Players in summer school have the opportunity to work with their coaches for two hours each week, and UK Head Coach John Calipari said he will work on installing the Dribble Drive Motion offense with his club after shying away from it last year:

We’re more skilled, and we can shoot. It’s really hard to play dribble/drive if you can’t make shots. We’ll just start on the process of getting them ready, getting them together and getting them earning credits. There won’t be a whole lot of difference between what we’re doing and everybody else. Except maybe we’ll work more on the offense.

There is a bit of confusion regarding the status of forward Julius Randle, as it was reported yesterday that the the 2013 UK recruiting class will play for America this summer in the FIBA U19 World Championships. In an interview with Draft Express, Randle revealed that he is still considering joining the club this summer, depending on his college schedule:

Dec 3, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detail view of the SEC logo before the 2011 SEC championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

We’re less than 100 days until college football is back in our lives, though it’s not like it ever really left. Courtesy of CBS Sports, here is the entire 2013 college football bowl schedule:

Saturday, Dec. 21

Gildan New Mexico Bowl – 2 p.m.

Las Vegas Bowl – 3:30 p.m.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – 5:30 p.m.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl – 9 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 23

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl – 2 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 24

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl – 8 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 26

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl – 6 p.m.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl – 9:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 27

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman – 2:30 p.m.

Texas Bowl – 6 p.m.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl – 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 28

New Era Pinstripe Bowl – 12 p.m.

Belk Bowl – 3:20 p.m.

Russell Athletic Bowl – 6:45 p.m.

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl – 10:15 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 30

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl – 11:45 a.m.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl – 3:15 p.m.

Valero Alamo Bowl – 6:45 p.m.

Holiday Bowl – 10:15 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 31

AdvoCare V100 Bowl – 12:30 p.m.

Hyundai Sun Bowl – 2 p.m.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl – 4 p.m.

Chick-fil-A Bowl – 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 1

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl – 12 p.m.

Heart of Dallas Bowl – 12 p.m.

Capital One Bowl – 1 p.m.

Outback Bowl – 1 p.m.

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Vizio – 5 p.m.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 2

Allstate Sugar Bowl – 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 3

Discover Orange Bowl – TBD

AT&T Cotton Bowl – 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 4

BBVA Compass Bowl – 1 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 5

GoDaddy Bowl – 9 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 6

BCS National Championship (Pasadena) – 8:30 p.m.

Dec 3, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; Detail view of the SEC logo before the 2011 SEC championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The season is likely over for the Kentucky Wildcats baseball team after they fell to the Ole Miss Rebels today in the opener of the SEC Tournament. The first-round game is an elimination game, and the Cats sent out Jerad Grundy, but the senior struggled to contain the Rebel offense, allowing nine hits and four runs and struck out just one batter.

The Wildcats fell behind early, and after Ole Miss scored two in the sixth, UK found itself trailing 4-1. But the Cats would respond as they loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning but couldn’t get anything across to narrow the Ole Miss lead.

Kentucky (30-25), will now await to watch the NCAA Selection Show in hopes of a miracle at-large bid that will likely never come. UK was 22-6 after beating the rival Louisville Cardinals, 5-4, back on April 2nd. But then the collapse began, as UK went 8-19 overall and 5-17 in the SEC since then. Ironically, two of those wins came in a weekend road series against the Rebels, but alas, it was the Rebels who would end the Cat’s season.

It’s easy to forget that at one time, Prestonwood Christian forward Julius Randle was the #1-overall player in the 2013 recruiting class. But a senior season cut short due to a foot injury, coupled with the reclassification of Huntington Prep forward Andrew Wiggins, Randle saw his ranking fall as more attention began being paid to Wiggins, along with Simeon forward Jabari Parker.

The weekend after Thanksgiving in his senior season, Randle fractured his foot playing in a tournament and missed three months as a result.

