Interesting post on the House of Blue: (Cliff Notes)
UVA loss. No impact on seed.
Gonzaga loss. No impact on seed.
UNC loss. No impact on seed. Err, actually move up.
UK loss. Speculated to fall from 1 to 2 despite resume that is stronger than 2 of the 3 above and a H2H win
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit calls into the Mark Stoops Show and congratulates Stoops on big win. Says he loves watching the Cats play and the culture that he has created. "You have a gritty team, man." Herbstreit then asks Tom Leach, "Does Lexington understand what it has in Mark?"
Kentuckyโs Oscar Tshiebwe told us multiple times during tonightโs postgame that heโs pleading with his teammates to fight, to show some intensity. Said that he told Calipari to put in a walk-on if he has to, just someone who is willing to fight.
We can criticize Tennessee all we want - and this was certainly disgraceful - but this is the America we live in now. Just a lack of civility and decency and respect for other people everywhere you turn these days. One day itโs UT but the next could be your favorite team.
Iowa Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz, who is preparing his team to play Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl, calls the
#KentuckyUnited
telethon and says he and his wife are donating to the cause. Stoops says they've heard great support from
@HawkeyeFootball
fans as well.
Rick Pitino to
@cutler18
(whoโs killing it today, btw) : Mark Pope was the glue to that 1996 championship team.
Jokes that Pope would not curse. Kept saying โFrick.โ Pitino got mad and said, โThe Lord knows what you mean, just say it or quit.โ ๐
I had crummy camera equipment during his time at UK. But I always liked this one of Jared Lorenzen watching Artose Pinner cross the goal line, circa 2001.
An 8th grade student calls the
#KentuckyUnited
telethon and says heโs donating 10 weeks of his allowance ($100) to the cause. Impressed, the telethon hosts ask if heโd like to speak with a member of the team. He quickly replies Oscar Tshiebwe.
#BBN
Maxey not just talented but coachable. Calipari took him out to make a point, Maxey looked him directly in the eye and said โYes sir.โ Now standing up and cheering for guys still in the game.
#EKUvsUK
Leach tells Calipari that the SEC is ranked 2nd by KenPom. Cal: "Second to who?" Leach: Big12, which you beat 6-4 in the Challenge. Cal: ""How does that work?"
John Calipari on postgame radio show today: Notre Dame showed us we can't play the way we were playing. We have to spread the court and look for our shooters, can't pound the ball into the post. Need to be scoring in the 80s, not 60s or 70s.
In John Calipariโs 14 years at Kentucky, has he done a better job of bringing a player along than Justin Edwards? That took the patience of Job, and it could be paying off huge in March.
An emotional Nick Mingione calls former UK Baseball HC Keith MadIson onto the podium to tell him how much his input and advice has meant to him as a first-time head coach and into his seventh year with the Cats. Says his spiritual advice has meant as much as anything.
John Calipari says on the
#KentuckyUnited
telethon that he expects about $200K to come in from UKโs NBA guys and that Nike will be sending 14,000 pairs of shoes as part of its contribution to the tornado relief efforts.
Kentucky HC Mark Stoops told Tom Leach on the postgame show that he typically doesn't like to give out game balls because it's such a team sport, but he gave one to Chris Rodriguez (196 yards, 2 TD) tonight. "He turned around and give it to the O-Line," Stoops said.
I think thereโs a world where maybe Mark Pope could kill it at UK. Plays a great style. Beloved former UK champion. Super-smart guy. But Iโm stunned that we are here three days after John Calipari officially stepped down. My gut is telling me something is โoffโ about this.
One thing that's really impressive about this Kentucky team is how good they are as teammates. It doesn't matter who's in the game getting the shine, you always see stuff like this from the guys on the bench supporting them.
Good kid who cheered as hard as anyone for his teammates from the UK bench even though things werenโt working out for him. Hope he does well with the Buckeyes.
Kentucky transfer Aaron Bradshaw, a former top-10 prospect in the 2023 class, announced his commitment to Ohio State. Averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds this season.
The lights being changed over at Kroger Field. I'm told the new ones will be the high-tech models that can change colors and sync with the music at the stadium. Now, about that sound system...
Calipari: "That is not a first- or second-round NCAA game. You're in the third round, that's who you're playing. They're that good. They're in the 20s in the NET. They beat Tennessee here. They beat Auburn here. This was a big-time win, and we're going to cel-a-brate."
Caller to John Calipari's weekly call-in radio show asks if they can play Big Z and Bradshaw together, since both really played well vs. Arkansas. Cal says he's more focused now on playing four scorers with one big the rest of the way.
