Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ex-Wildcats think about what might have been

The game still haunts DeMarcus Cousins a year later.

Whenever the former Kentucky center's mind wanders to last year's dismal 73-66 loss to West Virginia in the NCAA tournament's East regional final, Cousins tosses and turns as images of missed shots and missed opportunities replay in his mind.  "When I think about it I can't sleep at night because we should have won that game," said Cousins, now a rookie center for the Sacramento Kings.  Instead, the Wildcats walked off the Carrier Dome floor at Syracuse in stunned silence, as the program's resurgent season under John Calipari ended with a whimper - and the sound of 28 missed 3-pointers clanging off the rim. "If we played them again it would be a different story," Cousins said. "We would've beat them and beat them good."

Read More Here

Reliant Stadium is ready and waiting





The Cat Daddy has landed!





Sunday, March 27, 2011

ESPN Talks KENTUCKY

UK has another All-Star recruiting year

High school basketball season might be over, but there will be no rest for the members of the University of Kentucky's No. 1 recruiting class anytime soon. Next week tips off a whirlwind month of All-Star games, news conferences and recruiting trips that will give fans a clearer look at the newest bunch of Cats, and UK coaches a clearer picture of who exactly will be on their 2011-12 roster.  There will be plenty of opportunities to watch Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer show off their talents on television over the next few weeks. There will also be plenty of off-the-court news as John Calipari rounds out the remainder of a class that is almost certain to grow before the summer ends.
Read more at kentucky.com

Coach Cal takes his 3rd Team to the final four.

Calipari joins Rick Pitino as the only men's basketball coaches to lead three different programs to the Final Four. Calipari's previous visits at Massachusetts in 1996 and Memphis in 2008 were vacated by the NCAA for rules violations, but Calipari was not found liable in either instance.

NCAA All Tourney Team East Region

Josh Harrellson turned in another monster game en route to All-East Region Team honors.

Teammates DeAndre Liggins and Brandon Knight (also Most Outstanding Player) were also named to the team.

Vegas tabs UK 8-5 Favorite to win the title

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Las Vegas casinos have tabbed Kentucky the latest favorite in an NCAA tournament full of upsets, and are hoping that Virginia Commonwealth ends its improbable run without a title. Executive Director Jay Kornegay of the Las Vegas Hilton race and sports book said Sunday night that Kentucky was a 2-point favorite to win its semifinal game against Connecticut, while Butler was a 2 1/2-point favorite over Virginia Commonwealth. Race and Sports Director Mike Colbert of Cantor Gaming says his books made Kentucky an 8-5 favorite to win the title. Connecticut is the next favorite at 11-5, while Cantor is giving Butler 4-1 odds and VCU 7-1 odds to win it all. Colbert and Kornegay say a VCU title would be troubling for their casinos given some big bets on the long shots.

Final Four

Kentucky holds off North Carolina, earns 14th Final Four

NEWARK, NJ -- John Calipari has restored the roar at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats back to the Final Four after a 13-year absence. Brandon Knight scored 22 points and the fourth-seeded Wildcats are headed back to college basketball's biggest stage following a 76-69 win over second-seeded North Carolina on Sunday in the East Regional final. The Wildcats (29-8) will play Connecticut in Houston on Saturday night after turning back a late surge by the Tar Heels (27-10), who erased an 11-point deficit before running out of gas in the final two minutes. DeAndre Liggins added 12 points for Kentucky, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 37 seconds remaining to help lift the Wildcats to the Final Four for the first time since 1998.

That's hardly a lengthy drought in most places. At Kentucky it's a lifetime. A season after falling a game short of the Final Four behind a roster filled with future NBA stars, the Wildcats are heading to the national semifinals for 14th time behind the heady play of Knight and the emotional leadership of senior center Josh Harrellson. Harrellson again held his own against North Carolina's bigger, more heralded front line, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Tyler Zeller led North Carolina with 21 points and nine rebounds, but the Tar Heels fell behind early and struggled to keep the hot-shooting Wildcats in check.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Voice of the Cats calling the last 30 seconds

Josh sends a message to Sullinger "Dodge Ball Style"

