Kentucky basketball returns to Camp Cal. Football in Jax preparing for the TaxSlayer Bowl.
Good morning and welcome to the Tuesday Morning Quickies. I hope you all had a very happy Christmas holiday, and now that we are into the interregnum between Christmas and new years, otherwise known as “Bowl Season,” most of the news is going to be about football.
But there are also a few good basketball games on tap for this week for those who don’t care that much about the oblong game. For instance, UCLA takes on the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday, which should be a great offensive game. If you are into defense, Louisville and Virginia lace them up on Wednesday as well just before the west coasters take the court.
Thursday, of course, the Wildcats travel to Oxford for a tilt with Andy Kennedy’s Ole Miss Rebels. This will be Kentucky’s second true road game, and hopefully they have learned a lot from the loss to Louisville and “Camp Cal,” which is coincidentally back in session today.
But for Wildcats fans, everything in the next week is pointed to the TaxSlayer Bowl (formerly known as the Gator Bowl), which is at 11:00 AM on New Year’s eve, where Kentucky takes on Georgia Tech and their triple option offense. This thing should be quite a football feast, especially if you are a fan of the running game. This is the first time Kentucky has been to a Florida bowl destination since Tim Couch’s days.
Tweet of the Morning
Five-star wing Hamidou Diallo tells Scout/FOX Sports he is currently on an official visit to Kentucky.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) December 27, 2016
Sounds exciting to me.
Your Quickies:
Kentucky football
Jen Smith takes a look at Kentucky’s depth chart for the TaxSlayer Bowl. No real surprises, although Jojo Kemp appears to have moved up.
This is awesome.
Just heard a Kentucky fan tell a Louisville fan "wait till football". It's 60 degrees outside and we're talking smack about football. Lol
— Lyndsey Gough (@lgough_cn2) December 27, 2016
Tremendous feel-good/sad story about Auston MacGinnis and a dying Wildcats fan.
In case you missed it, Kentucky won a big 4-star recruiting battle over the Tennessee Volunteers.
TaxSlayer Bowl preview — Kentucky running game.
Jacksonville.com writes about two Kentucky players from Orange Park — Christ Westry and Ramsey Meyers.
Kentucky basketball
Coach Cal once again gives the correct answer about one-and-done players. Consistency is everything.
Kentucky falls to 8th after losing to Louisville. I think that’s fair.
Rick Pitino gives some nice props to Coach Cal.
Some of the nation’s top players will be in Paducah January 5th-8th for McCracken County Mustang Madness.
RealGM issues a prospect report on Malik Monk:
But more impressive, perhaps, has been Monk’s proficiency off the bounce. Even when a defender prevents a catch-and-shoot attempt, his numbers are still off the chart pulling up from mid-range. He rises off the ground quite fluidly and well balanced on stop-and-pop or step-back situations. According to hoop-math, Monk has hit 50.9% of his two-point jumpers, with less than a quarter of them assisted.
UK stock report: Kentucky is entering “Super Bowl” season.
Audio of Coach Cal’s call-in show from yesterday.
Other Kentucky sports
Evelyn Akhator has been named SEC Player of the Week by CollegeSportsMadness.com
Links posts
The Leach Report: Tuesday Wildcat Links.
College football
Former Wildcat Patrick Towles leads Boston College to a victory over Maryland in the Quick Lane Bowl.
Mississippi State blocks a last=-second field goal to take down Miami (OH) in the St. Petersburg Bowl.
Ohio State flies to the Fiesta Bowl in style.
College basketball
CBS.com notes a strange consistency in the Coaches Poll.
Other sports news
This John Wall guy, he seems to be pretty good. Who did he play for in college, again?
John Wall dishes season-high 16 assists in win over Bucks, marking his 4th game with 15+ assists this season. pic.twitter.com/SVa9X4tlkF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 27, 2016
Holy bleep indeed.
HOLY BLEEP, WILLIE CAULEY-STEIN! pic.twitter.com/4YYEI0CMIa
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) December 27, 2016
Other news
New method could aid search for life on other worlds.
What a supermassive black hole looks like consuming everything near it.
Avatar-style South Korean robot takes its first steps. The similarity is really amazing.