Me and a couple friends have a hobby of making movies. It all started our freshman year when CRU needed a promo for Fall Retreat. Clifton Cadillac, Spring Break Linebacker was born. The rest is history. Now we have upgraded our venue by entering a video contest for UT Men’s Basketball. The contest calls for your best Bruce Pearl impersonation only being a minute long. Tyler, Weezie, Matt and I are used to making 5 minute films so this one was tough. With over 30 minutes of footage we whittled it down to a minute. The premise, a spoof off of the H1N1 virus.

Here it is: “The Bruce Flu (B1P1)”

But now, we need YOUR help! We need everyone to vote for our video. Please vote for it by ranking it with 5 stars on the lower right hand of the video player. Our video will be shown at a Men’s Basketball Game and we want to blow the competition out of the water! (The winner will win court side seats to the Arkansas Game, player shoot-around, player dinner, and 2 tickets to the SEC tourney.) But to me, I just want to win to show everyone that we are movie makers.

Don’t forget to vote for “The Bruce Flu (B1P1)” Video Submission 6 at http://bit.ly/4I5JSk

Scotty Hopson shooting fireballs Tuesday night

Last night the Tennessee Volunteers destroyed, and I mean DESTROYED, UNC-Asheville 124-49.  So you don’t have to count by tens on your hand, that’s 75 points between the two teams.  The largest lead was, get this–83.  Eighty-three points!  If you’re a Tennessee player what do you say to your teammate when the lead stretches to 83??  How ridiculous is that moment?  I love me some SEC basketball so I put the game on right at opening tip.  I turned it off at something like 41-6.  In that timeframe Scotty Hopson, Tennessee’s ultra-talented wing forward, hit 4 3’s and had his hands on two steals and nearly a third.  Wayne Chism and Brian Williams owned the paint.  The Vols scored on 17 of their first 21 possessions.  It was 41-6.  That’s the final score of an embarrassing college football game, and the Vols were only heating up.  Tennessee would finish the game with a school-tying 16 three pointers, a school record 34 assists and the school record for points scored in a single game.  Talk about clicking on all cylinders.

The knock on Bruce Pearl and his Vols has been their lack of commitment on defense.  While they always score lots of points, there have been too many games in the past where they couldn’t stop a doughnut from rolling 15 feet.  If challenged by a physical team, they have at times backed down and played with a bit too much finesse.  Pearl’s not-so-secret weapon to get physical has been inserting his massive center Brian Williams into the lineup.  When he’s in, he bangs.  Just ask Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson.  I followed Patrick Patterson last year against Tennessee and Brian Williams took it right to the all-american.  With Williams at his disposal, and a variety of athletic guards and wings with a load of experience, Pearl may have his best team yet in Knoxville.  Tennessee will be contending in a rock solid SEC East division with Kentucky, Vanderbilt and South Carolina either highly regarded or extremely experienced.  And then there’s Florida, who nobody seems to be talking about.  With a pummeling of UNC-Asheville the Vols are out of the gate strong.  It’s hard not to notice such an eye-popping victory.

There’s a saying in the SEC: “Basketball? Everyone knows basketball starts in January.” The truth of this cannot be understated as the conference is in no hurry to start playing one of its worst sports. That said, its marquee team is finally back.

An NIT-invitee last season, Kentucky is a consensus top-5 team right now, coming into the season with a new coach, a top-ranked recruiting class and quite possibly the next big thing in freshman John Wall. It was a roundabout trip to UK for Wall, who was originally committed to Memphis, where John Calipari once was, but then followed his coach to his new school. Yes, it all looks shady. No, that won’t matter this year.

Unfortunately for the league, this is the biggest two team league out there. Outside of Kentucky and Tennessee, its hard to see another team really coming out of this conference, except maybe Mississippi State. Last season only three SEC teams were invited to the big dance, with MSU sneaking in after a run to the conference championship. Could be the same again.

Predicted order of finish:

Tennessee is the most consistent SEC team right now.

Mississippi State
Mississippi
LSU
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn

There are days you can forget that Bama, Arkansas and Auburn are even in the league.

Player of the Year: Tyler Smith, Tennessee: Definitely some flak for this pick, what with Wall and UK’s Patrick Patterson. But it seems like this kid has been around forever and he is the leader in Knoxville. If nothing else, the Tennessee-Kentucky game should be a blast with two teams that play no defense and a whole lot of one-on-one offense. We’re talking NBA-like scoring. Also considered: John Wall, Jarvis Vernardo.

