Mark Stoops is on Fire and Julius Randle Will be Coming Soon!!

It looks like we can hold off on seeing a 9 game SEC schedule until 2016 at the earliest, much to the shock of no one and the chagrin of several. In recent weeks, the Big Ten and other conferences have taken shots at the SEC’s dominance, attributing it primarily to the best schools we play being only SEC and having to use our own officiating crew, etc etc etc. Really it’s just sour grapes by the rest of College Football. ESPN breaks down the remaining 8 game schedule season this way:

"To nobody’s surprise, the SEC has decided to stick with eight conference games for 2014 and 2015, but the presidents and chancellors will then review future scheduling beginning in 2016.The translation: By 2016, the SEC will be playing nine conference games.That was the vibe all week at the SEC spring meetings in talking with coaches and athletic directors, and it’s clear that SEC commissioner Mike Slive wants to see schools upgrade their schedules. Slive was careful not to come out and say it, but most in and around the league agree that he’s in favor of going to nine conference games.And, typically, what Slive wants, he gets.He was on the record this week as saying that he’s communicated very clearly to SEC schools that he wants to see them schedule more attractive nonconference games. Down the road, what you’re probably going to see is SEC schools playing nine conference games and then one marquee game out of conference.Or as Alabama athletic director Bill Battle said, “Ten good games.”But in the short term, what’s it all mean in terms of who will play whom?The format will remain 6-1-1. Schools will play everybody in their division, one permanent cross-divisional opponent and one rotating cross-divisional opponent.A few of the permanent opponents will change. For example, South Carolina and Texas A&M will be paired up, while Arkansas and Missouri will be paired up. In the past, Arkansas and South Carolina were permanent cross-divisional foes.At least through 2015, LSU and Florida will continue to play every year as permanent cross-divisional foes. LSU has been pushing to do away with permanent cross-divisional opponents and wants to see everybody play two rotating opponents from the other division. LSU coach Les Miles argues that doing it that way makes the schedule more balanced for everybody in the league.To his point, in their last 10 meetings, both Florida and LSU were ranked in the top 25 of the coaches’ poll nine times.Slive said the 2014 schedule would be released in a matter of weeks.The league had already approved a rotation based on a 6-1-1 format through 2026. As part of that rotation, Alabama is scheduled to face Georgia in 2014 and Florida in 2015.Also, the Alabama versus Tennessee and Auburn versus Georgia rivalries will continue to be played on a yearly basis, at least until the league reassesses its scheduling beginning in 2016."

Admittedly I am not a football guy. I love watching it but don’t know nearly as much as, say, my colleagues Darren, Jason or Kyle here at the Wildcatbluenation. In fact, I’ve been to two games at Commonwealth Stadium one was the 7 OT Loss and the other was a disaster loss at the hands of South Carolina. What I am noticing, however, is that Mark Stoops has set the bar pretty damn high for his first season. Jerry Hinnen recapped a bit of the whirlwind that Head Coach Mark Stoops has taken the BBN on.