Looking ahead to North Carolina on Sunday at 5pm

CATS WIN A TICKET TO THE ELITE 8



NEWARK, N.J. -- It seemed everyone knew where the ball was going. A few seconds left, destiny there for the grabbing, and there was no question Brandon Knight was getting the shot. The play started deliberately, with almost an innocence to it, coming after Ohio State tied the score at 60 with 21 seconds left. Knight took the ball and immediately Ohio State's Aaron Craft guarded him. Josh Harrellson tried to set a pick but Knight ignored him. At this point, Knight was a freshman, but as the seconds ticked away, he was aging in dog years. Calmness, dribble-dribble, calmness ... this was Knight. Clock ticking, the Prudential Center loud and obnoxious. “Everything was in slow motion,” said Kentucky guard Darius Miller. “He was calm.”  Calmness, dribble-dribble, calmness. Initially, as Knight’s mind formulated a plan of attack, he wanted to come off a screen and shoot, or at least quickly break left, but Craft forced him right. Near the top of the key. Eight seconds. Sprinting right past Craft. Seven seconds.  Knight had respect for Craft’s lateral quickness so whatever he was going to do, Knight thought, he needed to do it fast. So he did. Knight stopped short, two steps inside the arc, and pulled up for a jumper with about 6.9 seconds left. The indelible image: Knight’s feet up high in the air, spread wider than shoulder length apart, his technique perfect, and Craft helpless.   “I knew it was going in,” said Kentucky’s Doron Lamb 

“People are going to say they knew it was going in,” said Wildcat Eloy Vargas, “but I really knew.”


Of course it went in. Kentucky 62, Ohio State 60.
You see, they knew, because Knight has done this before. He did it earlier in the tournament, against Princeton, which is why John Calipari was so comfortable calling on Knight again.

“... when it comes to crunch time,” Knight said, “a couple of seconds left and the game on the line, I focus in, and make sure I am making the right decisions.”

Oh, he makes them alright.  "Yeah, he made a heck of a shot,” said Ohio State coach Thad Matta. “Aaron, you know, he is a tremendous defender. He had his hand in his face and he just rose up and made a great shot. And you know, those are the type of shots that we said we wanted them to make were challenged twos. To his credit, he made a big-time play.”

Josh Harrellson on Ohio State win

Josh celebrates like only Josh Can!

Brandon Knight & Jon Diebler Fantastic Finish!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Remember this guy?

                                                                          Ed Corbett

Cousins Ejected After Pushing

Texas Tech hires Billy Gillispie

Billy Gillispie is returning to the Big 12 as coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Team Press Conference post W.V.

Knight leads UK rally, Wildcats advance to Sweet 16

TAMPA, Fla. -- It's not taking Brandon Knight long to build an impressive résumé in the NCAA tournament. A game-winning shot in the closing seconds of his debut. A career-best 30 points in his next game, helping Kentucky get back into the round of 16. Less than 48 hours after his only basket helped the fourth-seeded Wildcats survive their tourney opener against Princeton, Knight led an 11-0 run coming out of halftime and made six free throws in the final minute to close out a 71-63 victory over fifth-seeded West Virginia. Not bad for a freshman who's coping with the pressure that comes with playing in the NCAAs, while also carrying the hopes of one of college basketball's most storied programs on his shoulders.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/recap/NCAAB_20110319_WV@KY/knight-leads-uk-rally-wildcats-advance-to-sweet-16

Pressure's off Kentucky as Cats head for New Jersey

TAMPA, Fla. — Rarely has a group of young men been so happy to be going to New Jersey.


Get ready, Newark, here come the Cats. It's on to the New Jersey Turnpike and the land of Springsteen and to "beneath that giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light."

They call it the Garden State, you know. But to this Kentucky basketball team, reaching the Sweet 16 for Friday's NCAA Tournament East Region semifinal in beautiful downtown Newark, seems more like the promised land.
http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/20/1677721/john-clay-pressures-off-kentucky.html#

Knight scores career-high 30 as Kentucky overtakes West Virginia 71-63

TAMPA, Fla. — Kentucky rode perseverance and willpower to a 71-63 victory over West Virginia on Saturday. Those qualities enabled UK to avenge an NCAA Tournament loss to West Virginia last year and advance to a Sweet 16 date with either George Mason or No. 1 Ohio State on Friday.




http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/20/1677270/kentucky-vs-west-virginia-1215.html

Saturday, March 19, 2011

UK views West Virginia as grudge match

TAMPA, Fla. — Serendipity played a key role when West Virginia upset Kentucky in the 2010 NCAA Tournament regional finals. The day before the same programs — if largely not the same players — compete again, UK sounded intent on preventing a replay of such consequential misfortune.

