Kentucky is in the Spotlight Again, Is it Good?

Once again, the University of Kentucky basketball program is in the spotlight again.  For a while now (about 2 months), it has been nothing but good news, but now comes the not-so-good news.

The first look is at Billy Gillispie and what everyone figured would take place.  He is suing the University of Kentucky Athletics for what he claims is money owed to him.  In all, it is roughly 6 million dollars that is said to be owed to him if he was fired.  The stipulation was that if he had gotten fired, he would have been owed 1.5 million dollars per year over a course of 4 years.  UK Athletics claim that they were in the process of negotiations with Gillispies’ associates when learning of the lawsuit.

And now, it is being reported that the University of Memphis faces several infractions by the NCAA committee including Academic violations.  One of the violations is that a certain student had cheated or that someone cheated for him on his SAT’s in 2007-2008 season.  It is being speculated that the student in question is actually Derrick Rose, now in the NBA.  While John Calapari’s name has not been linked to these allegations, it brings everyone back to the Calapari days at Umass where Marcus Camby’s name came up in NCAA violations.  While Calapari’s name is not involved, this gives many negative reporters something to speculate on and attempt to give Calapari another blemish on his resume.  I personally don’t see it hurting Calapari, but it will probably be the same as the Camby situation and will follow John Calapari throughout his career.

Well, that’s all the bad news for now and hopefully for a while to come.  Bring on the season and let’s start talking about basketball!!

Landon Slone is Looking to Transfer from UK

Landon Slone is reportedly looking to transfer from the University of Kentucky.

During the Billy Gillispie era, there was talk of a possible scholarship offer for Slone in his Sophomore year, but that is looking dim now as Kentucky has too many players as it is.  A meeting with an assistant coach has led Slone to believe that he needs to look elsewhere if he wants to continue his basketball career.

Landon Slone is a Kentucky native and states that he loves to wear the Kentucky uniform, but who can blame the guy if he transfers, especially since it is probably being encouraged by the coaching staff.  Sure, he could stay at UK which is his dream, but if he loves basketball and I’m sure he does, then he will want to continue his basketball career somewhere where he is wanted and could see playing time.

If Slone does go, I want to be the first to wish him well and I hope that he finds the right fit for him.

Kentucky Slims Basketball Roster, 3 Players are Leaving

The University of Kentucky announced today, that 3 of it’s basketball players will not return next season.  The 3 players are A.J. Stewart, Donald Williams, and Jared Carter.

A.J. Stewart  expects to transfer to a college where he can get more playing time.  If he stayed at UK, with all the new recruits coming in, he probably wouldn’t have seen any to very little playing time during the upcoming season.

Donald Williams expects to transfer as well.  He was a freshman last season and did not see any playing time as he sat out the entire season.  He cites his time at Kentucky as being a great experience.

Jared Carter, a Kentucky native, could have been eligible for a 5th year since he sat out the majority of the 2006-2007 season due to a shoulder injury, but decided against it.  He is looking forward to moving on and he is anxious to see what awaits.

While this slims the roster quite a bit, expect to see a couple of more players on their way out the door before it is all said and done.  The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team is still over it’s scholarship limit and will need to reduce the roster further in order to meet regulations.

John Wall Makes it Official, Signs with the Kentucky Wildcats

John Wall held a press conference at his school on Wednesday to officially confirm that he was on his way to the Bluegrass.

When John Wall narrowed down his schools’ list a short while ago, it seemed to be between Kentucky, Duke, Miami, and Florida.  Sources close to Wall say that it was just between Miami and Kentucky.  In the end, Calapari won the top 2009 recruit over (per Rivals.com) even though Kentucky had already signed a 5-star point guard in that of Eric Bledsoe.

Kentucky now has a complete roster…actually, Kentucky has too many players!  One would assume that once Jodie Meeks decides whether or not he is staying in the NBA draft, the roster will be looked at and four players will have to find a new school, play as a walk-on, or just not play basketball for the University of Kentucky at all.  The only ones that seem to be safe at the moment are Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Darnell Dodson, Jon Hood, and Daniel Orton.  And of course, Jodie Meeks if he decides to return for his senior season.

Slam Magazine Reports John Wall has Committed to Kentucky

Slam Magazine has reported that #1 2009 recruit (per Rivals.com), John Wall, has committed to the University of Kentucky.  If this holds to be true, UK will have the Number 1 recruiting class of 2009 and may have one of the best recruiting classes to ever be drawn to Kentucky in the same season.

Once again, there has been no official word, just unconfirmed reports thus far.  If John Wall is going to be a Wildcat, Kentucky basketball should be considered to have the luster of what it once was and will be considered a national powerhouse this upcoming season.  GO BIG BLUE!!!

Patrick Patterson Withdraws Name from NBA Draft

As most of you may have already heard, Patrick Patterson has withdrawn his name from this years NBA draft.  Patterson will return to the University of Kentucky for his Junior season.  It is reported that he will have the opportunity to graduate after his junior year because he is on pace to have all classes completed that are necessary to graduate after his junior year.

With Patterson coming back and with Kentucky gaining 5-star recruits, DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton, the inside game for the Kentucky Wildcats should be very good this upcoming season.  Also, with the addition of 5-star point guard, Eric Bledsoe, the Wildcats should start to be looked at as a national contender next year, especially if Jodie Meeks decides to return to school.

Eric Bledsoe is Kentucky’s Newest Signee

According to several reports, the Kentucky Wildcats basketball recruiting class of 2009 is ranked at number 1 in the country with the addition of Eric Bledsoe on Wednesday (May 6th, 2009).  Eric Bledsoe is ranked as the number 3 point guard in the country and ranked as 23rd overall in the class of 2009 recruits (per Rivals.com).

Eric Bledsoe is a 6 foot 1 inch point guard weighing in at 185 pounds and hailing from Birmingham, Alabama.  He is the fourth top 40 player (per Rivals.com) that the Kentucky Wildcats basketball program has been able to sign from the 2009 recruiting class.  John Wall looks to be the last player on the Kentucky Wildcats radar for 2009.

Once the Wall situation is over, the Cats will have to determine what to do about the lack of scholarships and who will be leaving for the NBA, transferring, etc.  It’s not a good situation to be in, however, it is always better to have too many good players to decide who stays and who goes than to not have enough good players at all.