Nov 24, 2012; Knoxville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats running back Raymond Sanders (4) is tackled by Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Jaron Toney (35) during the game at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won by a score of 37 to 17. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

We are entering that time of the year where everything in college sports slows down. With UK baseball struggling, all we really have is likely softball. And I certainly wish those ladies luck, but don’t get any channels that they might be broadcast on, so I can’t really get into their post-season like other sports. So that leaves recruiting. In my case football recruiting of course. That being said, there aren’t any hard-hitting stories developing right now, so here are some newsworthy tidbits:

• Ohio DB Mike Edwards could decide this week. Edwards has been high on the Wildcats for a long time and was rumored to have committed at the Spring Game. But he wants his parents to sign off on any decision he makes and they are finally coming to Lexington on Monday. If Edwards is still as interested in being a Cat as before, a good visit between his parents and the staff could yield another big-time Ohio player for Kentucky and Vince Marrow.
• Another Ohio DB who will be announcing soon is 4* Darius West. West has plans to announce on 5/30 and most feel that Kentucky is in the driver’s seat. Marrow is on this one hard and so are the other Kentucky commits. Drew Barker apparently plans on making the two-hour drive to see West announce, no pressure. West and Edwards have recently played some games on Twitter, asking Kentucky fans how badly they want the other one, while at the same time talking about plans to play together in college.
• Speaking of defensive backs for a minute, I thought I’d point out one of Kentucky’s recruiting strategies. Everyone expected Stoops to sell his Florida State defenses and the numerous FSU guys to be drafted this year, but the thing that so many DB recruits keep bringing up is that Stoops has coached a whopping 11 first-round DBs. That list includes the likes of Ed Reed and Sean Taylor.
• A day after Kentucky got a commitment from Kobie Walker, 3* LB Chris Frey chose Michigan State over the Cats. Kentucky didn’t offer Frey a scholarship until he was already on his Michigan State visit, and while I like that they decided to mark their territory, they likely waited too long. If Frey had a Kentucky offer two weeks ago he would be a Cat. As far as the rumor that Walker essentially took Frey’s spot in this class, Kentucky would have gladly accepted Frey had he chosen them. He had a committable offer.
• With Barker’s decision to wear blue and white, Kentucky is likely to land at least two more  4* wide receivers to go with Thaddeus Snodgrass. The real question is which ones? Barker is close with Snodgrass, North Carolina’s Braxton Berrios, Ohio’s Derek Kief, and South Carolina’s Blake Bone. He plans on recruiting 4* Florida WR Artavis Scott at an upcoming Rivals camp, to the point that Barker is rooming with Scott at camp. Indiana WR Dominique Booth could also be a consideration.
• Offensive line will be a priority in this class. Barker had some concerns after watching Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith run wild in the Spring Game, so he has been recruiting some big guys to take care of him when he plays. Kentucky has been in on several Ohio players on the line, which is a good plan as the state probably produces lineman better than any other. None of the targets look close to committing yet, but Jarett Larubbio and Brady Taylor have Kentucky near the top of their lists.
• I just want to take a moment to remind people not to get too high or too low with early Summer recruiting news. All of the guys that Kentucky has on board right now are great players who can really help raise the talent level in Lexington. That being said, football recruiting doesn’t stop until the ink dries on the paper and the numbers say Kentucky won’t actually sign all of these guys next February. Now there is only one commit that I think could waffle down the road, as these other guys seem committed to playing together and building something. That’s a strong draw.  But I also want to tell you not to get too down if Kentucky misses on some guys that they are after right now. Every year the recruiting board changes drastically between Spring and Fall. Partly due to guys who have already committed, or committed elsewhere, or new prospects are identified during the Summer camp circuit. It’s safe to say that as much as half of the class that actually signs in February will consist of guys you haven’t even heard of yet.

Jun 19, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Hall of fame coach Pat Riley receives the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

As a junior at UK, Riley led the Wildcats to the 1966 NCAA Title Game, where they lost to Texas Western (over dramatized in the movie Glory Road). Pat Riley was and All American in 1966 and was All SEC First Team in 1966 and 67 and was the SEC Player of the Year in 1966. And to prove that Coach John Calipari, didn’t start the tradition of first round draft picks, Riley was drafted number 7 overall by San Diego. And his jersey has been retired and is hanging in the most hallowed of spaces:  of the rafters in Rupp Arena. But with all he did as a player, Pat Riley’s greatest influence to basketball was when he became a coach.

Admittedly, I’m a diehard Los Angeles Laker fan, due to the fact that I grew up in the 1980s, the time of the Showtime Lakers. Riley coached the Lakers to four NBA Championships during the decade, helping cement them as the team of the 80s. But after establishing himself as an uptempo style coach out West, Riley took his game East, to New York, to coach the Knicks and totally reinvented himself. He went from focusing on a high octane offense to managing a bruising style of defense, no easy feat. Later, and way before Lebron, he took his talents and tough-minded defense to South Beach, coaching the Miami Heat, and fellow former Wildcats Antoine Walker and Derek Anderson, to the 2006 NBA Championship.