WVU thwarted Kentucky with a 1-3-1 zone last year because Devin Ebanks could not contain UK super freshman John Wall within the Mountaineers' man-to-man defense.
"We didn't plan on playing 1-3-1 as much as we did," West Virginia Coach Bob Huggins said Friday. "But, you know, you're just trying to win."http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/19/1676508/kentucky-views-west-virginia-as.html#

Patterson and Hayes lay a beating on the Celtics 93-77

Rookie Patrick Patterson was well on his way to 18 points with a season-high 12 rebounds.


Celtics forward Kevin Garnett had shifted into his familiar full-volume, full-throated attack, barking at the top of Chuck Hayes’ head as they stood chin to face, close enough to identify each other’s flavor of gum.

Hayes and the Rockets laughed. The Celtics shoved. The Rockets pushed back. The Celtics hit. The Rockets hit harder. Moments after Garnett shouted at Hayes’ way, Hayes ripped the ball from him. On the other end, Hayes flew past him. The Rockets’ 6-6 forward pestered and frustrated Boston’s 6-11, Hall of Fame-bound star. Meanwhile, the Rockets’ Kyle Lowry bulldogged past Rajon Rondo, Boston’s All-Star point guard, while Kevin Martin outpointed the Celtics’ Ray Allen, the greatest 3-point shooter in the history of the game.
When they were through, the Rockets had rolled to a 29-point lead before cruising to a 93-77 rout of the Celtics on Friday night at Toyota Center.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Kentucky will play West Virginia at 12:15 on Saturday

Princeton Tigers 57, Kentucky Wildcats 59 - Final Seconds - March Madness 2011 (3-17-2011)

DeAndre Liggins on "no panic"

Darius Miller on Princeton win

Brandon Knight on game-winning shot

Cats escape Princeton 59-57

TAMPA, Fla. -- Brandon Knight missed his first seven shots and even found himself on the bench in the final minute against Princeton. His confidence could have been shaken. His ego could have been bruised. After all, he was a freshman playing in his first NCAA tournament game. Then again, Knight's no ordinary newcomer.
Finally, Freshmen Find Their Form To Wildcats freshman Terrence Jones, going back to Kentucky after a first-round loss was unimaginable, writes Mark Schlabach. Held scoreless for more than 39 minutes, Knight made a driving layup with 2 seconds remaining to lift No. 4 seed Kentucky to a 59-57 win over 13th-seeded Princeton on Thursday.  "I have all the faith and confidence in the world in him," coach John Calipari said. "He's not afraid to make a play. Guys like him aren't afraid to miss."  "I think they had the jitters at their first NCAA tournament game ever that they've been watching since they're 12 and all of a sudden starting in the NCAA tournament that's on national television," Calipari said. "How we escaped -- I will have to go watch the tape and figure it out."  With those guys off, upperclassmen carried the Wildcats most of the way. Darius Miller scored 17 points, and lone senior Josh Harrellson added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Deandre Liggins chipped in eight points, including a 3-pointer with 5:38 remaining and a driving bank shot with a little more than a minute to play.read more here espn.go.com

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

NBA scouts keep eye on Kanter as he sits

It’s a tradition in Lexington, Ky., that the town shuts down on the day the Kentucky Wildcats play their first NCAA tournament game. The streets should be all but bare when the Wildcats face Princeton on Thursday, and among the locals watching will be a 6-foot-10 freshman who has as much of a rooting interest in the game as the most fervent of bluebloods.  Of course, if it were up to Enes Kanter, he’d be helping the Wildcats on the court, not sitting in front of a TV.  “I cry when I watch the games,” Kanter told Yahoo! Sports. “When I watch them play I’m sad because I cannot help my teammates. When I see them losing, it’s frustrating.”   Kanter was part of the Wildcats’ heralded 2010 recruiting class and Rivals.com’s No. 3-rated prospect overall, trailing only Kansas’ Josh Selby and North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes. The NCAA, however, ruled him ineligible after saying he had accepted more than $33,000 in impermissible benefits from a professional club team in his native Turkey.



Read More Here sports.yahoo.com

UK Signee Kyle Wiltjer talks about leading Jesuit to a three-peat State Title

Coach Cal on the post season motivational source

UK Makes Record 51st NCAA Tournament Appearance

Kentucky will be making its NCAA record 51st NCAA Tournament appearance, capturing the Southeastern Conference's automatic berth after posting a 70-54 win over the 12th ranked Florida Gators in the SEC Tournament championship.




2011 NCAA Tournament

Thursday, March 17
2:45 p.m. [CBS]
Second Rd.
Tampa, Fla.
St. Pete Times Forum (20,500)




The Wildcats clamped down on the Gators defensively, holding them to just 38.6 pct. from the field while forcing Florida into 14 turnovers, which the Cats converted into 20 points on the offensive end.

