Kentucky Wildcats: 2014 Recruits Devin Booker and James Blackmon, Jr. Announce Today and the Harrison Twins are Alright

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

If you watched the Blue-White scrimmage a couple days ago, you might have noticed a relatively free flowing game with a lot of dribble-drive and spot up jumpers.  Well, you can thank the new rule changes effected by the NCAA that make it much more difficult for a defender to be lazy.  During the game, Cal had his players play man-to-man exclusively with an emphasis on moving the feet and not extending the arms.  With Kentucky’s length, this is definitely advantage good guys.

"John Calipari has talked at great length this preseason about the change in how officials are supposed to call fouls this year. He believes in the emphasis on eliminating body contact so much that it’s become a daily teaching point in practice this year. “We try to get college officials to do our scrimmages, and then the whole time they’re calling — every time a hand goes down they call it. They call a foul,” Calipari said Tuesday after the Blue-White Scrimmage. “If you stop a guy from cutting where he wants to go, they call a foul.” Coach Cal has talked about cutting down on body contact in the game for years now, but what exactly are the specific changes officials are going to look for this season?"

"Defending the Player with the Ball What Changed: Several officiating guidelines were voted in as rules, which raised the expectation and importance in this area. Four types of illegal tactics were cited: 1. Placing and keeping a hand/forearm on opponent. 2. Putting two hands on opponent. 3. Continually jabbing by placing hand or forearm on opponent. 4. Using an arm bar to impede the progress of the dribbler. Note that simply touching the player with the ball is not an automatic foul. Intended Outcomes: • Defenders will need to move their feet as opposed to using their arms/hands to negate an offensive opportunity. • Increased emphasis will create a less physical game. • Enhancement of freedom of movement principles and a smoother game flow. Block / Charge Plays What Changed: In a review of recent seasons, two types of plays were identified as the most difficult to call correctly: Defenders moving forward at the time of contact (even though the contact may occur in the defender’s torso) and the time frame when the defender must be in legal guarding position during airborne shooter situations. Now, when a player begins his upward motion to pass or shoot, the defender must be in legal guarding position. Intended Outcomes: The expectation is that by providing a longer timeframe for the officials to see the actions of both the offense and the defense, the accuracy of officiating these plays will improve. It is important to note that there is no default call in this rule; officials are to call the play as it develops. Calipari was pleased with how few fouls his team committed during the scrimmage on Tuesday. There were a combined 20 fouls between the two teams, and one of the officials told Coach Cal that it was the best he’s seen a team play defense under the new rules. “What I’m hoping is the entire season this is how the game is called,” Calipari said. “You see a little more free-flowing instead of checking a guy or hip-checking a guy or grabbing a guy, hands up in the air and I ride you out of bounds, you’re done now. You can’t play that way. And we all get — it’s what the rules are. I hate to tell you, that’s what the rules have been. They just haven’t enforced them. Now they’re saying they are, and it’s good to see."

In a very real scare for the UK Hoops team, Frosh Kyvin Goodin-Rogers is reportedly out for the season after being diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism earlier this week.  Having had a couple heart surgeries in my life, chest pains are incredibly scary.  Let’s all keep her in our thoughts and prayers.

Kentucky freshman basketball player Kyvin Goodin-Rogers is out for the season after she was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism on Monday, the school said Wednesday.”This condition requires her to be on blood thinners for several months, therefore she will not be available to play this season,” UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said.Goodin-Rogers, 18, had sharp pains in her chest on Monday and went to UK’s team trainer. Tests conducted at the UK Hospital confirmed a blood clot in her lung.”Kyvin’s health is our main concern right now,” Mitchell said. “We are confident we’ll move forward in a positive direction with this challenge.”Goodin-Rogers was out of the hospital and back in classes on Wednesday. She also watched a UK practice. Further testing on Goodin-Rogers’ condition will determine whether she will have to miss more than this season. Results of those tests have not yet been received.

For those caught unawares, Randall Cobb has been out for a couple weeks due to a broken leg and was placed on season ending IR.  During their bye week, a week before he broke his leg, he took a trip to NYC and practiced the art of “photobombing” which has been perfected by his QB in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers.  BleacherReport.com has a video of just how good he is at it.  Check this video out.