Wall creates a stir in Big Apple:
“Unbelievable talent,” raved Kevin Durant, who starred in the Jordan game three years ago and now does the same in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder. “He has a great array of moves, and I understand he’s a hard worker. He’s one of those point guards who’s going to change a franchise one day.”
Yes please.
via: buckethead1978
I really hope Cal encourages/demands that his players do not play with headbands.
I really don’t want UK to become that kind of program.
Christ, next thing you know those players will be wanting to wear baggy shorts.
Not that I care since I absolutely hate North Carolina, but this is a cool time lapse video of their celebration. Check it.
via ESPN:
“He told me tonight he’s going to Kentucky,” said Otis Hughley of LeFlore High School in Mobile, Ala. “He didn’t say much after [John] Calipari left Memphis and, I told him I was there for advice and counsel, whatever he needed.”
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The 6-foot-10 post player averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds to help LeFlore, No. 27 in the ESPN RISE FAB 50 rankings, reach Alabama’s Class 5A semifinals, where it was upset by Parker (Birmingham).
As shown above, Cousins is ranked #4 in the ESPNU 100. Here are some of his other rankings:
Rivals150 for class of 2009: #2
Rivals 2009 Power Forwards: #1
Scout Power Forwards: #2
Needless to say after looking at those rankings, this is a gigantic get for Kentucky.
Coach Calipari came back to Lexington last night to conduct his first practice with the team. ukathletics.com has the notes.
Some interesting excerpts:
–The entire 2008-09 roster was there, including senior Jared Carter.
–The practice was extremely instructional. Calipari’s demeanor was pretty intense, but he doesn’t teach by yelling, calling out players, stomping his feet or any of that. He was very hands on and very talkative. Calipari would stop drills if he didn’t see what he liked, but he also didn’t hesitate to stop practice and single out a player if he was doing something right.
–Of course, the main component of the Dribble Drive Motion Offense is dribbling. The only negative I drew from the practice was the Wildcats’ sloppiness in handling the ball. I heard Calipari say a couple of times that they were going to have to get much better handling the ball. - Sigh. Did Perry Stevenson travel at least once? He had to right? He has to keep the streak alive.
–Kyle Macy came by practice and watched the entire session. Calipari came over during and after practice to shake Macy’s hand and talk with him for a few minutes.
–And finally, practice was extremely upbeat. The guys were constantly clapping, very attentive and looked like they were just having a good time.
If you actually needed another reason not to watch FoxNews, I think this should do it.
By now we’ve all heard about this dribble drive motion offense that coach Calipari will be implementing from day one. You may have even heard the story about how a junior college coach came to watch a Memphis practice and later told Cal all about it over dinner. Well that coach’s name is Vance Walberg. He is currently an assistant coach at UMass.
Of course I had to check out the guy’s bio on Wikipedia. Not too much there but sure enough,
“He is credited with inventing the Memphis Attack, which is also known as the AASAA offense, dribble drive motion offense and the Walberg Offense.
One little tidbit listed in his coaching career was interesting though. He spent three years from 1989-2002 coaching another sport. Badminton.
When people talk about starting out at the bottom, this must be it. Think about that for a second though. What high school has a dedicated badminton coach?
Actually now that I think about it, that would be a pretty sweet gig. I did always like playing badmintion at family reunions.
And you thought I couldn’t write an entire post about badminton without mentioning the word shuttlecock. Hah, showed you. Wait…
When interviewed by Memphis station WREG Newschannel 3 University of Memphis student Caleb Henshaw had this to say.
“I hope Kentucky fails, I hope the next three or four years they have a losing record, a horrible losing record. I hate UT, and I hope UT beats them.”
Good times.
Envy Our Past, Fear Our Future
April 1st, 2009So says the first t-shirt of the John Calipari era.
Like I have before, I just couldn’t resist starting up a new Fire The Coach site. As with the previous sites, same rules apply here. Didn’t do it to lobby for having Cal fired, I just get a kick out of the people (fans?) who will inevitably be frustrated enough to call for the coaches head. Oh it will happen.
Sure, you can’t fathom it on a day like today when coach Calipari put us under his spell but give it time. The crazies in the fanbase will float to the top and show up here when they search for: Fire John Calipari
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