But that doesn’t take away from the kind of player Randle is, or the impact he’ll have on a Kentucky team hoping to get back to the Final Four after getting their in two of the past three seasons. Only twice before in the program’s tradition-rich history has UK made three Final Fours in a 4-year span. (1948, ’49, ’51 & 1996, ’97, ’98), but Randle is the kind of talent that can help the Cats accomplish this feat.

Once Randle was healthy in March, he returned for the Texas 5A playoffs and led his team to its third state title in four years.

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News on what makes Randle special:

If Randle gets the ball in the right spots, he can score off the bounce, go to either hand, overpower guys. He is so freaking quick, too. You have to see him to appreciate how strong and quick he really is.

As a sophomore, I thought he was a big, strong kid who wasn’t athletic. Then the next year I saw him and he was just unbelievable. He is a great athlete, too. He’s really got a chance to be special.

Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony on Randle’s strengths:

-Measured 6-10 in shoes, and 240 pounds at the Nike Skills Academies
-Outstanding athlete in terms of fluidity, agility and explosiveness
-Great first step. Tremendous ball-handler for size, with excellent body control slithering his way around opponents
-Rare combination of finesse and power
-Unstoppable mismatch threat at high school level. Too strong for forwards to handle inside, and too skilled for big men to stop from the perimeter
-Draws fouls, gets to the free throw line prolifically
-Spins, and finishes through contact, bounces off opponents
-Has a back to basket game. Can post up
-Tremendous footwork for a player his age
-Absolutely lethal in transition
-Competes on defense
-Willing to compete inside the paint
-Done a great job with body

ESPN:

He’s a tough one to compare so we’ll roll out Marvin Williams meets Caron Butler with a Kevin Garnett-ish motor. The left-hander is a pro in the making. He loves to catch on the blocks or extended, face and weigh his options. Not afraid to go glass and can drive it from mid-range going either way. Basically, he’s a real problem. When he needs to, he can explode and is a conscientious rebounder. His touch around the rim and ability to leap multiple times is noteworthy. The young man has counters and power moves. If he likes his matchup, he’ll dive right to the blocks and set up shop. There isn’t a spot on the floor where he can’t begin his drive or jumper. Likes the baseline too and will hit high-arching fadeaways. Randle owns a motor and has an affinity for playing hard.

NBADraft.net compared him to former NBA All-Star Chris Webber

May 29, 2011; Hoover, AL, USA; Florida Gators players celebrate after winning the SEC Championship game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Regions Park. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 SEC Men’s Baseball Tournament is now set, and the #11-seeded Kentucky Wildcats are scheduled to begin play Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. with # 6-seeded Ole Miss.

Here are all of the seedings and matchups, courtesy of AL.com:

SEC Tournament seeding

Tuesday (single elimination)

Game 1: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Kentucky, 9:30 a.m., FSN

Game 2: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 10 Auburn, TBD, FSN

Game 3: No. 8 Florida vs. No. 9 Texas A&M, 4:30 p.m., CSS

Game 4: No. 5 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Missouri, TBD, CSS

Wednesday (double elimination)

Game 5: No. 3 Arkansas vs. Game 1 Winner, 9:30 a.m., CSS

Game 6: No. 2 LSU vs. Game 2 Winner, TBD, CSS

Game 7: No. 1 Vanderbilt vs. Game 3 Winner, 4:30 p.m., CSS

Game 8: No. 4 South Carolina vs. Game 4 Winner, TBD, CSS

Thursday (double elimination)

Game 9: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser, 9:30 a.m., SPSO

Game 10: Game 7 Loser vs. Game 8 Loser, TBD, SPSO

Game 11: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 4:30 p.m., SPSO

Game 12: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, TBD, SPSO

Friday (double elimination)

Game 13: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Loser, 3 p.m., CSS

Game 14: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 12 Loser, TBD, CSS

Saturday (single elimination)

Game 15: Game 13 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner, Noon, ESPNEWS

Game 16: Game 14 Winner vs. Game 12 winner, TBD, ESPNEWS

Sunday (Championship)

Game 17: Game 15 Winner vs. Game 16 Winner, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2

Larry Vaught got a good video interview with new UK offensive coordinator Neal Brown as he talks about working with head coach Mark Stoops, and why he came back to UK.

