“Sleepers” on the Kentucky Wildcats 2013-2014 Basketball Team and Mark Stoops Preps for Alabama Crimson Tide

Oct 5, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops disputes a call against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Mark Stoops and his Kentucky Wildcats football squad is hosting #1 Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday and despite their finish against South Carolina, this looks to be an amazingly steep, uphill battle.  That can’t be overstated.  Mark Stoops and DJ Eliot had plenty to say about the Crimson Tide.

"MARK STOOPS “I was pleased with our work today. Guys had a good practice, both sides of the ball. Good energy. Overall good practice. It was good. We’re gonna need to have another one tomorrow and Thursday, obviously, to prepare for this team.” IF HE SEES A DIFFERENCE IN JALEN WHITLOW NOW THAT HE’S THE GUY: “Seemed like he had a good day. He really did. He seemed comfortable back there, yeah. He really did. Hopefully we’ll keep gaining some confidence in him.” ON HOW ENJOYABLE IT WAS TO WATCH FILM OF SECOND HALF: “It’s always enjoyable to see us making strides and improving. It really is. It’s those little victories. It’s one play on top of another doing things right that we like to see. Like I said, it’s still frustrating that we left some plays out there, that we could do better. I’m OK if we line up and play and somebody beats us – and they did, don’t get me wrong. We can do better is all I’m saying. We need to improve. We need to play the best we can. We need to coach the best we can, and I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement.” IS ALABAMA MORE CONVENTIONAL OF A DEFENSE THAN FLORIDA? “They are. They’re, as I said earlier on Monday in the press conference, I think they’re just so well-coached. They execute so well. They can be as multiple as they want to be on both sides of the ball and they can just line up and use great technique and play good football, the way – old-fashioned football. They’re a very good team and they can be as multiple as they want to be on offense, defense or special teams.” ON ALABAMA’S SPECIAL TEAMS: “They got a big-time playmaker. He does a phenomenal job with the punt returns. He’s on kickoff, catching balls on offense. He’s lighting it up. Very good players and they’re well-coached and they play hard.” ON WHEN HE BECAME AWARE OF SABAN AND IF HE’S A GUY STOOPS HAS STUDIED: “Yes. Yeah. I’ve obviously known about Coach Saban for a long time. When I say I don’t know him, I don’t know him personally, but of course when you run into somebody in recruiting and different things, just for a long time, I’ve had a lot of respect for him and just would talk to him occasionally here and there. And of course at the SEC meetings and things like that, I just really appreciate the way he coaches and how successful he’s been and how consistent his teams have been. He’s definitely somebody that I look up to. I guess I’ve known about him a long time. I’m not sure how many years, but certainly been watching his defenses for a long time.” ON WHO TAKES BUD DUPREE’S SPOT IF HE CAN’T PLAY: “We’re gonna work on it and see how things go this week and we’ll see where we go. We’re mixing it up. We got to see how Jason is as well in all of our different packages and who we put in there. We’ll see.” D.J. ELIOT ON THE MOST DIFFICULT THING TO STOP ABOUT ALABAMA’S OFFENSE: “Just their physicality. They’re so big and so physical. They can run it right down your throat. They’ve got big linemen, they’ve got big backs. You’ve got to matchup to that, and that’s the toughest thing about the game.” WHAT MAKES A.J. MCCARRON SPECIAL AND IF HE THINKS MCCARRON IS UNDERRATED: “I think that he is a very, very good quarterback. The reason that he’s good is because he makes great decisions. He understands his offense, he plays within his offense, he has great patience. He doesn’t panic. Therefore he’s tough to stop.” DOES THE COACHING STAFF GET FIRED UP GOING AGAINST THE NO. 1 TEAM? “Well, we try to take the approach that the most important game is the next game. So, we continue to take that approach. We get fired up for every opponent we play.”"

It turns out that Jason Hatcher broke two bones in his hand against South Carolina yet still plans to play against #1 Alabama Crimson Tide this Saturday…in a cast. I’m always amazed that people can play in these things but this kid is tough.

One of the many former Kentucky Wildcats John Calipari has put in the NBA has turned a corner.  Eric Bledsoe was stuck behind some great players for a few years while with the LA Clippers but now that he’s a Phoenix Sun, Bledsoe”s ready to break out and he’s not the only one who expects that.

"The success comes as no surprise to the man who sat beside Bledsoe inside the Los Angeles Clippers’ Staples Center locker room for a season to help in his mentoring. Grant Hill is a believer. There is hyperbole about what Bledsoe can be after two years as Chris Paul’s understudy, but there are also fact-based statistics and eyeball tests to know that there is more to him than what has been seen. “The beauty is he’ll get an opportunity to show what he can really do,” Hill said. “There was good and bad in playing behind Chris Paul. The good was he was going behind the best to see how he prepares, his mind-set and how he works. The tough part was not getting the consistent minutes. ‘Bled’ is going to show how good he is and what an asset he is in a lot of ways.” Bledsoe was behind Baron Davis and Mo Williams as a Clippers rookie but still logged 22.7 minutes per game for a bad team. Paul’s arrival meant a slash to 11.6 minutes per game in 2011-12. Bledsoe was back to 20.4 last season, but that took the help of Paul’s knee injury. Only 23, Bledsoe was frustrated with that. The fluctuating playing time under Vinny Del Negro in an unstable environment did not stop Bledsoe from hard work, but it did prompt inconsistent effort. Given that experience and a starter’s role with the Suns, that is one area Bledsoe should progress even if his basketball does not. “As a young player, you want to play,” Bledsoe said. “I kept getting tired of the old saying, ‘Just wait your time.’ I know what they meant by it now. It was three years of it, and it definitely helped me mature a little bit.” Hill knows work habits from how he invested the time and effort to return from devastating ankle injuries and be an effective Suns starter until he was 39. Work ethic is where Hill gained a new respect for Bledsoe. He saw how much Bledsoe put into his game on a daily basis, whether it was the two of them playing full-court, one-on-one games or going against rookies to get work they were not getting in games. “He’s just oozing with potential and talent,” Hill said. “He was one of, if not the, biggest surprises for me for just how good he was. I didn’t realize how talented he was to know how he could dominate at both ends of the game.”"

Former Kentucky Wildcats Offensive Lineman, Larry Warford, is among the Top 5 rookies who stand a solid chance to take home Rookie of the Year honors in the NFL despite being a third (3rd) round selection.  Profootballfocus.com has him ranked as the #4 in the Top 5.

"4. Larry Warford, RG, Lions: +8.3 A quiet week for the third-round pick who has so far made a mockery of his draft status. Sits second on the year in our right guard rankings but will need to deliver more consistently in the run game to move up there, and to move up here. Just two quarterback disruptions allowed in pass protection."