Stacey Poole Jr.'s Friday News and Views

The University of Kentucky basketball team has been without that set of three goggles you see above for almost two months now. Stacey Poole Jr. and his family felt it was best for him to leave the program and finish his basketball career at another school. The sophomore guard finished out the fall semester at UK and then packed up his belongings from the Lodge and headed home to Florida. Now, after over a month of silence, the former Kentucky guard has named four possible destinations for his transfer. Poole is considering Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Florida International, and DePaul. He'll make the drive from Jacksonville to metro-Miami to visit Isaiah Thomas and Florida International on Friday. Due to the strict time schedule, FIU will likely be the only visit he makes, but that's OK, according to him. Poole told Adam Zagoria that he visited Georgia Tech in high school and has been to Atlanta many times, so he doesn't feel the need to visit again. “DePaul and Seton Hall, I already got a feel for that,” he added. “I really don’t need a visit. The only thing I need is a place where the coach is going to believe in my talents and go from there. A visit isn’t going to do me any good.” Poole will be eligible to play for his new school in the fall of 2012. Although Poole never showed signs of being a major contributor at Kentucky, it still hurt to see the young man leave the team, especially with the lack of depth this season. This year would've been the perfect opportunity for him to log quality minutes for the Cats in relief of Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb. Instead, Jarrod Polson and the newly-eligible Twany Beckham sit on Kentucky's bench, when Poole had just as good of a shot -- if not better -- of seeing the floor. The athleticism and potential was always there, it's a shame we couldn't see it in action. We wish him the best wherever he ends up. "Once a Cat, always a Cat." News. Views. -- Former Hilltopper and current Gamecocks head coach Darrin Horn met with the South Carolina media on Thursday and apparently he's pretty impressed by Kentucky's ability to create offense from great defense. "If they're playing well offensively, they're phenomenal," he said. "Because defensively, with their length and athleticism, and with Davis, their ability to not only keep you from scoring but to create offense from their defense is outstanding." He added, "If they're playing well offensively and shooting the basketball, well, I'm not really sure what anyone does with them." Horn called Anthony Davis a complete game-changer down low for the Cats. -- South Carolina will be coming into Rupp Arena on somewhat of a hot steak, having won six of its last seven games. The Cocks' last loss came at home on December 17 to then No. 2 Ohio State. Since losing by eight to the Buckeyes, they've defeated Southeastern Louisiana, Wofford, USC Upstate, and South Carolina State by an average margin of somewhere between 10 and 20 points. I'm not a bean counter, as Coach Cal would say. -- Western Kentucky just got HOSED at home against Louisiana-Lafayette. With the scored tied at 70 with 20 seconds to go, the Ragin' Cajuns played six men on the court for the final possession and scored to win the game by two. It was 6-on-5 for the final 20 seconds and NO ONE noticed. LOOK!... (Pic and Video via Deadspin) Can the league do anything about that? That can't count, can it? That's bulls---. -- Moving on... Calipari visited 2013 small forward Troy Williams at his team's practice on Wednesday night. Williams, out of Hampton, Virginia, tweeted about Cal's visit that night. The 6-foot-6 star recruit is the No. 8 player overall in the class according to Scout.com. -- Anyone interested in office space? The Lexington Herald-Leader has some for sale. According to this online property listing, you can buy anywhere from 3,000 to 22,500 square feet of space at the Herald-Leader building. We are currently talking with our accountant to determine how much space we can afford for the KSR Lexington offices. It would be very convenient for both parties, as John Clay could just walk over, rather than sending e-mails, when complaining about us stealing pictures. It would also turn out to be an eco-friendly move if Clay, Rashawn Franklin, Jerry Tipton and Not Jerry Tipton could carpool to and from work. My only concern is refrigerator space in the building for our Boone's bundle packs. Other than that, I think it's a great idea. We've been told the bidding starts at four annual newspaper subscriptions. -- It's that time of the year, my friends, where we put all our free time on the Internet to better use than watching HoopsMixtape highlights on YouTube. The 2012 NBA All-Star ballot has gone live and four former Cats need your support. Place your vote for John Wall, Rajon Rondo, and Tayshaun Prince in the East, and DeMarcus Cousins in the West. If you're feeling real blue, use the write-in option to vote for everyone else. Do it now. -- Speaking of DeMarcus Cousins, Boogie just scored the first five points for the Kings against Milwaukee. I'm watching the game right now on League Pass and Kentucky West played well early but now trails by double digits in their first game under Keith Smart. Still... Suck it, Westphal. -- Over in Washington DC, John Wall doesn't sound too confident with his team in his second year as the team's franchise player. "It could get ugly this whole season," he said after Wednesday night's loss to Orlando. Washington is off to the worst start in franchise history. I like the new uniforms, though. -- ESPN counted down the Top 10 plays of the NFL season and your favorite player made the list. Randall Cobb's 108-yard kick return in the season opener was No. 7 on the top plays countdown. The former Kentucky legend is already making Big Blue Nation oh-so proud in his young professional career. -- Jimmy Buffett is coming to Louisville on March 3rd. Parrotheads, let's rally! That'll do it for now. Tune in to Kentucky Sports Radio radio in the morning when I stop by to keep Matt from talking about The Bachelor. Go Cats.