It wasn’t a good week for former UK shooting guard Archie Goodwin, who declared for the NBA Draft after a tumultuous freshman season, and entered this week’s NBA scouting combine with hopes of boosting his draft stock, but may have only hurt it more:

Archie Goodwin and B.J. Young having a mini-competition for who can look like a worse shooter. Air-balling shots left and right. #nbacombine

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 16, 2013

Goodwin entered his freshman season as a projected lottery pick, but is now facing a realistic scenario where he doesn’t hear his name called in the first-round at all.
And already on the scheduling trail for 2014, John Calipari has worked out a deal for Kentucky to play NCAA Division III school Franciscan University of Steubenville in basketball in 2014:

Calipari, who was a guest speaker at the April 20 Baron Club fundraiser, extended the offer to Barons head coach John Lamana over dinner and then announced it to the audience at the Baron Club during his speech. Franciscan and Kentucky have been working out the details since.

The program will benefit from a fundraising standpoint. Division I schools pay lower level opponents to play in exhibition games. In the case of FUS, playing Kentucky could be one of the biggest fundraising opportunities in its history.

And a big congratulations to Aaron Harrison, who was recently named Mr. Basketball for the state of Texas.He averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and two steals per game for Travis High School. In  state that routinely produces elite talent in every sport, Aaron beat out the likes of Julius Randle and his twin brother Andrew for the honer. Oh yeah, they’ll all be playing together next year at UK. 

Nov 19, 2011; Uncasville, CT, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Marquis Teague (25) , forward Anthony Davis (23) and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) celebrate during the second half of game one against the Penn State Nittany Lion in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

When looking at the greatest college basketball recruiting classes since 2000, when the rise of internet recruiting services caused this to become a much bigger national story that is now an industry run for 365 days per year, Athlon Sports had several of John Calipari’s hauls among the 25 best classes, with the 2011 UK class being the greatest of them all:

1. 2011 Kentucky
The class: Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Kyle Wiltjer
John Calipari’s best recruiting class produced a dominant regular season team (38-2, 16-0 SEC), the national champion and the top two players in the NBA Draft. Anthony Davis joined Kansas’ Danny Manning and UCLA’s Lew Alcindor as the only players to win the the Naismith Award, to win Final Four Most Outstanding honors and to go first the NBA Draft. Kidd-Gilchrist was a second-team All-American and the second overall pick while the point guard Teague was the No. 29 pick in 2012.

Also making the list were the 2009, ’10, and ’12 UK classes. The ’13 UK and Kansas Jayhawks class would likely be near the top of that list, but because none of this year’s freshman have played a college game yet, they left them at the end of the rankings.

Speaking of this year’s class, don’t expect to see UK add any late transfers ala Julius Mays this year.

In addition to the eight signed players in the class of 2013, Kentucky returns five players on scholarship for the 2013-14 season, including  Jon Hood, Jarrod Polson, Kyle Wiltjer, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Alex Poythress. That gives the Wildcats a full complement of 13 scholarships next season.

As for the latest on the 2014 recruits, Leron Black was a prospect UK had been showing interest in, but judging by this tweet, I’d say they won’t be much longer:

By the way my top schools are Baylor, Florida, Connecticut, Kansas and Illinois.

— Leron Black✈ (@Showtime_LB) May 17, 2013

Black was one of the first 2014 stars to pick a school when he committed to Baylor before his junior season, but later backed out of that commitment earlier this year.

Dec 2, 2012; Lexington , KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops spoke to reporters during a press conference at the Nutter Field House. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

The Kentucky Wildcats football program has been on a historic tear as of late, as they’ve secured commitment after commitment from some of the nation’s best recruits with the help of Marks Stoops and his All-Star cast of recruiters. But they may be on the verge of getting one of their biggest commitments to date, as  Darius West, a Class of 2014 4-star safety from Lima Central Catholic High School in Ohio, is hoping to make a commitment soon, and the Cats are in his final list of schools.