Kentucky on the other hand was very stingy with the ball, turning it over just six times.
Brandon Knight led the Cats offensively with a game-high 17 points. He was joined in double-figures by Terrence Jones (16), Darius Miller (15) and DeAndre Liggins (10).

Read More at www.ukathletics.com

Monday, March 14, 2011

Final Season AP POLL CATS AT #11 FLORIDA #15 (SERIOUSLY A 2 SEED)

AP Top 25


RK TEAM RECORD PTS

1 Ohio State (51) 32-2 1,611
2 Kansas (14) 32-2 1,574
3 Duke 30-4 1,472
4 Pittsburgh 27-5 1,406
5 Notre Dame 26-6 1,332
6 San Diego State 32-2 1,322
7 North Carolina 26-7 1,189
8 Texas 27-7 1,069
9 Connecticut 26-9 1,019
10 Brigham Young 30-4 977
11 Kentucky 25-8 928
12 Syracuse 26-7 922
13 Purdue 25-7 903
14 Louisville 25-9 874
15 Florida 26-7 840
16 Wisconsin 23-8 619
17 Arizona 27-7 516
18 St. John's 21-11 433
19 Utah State 30-3 333
20 Xavier 24-7 270
21 Kansas State 22-10 240
22 West Virginia 20-11 178
23 Washington 23-10 176
24 Texas A&M 24-8 152
25 Vanderbilt 23-10 130

SEC TOURNEY CHAMPIONSHIP BOX SCORE UK 70 UF 54



NCAA TOURNAMENT TIP TIMES

First Four on truTV

Dayton, Ohio
Tuesday, March 15
6:40 p.m. -- UNC Asheville vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (truTV)
9:20 p.m. (approx.) -- UAB vs. Clemson (truTV)

Wednesday, March 16
6:40 p.m. -- Texas-San Antonio vs. Alabama State (truTV)
9:20 p.m. (approx.) -- USC vs. VCU (truTV)



Second Round

Thursday, March 17
Tampa, Florida
12:15 p.m. -- West Virginia vs. UAB/Clemson winner (CBS)
2:45 p.m. (approx.) -- Kentucky vs. Princeton (CBS)
6:50 p.m. -- Florida vs. UC-Santa Barbara (TBS)
9:20 p.m. (approx.) -- UCLA vs. Michigan State (TBS)



Washington D.C.
12:40 p.m. -- Butler vs. Old Dominion (truTV)
3:10 p.m. (approx.) -- Pittsburgh vs. UNC Asheville-UALR winner (truTV)
7:20 p.m. -- Connecticut vs. Bucknell (TNT)
9:50 p.m. (approx.) -- Cincinnati vs. Missouri (TNT)



Denver, Colo.
1:40 p.m. -- Louisville vs. Morehead State (TBS)
4:10 p.m. (approx.) -- Vanderbilt vs. Richmond (TBS)
7:15 p.m. -- BYU vs. Wofford (CBS)
9:45 p.m. (approx.) -- St. John's vs. Gonzaga (CBS)



Tucson, Ariz.

2:10 p.m. -- Temple vs. Penn State (TNT)
4:40 p.m. (approx.) -- San Diego State vs. Northern Colorado (TNT)
7:27 p.m. -- Wisconsin vs. Belmont (truTV)
9:57 p.m. (approx.) -- Kansas State vs. Utah State (trvTV)


Friday, March 18
Tulsa, Okla.
12:15 p.m. -- Texas vs. Oakland (CBS)
2:45 p.m. (approx.) -- Arizona vs. Memphis (CBS)
6:50 p.m. -- Kansas vs. Boston U. (TBS)
9:20 p.m. (approx.) -- UNLV vs. Illinois (TBS)



Charlotte, N.C.
12:40 p.m. -- Michigan vs. Tennessee (truTV)
3:10 p.m. (approx.) -- Duke vs. Hampton (truTV)
7:15 p.m. -- North Carolina vs. Long Island U. (CBS)
9:45 p.m. (approx.) -- Washington vs. Georgia (CBS)



Chicago, Ill.
1:40 p.m. -- Notre Dame vs. Akron (TBS)
4:10 p.m. (approx.) -- Texas A&M vs. Florida State (TBS)
7:20 p.m. -- Purdue vs. St. Peter's (TNT)
9:50 p.m. (approx.) -- Georgetown vs. USC-VCU winner (TNT)