Player to Watch: John Wall, Kentucky and Jarvis Vernardo, MIssissippi State. Again, one of these is a consolation pick. Look, Wall is going to be ridiculous. He’s already shown it and Calipari has a knack of getting one-and-done guys that take the college game by storm. But he’s a freshman. Vernardo is not. This guy is college basketball’s best shot-blocker. He has some of the longest arms you’ve ever seen. And he is going to get some help at MSU with Renardo Sidney coming to town.

Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Kentucky. This is by default. If Tennessee can win the conference, then it will be Bruce Pearl. But Kentucky is just incredibly good. Hard to see them losing to anyone other the two teams previously mentioned. Those two will lose some others.

Josh Tabb has left the Tennessee Volunteer men’s basketball team after being suspended indefinitely by Pearl for the infamous “violation of team rules.”

Tabb, who stands 6′4″ and weighs 196lbs, was an extremely talented guard who started 11 games for the Vols last season. He ranked third on the team – and best amongst guards – for field-goal percentage at 50.6 percent and easily led the team with a 42.4 three-point percentage, though he only attempted 33.

He also recorded an impressive 1.7 assists-to-turnover ratio and 24 steals.

Statistically, this reduces Tennessee’s returning scoring to 93.06 percent and keeps them in first place in the league, while they now return 89.66 percent of their rebounding – second, behind Vanderbilt.

More importantly, however, the Vols lose a potential threat from behind the arc and have even less depth in the back-court. Only four guards remain on the team, and none arrive on scholarship.

This might even out the field a bit in the SEC, as Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and even Kentucky seem to have a better shot at toppling the Vols for the league title.

As for the national implications, this severe lack of guard depth might cost the team a deep run in March, as uni-dimensional teams tend not to fare well in the Big Dance.

One thing is for certain: this team can not afford any injuries or suspensions of any kind to any of its guards in 2009-10.

The pile of drool that has become Kentucky basketball this offseason has overshadowed a lurking menace to the SEC in the form of Bruce Pearl’s Volunteers.

I personally see very few arguments against the Vols being the heavy favorites in the SEC East. The Vols return every major contributor from last year’s SEC East co-title team, add a talented newcomer, and have possibly the best coaching staff in the league.

Unlike the Wildcats, the Vols’ preseason rankings—that all seem to be hovering around 10th—are deserved.

Pearl is an offensive coach, and this is well understood. He also likes his guards.

Both of these began to appear to be too obvious to Vols fans last season, as the team struggled to shut down opponents defensively and when the guards couldn’t live up to their end of the bargain, their own offense collapsed.

In fact, in a Bruce Pearl oddity, it was the big men who carried Tennessee in 2008-09.

The Vols were physical and rebounded well, but struggled with ball-handling and shooting. Highly-touted freshman Scotty Hopson didn’t live up to expectations and only one [backup] player averaged more than a third of their three-point attempts.

Despite the struggles in specific areas of the game, the Volunteers pushed their way into the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round.

The offseason wasn’t kind to the Vols, as their second potential all-star freshman Emmanuel Negedu went down to a heart condition and most assume his basketball career is over.

Josh Tabb, one of the most potential-filled players on the roster, was also suspended in September for an unspecified amount of time so he can “focus on academics”. Look for his situation to be reassessed in December.

The Vols’ recruits this season could help fill that void.

Kenny Hall
(No. 54 overall—No. 11 PF—6′9″—215lbs)

Hall is a versatile big-man. He’s quick and has a limited face-up game, and is a competent shot-blocker.

His work ethic and competitive attitude make him stand out, and he should help with the Vols’ depth under the basket this season.

While depth nor talent will be an issue for Pearl this season, the team needs to click on both offense and defense. An extra season with nearly the exact same players should help.

Tyler Smith —6′7″, 215lb Senior SF
(17.4 PPG—5.8 RPG—1.63 A/TO—43.9% FG)

Smith is as close to as unclassifiable as is physically possible. The only thing he surely is NOT is a center. Past that, take your best guess.

He is an ultra-reliable player in every respect. He has an unlimited supply of energy and competitiveness, and is a dominating leader on the floor.

I’m a number Nazi, I admit this. But Smith is the only case in which I will shamelessly say his impact and ability hugely outstretches his efficiency.

He’s the best ball-handling big(ish) man in the conference, and he is likely the smartest player in the league as well.

As Tyler Smith goes, the Vols go. He was named First-Team All-SEC this preseason, and will make a push for SEC Player of the Year.

Wayne Chism —6′9″, 246lb Senior PF
(13.7 PPG—8.0 RPG—46.6% FG—32.0% 3PT)

Chism is easily amongst the most underrated players in the SEC. He ranks in the league’s top 10 most efficient scorers, outranking even Tyler Smith. He’s the third-most efficient returning rebounder. And that’s just what the numbers can say.

Chism is dynamic and a massive mismatch for opponents. With his size, defenders tend to give him space at range, despite his numbers, and he more often than not makes them pay.