But Pat Riley’s lasting legacy may be the way he pulled the strings on getting LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join Dwyane Wade in Miami.  He got the greatest player in the NBA to turn his back on his hometown team and join with a bitter rival for less than market value.  Not only did Riley get King James to sign (and Bosh as well), but, as Heat team president, he constructed the roster in such a way to enhance James’ strengths, making LeBron even better. As it stands right now, the Heat are the favorites to win the NBA Title for the second year in a row and would be the favorites for at least the next few years. Most people focus on The Decision, I prefer to think that LeBron simply did what a UK alum asked him to do.

From Showtime, to the Knicks (Riley did get the John Starks led Knicks to the 1994 Finals), to Hardaway and Mourning, to D.Wade and Shaq and finally to Miami’s current “Big 3,” it’s safe to say that few people have had a greater impact on the NBA and the game of basketball. So, Big Blue Nation, let’s give one of our own a little more love.

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

Dec 2, 2012; Lexington , KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops waves to fans before being introduced a the new football coach at the University of Kentucky in the Nutter Field House. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

This time last year, would you believe that we would have the 16th ranked recruiting class of 2014 (according to Rivals.com) and a legitimate shot at landing Drew Barker? Many people would not have even dreamed that. But, Mark Stoops is making major progress with recruiting at Kentucky, much like he did at Florida State. Not only is the recruiting better than last year, so is the attendance.
Granted, the football team last year lacked depth and maybe some talent, however this year’s team brings pretty of excitement to the program. Even breaking the attendance record for the blue-white game with 50,831 fans (according to Kentucky.com) showing up for the game. Last season the attendance for the blue-white game was less 4,000 fans. Needless to say, fans are excited to see what coach Stoops can do for the program.

Instead of wondering what recruits Kentucky could get for the program or how the program could grow in the near future, this time last year, most fans were wondering how that the football team could maintain a winning record. Especially after the loss of Randall Cobb to the NFL draft in 2011, Joker Phillips’ teams slowly started to lose talent and depth. Therefore, fans didn’t have much to look forward to and fans had to also sit through some pretty embarrassing games as hard as it was. However, thanks to coach Stoops, we now have plenty to look forward to and hopefully in the very near future will become a presence in the Southeastern Conference. Regardless how long it takes, the future looks very bright for the Kentucky football team.

Also, be sure to check out the Wildcat Blue Nation twitter page @wildcatbluenatn for the latest in the University of Kentucky sports, former players, updates, recruiting and more!

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. 

Not really much feed back to give after the game today. Kentucky started off this game strong with a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning. The bats just didn’t start to sync for the rest of the game. The Cats just had five hits all together in this game, as well as Missouri, while losing 4-3. Keaton Steele’s home run in the 8th inning for the Missouri Tigers was the huge difference maker. The Kentucky Wildcats have been sliding significantly on their play at the end of the season, with just one game remaining.

The Missouri Tigers now lead the all time series at 2-1, while Kentucky drops to 7-11 on the road and 4-10 on the road in the SEC. While going 0-5 in the last series of the season the past two years, the Wildcats continue to end the season on the wrong note. The potential that is seen with this baseball team can be seen strongly at times, but the consistency has been a major downfall of the season.

Senior Walter Wijas appeared in his team-high 27th game of the year, although he earned his first career loss against the Tigers tonight. Austin Cousino had just one hit tonight with his single down the left field line scoring Zac Zellers and Micheal Thomas. The pitching for the Missouri Tigers was stellar right after the third and that was the overall difference in tonight’s game.

Kentucky will play the very last game of the season tomorrow in Columbia, Missouri at 2 p.m. ET. The series has all ready been won by the Tigers, but the best thing the Kentucky Wildcats can do is finish the end of the season with a win to gain some momentum. Tomorrow’s game will mark the end of an off note season for the Cats, but the team shows phases of hope and prosperity for next season.

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.

Mar 15, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari watches his team play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. The Commodores beat the Wildcats 64-48. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

Finally all of the Big Blue Nation can focus on the upcoming 2014 class with the decision of Andrew Wiggins behind us. The 2014 class took some hits with Wiggins, and Dakari Johnson reclassifying to the class of 2013, but is still a very good class with some elite stars. Kentucky has sent out 8 offers in the class of 2014, and those are Emmanuel Mudiay, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, Devin Booker, Rashad Vaughn, Trey Lyles, Stanley Johnson, and already committed big man Karl Towns.

I have heard that Kentucky is in great shape with most of the guys listed below, and heavy favorites for Emmanuel Mudiay and Trey Lyles although Louisville is starting to create some buzz for Lyles. The #1 point guard in the nation is Tyus Jones who is a great point guard and leader, and to make him even more of a luxury recruit is that Jones and Okafor are a package deal. Okafor is the best big man in the class, and has amazing game already. John Calipari loves Mudiay, and I really believe that he is Cal’s number one option at the point guard spot, but recently some guys around the program believe he is starting to make a move for Jones, and Okafor.

