It's football time in the Bluegrass -- but that doesn't stop hoops
here from making headline, or stop the basketball coaches from blogging.
The latest from Rick Pitino, John Calipari and elsewhere in the latest
edition of WDRB's College Basketball Notebook.
LOUISVILLE
Pitino runs down his roster
Pitino has blogged only intermittently during the summer, but when he
has, it has been to give detailed updates on player development through
the offseason. This time on RickPitino.com, the coach went through every
player on the team with three comments and a "needs to work on" item or
items.
The Notebook won't steal all of Pitino's thunder (or his website background music), but we will hit some of the highlights.
Pitino called Peyton Siva one of the best point guards in the nation and in the "needs to work on" area said, "Not much."
Then he came to Russ Smith, who he called pound-for-pound one of the
strongest players on the team, said he's rebounding and playing better
around the basket, and in "needs to work on" wrote, "My website not big
enough (JK)."
OMG.
He said Gorgui Dieng is 245 pounds at five percent body fat, then said
Dieng needs to work on conditioning. He also noted, "Senegal must be a
party country. I think he must have a butler when he goes there."
He again called Kevin Ware the team's most improved player, and said
Angel Nunez is also improved. Of sophomore Chane Behanan he said, "Like
Sir Charles at his age, (he needs to work on) a consistent jumper. If he
can put aside distractions and focus all season the way he worked the
first week -- look out."
You can read the entire rundown by clicking here.
KENTUCKY
Waiting on Jabari Parker
Kentucky made the cut of 10 finalists in the recruiting of Jabari
Parker, the senior from Simeon Academy in Chicago who was featured on
the cover of Sports Illustrated last spring. SI called him the best high
school basketball player since LeBron James. Scouts wonder if Parker,
whose father, Sonny, played in the NBA, is the best passing big man of
the last decade.
Many consider Kentucky and Michigan State the front-runners in this
recruiting competition, but Brigham Young fans are convinced that BYU
has a legitimate edge because Parker and his family are devout Mormons.
In fact, an article in the Deseret News, a newspaper based in Salt Lake
City, outlined BYU's chances this week, highlighting a talk that Parker
and mother made in front of more than 1,500 people at an LDS church in
Oakland, Calif., last Sunday.
Former BYU player Gary Furniss attended the talk and left even more impressed by Parker's spiritual focus.
"He did not disappoint," Furniss told Dick Harmon of the Deseret News.
"He
gave a powerful message of inspiration. He spoke of the power of
priesthood blessings that helped him overcome an injury (to his foot
that still has Parker using crutches). He said he is frustrated at times
when people ask him if he will serve a two-year mission. He likes to
answer, 'Why can't it be now. We all should be missionaries every
day.' "
Other schools on Parker's list are DePaul, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Stanford, Georgetown and Florida.
Noel speaks with Calipari's web site
Classes
have only just begun, but freshman Anthony Davis is already acing his
handling of comparisons with All-American and Wooden Award winner
Anthony Davis. Noel has addressed those with a level-headed approach,
and that continued to be evident in an interview with CoachCal.com's
Eric Lindsey.
"It's just people talking off what they see," Noel
told CoachCal.com. "We're both different in our own ways. We both block
shots. That's a similarity, but at the end of the day I'm who I am and
he is who he is.
"Those are big expectations. Right now, through
these two months (before the season), I think I've got a lot of hard
work to put in. Like (head athletic trainer) Chris Simmons told me, Rome
wasn't built in one day. I've just got to stay focused, work hard and
I'll get there."
Noel also said he's "going after" Davis' shot
blocking records at UK and that he's acclimating to the level of
attention and scrutiny he's receiving as a UK player.
"You can't
read everything, but whatever you do see, you've just got to use it as
motivation, and that's what I do," Noel said. "I use it as my fuel to
stay in the gym and keep driving myself."
Hoops to hold alumni game -- on a football weekend
The
idea would seem like a slam-dunk -- a UK alumni game in Rupp Arena
featuring only players playing professionally right now, of which UK has
an abundant supply. Reportedly, Calipari has secured commitments from
all of the pros off the national championship team, plus others.
But
the game has come in for some criticism coming as it does on the day
that UK plays a home game against Western Kentucky in football -- Sept.
15 at 2 p.m. (the football game is that night).
UK athletic
director Mitch Barnhart said he's not concerned, and that if anything
the basketball game may bring additional people to campus to increase
the football attendance, not take away from it.