Chism is a game-changer overshadowed by game-changers. He should be a crucial piece of the puzzle for the Volunteers this season.

J.P. Prince —6′7″, 205lb Senior PG
(9.9 PPG—4.2 RPG—57.2% FG—1.49 A/TO)

Prince is a slasher by default, as only 24 of his 222 attempts last season were from behind the arc. Good thing, though, as only three of those went in.

He’s an explosive and athletic scorer, with speed and ball-handling skills. He’s also a very talented on-ball defender and capable rebounder.

Prince plays an important role for the Vols, and should continue to do so this season.

Scotty Hopson —6′7″, 200lb Sophomore SG
(9.2 PPG—2.7 RPG—42.8% FG—35.7% 3PT)

Hopson wasn’t the one-and-done talent most expected, and the Vols needed, him to be a year ago.

Not only did he disappoint to some degree, he also limited team chemistry as a ball-hog. He attempted more threes than any other team member, despite making just 35.7 percent of them. His effort from the floor also left much to be desired.

Hopson needs to step up his effort on the defensive end of the floor and either shoot more reliably or become more of a team-player to keep from becoming a liability while on the floor.

Bobby Maze —6′3″, 195lb Senior PG
(8.2 PPG—2.4 RPG—2.02 A/TO—109 AST)

Most pointed to point-guard play as the weakness for the Vols in 2008-09, and this wasn’t the case for the most part.

In fact, Maze ranked second in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio and ninth in average assists.

He did, however, tend to shoot first and pass second. If either Smith or Chism wasn’t available on the inside, he tended to shoot the ball a bit too often considering his lack of game-changing ability from that distance.

Maze should be solid for the Vols once again, though he needs to be more aware of the off-ball movements of his guards to maximize his team’s offensive fluidity.

Cameron Tatum —6′6″, 197lb Sophomore SF
(7.6 PPG—2.2 RPG—41.9% FG—32.1% 3PT)

Tatum is merely a roleplayer who gives his teammates some breathing time. His decision-making is suspect, his shooting is weak, and his effort level is questionable.

Tatum has a while to go before he can contribute to any degree on this talent-laden team.

Brian Williams —6′10″, 278lb Junior C
(5.0 PPG—5.6 RPG—53.8% FG—20 BLK)

Williams is yet another thoroughly talented big-man that Pearl has filtered into the program, though not as versatile as the others. Williams’ range is limited to near the basket—as most centers’ are—and his rebounding is literally the most prolific and efficient in the league.

His sheer size is no doubt his strength. If he could work on his free-throw percentage, he could be a star for the Orange.

Josh Tabb —6′4″, 195lb Senior PG
(3.4 PPG—1.8 RPG—50.6% FG—42.4% 3PT)

As I mentioned earlier, Tabb could be Tennessee’s most potential-laden player. His stroke is phenomenal, but his motivation is lacking.

His effort is poor and his work ethic isn’t great. If he would put his head into the game, he could be an X-Factor for the Vols.

Renaldo Woolridge —6′8″, 208lb Sophomore SF
(2.6 PPG—1.3 RPG—1.55 A/TO—31.1% FG)

Woolridge provides some depth off the bench and handles the ball well, but does very little else.

Melvin Goins —5′11″, 195lb Junior PG
(Transfer from Ball State)

Goins looks to provide competition for Maze at the starting point-guard spot. He is a pass-first point, who plays selflessly and has great awareness on fast-breaks. He’s also more adept than Maze at defending in the press-style defense, which Pearl plans on employing more this season.

Goins could very well become the Vols’ starting point-guard by SEC play.

The Volunteers have so many playmakers on the squad, that very well could be their weakness. With that number of players willing and able to score, it could be holding back the team’s chemistry.

Schedule Breakdown

Cupcakes : Austin Peay (H), UNC Asheville (H), East Carolina (N), College of Charleston (H), East Tennessee St. (H), Middle Tennessee St. (N), Wyoming (H), North Carolina A&T (H), Charlotte (H)

Real Games : USC (A)

Marquee Matchups : Memphis (A), Kansas (H)

Opposite Division : Auburn (H), Ole Miss (H), Alabama (A), LSU (A), Arkansas (H), Mississippi State (A)

Predicted Result : (24-4, 13-3), NCAA Tournament

Analysis : The Vols’ strength of schedule decreased a good bit this season from last season, with the non-conference losing a good number of high-powered mid-majors. There’s only one truly difficult non-conference game, with the Jayhawks coming to Knoxville, and the SEC schedule sets up nicely for an SEC title run.