Trey Lyles has always been a heavy Kentucky lean every since he departed ways from Indiana after committing to them as a freshman in high school. Of course Indiana fans blamed it on John Calipari, but reality is that he was 15 years old when he committed to IU, and kids change their minds more than they change underwear. Lyles has made several visits to Lexington this past season, and will be on campus a lot more I am sure before committing. Lyles said that he would commit next spring after his high school season is over. I still believe at this moment that Kentucky leads for him, but Louisville is making a very strong push for his services.

I will continue to update anything else I hear on any of the other recruits, but I am telling you that 2014 will be another monster class for John Calipari and Kentucky.

May 16, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Nerlens Noel is interviewed during the NBA Draft combine at Harrison Street Athletics Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Noel has been focused on rehab since his injury in February, and says he will continue to stay focused until he is a better player than what he was before the injury. “It’s been good from week one. I’m 100 percent confident, not just getting back to what I was, but stronger. Going through this time not playing basketball, I’ll just be working on things I need to polish. It will improve me in the long run.” Noel spoke with ESPN’s Andy Katz, and told him he had interviews with six teams on Thursday Boston, Orlando, Charlotte, Phoenix, New Orleans and Cleveland.

Julius Mays has worked out with a few NBA teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Toronto Raptors, according to Zagsblog contributor Chazz Griffith. Mays believes that he can be picked up as a free agent as a valuable bench player.

Unlike Mays and Noel, Archie Goodwin has not had that much luck. Goodwin struggled with his three-point shot yesterday, which was “flat”. Although Calpari has been receiving calls from multiple NBA teams on Goodwin’s potential, ESPN’s Chad Ford believes Goodwin will play more valuable minutes in the D-League rather than whoever drafts him. “He’s having a rough go right now with NBA teams, partly because the expectations were so high for him out of high school and that so many of the freshmen have been successful and Calipari has had this ability to get the most out of these guys,”

Feb 27, 2013; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari coaches his team against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Mississippi State 85-55. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

If anyone has a beef against the NCAA, it’s John Calipari. Especially after the Duke Blue Devils have seemingly skated away from NCAA violations twice (Corey Maggette, Lance Thomas) when his programs have been saddled with punishments in Memphis and UMass. Through it all, Calipari has become a lightning rod for the haters and the uninformed while he is castigated as all that is wrong with college hoops. With his history, it’s no surprise that Calipari plays the rebel with the cause role and takes jabs at the NCAA whenever he can.

This is not new for Cal. He broached the subject of four super conferences seceding from the NCAA a couple of years ago and he continued his rant yesterday on the radio:

“Can we continue to separate, can we continue to do this with these rules the way they are? I’m the one guy out there saying, ‘We’ve gotta change this somehow. We’ve gotta encourage these kids to stay two years.’ But the NCAA’s gotta do some stuff. And if they don’t do it, we need to separate from them. I’m not afraid to say it. Look, they’ve embarrassed me. I’ve done nothing, so they’re not going to come and show retribution to me and do stuff. I don’t really care. But something’s gotta change with this one-and-done rule. I seem to be the only coach saying anything. You know why? No one wants to see these kids two years here (at Kentucky). They don’t want to see them for two years, so now we’re all good with one year. It’s wrong for high school kids, it’s wrong for college kids, it’s wrong for the NBA, so why won’t we come together and do something about it?”

Granted, Cal is kind of barking up the wrong tree here as the one and done rule is pretty much the NBA’s domain, but the NCAA still needs reform. It’s an inefficient and bloated corporation that has outlived it’s effectiveness. Get ‘em Cal.

Now that Andrew Wiggins has landed in Kansas, it’s safe to come out with the Vegas odds for the 2013-2014 season.  It’s not too early, right?  UK has been established as the way too early favorite with  5-1 odds, slightly ahead of Kansas’s 11-2 odds.  Other notables?  Louisville 17-2.  Duke 14-1.  North Carolina 16-1.  Florida  18-1.  Indiana 33-1.

If you are the gambling type, you may as well jump on these odds now.  They are not going to get better for Kentucky.  Of these, I would be inclined to jump on Florida’s odds as that seems pretty good.  But this is my opinion.

Dakari Johnson is one of the talented newcomers expected to lead Kentucky to the 2014 National title, but one of his former Monteverde teammates also have Kentucky on their mind. D’Angelo Russell is one of the top guards in 2014 and is planning a visit to KEntucky soon. Russell also talks to Adam Zagoria about his visit and his old teammate

.

“I have a visit set up with Kentucky when I get back home and I’m trying to get up to Michigan State, Ohio State again, North Carolina,” Russell told SNY.tv. at the Nike EYBL stop here last weekend. “Those are the schools that I can think of that I have visits set up for.”

He does not hold a Kentucky offer as of yet.

Asked if he had a date set for the Kentucky visit, the Louisville native said, “No, sir. They said whenever I come home, just set it up.”

Russell’s former Montverde teammate, center Dakari Johnson, is part of the heralded six-man McDonald’s All-American class coming into Kentucky.

“Dakari makes it easy for you,” Russell said. “He’s got good hands. You get into the lane, dish it off, he’s finishing or he’s catching. He’s just always on the play, he talks, he’s a motor guy that can just bring so much energy and he’s a key player to any team that he’s on.”