there are the numbers. Syracuse is No. 7 overall in RPI rankings, No. 1 overall in the Sagarin Rankings and No. 1 in something called the KRACH, which sounds naughty.

The weekly polls haven't come out yet but the Orange are sure to rise even further higher. Obviously they had two wins this past week, one of which was over the No. 10 team in the nation. Couple that with No. 3 Villanova's loss to Temple as well as the lame-ass schedules that Purdue and West Virginia have played, and you can easily see the Orange moving way up the charts...possibly even grabbing a few more first-place votes.

(Sure the rankings don't mean squat at the end of the year but they sure do help out in the recruiting department, not that we're hurting too much there either.)

Hell, we've even got the head coach of Kentucky allegedly scared of us.

And it's not just the men, mind you. The Syracuse women's basketball team is off to their best start since 1974. At 9-0, the Orange can match the best start in over 30 years with a win over Delaware State on December 22nd. Coach Q's girls are currently ranked No. 25 in the Coaches Poll and should keep moving up this week.

I have to say, it's just nice to be dominant again, even if its "just" December.

Update: Syracuse is No. 5 in the new Coaches Poll and also in the AP Poll. where they picked up a 2nd first-place vote. Who has joined Dick Weiss among the smart folks?