Depending on who you ask, UK  or Louisville have been viewed as West’s leader, and he recently picked up an offer from Michigan State, and now has offers from the Spartans along with West Virginia, Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, UL, Vanderbilt and UK.

My guess: I’m not one to make football predictions, but based on the recent recruiting hot-streak UK has been on, coupled with this tweet by UK’s recruiting heavy-hitter Vince Marrow…..

I’m looking forward to hearing some great news in the next couple weeks. #BBN we never stop!!!

— CoachMarrowUK (@vincemarrow) May 16, 2013

I’d say the Cats add West to what’s already being called the greatest recruiting class in the history of the Kentucky football program.

Mar 30, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari address the media at a press conference the day before the semifinals of the 2012 NCAA men

Kentucky Head Men’s Basketball Coach John Calipari was available today for a media oppurtunity to discuss his upcoming team now that it looks as though it’s finalized with Andrew Wiggins deciding to go to Kansas, and he provided several updates on the returning players:

Transcript of his player previews

Sophomore center Willie Cauley-Stein

Willie Cauley has a chance to be one of the better players that I’ve ever coached. Is not delusional at all. Understood how far he had come. Understood how far he needed to go. Understood he could have been a first-round draft pick. He knew. But he came back anyway. Because he wasn’t delusional.

Junior forward/center Kyle Wiltjer

Kyle Wiltjer’s body’s got to change. Sixth man of the year has to get better. Physically. We all know what his skill set is. He has to take his defense and all those areas of his game to another level, which I think he will. My hope is he makes the national team, the Canadian national team, and then takes his game to another level.

Sophomore forward Alex Poythress

Alex Poythress learned a lot about himself and where he’s going to have to take everything to be the player that he wants to be…Again, wasn’t delusional. He knew, I have to change. I have to take this to another level. If he does, and the competition brings out the best in him, it is scary how good he can be. He’s not close to where he needs to be. Believe me, he wants to do well. I don’t believe I can tell individuals – if they got a 4.0 GPA, I can’t say those things, but he did well academically. He’s a conscientious kid. This overwhelmed him. It overwhelmed him. You think about yourself, if I put you in there. It wouldn’t overwhelm you? There are kids that come here that take longer.

Senior shooting guard/forward Jon Hood

Jon Hood, by the end of the year, for the first time had a breakthrough. And I was excited for him. He was one of those guys who played, he had fun playing, he didn’t feel the weight of the world on him, he didn’t have anything to prove. He went out to play.

Senior point guard Jarrod Polson

Jarrod Polson ended up being one of our better guards at the end of the year. So those five, only Kyle, in a small way, has tasted the success that we want and expect. The others have not.

Freshman point guard Andrew Harrison

Great size, great ability to get to the rim, great skill level with the ball, has a mentality of a point guard where he’ll get everybody involved. But again, we’ve got to learn more. I’ve got to get him here and say, what is exactly the best way for him to play because your point guard has got to score also, which he does. I think the Dribble Drive and pick-and-roll for him, he plays with great pace already, is really going to be good for him.

Freshman shooting guard Aaron Harrison

Aaron Harrison, big guard, can score the ball, should be and will be and is expected to be and will be demanded to be a lock-down defender. With his size, with his athleticism, one we can play a big zone. Two, we should be able to press because we’re going to be so big with our guard play and whoever we put up there. But it will start with Aaron. We know what he can do scoring the ball, but we want him to other to do other things and again, help define his game.

Freshman point guard Dominique Hawkins

Dominique Hawkins, a young man from in state that just kind of blew me away with his will to win, his temperament on the court, his demeanor in helping his team win a championship. You always want to coach guys who understand. By winning a state championship and being down 16 two games, it shows what a tough mentality. And with what I just went through, I wanted a tough point guard. I wanted one more tough, physical, not just fighting, physical tough, how about mentally tough? How about not break down? How bout, ‘I’m bringing it and I’m not afraid to be 16 down and it has no effect on me?’ That’s what I saw in Dominique and why we recruited him.

