UK Fan of the Day Wants Afternoon Notes

Bryan the Intern unfortunately re-enacts this pose often in the WKJK studios A few notes from around the land: --- There is a game in college sports I like to call "if Calipari does it, let's complain." The latest example comes from Billy Donovan and Gary Parrish, who are taking Calipari to task for the All-Access Special on ESPN. What is their major complaint? Well, according to Donovan, he thinks that it is an unfair recruiting advantage and is "just not right." But then he also made comments saying that he just wouldn't want such cameras in practice because "practice is for practice." Unfortunately for Billy, facts get in the way of rhetoric and it has come out that he did an All-Access a few years ago and Urban Meyer did an expansive one with the football program. I like Billy Donovan and he is a great coach. But he is too good to whine about unfair advantages for something that is just a fact of life. College sports are not fair...Kentucky is on ESPN because they are more marketable than the other schools...period. Fairness is not the issue, the issues is popularity. Yes, ESPN putting the unsigned recruits' commitments on the show is something that hasn't been done before. But guess what...there is no rule against it and there is nothing wrong with it. ESPN is telling the story of the program and Calipari's recruiting prowess is a big part of it. If you don't like that, then either change the rule or shut up. Chances are the former will happen at some point, because as we have always seen in the past, it isn't a problem until someone does it better than everyone else. And Calipari is doing virtually everything better than anyone else. --- I loved the Blue-White Game last night and a number of things stood out. Here they are: Willie Cauley Stein: No player has surprised me more so quickly than Willie Cauley-Stein. When he came here, I assumed he would be a 3 year project that would reach his full potential slowly. I knew Cauley was smart and able to learn quickly, but I had no idea that his physical ability was so high early. If you watched the game last night and knew nothing about the two players, you would have assumed Cauley-Stein was ahead of Noel. That is an unbelievable accomplishment by the young man. Alex Poythress the Beast: Early on I was slightly disappointed by Alex's play, as he looked to not showcase the aggression that I know he has. But then things changed dramatically. Alex attacked the rim with ferocity and dunked hard on a number of people. Alex can be the best player on the court for Kentucky this season...if he does, he will become a star. Late in the game last night, we saw that side of him. Archie Putting Up Points: Archie Goodwin led all scorers last night with 32 points and more importantly, did it a variety of different ways. He made outside shots, drives to the basket and mid-range jumpers. He still needs to do a better job sharing the ball (especially if he is going to be the team's backup point guard), but I thought it was a strong debut for the Arkansas native. We So Hood (and Polson): Calipari would love to play an eighth player this year on the team and two guys showcased they have the potential. Jon Hood looked more comfortable that at any time in a Kentucky uniform, playing his game, taking the ball to the basket and scoring from mid-range. He is much better doing that than simply shooting from the outside. Jarrod Polson also took a break from his one year slump, by being very comfortable as a backup point guard and actually running his team better than Ryan Harrow did at most points. Neither is a lock to get time, but it looks as if both have taken big steps forward. Cal is at Media Day: We will have more coming up soon from SEC Media Day and other topics. Until then, enjoy the picture below of the KSR Dating Game contestants with Ryan and me at the game, while also thanking God that you are not a Florida basketball coach, upset that you are no longer the best recruiter in the SEC.