Cleveland, Ohio
2:10 p.m. -- George Mason vs. Villanova (TNT)
4:40 p.m. (approx.) -- Ohio State vs. UTSA-Alabama State winner (TNT)
7:27 p.m. -- Xavier vs. Marquette (truTV)
9:57 p.m. (approx.) -- Syracuse vs. Indiana State (truTV)

East Region Primer: Young Kentucky will knock off Ohio State

The Pick: Kentucky


Yep -- a surprise. In any other region, Ohio State would be my Final Four pick, but the Buckeyes will have the misfortune of running into a No. 4 seed that happens to be more talented, albeit young. The Wildcats' Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight are both possible lottery picks this spring, and Doron Lamb could be a first-rounder next year. It took most of the season for Calipari's team to gel, but now they're playing like a team poised for a Carmelo Anthony/Gerry McNamara-like run to Houston.


Read More Here sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Coach Cal on Lexy

Kentucky’s opening NCAA Tournament game with Princeton will be at 2:45 pm Thursday and will air on CBS.

Selection Sunday: UK to face Princeton

Kentucky received a 4 seed in the East region and will face Princeton, a 13 seed, on Thursday in Tampa, Fla. Louisville, a 4 seed in the Southwest region, will face Morehead State, a 13 seed, on Thursday in Denver.  The top seed in the East is Ohio State, which was also the No. 1 overall seed. Should UK defeat Princeton on Thursday, the Wildcats would face the winner of West Virginia-UAB/Clemson on Saturday in Tampa, Fla. Should UK win that one, it would potentially face Ohio State the next week in the Sweet 16.

Louisville faces Morehead State for the second time in three years. The Cards also faced the Eagles in the first round in 2009. Looking ahead, should UofL beat Morehead State, it would face the winner of Vanderbilt/Richmond on Saturday in Denver. If UofL were to win that one, it would potentially face Kansas, the top seed in the Southwest.

UK after winning SEC Tournament

Josh Harrellson on SEC Tournament championship

UK SEC Champs, Cutting Down Net

Kentucky put together another strong game taking out the Florida Gators 70-54 to win yet another SEC Tournament Championship.

ATLANTA — The little team that could didn't secure a first-round bye until the regular season's final day. Not one, but two sprained ankles shortened an already super model-thin roster. The opponent, Florida, won 10 of its previous 11, and looked good doing it.

"Everybody doubted us," Kentucky wing Darius Miller said in the victorious locker room. "I don't think anybody but us believed that we could win this."

Win it, Kentucky did, thoroughly beating Florida 70-54 Sunday to win the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship.

Of UK's previous 26 SEC Tournament titles, none may have been this unlikely.

Spearheaded by veterans like DeAndre Liggins, Josh Harrellson and Miller, Kentucky handed Florida its first double-digit defeat since No. 1 Ohio State did it in mid-November

Read More here www.kentucky.com.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Beatdown! Cats crush Alabama 72-58

ATLANTA — In one of its sharpest performances of the season, Kentucky rolled the Tide 72-58 in Saturday's semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. But because DeAndre Liggins and Doron Lamb rolled ankles in the final 90 seconds of a blowout victory, the game required a question mark rather than an exclamation point as punctuation.
Why were Liggins and Lamb still playing with Kentucky leading by 18 with less than 90 seconds left?

UK's Josh Harrellson, who posted a double-double while squared off against All-SEC big man JaMychal Green of Alabama, acknowledged that question came to mind.
"You always do a little bit as a player," he said. "Like, why isn't he getting other players in?"
Harrellson guessed that UK's desire to avenge a regular-season defeat at Alabama played into the decision. Or maybe Coach John Calipari's hyperintensity got in the way. "I don't know if he notices it at times," Harrellson said. "He's so into the game."

read more here

Big Cuz



SAC:103 NO:115 F
FG:6/14 (43%)
3P:0/0 (0%)
FT:7/9 (78%)
PTS:19
REB:11
AST:3
TO:6
PF:5

Brandon Knight on SEC Tournament

Doron Lamb on ankle injury

Eric Bledsoe big night vs John Wall's Wizards


Eric Bledsoe
3/12 LAC:122 WAS:101 F
FG:9/14 (64%)
3P:0/1 (0%)
FT:5/9 (56%)
PTS:23
REB:8
AST:6
TO:2
PF:1


John Wall
3/12 LAC:122 WAS:101 F
FG:9/23 (39%)
3P:0/1 (0%)
FT:7/10 (70%)
PTS:25
REB:7
AST:8
STL:1
BLK:1
TO:4
PF:2

SEC Tournament Bracket: Cat's play SAT at 1:00PM

http://media.kentucky.com/smedia/2011/03/06/16/11SEC_MBracket.source.prod_affiliate.79.source.prod_affiliate.79.pdf

Kentucky holds off Mississippi 75-66 to advance to SEC Tournament semifinals

ATLANTA — After Mississippi beat South Carolina on Thursday, forward Terrance Henry said the Rebels wanted to make someone other than Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones win Friday's second-round Southeastern Conference Tournament game. Several of Kentucky's "someone elses" obliged.
Darius Miller and Josh Harrellson filled the void offensively as UK beat Ole Miss 75-66.