What’s Returning

Points : 97.30 percent (1st—SEC Avg: 73.81 percent)

Rebounds : 94.50 percent (1st—SEC Avg: 75.80 percent) 

Outlook

This team has the pieces to make an NCAA Championship run. The talent is there. The depth is there.

The trick will be for those pieces to fit together.

For that to happen, a long-distance threat or two will need to emerge, and consistent pass-first point-guard play must emerge.

If it does, the nation could turn orange in April.

I can't do KKK jokes? But I have so many!!

09-24-09 – In the final installment of “Coaches Gone Wild”, we’re treated to a true ‘Pearl of Wisdom’.  If Bruce Pearl thought his job was tough before throwing around race jokes at charity events, the next few months should prove to be several times worse.  Pearl, the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, was one of the featured speakers at a kickoff for charity fundraiser among Tennessee Valley Authority employees.  He took questions from the crowd, and one person asked him about his three new players this year. Part of his response was as follows:

“I’ve got a tough job. I’ve got to put these guys from different worlds together, right? I’ve got guys from Chicago, Detroit. I’m talking about the hood! And I’ve got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood!” Pearl said. After a pause, he added, “That wasn’t part of the script.”

Bruce Pearl: The V is for Volatile

  The Apology:

“This morning while speaking at a private kick-off event for a great organization that benefits many local charities, I made a statement in jest to describe the diverse group our staff recruits year-in and year-out.

“Unfortunately while I was trying to excite the crowd and encourage employees to give, I made an inappropriate joke. I certainly did not intend to offend anyone and I apologize to everyone, especially the people of Grainger County.

“In no way am I trying to justify what I said, but I’m disappointed that the focus has been placed on me rather than the charities I was there to help. My only hope is that the visibility of this mistake will encourage those who can to give to those in need during these difficult times.”

Can you tell which one had to where a costume to look like a dog?

The man is charismatic, there’s no denying that, as evidenced in the photo where he painted a “V” on his chest in support of the Lady Vols.  He’s a great motivator and speaker, apparently knowing his audience there in Tennessee to a fault.  Even the folks from the county to which Pearl refers, Grainger, didn’t have a problem with the comment and laughed it off, saying they understood it to be a joke.  That’s fine, I guess, but what about the kids he referred to from “the hood”?  So far we haven’t heard from them, and I doubt we will, but I’m curious to know what they think.

After further review, Bruce Pearl seems to be getting a free pass and that really worries me.  It shouldn’t be ok for a coach to slip up and draw race cards to excite the crowd.  The fact that the crowd enabled the joke to succeed, at a charity event, is pretty scary as well… but that’s a different story for a different day.  I just hope Bruce Pearl can think of better ways in the future of getting his audience to donate to charity.

Bruce Pearl tries his latest standup act.

What’s with these lime-jello colored uniforms?  Jello shot anyone?

Make sure to check out Sako’s picks.He went 21-4 this week, and will release his MoonDog Can’t Miss winner later this week.

For all you Blake Griffin fans, here’s something you must have and you can. It’s currently on Ebay as item #220485853324.

Bruce Pearl might be the strangest man in all of college sports. This guy is always trying to get a laugh. It just seems he usually is not funny.

His recent comment and a sports banquet has raised a few eyebrows. Pearl was talking about how hard it is to manage such a diverse team and said the following:

“I’ve got a tough job. I’ve got to put these guys from different worlds together, right? I’ve got guys from Chicago, Detroit … I’m talking about the ‘hood! And I’ve got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood.”

Uh, what?!?!

Ok, so apparently Grainger County is a hot bed for KKK socials? And, how do we come to know that? From a Jewish basketball coach. Is that how he knows? Has he had some rough trips to this county?

Now, i don’t know if it was inapropriate or not. But, maybe he could have got a few laughs some other way. Come on Bruce! Grainger County supports you…on game days at least. Don’t be hatin! And, stop being so awkward.

YouTube – Bruce Pearl controversial KKK joke – Pearl apologizes.

You have probably seen this all over the news, but I wanted to provide the video so you could see it yourselves.

While I do agree that Coach Pearl usually speaks before he thinks (often), I also see how this was not intended in a harmful way and may have been blown way out of proportion.

He has apologized-let’s all move on!

This is Martellus Bennett of the Dallas Cowboys hosting the black olympics featuring the Kool Aid drinking contest, chicken eating contest and the watermelon eating contest.

Is this video racist?  I don’t think so, because I also found the Asian Olympics here.

Here’s the Mexican Olympics, the most racist one out there.

Once again, ESPN stirred up a controversy just so it can report on something.  Personally I’d like to see them report on their own Erin Andrews getting caught naked at a hotel room.

OWNED

Of course this isn’t the first time Erin Andrews has been violated.  Bruce Pearl likes what he sees.

Coach Pearl receives a well-earned contract extension.

After leading the Vols to three SEC East championships in the past four years, it was announced today by the University of Tennessee that basketball head coach Bruce Pearl would be receiving a one year extension on his contract that also laid out an increased compensation package.

The contract extension will see Coach Pearl’s salary rise to $1.9 million annually, with an added $500,000 longevity bonus raising it to $2.4 million.  On the subject of his extension, Pearl had this to say:

I am grateful to President Simek, the Board of Trustees, Athletic Director Mike Hamilton, my staff and of course our players. I appreciate the Tennessee fans everywhere for the support they have shown our team.  The University of Tennessee has so much to offer – from great academic programs to incredible athletic resources to the most passionate fans in the country. I look forward to being the men’s basketball coach at Tennessee for many more years.

In five years, Coach Pearl has been able to accomplish so much for the Basket-Vols, including their first No. 1 ranking, an overall SEC Championship, and four straight NCAA tournament appearances to go with an average of twenty-five wins per season.

More than that, though, is the fact that Bruce has revitalized Tennessee basketball, bringing the program out of obsurity and thrusting it into the national spotlight.  He gave us something to cheer for when Fulmer had us in agony.  He brought a spark to Tennessee atheletics, and for that, I am forever grateful.

This extension should be viewed as a token of our gratitude for a job well done.  Keep it up, Coach.

This is the final installment of our series today.  We don’t know enough about the hockey coaches to do a post on them and we couldn’t even name one soccer coach.  Besides, we never played soccer.  So, this is the last one before we go into holiday programming.  Oh, and one more POI after this.

1.)  Bruce Pearl – We know he’s a slimeball recruiter.  That doesn’t have anything to do with wanting to play for him.  This guy has more fun at his job than any other coach in sports… except maybe Pete Carroll.  The orange jacket.  The body paint.  The infamous Erin Andrews hug.  All of those combine to make him the best guy to play for in college hoops.  No, he hasn’t won anything yet.  But we bet he makes it to a Final Four in the next 5 seasons.

2.)  John Wooden - Do we really need to explain ourselves here?  This guy managed to keep Bill Walton focused enough in college to be (probably) the best college basketball player of all time.  We love winners.  Wooden is the great of all time, quite possibly the greatest in all of sports.  We’d play for the Wizard of Westwood.  Especially at UCLA with all that Hollywood tail running around.

3.)  Bobby Knight – The common phrase we hear is that, “I love what Knight does, but I wouldn’t want my kid playing for him.”  We’d play for Knight.  Fundamentals.  Check.  Intensity.  Over-check.  Winner.  Check.  He’s got it all.  And even though he’s a but psychotic and he might have to choke a bitch, Knight would still be one of the best guys you could play for.  If you had desire to go to the next level, Knight could take you there.

4.)  Coach K – As much as Dickie V has gotten us to despise the Dookies in the last few years, we still have great respect for the guy that single-handedly built the program.  He’s a Knight disciple so that helps too.  One of the only few guys that has won back to back titles.  And, we’ve got a little Polish in us, plus Mike is a Chicago native.  Be easy for him to recruit us…if we had been a McDonald’s All-American.

5.)  Dean Smith – Before there was Roy at Chapel Hill, there was the Dean of Basketball.  Coaching Michael Jordan in college?  You better believe that’s a draw.  Plus, a UNC education and all of the southern belles walking around that campus?  Sign us up.  Prior to Knight, he was the all-time wins leader.  Yeah, he only captured two titles and needed Jordan for one of them.  So what?  Dean ranks in the top five without question.

Honorable Mention: Tom Davis, Jim Calhoun, Lute Olsen.

Xavier Henry will be staying at KU and that is “final.” Thank goodness. I am tired of hearing the Henry-to-UK rumors and as good as Henry is, I don’t think much of a player who throws a fit so big that his coach has to fly out and calm him down. I might be being a bit too hard on an 18 year old, but the fact remains that this was the messiest recruitment outside of Lance Stephenson.

Bruce Pearl is working his way into more money. I hope that the contract matches his recruiting – looks good, but under-performs. I kid, you Vols, I kid.

Calipari has extended a scholarship offer to Perry Ellis. Calipari had recruited the center while at Memphis. Ellis is a sophomore, so the scholarship offer may seem premature; however, he has already been named Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and he consistently blows people away with his performance. Not surprisingly, Ellis also holds an offer from Kansas.

College football goes all high-brow and political. Well, sort of. The Senata wants to look into anti-trust issues surrounding the BCS. I will look into these issues, too, for you, but not tonight because tonight I have other work to do.

Larry Winterland reminds us all the UK does in fact have a football team. A pretty decent football team, led by the hard-charging bulldog that is Rich Brooks (Coach Brooks, I say those words with the utmost respect). While it is easy to forget about the Football Wildcats going for their 4th straight bowl appearance (and hopefully upset Tennessee! Come on, let’s show Lane  Kiffin what’s what…maybe this will remain my fantasy), we shouldn’t succumb to the basketball peer-pressure. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely excited and ready for Midnight Madness to kick things off, but that’s a ways away, and college football is a great distraction.

FSU really doesn’t want to give up those wins. Bowden will not bow down (get it!). I covered this early (my first Phoenix Pub post, aw, the memories…), and given the language the NCAA used in their last letter, I sincerely doubt that FSU will be making much headway (probably more headache, honestly) with all of these appeals.

UK fans, tonight is feel good night.

Do you want to feel a tug at your heart strings over how Coach Cal holds onto his roots and stays humble? Here is  the story for you.

Do you want to smile over how the incoming freshmen are enjoying their time at UK, becoming friends and becoming a cohesive team? Calipari waxed poetic over the team, how they’re working and how they can meld as a team even without Meeks.

Do you want to hear Bruce Pearl talk about how John Calipari raises the bar for the entire SEC? Today is your luck day.

Do you want to read about how Jodie Meeks was drafted far too low, how he will make an impact in the NBA, and how the Bucks made a steal of a pick? Voila.

Yeah, Cal, we’re all smiling now.

John Calipari, cheesin' it up.

Was it a wrong turn at Albuquerque?

Manny Ramirez made a rehab start last night in Albuquerque, going 0-2 and staying mum about his drug violation bust. Thanks for continuing to be a stand-up guy! Seriously, has anyone ever given a damn less about what people think than Manny? The guy is a joke. He does what he pleases, shows up to the park in a uniform so baggy it looks like a kid wearing daddy’s clothes, and apologizes for absolutely nothing. Worse yet: nobody cares. The Dodgers will keep paying him, the fickle Dodger fans will adore him, he’ll hit a bunch of home runs and be in the postseason again. I’d like to be an athlete, because apparently accountability isn’t necessary. Just ask Mark McGwire or Barry Bonds.

A new Kings chant will be born: Ru-Bee-ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! (here’s a link for the uninitiated)

Ricky Rubio during his stint at point guard for the Spain National team. Picture by user Rich115 on Flickr.

My appeal to Geoff  Petrie: Please please please please please please please don’t screw this up. The No. 4 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft could be used on a variety of players, including Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio, punishing hybrid guard Tyreke Evans, or defensive specialist Hasheem Thabeet (if he falls that far – not likely). Aside from having awesome names, these three guys appear destined to be difference makers in the NBA. For my money, I’d like to see the Kings take Rubio. He’s a fantastic passer (which was a requirement for point guards last time I checked) and has played with men on an international stage in the Olympics. He may take some time to adjust to the Association, but he has tremendous upside. Evans wouldn’t be a horrible pick – I like his toughness and raw talent. I just don’t want to see Petrie make some stupid reach for a player that should be going at No. 24 instead of No. 4 (are you listening Al Davis?). I also don’t like Minnesota’s stockpiling of draft picks – not only are they poised to stockpile young talent, they might be about to move up to grab Thabeet or Rubio.

Perhaps he will divulge some Pearls of wisdom?

Speaking of the draft, NBA TV did a smart thing and hired Tennessee Men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl as an analyst for its draft coverage. Pearl has got to be one of my favorite coaches ever. He’s a great speaker, great motivator, and a pretty darn good coach, having already made it to a few Sweet 16s and being name SEC Coach of the Year twice. But what makes Pearl my favorite dude is all of his non-basketball shenanigans. He’s showed up shirtless and painted in orange for a Tennessee woman’s basketball game for the fun of it, has sweated through shirts and sports jackets on the sidelines, felt up ESPN sideline reporter (and former Florida Gator dancer) Erin Andrews, and has a very nice-looking fiancé. This year, Pearl will also coach the U.S. men’s basketball team in the World Maccabiah Games, a Jewish Olympics of sort (no, really), as he is a practicing Jew. I also love the fact that he occasionally rocks the ridiculous orange blazers on the sideline. The man certainly has a lot of chutzpah.

Let’s jump in head first:

Sharing a vision, sharing a Twitter account

1. UK President Lee Todd will be guest twittering for John Calipari this week. He promises:

Today I will highlight some interesting, insightful and fun facts about Kentucky’s flagship, land-grant university.

I am picturing the looks in UK fans faces when they wake up to twitters full of facts about the university and not a whisper about anything even vaguely tied to basketball.

