Bobby Hurley's Saturday Morning Wakeup

The smug little turd from the 1992 Duke team is now all grown up.  The former whiny, floor-slapping point guard has turned into quite the head coach.  He only spent two years in Buffalo, winning the Eastern MAC division both years and earning an NCAA Tournament bid last season, before Hurley was hired to replace Herb Sendak at the ailing Arizona State.  One of the big reasons he got the job was how his Buffalo team played at Rupp Arena last year, taking a 5-point lead into the locker room at halftime before Kentucky wore them down for a 19-point victory.

After an opening week upset loss to Sacramento State, Hurley’s team has won six of their last seven.  The biggest win of the season so far was a 13-point pounding of 18th-ranked Texas A&M, arguably the second best team in the SEC behind Kentucky.  Arizona State will attack the Cats inside, bringing physicality against Kentucky’s weak spot in the interior.  The Cats are a 12-point Vegas favorite, but be prepared for a knock down, drag ’em out type of performance if the Cats cannot keep ASU off the boards.

Tip-off is set for 3:15 on ESPN with Dave O’Brien and Dick Vitale on the call.

Wenyen Gabriel is Playing at Dunbar Tonight

After the Kentucky game comes to a close, 6’10” 5-star signee Wenyen Gabriel is playing in Lexington.  It’s one of the few opportunities to see a future Cat play in Kentucky, and tonight’s game should not disappoint.  Gabriel’s Wilbraham & Monson will take on Thon Maker’s team at 8:00 in the second leg of an elite double-header in the Bluegrass Showcase at Dunbar High School.  It will probably be packed for both games, so make sure you get there early (first tip-off is at 6:30).  Tickets are $15 at door for both games.

Other Signees Scored Plenty of Points

Malik Monk had 40 second half points to finish with a 53-point night in a winning performance.  Monk’s night was crazy, but De’Aaron Fox’s day was even more insane.  Fox began his day with a 34 point and 10 rebound double-double, only to one-up that later in the night with 46 points and 12 rebounds.  For all of you keeping score, that’s 133 points between the two of them in just one day.  That doesn’t even include the 17 points and 15 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, who had already reached the double-double mark by halftime.

Football Official Visitors are In Town

This weekend will play a pivotal role in keeping Mark Stoops’ 2016 class together.  With state championships wrapped up, most of Kentucky’s 22 commitments will be taking their official visits today.  There’s also a few undecided recruits that could potential pledge their allegiance to the Cats, if everything goes as planned.  One of the most important uncommitted recruits, JuCo OLB/DE Jordan Bonner, seems to be enjoying his stay so far.

https://twitter.com/TheGolden_child/status/675441597413224448

Stay tuned for a complete breakdown of who’s in town.

It’s Time to Start Re-Watching Star Wars

We’re less than a week away until The Force Awakens and there’s no better way to get prepared than by running through the films from start to finish.  You don’t have to watch the I-III but I’m doing it anyway, even though two hours of Jar Jar Binks is two more hours than anyone should ever have to sit through.

The Heisman Trophy Presentation is Tonight

Derrick Henry is going to win, but I’m more curious to see how they fill up an hour of programming with only three finalists.  I know it’s not a big deal, but one or two more should be invited.  The way it works, voters only get three picks.  A certain threshold has to be met in order to receive an invite.  Even though he all know that Leonard Fournette or Dak Prescott probably don’t deserve to win, they’ve at least deserved a trip to New York City.

The Helmets for the Army/Navy Game are Fantastic

Both teams are pulling out all of the stops for one of college football’s oldest traditions.  The heavily-favored Navy will be wearing a few different hand-painted designs, each for different position groups.

Army has 17 different designs that represent the positions they will field upon graduation.

The Army/Navy game kicks off at 3:00 on CBS.

Enjoy Your Saturday Before Finals Week

To all my fellow students, enjoy the warm fresh air while you can.  Cheer the Cats on to a victory before you bury your head in books to finish the semester.  If the caffeine overload doesn’t crush your soul, just know that I’ll be kicking back and relaxing without a worry because I’m done with school forever.  It’s a marvelous feeling you’ll experience one day, but today is not that day.