Miller scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and took a heady charge inside the final three minutes of a one-possession game. Harrellson evoked memories of his breakout game at Louisville with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Read More at www.kentucky.com

DeAndre Liggins Ole Miss Interview, Following Fight

Cats escape first game, 75-66

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Barkley Discusses 2011 NCAA Tournament

CBSSports.com's Kaylee Hartung spoke with NBA analyst Charles Barkley regarding what he will be bringing to CBS and Turner's coverage of this year's NCAA tournament.


read www.cbssports.com

Photo shows Arkansas coach Pelphrey violated NCAA rules

High standout Archie Goodwin (a consensus top-20 national recruit) and teammate Trey Smith last December at a high school tournament in Conway, Ark. Bylaw 13.1.1.1 states that off-campus contact cannot be made with a prospect (or his relatives or legal guardians) before July 1, following the completion of his junior year of high school. Goodwin and Smith are still in their junior years of high school.



Both confirmed the authenticity of the photograph in separate phone calls with CBSSports.com and described the conversation with Pelphrey as brief. But according to the NCAA, any face-to-face encounter between a coach and a prospect that takes place at the site of an organized competition involving the prospect or the prospect's high school is a "contact," regardless of the conversation that occurs.







read more on www.cbssports.com

SI on Coach Cal

Coach Cal Pre SEC Tourney part 2

Coach Cal Pre SEC Tourney

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Michael Gilchrist and St. Patrick advance

RAHWAY, N.J. — Michael Gilchrist and his St. Patrick teammates haven’t lost a game all season. And Gilchrist has no intention of ending that streak even if the next game turns out to be the biggest game in the recent history of high school basketball. After he put up 19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals in St. Patrick’s 69-41 victory over Gill St. Bernard’s in the North Non-Public B semifinals at Rahway High School, the Kentucky-bound Gilchrist was asked if anyone could stop him. “Me? No,” he said. “Us, no. All of us, nah. Ain’t nobody stopping St. Pat’s. ”

John Wall Stats : Wizards drop another one on the road. (1-29)


John Wall
3/6 WAS:102 DET:113 F
FG:6/15 (40%)
3P:0/2 (0%)
FT:12/13 (92%)
PTS:24
REB:5
AST:7
TO:4
PF:1

Big Cuz on the break.

John Calipari on the Tennessee win

Knight, Jones and Miller after Tennessee win

SEC Tournament Bracket: Cat's play Friday at 3:30

Cat's win on the road in Knoxville 64-58

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Kentucky's first half against Tennessee may have aged coach John Calipari a bit. His young Wildcats did some maturing of their own in the second half.

No. 20 Kentucky survived poor shooting and weak rebounding before halftime to beat Tennessee 64-58 on Sunday and finish second in the Southeastern Conference's East Division.

"What I told them was we grew up today," Calipari said. "For the first time this year we did not play the way we started." At the heart of that effort was freshman Brandon Knight, who was held scoreless for the first 19:57 but finished with 19 points.  The victory kept Kentucky from having to play an extra game in the SEC tournament, which starts Thursday. The Wildcats (22-8, 10-6) will get a bye for the first round and ended a four-game road losing skid.



 Read More Here sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Kings drop one in OT Cousins put up 18p 18r


DeMarcus Cousins
3/5 SAC:102 UTA:109 F
FG:6/18 (33%)
3P:0/0 (0%)
FT:6/11 (55%)
PTS:18
REB:18
AST:7
STL:2
BLK:3
TO:2
PF:4

Bledsoe lights up the board


Eric Bledsoe
3/5 DEN:94 LAC:100 F
FG:7/11 (64%)
3P:2/5 (40%)
FT:4/5 (80%)
PTS:20
REB:4
AST:3
STL:7
TO:3
PF:2

