Not Jerry Tipton's Friday Basketball Notebook

The 2012-13 season is still a few weeks away. However, the guess here is that the Cats will not be able to improve upon last season's performance, which saw losses to hated rival Indiana (which didn't even make it past the Sweet 16 lol) and Vanderbilt (which is more known for its academics than athletics). To stay apprised and educated, follow me on Twitter @NotJerryTipton. Here’s the weekly notebook: *My Hero: Last Friday, college basketball expert Jeff Goodman astutely pointed out that the only reason the Harrison twins committed to UK was because of Nike. While Kentucky fans predictably took offense to this, Goodman was correct. Fact: Every recruit Calipari has signed at UK has been while the school was wearing Nike. Fact: The Harrison twins have yet to deny that the only reason they picked UK was because of Nike. Fact: Kentucky wore Converse in 1990 and 1991, and failed to even make the NCAA Tournament those seasons. Are we supposed to be so naïve as to think that Calipari would have all this recruiting success, if, for example, UK wore adidas? Look at Louisville. They wear adidas and Rick Pitino couldn't sign a top 10 player if his life depended on it, even though he's trying just as hard as Calipari is. Think about it. Both coaches are Italian-American. Both coaches have won national titles. Both coaches reside in the state of Kentucky. However, while Calipari has signed 13 top 10 players since 2009, Pitino hasn't signed any. The only difference? Calipari has Nike, while Pitino is stuck with adidas. What other explanation could there possibly be? *This Is A Call: Earlier in the week, it was announced on CoachCal.com that "John Calipari-signed pieces of the 2012 Final Four floor Kentucky won its eighth national championship on will be available for purchase in an online public auction." It was also announced that all of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to charities in Louisville and Lexington designed to fight pediatric cancer. Frankly, one has to question the prudence of this decision. By giving all of the money to this particular charity, Calipari is essentially telling the thousands of other charities to go to hell. To be sure, the cause he has chosen is a noble one, but what about the American Lung Association? Or Greenpeace? Or Meals on Wheels? Or the Girl Scouts? Does Calipari really think it's wise to ignore the Girl Scouts? Apparently he does. He probably doesn't buy their cookies, either. Seeing as how Calipari has two daughters himself, it's more than a little surprising to discover that he hates little girls. *Monkey Wrench: It is anticipated that several high-profile and high-level recruits are expected to be in attendance at Big Blue Madness tonight. This does not bode well for Kentucky. By having these young men visit for this occasion, Calipari is telling his current team that all he cares about is the future, and that he's not even focused on this season. How will Kyle Wiltjer feel when he's on the floor tonight and he looks in the stands to see a top 10 recruit, just itching to take his place? Pretty bad, I bet. And not only does this send the wrong message to the current team, but it also sends the wrong message to the recruits. The whole point of a recruiting visit is to meet the coach and the players. What’s the point of visiting when the coach and players are going to be busy practicing? Doesn't this defeat the purpose of an official visit? Sure seems that way. This is a lose-lose situation, any way you look at it. * On this date: On this date in 2009, Pete Thamel and Pat Forde were in Birmingham, knocking on doors and digging through dumpsters.