Kentucky Coaching Staff Yells “Yahtzee” Thanks to Ohio Recruit

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky landed yet another highly-ranked recruit from Ohio yesterday when C.J. Conrad chose the Wildcats over the Indiana Hoosiers. It’s becoming a familiar story, Steve Jones writes:

"“In what is becoming business as usual for the University of Kentucky football team, the Wildcats landed another highly regarded recruit from Ohio on Friday.…The four-star player is the third Ohioan to commit to UK in a week, following three-star linebacker Jordan Jones of Youngstown on Thursday and four-star wide receiver Alex Stump of Lakewood last Saturday. Three-star offensive lineman Larry Wells of Kenton, Ohio, committed last month.”"

Traditional centers in college basketball are reappearing after fading for a few years. And Kentucky has two of the best next season, according to Andy Katz. Katz writes:

"“This class of traditional big men could be the deepest college basketball has seen in the past few years. It might not have top NBA draft picks, but there is plenty of experience and potential, with players who can decide their team’s fate. No team is as loaded with centers, both returnees and newcomers, as Kentucky. The Wildcats aren’t the norm, but having one center a coach can trust to anchor the post is at least plausible for a number of national contenders.”"

With a move to the ACC, Louisville’s football schedule will be much improved next season. And the team has embraced a stronger schedule. Andrea Adelson writes:

"“What Louisville has is a vastly upgraded schedule, one that its players embrace—and one that critics should embrace, too. You need a tougher schedule in the College Football Playoff era, and the Cardinals are no doubt playing one.Despite 23 wins over the last two seasons—including a victory over Florida in the 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl—the Cards have not been given full credit because their strength of schedule was weak. They did themselves no favors with their poor nonconference slate, but unfortunately for them, they were at the mercy of the opposition in the Big East/American Athletic Conference. Playing outside the power structure rarely wins over the national crowd.”"

A former college basketball player. A state-championship winning head coach. A father of 3 elite high school basketball recruits. Keelon Lawson is all three. And it’s possible he could be hired as an assistant in the near future, especially by a coach hoping to sign his sons to play college basketball. Gary Parrish writes:

"“Multiple sources have told CBSSports.com that Keelon Lawson interviewed for a spot on staff at a high-major program earlier this week. No offer was made—and Keelon Lawson, when asked, declined to discuss specifics. But in an exclusive interview with CBSSports.com, the 44-year-old head coach at Hamilton High in Memphis acknowledged that the experience has opened his eyes to the reality of maybe joining his three sons in college, and Keelon Lawson made it clear that his plan is now to do that, if possible, one way or another.‘If [a college] hires a second or third assistant, what can they bring to the table?’ Lawson said. ‘If you hire me, I’m automatically bringing you top-20 players in the country. Automatically. There are coaches sitting on benches right now who can’t do that.’”"

It has been a wild finish to La Liga, the Spanish first division. After a draw against lowly Granada last week, Barcelona’s title hopes looked finished. But Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid proceeded to drop points, themselves, giving the Blaugrana hope. With two games left, they need all 6 points to win the title. Dermot Ledwith writes:

"“Arguments can be built on how and why this Barça squad has slipped from the height of those sides that won the previous four. Key players are getting older, off-the-field tragedies and distractions that could not be blamed on the players and a failure by the technical staff to address a squad in decline just about covers those.However, to say that Barça would not deserve a competition that is won more than 38 games and judged by points won over that time is ridiculous. If Barça do win the final two games, the season will finally be considered moderately successful. If they do not, the critics can go back to slamming the club. Until then, optimism reigns in the Camp Nou.”"