Saturday, March 5, 2011

UK Hoops Downs Vanderbilt, Advances to SEC Tourney Finals

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Victoria Dunlap scored 22 points and No. 16 Kentucky withstood a late rally to beat Vanderbilt 69-56 in the Southeastern Conference semifinals on Saturday night. The Wildcats (24-7) will make their third SEC championship appearance, meeting No. 4 Tennessee in a rematch of last year's final. The Lady Volunteers won that game 70-62 and took this year's regular-season meeting, 73-67.
Kentucky, which opened the game on a 22-2 run, led by 27 points with 10:34 to go when Elan Brown hit a 3-pointer to open a 24-7 run that cut the margin to 53-38 with 6:06 to go. Brown hit another 3 with 1:40 left to cut it to 60-52, but Dunlap tipped in a missed layup by Bernisha Pinkett with 1:10 left to put Kentucky back up by 10, and the Commodores (20-11) would get no closer.
Tiffany Clarke led Vanderbilt with 18 points and 17 rebounds.

UK target Trevor Lacey wins 3rd State Title in Alabama and POY award

Alabama's Reigning Mr. Basketball Trevor Lacey named Player of the Year at Final 48

BIRMINGHAM -- The Birmingham Tip Off Club awarded their 2010-11 Boys Player of the Year award to Butler senior guard Trevor Lacey at the Final 48 Saturday. Lacey, who was named the Alabama Sports Writers Association's Mr. Basketball last season as a junior, led the Rebels to a 32-2 record and the Class 4A state championship. Lacey also helped Butler win 5A state championships in 2008 and '09.

Kentucky vs Tennessee Sunday 12pm CBS

Reports out of Knoxville say that Brian Williams will not play Sunday due to a back injury.
Take it to them Jorts!

Duke's Irving progresses but not expected to return

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says freshman point guard Kyrie Irving has been cleared for "a few basketball-related activities" as he recovers from a toe injury that has sidelined him most of the season. But the Hall of Fame coach said Friday that he still doesn't expect Irving to return this season.
Irving met with a doctor in Charlotte and was cleared for the next step in his rehabilitation, though Krzyzewski says it wouldn't be at the normal pace to prepare him to return to the lineup for the fourth-ranked Blue Devils. He says Duke has "a responsibility that ... we take care of his future. "Irving has been out since injuring his right big toe in a December win against Butler. He was averaging 17 points and five assists while starting the first eight games.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/ncaa/03/04/duke.irving.ap/index.html#ixzz1FmIWWYUA

Tweet Coach Cal "Just got to the arena & who was on the court shooting? None other than the great Reggie Miller"

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Highest-Paid College Basketball Coaches

Kentucky's John Calipari leads a slew of seven-figure earners

John Calipari's job isn't easy. As head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, he's on the go constantly--glad-handing sponsors, mingling with alumni and dealing with the press. There's also the grueling off-season recruiting circuit, all in addition to 30 or games and countless practices during the year.

The upside: For his efforts, Calipari, who owns a .768 winning percentage and 11 NCAA tournament appearances at three schools, pulls in a cool $4 million a year, making him college basketball's highest-paid coach. And that doesn't include perks like a country club membership or that $3 million retention bonus waiting for him in 2016 if he's still on the Kentucky sideline by the end of that season.


At least 32 Division I basketball coaches earn more than a million dollars annually, according to USA Today, and that number can go higher as potential bonuses kick in. Following Calipari on the elite pay list: Michigan State's Tom Izzo ($3.4 million a year), Florida's Billy Donovan ($3.3 million) and Kansas' Bill Self ($3 million).




Read More at www.forbes.com

Cousins Sick Crossover on Camby for Dunk

Davis' HS career ends with loss to King

They told Davis, who had gone from an unknown last spring to ESPN’s No. 2 prospect in the country, because he was such a large draw and so talented he surround himself with better players. They tried to be polite about it, but they let him know his Perspectives teammates weren’t going to get anywhere.

Davis didn’t listen. Perspectives was home. It was where he started and where he would finish his career. Whether or not his teammates had the ability to play on any of the area’s top teams was unimportant. They were his friends when he was just Anthony Davis to now when he was the Anthony Davis. He wasn’t going to abandon them.