Tickets for the
game go on sale Friday, Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. ET. All seats are reserved
and priced at $100 (premium lower level), $40 (lower level) and $20
(upper level). Tickets can be purchased only at the Rupp Arena box
office, online at Ticketmaster.com, at any Ticketmaster Outlet or by
phone at 1-800-745-3000. There is a four-ticket limit per person. Online
orders and phone orders will have additional fees attached. All
proceeds from the game will go to charity.
You must be 16 or older to purchase tickets and children under 2 get in for free with a paying adult.
Doors to Rupp Arena will open at 11 a.m.
Estill joins UK as student assistant coach
Former
Wildcat Marquis Estill, who left early for the NBA, is back in school
to finish his degree and he'll be working with Calipari's staff while he
does that.
From UK athletics:
Estill will assist pre-, during and post-practice and primarily focus on working with UK's forwards.
"I'm
really excited about joining the staff this season," Estill said. "I'm
very grateful that Coach Cal is giving me this opportunity. He is a
great coach, and I look forward to working with him and this talented
team."
Per NCAA rules returning former players who are working
toward their undergraduate degree can be used as on-court staff. With
that opportunity Estill, who was a part of two Southeastern Conference
title teams at UK, will join a list of former Wildcats and Calipari
assistants and former players who have returned to their schools to
finish their degrees.
Estill finished his career with 936
points, despite playing only three seasons. He was named Second Team
All-SEC in 2003, his junior season while also earning All-NCAA Regional
team honors as well as SEC All-Tournament team honors.
"I am
so happy to bring back Marquis as an undergraduate assistant on our
staff," Calipari said. "One thing I always tell our players is that they
are always welcome back here, especially to get their degree. This is a
players-first program, and we will always be here for them in whatever
capacity they need. I applaud Marquis for coming back to finish his
degree, and I encourage all of our former players to do the same.
"It's
great that we get to help guys like Marquis or Wayne (Turner) or Tony
Delk or Scott Padgett - all guys who are members of our family - to get a
start in coaching and help them pursue their goals," Calipari said.
INDIANA
Crews back in head-coaching chair at Saint Louis
A
year ago Jim Crews was living in the Indianapolis area. Indiana
basketball coach Tom Crean invited him to Bloomington, and Crews coached
a group of media members during a function that Crean organized at IU.
In
fact, Crews coached a group that won the media challenge against
another group of media members who were coached by Tom Abernethy,
another former Hoosier from the mid-70s.
After a year working for
the Big Ten Network, Crews planned to remain in the Indianapolis-area
and connect with many of his former teammates at IU. Crews started at
guard for Indiana on the Hoosiers' 1973 Final Four team. He was a key
reserve on the unbeaten 1976 NCAA championship team.
That was
October, 2011. Then Rick Majerus called and asked him to fill an
assistant coaching spot at Saint Louis University that opened up after
practice had already started.
Now, Majerus has been encouraged
to step away from Billikens' basketball for at least a season because of
serious health issues. Crews, who has head coaching experience at
Evansville and Army, will coach a Saint Louis team that many expect to
crack the Top 25 this season.
Majerus is 64. He has overcome
multiple heart problems throughout his career, which has taken him from
Marquette to Ball State to Utah to Saint Louis. His 2012 team made it to
the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, beating Memphis before losing
to Michigan State. Majerus had many memorable battles with Kentucky in
the NCAA Tournament while at Utah, including the 1998 NCAA championship
game.
BELLARMINE
Hobbs reportedly heading from Australia to Spain
Former
Bellarmine and New Albany High School star Braydon Hobbs is already on
the move in his professional basketball career. According to an article
by Janeesa Ekert in an Australian paper, Hobbs will be leaving his team
in Australia soon to play professionally in Spain.
Hobbs, a 6-foot-5 point guard, plays for Mackay Meteors in the Queensland Basketball League.
"I'm
a point guard ... my job is to get everyone involved," Hobbs told
Ekert. "It's a team sport for a reason, so I feel like if I pass them a
ball and make them better and make them look good then we're all happy
because that's what I love to do."
Hobbs said he planned to leave
Australia for Spain in two weeks. Former Louisville star Kyle Kuric is
already playing in Spain, while Jerry Smith, another former Card,
recently moved to Italy to start playing in one of the top European
Leagues.
THE LIST
Blame
ESPN.com for this one. They asked their college basketball writing crew
to rank the Top 50 programs over the last 50 seasons. Here was the top
10.
1. North Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Kentucky
4. Duke
5. Kansas
6. Louisville
7. Indiana
8. Syracuse
9. Connecticut
10. Arizona
Of course, as of early Saturday morning fans were voting the programs in this order:
1. North Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Kansas
4. Duke
5. Kentucky
6. Indiana
7. Louisville
8. UConn
9. Arizona
10. Michigan State
