This ACL plague has gone beyond a ridiculous place; it’s become terrifying. It seems like another ballplayer is succumbing to the most dreaded of knee injuries every day and it’s not letting up. We’re not talking middle-aged guys at the Y here, either – it’s getting the best athletes in the world at a frightening clip.

We’re really still trying to get over the Rajon Rondo news as word comes that another Kentucky Wildcat has become an ACL victim. Read More »

Midnight Madness begins Friday across the nation, and good luck finding a university more excited for its team than at Kentucky. If reports out of Lexington are to be believed (and I don’t doubt this insane number one bit) The Big Blue faithful claimed Rupp Arena’s 24,000 tickets in just 35 minutes last month to see the reigning national champions begin the season. The Wildcats already have their own hype anthem for this season: “Drive For 9″ by Henry Ogirri. Read More »

The NBA isn’t in Seattle anymore, of course. Not that it mattered for Terrence Ross much last summer. A year before the Washington Husky became one of the biggest risers in the NBA Draft, the league came to him. He stepped into runs that were as much a test of his pro future as much as his college present, playing against Seattle natives or former players Nate Robinson, Spencer Hawes, Nick Collison and Jamal Crawford, to name a few. When I talked with Robinson last fall about Ross, he said he walked out impressed about the young guy of the group. It was at least an important step toward making GMs impressed, too. Read More »

The NCAA champion Kentucky Wildcats won’t beat an NBA team.

They won’t beat the worst team, Charlotte, let alone its most talented, Miami. With apologies to recent comments by Larry Brown (who’s won a title in each realm), John Calipari’s team would never come close to beating 12 NBA players.

So why even pose a hypothetical when we know it’s out of the case? Because in the court of public opinion, the Wildcats may have become the Heat’s newest opponent—  and even already beat them at their own game. Read More »

Congratulations to John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats for their National Championship victory last night in New Orleans. It was undoubtedly the top highlight in an impressive career for Calipari that has spanned decades in the game.

For me though, my favorite John Calipari highlight isn’t even really about him. John Chaney is the real star of this one (Calipari’s work was behind the scenes during the game Umass and Temple had just played). Read More »

There’s a little game tonight in New Orleans for the NCAA men’s hoops title. Two big men will have a large say in its final.

Unless you’ve been in a hoops-less cave since October, you know it’s Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Kansas’ Thomas Robinson we’re talking about. The king of the block against the guy who we’re pretty sure has a master’s degree in alley-oops. Actually, it’s not just us talking — Davis has won the Wooden Award, Naishmith Award and the AP’s player of the year while Robinson was the only unanimous AP All-American. The hype has been fulfilled, and that’s a sentiment that too often isn’t the case with players expected to be dominant. Read More »

When the Kentucky Wildcats take the floor in Lexington against rival Tennessee tonight, they’ll be going into battle in their Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniforms. We were at a special unveiling of the unis last week in NYC.

Check them out after the jump and let us know what you think. Do you like them more than their traditional look? Read More »

There were a bunch of standout plays in the wild game between Ole Miss / Kentucky last night, but maybe none more impressive than Reginald Buckner’s swat on Brandon Knight’s serious dunk attempt (one of five blocks for Buckner on the night).

Make no mistake, Read More »

Rick Pitino is college basketball royalty. A living legend. Which makes it hard to fathom that — while still actively coaching a strong program in the high-profile Big East conference, and only five years removed from his most recent Final Four appearance — Pitino could somehow be overshadowed in his own state.

And yet that is the case currently for Pitino, now in his 10th season at the University of Louisville. Read More »

On the summer’s last major stage for high school basketball, the Kentucky Wildcats again couldn’t stay out of the headlines.

During halftime of the nationally-televised Elite 24 showcase at Venice Beach, Calif., Kyle Wiltjer announced his commitment to UK. The 6-9 forward from Portland, Ore., then went on to win co-MVP of the game, scoring 20 points.

If recruiting is more than half the battle in college basketball, John Calipari is setting himself up to win a war (or at least a national championship). Read More »