Watch your back John Calipari. One of the assistants that you spawned is coming after you. Tony Barbee, who played for Calipari at UMass and was later an assistant under him at Memphis, has landed in the SEC as head coach at Auburn … and he has his former mentor squarely in his sights.
"“Our relationship is the same it was in Conference USA. I’ve said this before — he’s my mentor and friend and always will be my coach to me. But he kicked my butt in Conference USA. We were going right after him and we’ll do the same thing at Auburn. He knows how competitive I am. I’m going after his jugular, and he’ll do the same for me. It won’t affect our relationship.”"
Bold talk from a coach taking over a 15-17 team …. but it is kind of nice for Barbee to acknowledge that Cal kicked his butt in Conference USA and that their relationship will still be the same. Love that attitude, Tony, but get ready for more butt kicking.
As a resident of Florida, I remember the heyday of Florida State and all the “speed kills” t-shirts that the FSU fans used to wear. Following up on Rich Brook’s initiative, Joker Philiips is continuing the trend of adding “speed, speed, and more speed”.
Joker added Georgia WR Nile Daniels to his 2011 stable last night. Joker now has 16 commitments in his 2011 class, which in some early rankings has been top 20-25 status which gives us all a lot of hope for the future, with his 4.4 speed. Daniels is a three star recruit, but appears to be one of those players that UK has gotten a bead on early and then their rankings rise steadily. Here is what ESPN has to say about the newest Cat:
"Daniel is an underrated wide receiver with good upside when projecting for the next level. Has a taller, leaner frame with good body length but will really need to fill out to remain productive and durable at the major college level. Has big hands and plucks the ball very well away from his frame. Is a big target with good extension and a wide catch radius. Most proficient as a short-to-intermediate pass catcher. Snags the ball well in stride and transitions upfield smoothly after the catch. Displays a quick, fluid release and can get cornerbacks on their toes. Difficult to mirror off the line when employed in the slot and he has a knack for finding the soft spots in zone coverage. Would like to see more crispness out of his breaks but he is fluid and can create separation. After the catch, this guy’s skills grow on you. Flashes some big play ability with his good movement skills and shake in the open. Can jump-cut effectively showing loose hips and is really slippery to wrap up in space. Speed and burst upfield are good and he shows he can separate at the high school level. However, he lacks difference making explosiveness and his slighter frame is a concern."
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