The Night Before Goodbye's Wednesday News and Views

On3 imageby:Drew Franklin04/08/15

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The University of Kentucky basketball roster will look a lot different tomorrow around 3:00 pm. As many as seven names will be erased, as that's how many are expected to declare for the NBA Draft. There are already several legitimate reports that the Harrison twins and Dakari Johnson are gone, while a photo with a new car all but confirms Willie Cauley-Stein's departure, and Karl-Anthony Towns would be crazy to stay considering he will likely be the No. 1 pick. That leaves Trey Lyles and Devin Booker, two mid-first round projections, who still give us hope, albeit small. Unfortunately, the chatter around campus is they too will declare for the draft. But unlike last season, the process has been much faster this April, thankfully. We waited around until the end of the month to hear from the Harrison twins last year, but tomorrow we will find out the futures of all of Kentucky's NBA prospects in one press conference. Should all seven of them say goodbye, we will wish them the best. If any of them announce a return, I may run out of the 2:30 pm press conference, screaming toward the other side of UK's campus, while ripping off my shirt and throwing it at Alan Cutler. Let's not count on that, though. Just please remember, Big Blue Nation, when these guys announce they're leaving, they aren't turning their backs on the program; they're living out their lifelong dreams. Be happy for them. Be thankful for their time here. Be thankful they went undefeated against Louisville. Be proud of how they represented UK. Be excited to see how they represent UK in the NBA. And wish them the best in their next stage of life. And with that, some notes from the day...   Willie Cauley-Stein to have his limbs removed, assuming this is his new car and he plans to fit inside. williecar We cannot confirm this is Willie Cauley-Stein's new car, but the timing of the photo and the price of the vehicle suggest it's his first purchase after signing with an agent. If it were me, I would've gone with something a little roomier, a lot less red, and definitely cheaper. Everyone with an ear near the situation and a Twitter account is reporting the Harrison twins are gone. Then late Wednesday night, Aaron Harrison favorited a fan's tweet about his draft stock. They're gone, guys. Someone made a Harrison twins tribute video. I'm fine with anyone on the team going pro. Couldn't be happier for them. Kentucky will be fine. But when we start looking back and setting it to music, that's when the emotions kick in. Mind if I cry real quick? Dakari Johnson, also gone. That, or the entire internet was misinformed. The word is he was seriously torn, but the NBA wins out in the end. Tyler Ulis is excited about next season. https://twitter.com/tulis3/status/585897489020145665 Tyler Ulis is not nearly as excited about next season as his fans are to watch him next season. To steal from Coach Cal's text message to Ulis, "Let's rerun this." Cheick Diallo plans to meet with John Calipari next week. And so it begins. Out with the old, in the with the new... Cheick Diallo, the MVP of last week's McDonald's All-American game, plans to host Calipari for an in-home visit next week, Evan Daniels reports. He will also meet with Bill Self and Chris Mullins, the new head coach at St. John's. Diallo recently said minutes will matter to him in college. Well, he now has minutes at Kentucky. Jaylen Brown trimmed his list to eight, Kentucky included.  Brown is down to California, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Kansas, UCLA, and UNC, as told by Brown in this "epic trailer" on Bleacher Report. He plans to announce a final decision by the end of the month. Kentucky has trailed in Brown's recruitment and he recently said he is "definitely going to an Adidas school" because of the relationship he's built with the shoe brand on the AAU circuit. John Calipari will not go down without a fight, however. In case you missed it, I wrote why you shouldn't worry about next season. Give it a read here. Moving on to some football news because, believe it or not, spring football is here... There will be no indictments in that UK/EKU bar fight. Good news for Kentucky football regarding the bar fight in Richmond back in January. The three players involved -- Drew Barker, Dorian Baker and Tymere Dubose -- will not be indicted by a grand jury. The grand jury chose not to indict any of the parties involved after hearing testimonies from witnesses and seeing evidence from the incident. Mark Stoops talked quarterback competition after Wednesday's practice. "It's a broken record," Stoops explained, when asked about his QBs. "There's good and bad and there is everyday. There are days when one or the other does separate himself, but not consistently, not every day. As I said throughout the spring and I saw it again today, we're improving at that position. Both guys are improving. So that's a good thing." "I know the old adage that if you have two you don't have any, but I don't believe that," he continued, speaking about Towles and Barker, the only two active quarterbacks right now. "We believe that we can win with both of them." Rich Sherman stopped by Kentucky football practice to talk to the team. Among the topics of discussion: -- How to be prepared when a team comes at you with a sorry receiver like Crabtree -- What to do when someone talks about you and the results they gonna get -- The new Beats By Dre wireless, noise-canceling headphones Sam Malone and Tod Lanter will be guests on KSR tomorrow. Tune in for some fun before the big press conference on campus. Go Cats, everybody. THE MASTERS START TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!

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2024-03-28