2. There are two guys whose primary focus is recruiting who do a truly outstanding job from the perspective of a UK fan: Jody Demling (Courier Journal) and Dustin Rumbaugh (KentuckySportsRadio). According to Demling, things with Joe Jackson, a small but talented point guard out of Memphis, TN, are getting complicated. Once, a long time ago, Joe Jackson would tell anyone who asked that UK, UMemphis, and UTenn were his top three choices. Now…the field is wide open. Joe goes on to say that UK’s target of Brandon Knight and their current packed roster give him second thoughts.

OK, I know that kids are out to get the best situation for themselves. That makes a lot of sense. If you’re a point guard, you don’t want to go to a program that may have 3 guards ahead of you. At UK, this would be a real possibility for Jackson IF Brandon Knight signed (big if) and IF John Wall stayed two years (he keeps mentioning this possibility in interviews all the time, but I don’t put any stock in it). Throw Bledsoe in there (he’s been blowing people away at practice, and he’s expected to stay 3-4 years), and you really do have 3 guards that’ll see time before Jackson does.

However, I’ve always been turned off by the playing time complaint. I get it from a pragmatic point of view, but in some cases, it’s just a kid who wants all the focus right off the bat. One thing that made me think that Bledsoe was going to be a real contributer at UK was his dedication to fighting Wall for minutes. Bledsoe has said numerous times that practicing against the number one ranked point guard could only make him better (it’d be like practicing a pro every night, he said in one interview). Bledsoe’s stock had risen all throughout his senior year, and now that he’s in Lexington, he’s been exceling on the court. The guy has grit and a lot of fight in him.

I don’t mean to compare the situations. When Bledsoe signed, the only people he’d be fighting for minutes would be Liggins and maybe Galloway. Wall was looking like a strong possibility, but Bledsoe was UK’s only true point guard. Even now, Bledsoe is only one of two true point guards. The situations are different, but I can’t help but react a little to Jackson’s statements, especially given how a point guard UK courted just this past year responded to similar pressure.

3. Rumors are flying the Earl Clark of Louisville may have been guarenteed the Phoenix Sun’s 14 pick. Adding to those rumors is the news that Clark skipped his workout with the Bulls. The Bulls have the 16 pick, and it looks like Clark is counting on being pulled before then.

4. Bruce Pearl drops another pearl of wisdom, telling fans that in the NBA draft, Blake Griffin will be picked first and then, in some order, Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden, Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, and Jordan Hill. Gee thanks. I would have never guessed that these guys would be lottery picks. Regardless of the “any order” he does seem to think that they will be picked in that order, or some over-zealous copy editor tacked on team names for no good reason. In this case, Stephen Curry going to Minnesota could hurt Jodie Meeks’s chances at landing their 28 pick.

Anyway, I know I can’t speak for everyone, but I for one am on the edge of my seat, waiting for more indepth analysis from Coach Pearl.

1. I want to wish a very hearty CONGRATULATIONS to Darius Miller for making Team USA. It’s a great accomplishment. KSR also has a story on this, as to be expected of something call its self “KENTUCKY Sports Radio.”

2. Since the departure of Meeks, the message-board-o-sphere has been awash in talk over whether Meeks could still come back if he found the draft a less than hospitable environment. Provided Meeks does nothing to jeopardize his amatuer status (you know, like signing an agent), he could come back fine. I suppose a lot of this talk is born of fans remembering Randolph Morris and his strange flirtation with the NBA draft. Still, I feel that fans should just accept that Meeks is gone and wish him the best in this draft. Jodie’s remarks since leaving UK have been nothing but positive towards the team, the school, and new Coach Calipari. However, he has invested a lot in this draft, and coming back to school would not be the scenario that he feels is best for him, at all. Why should we want to have a player who wants so much to be somewhere else? It doesn’t help us, it doesn’t help him, and it hurts UK’s image as a place where players can successfully transition to the NBA. I can’t wait to see Meeks play again, but Ihope for him that he is wearing the uniform of an NBA team when that happens.

3. Alright, more and more Lance Stephenson stories are coming out. His decision may come within the next 2 weeks (yeah, where have we heard that before?). I want to devote more time to this story, but without a doubt, Lance is a great talent. How that is affected by all his baggage is something to consider, though. Just know that soon we’ll know if Lance is bound for Europe, Memphis, Arizona, Maryland, or some other program (I can’t even keep up with this kid’s list any more, it keeps changing).

4. Here’s something that might give you nightmares – Bruce Pearl on a national platform. Check out this bone-chilling tweet:

NBA tv invited me to be a draft analyst next week. I will be working with Kenny Smith and Steve Smith. Yes I will have a shirt on.

Well, all I can say is, “God bless that brave shirt!”