"The HireCoaching experience: Not surprisingly for someone with his surname, Stoops hasn’t taken too long to bound his way up the coaching ladder, getting his first assistant’s job with Jim Leavitt at USF in 1996 and — six schools later — getting his first shot at a head coaching position when the Wildcats hired him in November. Before arriving in Lexington, Stoops spent eight successful seasons as a defensive coordinator at Arizona and then Florida State.Reason for the change: By the three-quarters-pole of the 2012 season, not even Tennessee or Auburn could challenge Kentucky for the honor of being the SEC’s most miserable program. Not only did the Wildcats wrap up the season at 0-8 in the league and 2-10 overall, not only did they lose to the state’s resident Sun Belt squad, not only did they finish with the SEC’s worst offense in both yards per-play and scoring, they lost at home to Vanderbilt, 40-0. That bears repeating: they lost at home to Vanderbilt, 40-0. There can be no greater argument for an SEC coach’s firing than that, can there? But the near-universal apathy among the Wildcat fanbase made cutting the cord with Joker Phillips an even easier decision than that for AD Mitch Barnhart.The First Months2013 Recruiting Class Ranking (according to 247Sports composite rankings): No. 34 nationally, No. 13 in the SEC.Notable Prospects: Like many first-time coaches hoping for a quicker turnaround than expected, Stoops brought in several JUCO prospects with chances of immediate playing time, including four-star playmaker Za’Darius Smith at defensive end and three-star standout Nate Willis at corner. But the recruits who will have Wildcat fans most optimistic about Stoops’ future will be four-star defensive back Marcus McWilson from Ohio powerhouse Cardinal Mooney and four-star defensive end Jason Hatcher from Louisville, a USC target. To make Kentucky into anything like an actual SEC contender, Stoops has to 1. keep the rare top-of-the-line in-state talent in the state (and away from Louisville) 2. mine the highly fertile Ohio recruiting grounds for whatever quality players the Buckeyes miss. McWilson and Hatcher represented two big steps in those two directions.Off-field: Stoops has, by and large, let his big wins on the recruiting trail and the smashing success of his first spring game (see below) do his talking for him; a Bret Bielema- or James Franklin-style splash hasn’t proven to be his style. But the hiring of Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown to the same position in Lexington — signaling a shift away from Phillips’ buttoned-down attack and toward the high-flying bygone days of Hal Mumme’s Kentucky Air Raid — shows that he’s not afraid to make big, bold decisions even if his media profile remains small.Fan reaction: Kentucky’s legions of diehard basketball fans are known as Big Blue Nation, which would traditionally make the Wildcats’ not-quite-legions of not-so-diehard football fans … Big Blue Fiefdom? Big Blue City-State? Big Blue Unincorporated Rural County Community? Thanks to Stoops, though, it seems the answer is suddenly “none of the above.” Despite his largely head-down, nose-to-the-grindstone approach — or maybe because of it — Stoops has connected with the Wildcat fanbase like no new coach in the program’s history, drawing a record number of fans to the Wildcat spring game and sparking what appears to be actual belief in a fanbase that’s always found it a rare commodity. That buzz qualifies as one of the biggest surprises and biggest stories of the SEC’s spring — and it already seems to be paying dividends on the recruiting trail, where Stoops is off to a hot start for 2014.Looking AheadAdvantages: At Kentucky? In football? In the past, the biggest advantage a Wildcat coach had was simply that there was always Vanderbilt around to occupy the SEC cellar, at least — but James Franklin has put an end to that for the time being. And after 2-10, 0-8, it’s hard to argue there’s much to get excited about on Stoops’ first roster (though between the three-headed sophomore quarterbacking moster of Jalen Whitlow, Max Smith and Patrick Towles, it seems likely Brown can find someone to run the offense competently.) Perhaps Stoops’ biggest advantage are the fans mentioned above; as with Franklin and the Commodores, there’s no fundamental reason the Wildcats can’t compete in the SEC with the right support. And it looks like Stoops has it already.Toughest Challenge: Where to begin? Let’s keep it simple and point out the obvious: Stoops has inherited what nearly any impartial observer would consider the least-talented roster in the SEC, and getting it up to the league’s accepted standards of depth and playmaking ability is going to take multiple recruiting classes well above Kentucky’s usual output on the trail. Stoops has already made major strides, but there’s a ton of work to do.2013 Outlook: The good news is that Stoops has some experience to work with across the depth chart after the young ‘Cats took their 2012 lumps, that thanks to tackles Donte Rumph and Mister Cobble the defensive line still has promise, that Brown has options at quarterback and should only continue to grow as a coordinator, and that things literally cannot get worse. But an SEC schedule that hands the ‘Cats a road date at Mississippi State and a home one vs. Alabama isn’t anywhere near “friendly.” Three winnable nonconference games and home games vs. Missouri and Tennessee should see the Wildcats trump their 2012 win total and possibly even double it, but anything more than that will have to wait another season."

Though the start of basketball season is months away, doesn’t this get you just a little bit excited?!

If my count is right, he is going to be the first of the greatest recruiting class of all time to set foot on UK’s campus this Summer to begin classes and a little practice. Imagine the possibilities with Willie Cauley-Stein anchoring the middle while Julius and Alex Poythress are flying all around on both ends of the floor. This could get ugly really quick and I can’t wait.

The Washington Wizards plan to have, among others, Archie Goodwin in to their facilities do put him through a pre-draft work out. The Wizards own the #3, #38 and #54 selections so we could see Goodwin catching passes from John Wall. Not sure how that would end up but it can’t be terrible for either. According to Michael Lee,

"Throughout the week, the Wizards will also have Louisville 6-1 senior point guard Peyton Siva (10 points, 5.7 assists), Bucknell 6-11 senior center Mike Muscala (18.9 points, 11.3 rebounds), Indiana senior forward Christian Watford (12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds), Kentucky freshman point 6-1 guard Archie Goodwin (14.1 points, 4.6 rebounds), Memphis 6-7 sophomore guard Adonis Thomas (11.7 points, 4.5 rebounds), Oklahoma 6-8 senior forward Romero Osby (16 points, seven rebounds), Iowa State 6-7 senior forward Will Clyburn (14.9 points, 6.8 rebounds), Temple 6-4 guard Khalif Wyatt (20.5 points, four assists), Syracuse senior forward James Southerland (13.2 points, 5.2 rebounds), Butler 6-0 senior guard Rotnei Clarke (16.9 points, 2.7 assists) and Wichita State 7-0 senior center Ehimen Orukpe (2.6 points, 4.4 rebounds)."

Contrary to popular belief, UK does have other highly successful sports which brings me to our Track Team, which btw, is headed to the NCAA Championships.

Check out what their coach and some of the athletes are saying: