It's a gorgeous (and hot) day in the Bluegrass and everyone out there is looking for some afternoon notes:
--- The statistics from Kyle Tucker today once again showcase what we have been saying for the last couple of weeks.
The talent that Mark Stoops is assembling in Lexington is simply unprecedented. While Joker Phillips had upped recruiting for the Cats during his tenure, Stoops has simply blown it out of the ballpark and has made coming to UK a new priority. A big part of this credit goes to Vince Marrow, but it is really an assemblage of a lot of good pieces, all coming together towards a common goal. Tucker hits what I think is the most important point about the new class...the offers these guys have from other top BCS schools. In my view, football recruiting is the most unscientific of the major sports, due in large part to the very few occasions that players get to go head to head against the best. Thus it is most often a look at athleticism, meaning that while I respect football recruiting evaluators, I take all judgments with a grain of salt. But football coaches know what they are looking for...and when the best schools want a player, it means to me that he is good. And Kentucky is now getting players that not just Troy and Kent State want, but BCS Schools do as well. The Cats have continually beaten Louisville, West Virginia, Nebraska and a host of other schools for multiple players. And in individual cases, players have picked Kentucky over Notre Dame, Florida State and Ohio State. That is simply phenomenal and is proof once again that we are seeing never before produced accomplishments for UK football.
--- With Calipari doing his basketball camps across the state, the talk here in Lexington turns to the new guys arriving on campus. The first point of business is for
players to continue to get stronger. While Julius Randle comes to the Bluegrass with a NBA body, some of the other players will spend the summer focusing on weight training, as building strength is priority #1 for this group. I am told that those around the program are particularly impressed with Randle, who one person told me is "even better than I thought", high words for a player that everyone around Lexington wanted. This will be the longest summer of all time as we wait for the new season to begin, but this group looks ready to dominate.
A picture I found at the Clinton Museum in Little Rock. I really like it:
--- I still think there is a possibility that
Kentucky gets one more commitment in the next 24 hours or so, to make it 4 on the week. The Cats have loaded up on defense, and I expect that to continue, but they also want to get a couple of big receiver pickups and some more line help. Matt Elam said today that it was hard not to commit while in Lexington with all the other players, and I expect the pressure to continue on the in-state kid. But the hope is that another player pulls the trigger soon to allow Yahtzee to be said once again before the week ends.
Finally, the
KSR Radio Summer Tour will hit the Bluegrass throughout the end of June and July. We are going to 20 stops, all of which (with one exception) are places where our radio show has an affiliate. We are going to Owensboro instead of Paducah because the Paducah radio station didnt want us to come (which made us sad) and unfortunately there is no stop in Northern Kentucky, because as of yet, we aren't on there. But otherwise, we will be everywhere and hope you will come see us. The exact locations will be released this weekend:
June 24th: Prestonsburg
June 25th: Williamson, WV
June 26th: Paintsville
June 27th: Whitesburg
June 28th: Pikeville
July 1: Columbia
July 2: Jamestown
July 3: Somerset
July 4: OFF FOR HOLIDAY
July 5: OFF FOR HOLIDAY
July 8: London
July 9: Monticello
July 10: Peach Jam
July 11: Peach Jam
July 12: Peach Jam
July 15: Bowling Green
July 16: Morgantown
July 17: Madisonville
July 18: Morganfield
July 19: Owensboro
July 22: Glasgow
July 23: Danville
July 24: Maysville
July 25: Lexington
July 26: Louisville
Hope to see you along the way...
It's a gorgeous (and hot) day in the Bluegrass and everyone out there is looking for some afternoon notes:
--- The statistics from Kyle Tucker today once again showcase what we have been saying for the last couple of weeks. The talent that Mark Stoops is assembling in Lexington is simply unprecedented. While Joker Phillips had upped recruiting for the Cats during his tenure, Stoops has simply blown it out of the ballpark and has made coming to UK a new priority. A big part of this credit goes to Vince Marrow, but it is really an assemblage of a lot of good pieces, all coming together towards a common goal. Tucker hits what I think is the most important point about the new class...the offers these guys have from other top BCS schools. In my view, football recruiting is the most unscientific of the major sports, due in large part to the very few occasions that players get to go head to head against the best. Thus it is most often a look at athleticism, meaning that while I respect football recruiting evaluators, I take all judgments with a grain of salt. But football coaches know what they are looking for...and when the best schools want a player, it means to me that he is good. And Kentucky is now getting players that not just Troy and Kent State want, but BCS Schools do as well. The Cats have continually beaten Louisville, West Virginia, Nebraska and a host of other schools for multiple players. And in individual cases, players have picked Kentucky over Notre Dame, Florida State and Ohio State. That is simply phenomenal and is proof once again that we are seeing never before produced accomplishments for UK football.
--- With Calipari doing his basketball camps across the state, the talk here in Lexington turns to the new guys arriving on campus. The first point of business is for players to continue to get stronger. While Julius Randle comes to the Bluegrass with a NBA body, some of the other players will spend the summer focusing on weight training, as building strength is priority #1 for this group. I am told that those around the program are particularly impressed with Randle, who one person told me is "even better than I thought", high words for a player that everyone around Lexington wanted. This will be the longest summer of all time as we wait for the new season to begin, but this group looks ready to dominate.
A picture I found at the Clinton Museum in Little Rock. I really like it:
--- I still think there is a possibility that Kentucky gets one more commitment in the next 24 hours or so, to make it 4 on the week. The Cats have loaded up on defense, and I expect that to continue, but they also want to get a couple of big receiver pickups and some more line help. Matt Elam said today that it was hard not to commit while in Lexington with all the other players, and I expect the pressure to continue on the in-state kid. But the hope is that another player pulls the trigger soon to allow Yahtzee to be said once again before the week ends.
Finally, the KSR Radio Summer Tour will hit the Bluegrass throughout the end of June and July. We are going to 20 stops, all of which (with one exception) are places where our radio show has an affiliate. We are going to Owensboro instead of Paducah because the Paducah radio station didnt want us to come (which made us sad) and unfortunately there is no stop in Northern Kentucky, because as of yet, we aren't on there. But otherwise, we will be everywhere and hope you will come see us. The exact locations will be released this weekend:
June 24th: Prestonsburg
June 25th: Williamson, WV
June 26th: Paintsville
June 27th: Whitesburg
June 28th: Pikeville
July 1: Columbia
July 2: Jamestown
July 3: Somerset
July 4: OFF FOR HOLIDAY
July 5: OFF FOR HOLIDAY
July 8: London
July 9: Monticello
July 10: Peach Jam
July 11: Peach Jam
July 12: Peach Jam
July 15: Bowling Green
July 16: Morgantown
July 17: Madisonville
July 18: Morganfield
July 19: Owensboro
July 22: Glasgow
July 23: Danville
July 24: Maysville
July 25: Lexington
July 26: Louisville
Hope to see you along the way...
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