This has nothing to do with music, even though I’ll probably add some vaguely non sequitor clip to the end of this post. I just thought I’d put a cheerful face on something that is, when you boil it down to its core, a big fat gamble: new coaches. The coaching carousel, as it is often known, features not only mildly creepy fairgrounds music, but also an intoxicating mix of excitement for the next season and dread of a total flop. As an aside, college sports is almost all on baseball right now, so this is the best I can do until more NBA draft news or scandals or something comes out.

Turns out, this post is a doozy, so I’m splitting it up in two: East and West.

SEC Men’s Basketball – East:

Florida – This is going to be Billy Donovan’s 13th year with the Gators, and…OK look, I’m going to cut the bull. I have no idea, no wait, less than no idea about what is going on with him and his program. Donovan is a fine coach who lucked out with a real “lightning in a bottle” team. It is hard to top that. Yet, the saga of BillyD is not clear cut. He said he’d coach the Magic, and then backed out last minute. He expressed interest in the coaching position at UK twice, and never followed through. Students have left, one has come back, and Calathes is going to Greece (OK, that might not be on Donovan, honestly, none of this might be on Donovan, but it is pretty confusing). Now, his recruiting this past year was erratic and so far Florida is left without a good incoming point guard.

Georga – This will be Mark Fox’s first year after coming to Georgia from the University of Nevada. He was hired after Dennis Felton had a less than inspiring season and was “let go.” At Nevada, Fox was able to bring the team to the NCAA tournament 3 years running. The past two years ended in CBI bids. Georgia is predominantly a football school, and if Fox can adjust to the SEC, he should be a fine fit for the program.

Kentucky – John Calipari is another new-comer to the SEC, all the way from sunny, sunny C-USA. His incredible talent for recruiting, coupled with UK’s tradition, program, and facilities managed to lure in the number 1 recruiting class, led by John Wall (but let’s not forget Eric Bledsoe, Demarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Jon Hood, and Darnell Dodson). Coach Cal brings with him incredible skill for marketing, solid coaching, and unfortunately…some baggage. The situation at Memphis looks very bad for women’s golf, but it doesn’t look hot for men’s basketball. Given the allegations of misconduct on the part of Rose’s high school, I believe it’s likely that Coach Calipari and the staff had nothing to do with the academic fraud charge. Still, coupled with the Marcus Camby situation at UMass, Coach Calipari cannot afford to have a second stripped NCAA Final Four appearance. I don’t think this is anything ominous for Kentucky, I do think that Coach Calipari is an amazing fit at UK, but this is an interesting story.

South Carolina – Darrin Horn has just finished his first year with the Fighting ‘Cocks. He previously coached at Western Kentucky, leading them to the NCAA tournament. I have some homerism here, given that Horn coached in the state of Kentucky for almost his entire career, played for Western Kentucky, and grew  up in Kentucky. So, I’ll be rooting for him whenever South Carolina isn’t playing UK. While South Carolina went to the NIT last year, they were 10-6 in the SEC and 21-10 overall, pretty good record for that program. We’ll see what he brings to the court this year.

Tennessee – Bruce Pearl is starting on his 5th year at Tennessee. He has odd tastes in blazers, he lets people video tape him rapping, and he has a strange swagger about him, still, you can’t deny that Tennessee has been a consistent tournament presence since he’s arrived. True, Jodie Meeks scored 54 on his team on their home court, but Pearl’s been able to bring in talent and make plays. I love the UK-UT rivalry, and I can’t deny that his school spirit and off-the-wall persona add a little to it. Oh, and his rivalry with Calipari can only add more fuel to the fire.

Vanderbilt – As the only private school in the SEC, they stick out a bit. They’re the team everyone traditionally loved to beat up on. Unfortunately, Vanderbilt has been bringing a hurting to some top programs in recent years with insane upset victories (this is as much as I’m going to say about the UK loss). Kevin Stallings is starting his 9th year with the program. This past year was a bit of a slump, given his 26-8 record last year. It looks like Stallings needed a year to rebuild, and I think Vanderbilt could pose a threat again next year.

Part two in a bit.

This post isn’t really about words. It’s more of a compilation.

There’s a Facebook group … called our coach’s wife is hotter than your coach’s wife … started by a Vanderbilt kid. This figures; they have little to pridefully claim as their own, so it’s always grandiose appropriations the locally accessible (Nashville music scene, Layla Kiffin, Cocaine…)

And a crappy fansite (UT education at work!) …

And finally a Deadspin post where we discover that Layla was a UF Zeta … just like Erin Andrews … the same Zeta house that’s home to a onetime flame of a buddy of ours, and a residence in which I myself have ventured. Firsthand confirmation, they all look like that. Apparently the Aryan Race is headquartered in Gainesville.

There are several other Deadspin posts if you’re interested, but that one details Bruce Pearl coming on to her via the media.