Freshman forward/center Dakari Johnson

Dakari Johnson, I watched him two summers ago folks, and I’m going to tell you, he had a knee issue and I looked at him and said, ‘I’m not so sure.’ Then I watched him a little bit later, and I said ‘Wait a minute.’ Then I watched him later in the season, could not believe it. The line of improvement for Dakari is like that. He’s a kid that will get up at six in the morning and work out. He’s a great student. He does all the things, and he wants to be better. He was on a team that there were times he wasn’t getting the ball. Never said one thing, ran that court, posted up. When he did get it, he did good things. He’s got great skills and his seven-foot tall.

Freshman forward Derek Willis

Derek Willis is a long, skilled big man from the state. Again, where his game goes…He wanted the challenge of this. ‘I want to go every day against players this good to see how I can be.’ Isn’t that the greatest part of this? I mean it’s not, ‘Well, I want to go here so I can be the guy and the only man. I want to go here and be challenged. How good can I be? And the only way I’m going to find it out is to go against the best. I’m going to go against the best every day.’ Well, he’s got a chance of really being good and being special.

Freshman forward/center Marcus Lee

Marcus Lee averaged a triple-double for the season. Like 11 blocks, like 15 rebounds and 18 points. Pogo stick, active, high energy, 6-11, long armed. Another player who, again, wanted to be here. These kids all wanted to be here. This is where..They wanted the challenge of this, and they wanted to do it together. So when you look at Marcus Lee, you say he could have gone somewhere…He didn’t want to go. He wanted to come here and take on this challenge.

Freshman forward Julius Randle

Julius Randle, truly a hard worker who can play multiple positions, who can play inside and out. He’s a beast. He’s an alpha beast who will drive the team. Has a little bit of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in him, in a different way. In my mind, there are good players out there, he’s as good as any of them.

Freshman forward/shooting guard James Young

James Young gives you that 6-7 wing who flat can shoot the ball. Some of the issues. Again, we shot a high percentage. When you looked at our numbers from last year, our defensive numbers, our shot-blocking numbers, our offensive percentages, you would say we should have won more games. But, we weren’t as skilled as we needed to be, especially at crunch time. We weren’t as skilled. We weren’t as physically dominating as my teams in the past. This team should be.

Aug 5, 2011; Lexington, KY USA; Kentucky Wildcats helmet and football sit on the field during media day at Commonwealth Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Olney (Maryland.) Good Counsel safety Kobie Walker has become the latest football commitment for new UK Head Coach Marks Stoops, who continues to assemble what is shaping up to be the greatest recruiting class in the history of Kentucky football.

Proud to announce my commitment to The University of Kentucky. #BBN #GOBLUE

— Kobie Walker (@BeyyondBelief) May 13, 2013

Walker is seventh commitment UK has for the Class of 2014. He was in town for Kentucky’s annual Spring Game, and the support the fans showed as 50,000+ poured into the stadium in support of their Cats was a major factor is his decision. As a junior, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Walker made 29 tackles and intercepted two passes. Besides Kentucky, Boston College, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma St., N.C. State, Miami (Fla.), Syracuse and Wisconsin have extended him offers. Here’s how Walker described himself in a previous interview:

I’m big and I feel like I’m physical. So usually when I play safety, I can blanket most receivers and all that. But I’m also a great tackler, great with man-to-man coverage and I definitely have the size to play at the next level.

Though he’s listed as a safety, some believe he’ll be used as a linebacker at UK:  

Kobie Walker is an outside linebacker for Kentucky. One of the most athletic linebacker recruits UK has picked up in the modern era.

— J.Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) May 13, 2013

Oh, and new UK commit Drew Barker chimed in as well:

I’m telling you all.. don’t underestimate us!!! We are going to get straight ballers! On our way to that top 10-15 class like I said! #BBN

— -Drew Barker- (@D_Barker7) May 13, 2013

Here are some highlights of Walker from the Under Armour combine in St. Petersburg, Florida on January 4th, 2013: