Calipari: Not the only UK coach doing a tremendous job recruiting.

Matthew Mitchell's performance as UK Women's Basketball coach so far has been possibly more impressive than the job that Calipari has done at UK. Both have done remarkable jobs, but Mitchell has done it without the spotlight and publicity that Cal gets with the Men's team. Both hoops' teams made it to last year's Elite 8 and both have very high ranked recruiting classes coming in.

Calipari's is #1, and Mitchell's incoming class is ranked #13 by ESPN (unheard of and unparallelled for the UK Women's program), one spot ahead Pat Summit's Lady Vols!

Joker Phillips is also recruiting at a level that has never been done with the UK football program. Although it's early and a lot can change, his 2011 class is ranked Top 20 in the country, which is also simply unheard of for Kentucky football. UK has been competing with the best of the SEC for four years now with less talent on the field. Now that they are recruiting at a "middle of the pack" level in the nation's best conference, they will get closer to FINISHING at the middle or even top of the conference sooner than you may think. "Operation Win" is not about competing and being relevent anymore, it's about winning and being at a top level in the SEC in all aspects.

Expect Mitchell and Phillips both to continue to build on their respective programs for years to come in Lexington.

2010 ESPN Women's BBall Recruiting Rankings

2011 ESPN Football Recruiting Rankings

P.S.- Check out Kentucky Sports Radio TONIGHT for the start of the blogger contest entries, and possibly my entry on Brandon Knight.

Reflection on a Great Season

First of all, I need to recognize the Women's team on their upset of #1 SEED Nebraska! Matthew Mitchell's 4th seeded UK Hoops' team now will face 5th seeded Oklahoma for a trip to the Final Four in San Antonio! Pretty good for a team that was picked to finish 11th in the SEC!

It looks like the Cats could be facing nearby Xavier in the Final Four before the inevitable dreaded Championship matchup with the UConn Huskies, who are currently riding the longest winning streak in the history of Women's College Basketball.

If these ladies can make it to the Championship game and even give UConn a run for their money, it will help ease the pain (at least a little bit) of Saturday's painful loss to West Virginia.

The Elite 8 matchup with the Lady Sooners will be on ESPN Tuesday Night at 9:00. Until then, enjoy this video to commemorate an unbelievable season that...

• brought us above 2,000 wins
• the "John Wall Dance"
• state supremacy
• wins over rivals Indiana, North Carolina, and Louisville
• millions of dollars raised by our team for Haitian earthquake victims in 24 hours
• a #1 national ranking and phone call from the President of the United States
• the first ever sold out ESPN College Gameday Show
• an unbelievable SEC Championship victory
• three very impressive NCAA tournament wins
• and an amazing display of future NBA superstars

But most importantly, this season has united a fan base that has been divided since the end of the Tubby Smith era. It started with book signings and rally's throughout the summer, from Pikeville to Paducah, and everywhere in between. The Commonwealth's anticipation for this season was higher than ever before, as thousands of fans camped out for tickets to Big Blue Madness, the official start of practice for what all had hoped to be an amazing season and a return to glory for Kentucky basketball.

The campout was a beautiful scene, as the nation's most passionate fanbase finally got what they wanted and deserved- a coach that understood Kentucky basketball and embraced the program as much as all of its fans. When Coach Calipari, his son Brad, the staff, and the players camped out themselves, played cornhole, and delivered food to all those faithful fans...we knew we finally had the perfect fit. A few weeks later, Coach Calipari delivered a moving and passionate speech to the fans at Big Blue Madness and John Wall made the crowd eRUPPt with dance moves that would soon become a national phenomenon known as the "John Wall Dance". Ah, what a year it has been.

Enjoy the video!

P.S. Brandon Knight is making his college decision on April 14th! Stay tunned for all the coverage!

The Madness is here!

I just wanted to inform everyone of my intention to create a Wildcat Wrap NCAA Tournament Pool. I'm also planning on creating a LIVE CHAT on Selection Sunday. I'll give you more details as Sunday approaches us, but I would like to invite ANYONE to join us Sunday for the live chat. I would love to get as many fans from as many different schools as possible to discuss where we think teams will be placed, who will be in, who will be out, and then discuss the matchups as they are announced that evening.

• As you can see on the bracket above, the Cats will face the winner of the South Carolina/Alabama game on Friday at 1:00. The Cats will play each of their games at 1:00 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday providing that they advance to the Championship Game. It appears that the Cats could have a rematch with Tennessee in the semis on Saturday. Probable Sunday opponents include Vandy, Florida, and Mississippi State.

• Let's give it up for the Women's team who gave the #4 ranked and probable #1 seed Lady Vols all that they could handle last night in the SEC Championship Game. The game went back and forth throughout most of the 2nd half with the Cats taking several leads until the Lady Vols broke away with a lead that was just a little too much for the Cats to overcome in the final minutes. Pat Summit was very complimentary of Matthew Mitchell and the job that he has done with this team. These Women have had an incredible season- sweeping SEC Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year honors. Calipari, Wall, and Cousins might just sweep those awards, as well. Best of luck to UK Hoops in the NCAA Tournament!

• Also, an interesting side note from last night's broadcast- Pat Summit almost accepted the UK Women's coaching job about 30 years ago. All she asked for was an additional $200 to relocate but was denied that by UK. Ouch! Imagine what the Women's program could have been... (and if we had paid Bear Bryant as much as Rupp was making- think of what our football program could have been...)
  

DON'T FORGET!

The UK Women's Hoops team will be playing in the SEC Tournament Championship Game tonight against Pat Summit and the Tennessee Lady Vols! The game can be seen at 6:30 on ESPN2. Hopefully, Matthew Mitchell's team will continue their tradition of signing the fight song after a win tonight, and bring home another basketball championship to Lexington!

Has UK Athletics Ever Seen Better Days?

On Thursday, Kentucky basketball fans have the privilege of watching four straight hours of UK basketball. Of course, ESPN will have the Cats' re-match at Rupp with Devan Downey and South Carolina at 9:00. But that isn't the only big game for the Blue and White which will be televised that night. At 7:00 on Fox Sports Net, Matthew Mitchell's 16th ranked UK Women's Hoops team brings their 23-4 record into Knoxville to face Pat Summit and the 5th ranked Lady Vols. The UK Women are firmly in 2nd place in the SEC Standings, behind only Tennessee. They were projected as a 4th seed in this weeks' ESPN Bracketology. With a win over the Lady Vols, they could break into the Top 10 and be in a pretty good position to earn a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

It's unfortunate that the Women's team has risen in a year like 2010, when the success of Coach Cal's Cats grab all the attention in Lexington. Could you imagine the attention the Women's team could have had LAST SEASON if they were playing this well while the Men's team fell apart and missed the NCAA Tournament? It's also unfortunate because if they were this good about a decade ago, they might have a legitimate shot at a National Title. However, UConn's current Women's team is proving to be one of the greatest dynasties in the history of college sports and they show no signs of losing a single game anytime soon. Perhaps, the UK Women can luckily find themselves in the opposite side of the bracket as the Lady Huskies and be the 2nd straight team from the Commonwealth to lose to them in the National Championship game (The Louisville Lady Cards were the runner-ups a year ago).

When you think about Thursday's double header of two nationally ranked UK basketball programs, as well as the current nationally ranked and undefeated UK baseball team (with three wins in three games thus far over Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and #12 Coastal Carolina), and of course the unprecedented fourth straight Bowl appearance last December in Nashville for the football program, it makes me ponder whether or not the University of Kentucky Athletics' program is currently at an all-time high. The man responsible in leading this Athletic Department, Mitch Barnhart, found himself in jeopardy of losing his job at this time just a year ago despite the progress in virtually every sport at UK except one.

The one sport that was not making progress was Men's basketball, and every Athletics Director that has been here knows that the success of any A.D. in Lexington lingers directly on the state of Kentucky basketball, undoubtedly the premiere team of the school and of the entire Commonwealth. Mitch Barnhart knew that despite the success his teams have had across the board, that in order to keep his job, he couldn't afford to hire another Billy Gillispie. Last spring, he was able to preserve the Kentucky basketball program at a time that if it had continued under the same path it was taking, had the potential to lose it's elite status for a significant period of time if he did not make the necessary changes and hire the absolute right man for the job. Remember, it was not a popular decision at the time amongst the national media who blasted Barnhart and Kentucky for getting rid of an "up and coming" coach after just two seasons and they doubted his ability to bring in anyone else that would make UK basketball a Final Four contender anytime in the near future. Obviously, the media critics could not have been more wrong. Barnhart needed a slam dunk hire, and he hired the absolute right man for the job in John Calipari.

Yes, Barnhart made a terrific hire to restore the legacy of Kentucky's Men's basketball program. But let's not forget that he also stood by Rich Brooks through the two and three win seasons to eventually go to a school record four straight Bowl Games, and winning three of them. Let's not forget either that Matthew Mitchell was a slam dunk hire as well for the Women's program, that he appointed Joker Phillips as a "head coach in waiting" back in 2007 and the football program is now more stable than it has ever been since the Bear Bryant days in the 1950's. Do not look past the fact that the baseball program won the SEC Championship in 2006 and has been a contender ever since in college baseball's best conference. And what about the programs you might not even know about? Did you know Kentucky's Volleyball team won 29 games last year and was ranked as high as 7th in the nation? The Men's Soccer Team was nationally ranked as well. For years, UK has been known as a school that has won in absolutely nothing except in Men's basketball.

Currently, the Men's basketball team is enjoying one of their best seasons in its storied history while all of the other programs are enjoying very rare success as well. Big Blue Nation should be proud of Coach Calipari and his Cats, but they also should applaud Mitch Barnhart and the tremendous job he has done with every one of his programs at Kentucky. Thursday night should be a night in which the Cats take care of business in Rupp Arena against the South Carolina team that upset them in Columbia earlier this season, but hopefully the Women's team will come out of Knoxville with even a bigger win; a program changing win which would match the significance of the football team's win over #1 LSU in the 2007 season. I encourage all of Big Blue Nation to stand behind both Blue and White basketball teams this Thursday, starting at 7:00. Go Cats!

(Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)

Weekend Wrap-up!

The Cats narrowly escaped the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday and are now one of only two undefeated teams in college basketball. It was a great week for the SEC as Georgia beat #17 Georgia Tech and a depleted Tennessee team shocked #1 Kansas. Purdue was also defeated which should give the Cats a #2 ranking this week behind the nation's only other undefeated team, Texas.

The UK women's hoops team is also rolling. After losing by one point in overtime, on the road against #8 Georgia, the Cats knocked off #16 Vanderbilt this weekend to improve to 15-2. Can somebody explain to me how this team is still not ranked? They ought to definately be ranked tomorrow!

And in football news, Joker Phillips is already making a big splash in his first week on the job as Head Coach. He has aleady made a few key staff changes and already has made a big impact on recruiting. He is saying all the right things, bringing new life and excitement to the program, and is gathering this fan base in a similar way that John Calipari did last summer. Say what you want about his play-calling the last few years with a young and inexperienced offense, but Joker has all the qualities of being a terrific Head Coach and is already impressing me on his first week at the job. I'll write more later this week on all the new changes, new staff, and incoming transfers and potential recruits that Joker is already bringing in, in just the first week on the job.


This weekend I was fortunate enough to see UK recruit C.J. Leslie and North Carolina's Word of God Academy (John Wall's old school) face Cincinnati Roger Bacon at Lexington Catholic on Saturday night. Roger Bacon pulled off the huge upset in a thriller which featured four or five lead changes in the last few minutes of the game but Leslie still impressed the Big Blue crowd, UK players, and Coach John Calipari whom were all in attendance. Leslie was the tallest guy on the floor for either team, but he didn't play like a big man at all. He is quick, explosive, a great shot blocker, and a great passer as well. He can play like a guard when asked to and should fit in very well in Calipari's Dribble Drive Offense. If he can improve his outside shot, he could be another Patrick Patterson next season. His game also reminds me some of Kevin Garnett. When asked about the likelihood of playing with his former high school teammate next season, John Wall, Leslie smiled and said that we would have to just wait and see and that Wall has been talking a lot to him about UK and luring him to come here.

You would think there would be no chance of Wall returning next season, but, who knows? With Leslie likely committing with the Cats, I wouldn't say that there isn't any chance at all of it being a possibility, even if it's a small chance.

I also got my first glimpse of the Bluegrass Stallions this afternoon. The Stallions feature a roster comprised of UK products Wayne Turner, Bobby Perry, Ravi Moss, Lukasz Obrzut, and Head Coach Kyle Macy, as well as EKU's Darnell Dials and Jason McLeish and also Justin Taylor of Georgetown College. Unfortunately, today was the last game for the ABA franchise at the Kentucky Horse Park Arena built for the upcoming World Equestrian Games. The facility is world class, but has become too expensive of a venue for the Stallions to rent out. I hope that this arena is still used for basketball in the future. It would be a great facility to host a high profile high school tournament, such as the one played this weekend at Lex Cath.

The Stallions will be playing the remainder of their home games in Lexington high school gyms and likely touring the Bluegrass region with games in the new civic centers in Corbin and Frankfort until they find a permanant home for hopefully a second season of basketball next year. The Stallions won today over a team from Louisville, by a score of 129-60. They play a very entertaining brand of basketball and it was great to see well known and adored ex-cats and other local players have the chance to stay around Lexington and play professionally. I hope they find a way to stay in town.

(Photos courtesy of highschoolhoop.com and the Bluegrass Stallions)

UK Women's Hoops Improves to 10-0, beats Louisville by 34

(Photo Courtesy of ukathletics.com)

If you didn't already know, Matthew Mitchell's UK's Women's Hoops team is also undefeated, with a 10-0 record. Today, they beat defending National Runner-Up, Louisville, by 34 points! Hopefully, today's game was a preview of what we can expect on January 2nd when the men play. These girls are for real, however, and deserve some attention. This Louisville team has had a few early losses and hasn't been performing at the level they did last March, but nonetheless, a 34 point win over a Final Four team from a year ago is very, very impressive. It will be interesting to see how high they can go up in the polls and how they do in the SEC. It's a shame that the Lady Vols don't come to Lexington this year, a game that would bring a lot of excitement and attention to the UK Women's team. They deserve it.

Be sure to check back with me later in the week for coverage of the 2,000th win that I hope to be attending tomorrow night vs. Drexel at Rupp Arena. Also, someone else who deserves some recognition is John Wall. In summer school, John earned a 4.0 GPA and just finished up this semester with a 3.4 GPA. He has so far been the example of what every major D-1 player should be, on and off the court at UK. If he wanted to, he could do the bare minimum to just stay eligible, drop out of classes when the season is over, and go straight to the NBA and make millions. Instead, Wall has plans of coming back to Lexington for summer classes each summer during the NBA off-season until he graduates. Something tells me Bob Knight won't have anything to say about this.

Congratulations Coach Brooks: SEC Coach of the Year!

Despite having the least amount of returning starters from 2008 in the entire conference, an unexpected loss of All-SEC Defensive End Jeremy Jarmon, only three healthy games from All-American CB Trevard Lindlay, both starting cornerbacks injured and unable to play against South Carolina, and then Mike Hartline getting knocked out of that same game in Columbia after a stellar first half against the Gamecocks, the Cats' season looked to be spiraling out of control loss after loss and injury after injury. And I haven't even mentioned the injuries of Randall Cobb, Derrick Locke, and Micah Johnson which sidelined each player for at least one game.

True Freshman third string Quarterback, Morgan Newton, was literally thrown out to the wolves when he made his first career start and first ever college appearance on the road at Auburn. Somehow, someway....the Cats left with a win, and continued to finish 5-2 with a true Freshman third string Quarterback. Michigan was 5-7 with a true freshman quarterback, Southern Cal was 8-4, and Kentucky played a tougher schedule than each of those teams and faced more injuries, but managed to be 5-2 with road wins over Auburn and Georgia, despite starting a third sting Freshman Quarterback and numerous other injuries throughout the season.

The above reasons make Rich Brooks the obvious choice for every SEC coach of the year award. Today, he was awarded the honor by Collegefootballnews.com, who also placed Derrick Locke on the 1st Team All-SEC team as a return man. Look for Coach Brooks to be in the running for his second career National Coach of the Year Award next season, if he is successfully able to replace his offensive line and his playmakers stay healthy. Those two things could mean ten or more wins for the Cats next year.

Even though Hartline could be healthy by the time the Cats face Clemson in the Music City Bowl on December 27th, Coach Brooks as well as Joker Phillips have indicated that Newton will most likely be the guy and stay the starting quarterback going into next season. Newton should emerge as a star playing with Sophomore sensation, Randall Cobb, in the next two seasons.

UK Basketball Notes:

• The UK WOMEN'S hoops' team is also undefeated with a 9-0 record and hosts defending national runner-up Louisville at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday.

• Seth Davis has picked the Cats to be the last team to stay undefeated this year. He says they will stay unbeaten at 19-0 before getting upset in Columbia to South Carolina.
  
• Wildcat legend Jamaal Mashburn will be broadcasting the 2,000th win on ESPN U with Jimmy Dykes


• UK Athletics has announced that they WILL continue to sell eRUPPtion Zone tickets to the general public while the students are away on Christmas Break for only $5. Classy move by UK Athletics- they could make so much more money for those tickets if they wanted to.


• The tickets will be sold an hour and a half before gametime for all games during the break except, of course, the Louisville game. Something tells me there will be another campout for the 2,000 win game against Drexel (I wish work didn't prevent me from having much of a chance to get out there early enough to get tickets).

Last but not least, it's time to start to get into the holiday spirit!

Oh....... the weather outside is frightful, But the Cats are so delightful. And the Louisville fans should know. 10-O, 10-O, 10-O They’re showing no sign of stopping. Two thousand wins we’ll soon be topping. While beating every top-10 foe, 10-O, 10-O, 10-O The Louisville season is... dying, and their fans will...... allll start crying. But the record of the CATS, although, 10-O, 10-O, 10-O!