SIU coach begins presser saying heโs never had a team treated better in his 30+ years on a road trip than their last two days in Lexington. Praised the hospitality of UK and Lexington.
Really cool thing that guys like Oscar and UNCโs Bacot are coming back. College basketball is the big winner this off-season. Weโve lost way too many of these guys in recent years who werenโt clear-cut NBA guys but felt like they had to leave asap.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops quips about the Vanderbilt margin of victory that has some fans agitated since Saturday: โDid you like (the score) the year before I got here.โ
NFL Network crew at the combine as Darius West runs another good 40 (4.51): "Tell you what, Kentucky has put some people here this week. Unbelievable what they've done with that program."
Stoops: โI donโt care about anyoneโs program, I stay in my lane. But when you start talking about mine, and people I compete against, Iโm going to defend my playersโฆ Donโt demean and distract from what weโve done to get to this point.โ
John Calipari says the UK tornado relief fund-raising effort has topped $4M and he thinks it might top $5M when it closes on Sunday. We're not a big state, he says, but we're a state of great people with generous hearts.
This Kentucky team is just different. Didnโt play great today. Missed a lot of opportunities. But they stay loose, they stay aggressive, and they keep grinding. All season long, they just find a way.
Benny Snell Jr. said today heโs never been a big Elton John fan, but heโs warming up to Kroger Field playing โBennie & The Jetsโ in his honor. โOnly I sing Benny & The Cats,โ he says with a smile.
Kentucky HC John Calipari on the signing of DJ Wagner: โI have known D.J. his entire life and Iโve always wanted to coach him. Above all he is a competitor. He attacks the offensive end and is a versatile scorer, but he is equally as tough on defense. ... (cont)
Tom Leach wastes no time cutting to the chase, asks John Calipari directly about the Texas rumors to start the coach's weekly radio show tonight. Cal says he hasn't talked to anyone. Says his concern is getting his guys right. "I love this job."
Five-star Michigan OL/DL Justin Rogers (6-4, 314) announces his commitment to Kentucky, picking Cats over long list of schools that included Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, and Tennesee.
#BBN
Dontaie Allen led UK in +/- today at +11. Played only 9 minutes in 2H.
Only one other player (Ware) was in the positive column. Didn't play a minute the last game.
Isaiah Jackson started today. Played 11 minutes. No foul trouble.
Good luck making sense of any of this.
Every time UK wears these uniforms, I get nothing but overwhelmingly positive feedback. If you put that script on a cream basketball jersey, Kentucky would have their most popular uniform in long, long time.
Benny Snell just got tackled well beyond the whistle, the official reached down to grab him or help him up, and Snell rejected his hands. The official called a penalty on Snell and ejected him from the game. Seriously.
Ohio coach Jeff Boals said Bobcats had a tough time scheduling games this year, that UK was one of only two major programs who agreed to play them. Thanked John Calipari for that opportunity.
Oscar Tshiebwe tells story of caller who wanted to pledge $200. When the caller found out he was speaking to Oscar, he said he wanted to up it to $350. Inspiring others to hit the glass!
#KentuckyUnited
#BBN
UK head coach Nick Mingione: This hurts because this team was fully capable of accomplishing its goal of being national champions, but it's not what the Lord had planned. Every team in the country wants to end their season at CWS. Proud of them.
Getting a lot of messages about Kentucky not playing hard and being "lazy." Agree it looks that way, but I think it has more to do with lack of structure. Everyone is looking around for someone else to save them. And the coach does not have any Xs and Os lifeline for them.
Kentucky HC John Calipari: We got dawgs. If you want to be a championship team, you have to be able to go on the road, take somebody's best shot, hang around, and find a way to win.
Loved watching Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe on the bench tonight with freshman center Ugonna Onyenso. Oscar is constantly sharing pointers with him, and the young big man is always eager to soak it up. It's showing up on the court, too.
#BBN
Does any coach in the country have three better wins than John Calipari at Kansas and these last two Kentucky games against Alabama and LSU minus his starting backcourt?
Stoops notes Tennessee was John Schlarman's last game before he passed away. He gave a really inspired pregame talk to Cats about how respect had to be earned. They responded with a 34-7 blowout win. Stoops said UK will work out at the Univ of the Cumberlands again on Friday
Mark Stoops said Max Duffy is actually helping them keep an eye out on other Australian punters and may assist in the recruitment of the next great punter for the Cats.
Cal says he had a bunch of people call him and say, "Boy, did I like TyTy." What? He went 1-for-9. But this isn't 8th grade basketball. Did a lot of other things to help team, and people who know basketball recognized it. Defended. Rebounded. Spaced court. Created opps for others