Read More on espn.go.com

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

John Wall And his frustration with losing.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/14761176/walls-ascension-not-slowing-down-while-wizards-stuck

Harrellson's Comments on the evening





It was a storybook ending for a blue collar player who has evolved into an unlikely leader as a senior. Harrellson finished with eight points and nine rebounds in his final home game.
Calipari couldn't help but laugh a little when asked if Harrellson would have been able to give that kind of effort after 36 grueling minutes a year ago.
"He wouldn't have been in the game a year ago," Calipari said.
This season, the depleted Wildcats haven't had much of a choice.
With the crowd in full throat every time Harrellson touched the ball, it was the play of his younger teammates that helped stake the Wildcats to a 40-29 halftime lead.
Jones, who has slumbered through slow starts recently, appeared energized. He wasn't the only one. Taking a cue from Harrellson, the Wildcats attacked the offensive glass relentlessly. Even freshman guard Doron Lamb and center Eloy Vargas got involved.
"We just knew we had to be active," Jones said. "We wanted to do this for Josh."
Lamb came into the game with seven offensive rebounds on the season but had two in the first half. The little-used Vargas elicited a fist pump from Calipari when he collected a miss by Miller and laid it in to put Kentucky up 13-8.
Though Ezeli and Tinsley did their best to keep Vanderbilt in it, the Commodores looked rattled in the charged atmosphere. Vanderbilt turned it over eight times in the half and Jenkins simply couldn't get going.
He was fouled by Lamb on his first 3-point attempt but the Wildcats grew wise after that, failing to bite on Jenkins' pump fakes. He badly missed his other two attempts of the half and Kentucky appeared on its way to a second straight perfect season at Rupp. The Commodores rallied, but it wasn't enough to keep Harrellson from walking off the court pounding his chest after the final horn as the crowd - some of them wearing the jeans shorts that is Harrellson's off-the-court trademark - roared.
"Josh fought like heck," Calipari said. "What a great thing."

Cats vs Vandy Stats

No. 20 Kentucky recovers in time to edge No. 21 Vandy

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky hadn't lost a game at Rupp Arena in two years. There was no way the Wildcats were going to let Vanderbilt ruin senior center Josh Harrellson's going away party. An exhausted Harrellson flustered Vanderbilt's Festus Ezeli into mishandling a lob pass in the final second, allowing the 20th-ranked Wildcats to beat the 21st-ranked Commodores 68-66 on Tuesday night and finally win a close game. Harrellson, the only player honored on Senior Night, walked off the court one last time thumping his hands to his chest as Kentucky (21-8, 9-6) at last solved its late-game woes.

"There was no way I was going to let us lose," Harrellson said. Kentucky came in 0-6 in games decided by five points or fewer, a mark that had coach John Calipari questioning his team's mental toughness.

Lone Kentucky senior Josh Harrellson (55) gives Vanderbilt's Lance Goulbourne a rejection to remember in the second half. (AP)

Read More at cbssports.com

Josh on Senior Night


Photo from TwitPic Jeff Drummond

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

"Josh Harrellson Tribute Song"

Class 2012 Shabazz Muhammad will be in the Building tonight.

Twitter Update : phenom15balla shabazz muhammad
In the Charlotte airport about to board in a minute !!!!! UK here i come !!!!!!!

Player Profile from ESPN.COM
Shabazz Muhammad

Small Forward  CLASS: 2012
Hometown  Las Vegas, NV
High School  Bishop Gorman
Height 6'5"
Weight 195 lbs
Overall Rank 1

Strengths:

The chiseled left-hander is potent in the open court where he attacks the rim with a vengeance. In the half court set he is very comfortable utilizing a two-dribble pull up where he gets great elevation. Within 15-feet of the basket he is virtually unstoppable at this level and his competitive nature is contagious. He has a knack for scoring in tight spaces or he just elevates over the defense and his touch is remarkably smooth. Muhammad is a good mid range shooter off the catch and can hit open threes with needed time and space although he is streaky. Muhammad also has the size and athletic ability to be a multiple position lock down defender.

Weaknesses:
Muhammad must work to be a more consistent three point shooter and work on his one on one moves especially going to his right. His ball handling (while being pressured) is still shaky and he needs to continue to extend the range on his shot, but we're nitpicking here. At times he will gamble for steals on defense and pick up cheap fouls.

Bottom Line:
Muhammad is a super athletic wing that can score inside and out. He rebounds on both ends and is a capable lock down defender. Muhammad can get into a scoring groove and drop big numbers. Each class has a prospect that is willing to do anything to win. For the class of 2011 it was Kentucky-bound Michael Gilchrist. For the class of 2012, it appears to be Muhammad.

Josh "Jorts" Harrellson "The Fans Favorite"

Josh Harrellson has made the most of his senior year at Kentucky. When the NCAA ruled Enes Kanter
permanently ineligible it put Josh on the stage for his senior year. He improved his conditioning with the help of Coach Cal and Twitter. Josh now can play the 30 minutes with a lot more energy and contribute in a big way to the teams success. 

Thank you Josh for the memories!