A tribute to Jodie Meeks
Friday, June 26, 2009
Milwaukee bound
Former Kentucky basketball player, Jodie Meeks, was drafted in the 2nd round as the 41st pick overall, in the Thursday NBA draft by Milwaukee. "I'm happy for Jodie," said Coach John Calipari. "Milwaukee is a great city and organization. Dave Babcock had been in touch with me during the week, so I knew how much they liked him. We wish him well." Jodie Meeks put up a school record, 54 points against Tennessee in game 1 and 117 3-pointers in one season. He also scored points as many as 45 and 46. Jodie Meeks was the first UK player to be selected by the bucks, since former UK basketball player, Keith Bogans. He is the 92nd wildcat to be drafted in to the NBA.
Kentucky Basketball Update
By: Jeremy Mays (christiansportsdude)
As many of you already know, Jodie Meeks was drafted last night by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2nd round as the 41st pick overall. Thanks for the memories Jodie! Good luck in the NBA! This week, a top SG prospect Doron Lamb made a visit on campus at the University of Kentucky. Lamb is expected to commit to a school soon because he wants to get the recruiting process over with quickly. It's been said that Lamb is Calipari's main target in next year's class since UK will need to fill the void left behind by Jodie Meeks and John Wall who we assume is a one and done player. We don't know that for sure but he's already listed as the #1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft on some NBA mock draft sites, so it will be very tempting for him to go in the NBA Draft. Lamb is the last unsigned 5-star SG in next year's recruiting class. Also, former Duke Blue Devil SG Elliot Williams is transferring from Duke because of his mother's health. He list 4 teams he will consider going to. They would be Kentucky, Memphis, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee. His family is from Memphis and there's a lot of talk going on that if he chose UK or Tennessee over Vanderbilt and Memphis, he would have to sit out a year because they are a lot farther from Memphis and he could have chosen to play closer at home by going to Memphis or Vanderbilt. Though if Vanderbilt and Memphis didn't offer him a scholarship which I don't know why they wouldn't but if that happened, he would have a valid case with the NCAA about transferring to UK or Tennessee and not having to sit out a year. We'll see what happens. Just my speculation on the subject though, I'm not an expert.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
UK has small NCAA violations to report
By: Jeremy Mays (christiansportsdude)
UK is having to report some possible NCAA violations involving the Muhlenberg County High School basketball coach using Darius Miller's name on a flyer to try and advertise his basketball camp. They wanted Darius to volunteer in it and now he won't be and he could be possibly suspended a game as punishment for this and it's not his fault his name was used to advertise a camp. Darius is allowed to volunteer in the camp but he has chosen not to at this time. The flier and ad were released last month and listed Miller as a participant in the two camps, June 22-24 and July 13-15, at the newly consolidated high school. NCAA rules do not allow a student-athlete to accept any fee or allow the use of his or her name or picture to advertise or promote the sale or use of a commercial product or service. One game won't be too bad for him to miss, especially if it's against a mid-major program but we still don't want Darius Miller to be suspended.
Monday, June 22, 2009
UK Roster Situation and Potential Starting Line Ups
As we all know, Coach John Calipari has loaded the roster for UK with many in coming freshman and a star JUCO player named Darnell Dodson. The question is, what potential line ups can Coach Cal use with all of this talent? One line up could have DeMarcus Cousins at Center, Patrick Patterson at Power Forward, Darius Miller at Small Forward, Darnell Dodson at Shooting Guard, and John Wall at Point Guard. Or we could see Daniel Orton at Center and bump Darius Miller out as the starting Small Forward role and slide in DeMarcus Cousins at Small Forward, because Cousins has the skills of a Small Forward in a Center's body. In my opinion, you wouldn't be getting all of the potential out of Cousins with him playing at SF because his natural position is at PF. If Darnell Dodson does not start at SG, possible candidates to start at SG could be Jon Hood or Eric Bledsoe. There have been reports that Coach Calipari told Bledsoe even though he was recruiting John Wall, that Bledsoe is his starting PG. I don't see how you can have two starting point guards. John Wall and Eric Bledsoe are both point guards. In the dribble drive motion offense, a traditional point guard is not exactly needed so we could see both Bledsoe and Wall starting in the back court this year for the Cats. We likely won't see much of Josh Harrellson, Ramon Harris, and Perry Stevenson when the game is on. Look to see them have reduced playing time and a much smaller role on this year's team. Another question is, what does Calipari do about filling in the 13th scholarship? Does Calipari wait until after the NBA draft to see if Jodie Meeks gets drafted or not? That would be the best option because if Meeks doesn't get drafted, then you just added a very valuable player to the roster. Matt Pilgrim still is in Lexington and will be heading out in 2 weeks. There was a lot of buzz going around this weekend at the father-son UK camp when Pilgrim was there playing pick up games and he amazed people with the talent he has. Could Calipari offer him the scholarship that used to be his? There is still one more star freshman that could make an immediate impact on UK next year. That would be SG Lance Stephenson. Surprisingly, a top 15 , 5-star recruit does not know where he will be playing next year because many schools are backing off this kid because he has had some trouble with the law. Lance Stephenson was arrested last October for sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl on Lincoln High School, according to police. He was charged with a Class B misdemeanor. Calipari has critics out there who says he recruits questionable players who have character problems. I don't see Stephenson as a Wildcat next year because Calipari has already told him that he didn't want to give him a scholarship but things may change once we know officially what happens with Jodie Meeks. Coach Calipari could also go scout other JUCO prospects for a good 3-point sharp-shooter who can play the SG role to give UK a player than can hit it from beyond the arc. UK won't have a guy who can just tear it up from the 3-point line like Jodie Meeks, but Daniel Orton and DeMarcus Cousins do have a perimeter game and if they can shoot from beyond the arc, it will just open up the other guys to score inside or take a 3-pointer themselves. Rumors out there say that Michael Porter could be back in blue next year. Most likely not going to happen because he has a family now and graduated in May, but it makes sense to offer a guy like Porter a scholarship because he's a senior and you won't have to worry about dead weight on the roster the following year.Possible, John Calipari could just leave the scholarship open an try to pick up a transfer half way through the season. Coach Cal could offer somebody a one year scholarship like Gillispie did for Donald Williams who only played at UK one year. The most likely option I see would to be leaving the scholarship open for someone who is deserving of a scholarship. With the senior class next year and Cousins, Patterson, and Wall all having potential of being a 1st round draft pick in the 2010 NBA Draft and may forgo their collegiate eligibility makes for a very hard decision for John Calipari to make. It will be interesting to see how this will all play out.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
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