Trae Young wows at the Peach Jam, Kentucky back in it for DeAndre Ayton, Andrew Harrison inks an NBA deal, Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis lead the Suns, and More in a jam-packed Monday Quickies.
The Peach Jame has wrapped up and it's pretty clear who John Calipari's number one target is: Trae Young.
Yesterday Young capped off his phenomenal tournament performance by leading his Mokan Elite team to the championship, scoring 28 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He did this all against Quade Green, another elite point guard and Kentucky Wildcats prospect. Green didn't play as well, scoring nine points and nabbing six rebounds.
Young's numbers for the tournament are crazy stupid: 26.9 points, 6.6 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals. As of now, he is trending heavily toward the 'Cats and Cal made an effort to be in attendance for every game he played. Go get 'em, coach.
Tweets of the Day
There's nothing better than being on that court with my team. pic.twitter.com/7yIgAbbTSW
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 10, 2016
I don't care how we looked, it's never a bad day when I get a chance to work with our guys.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 10, 2016
Tyler Ulis' 3rd steal of the game leads to another Devin Booker 3 pointer. #BBN #Suns https://t.co/cP1pwJ35OW
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) July 11, 2016
Sweet mercy. Are these two going to be fun to watch in the NBA or what? More on them in a bit.
Quickies
UKTF Completes Olympic Team Trials - UK has concluded Olympic Trials across the world with now six Wildcats qualified for athletics events at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Former NBA star Penny Hardaway impressed by ‘unselfish’ UK recruits - "They’re both just special," Hardaway said of P.J. Washington and John Petty. "They’re special players in their own rights and their own positions." The duo helped lead Team Penny to one of the best records on the Nike circuit this spring, then took the squad all the way to the Peach Jam semifinals.
#1 Overall recruit DeAndre Ayton and his top three:
Top 3 anyone... @RealDeandreAy the Nations best hands down! #Hillcrest #HillcrestPrepHoops #nike #nikefamily pic.twitter.com/tWRhr2Y48e
— Hillcrest Prep (@Hillcrest_Hoops) July 11, 2016
After rumors that Ayton wouldn't be attending college due to academic issues, the big man told reporters that he will go to college and "it's a must". There was a time when Kansas appeared to be the only school recruiting him. Now Kentucky and Arizona are heavily in the mix. If Ayton is OK academically, then Cal needs to pull out the stops. He was great at the Peach Jam and it was clear why he is considered the top player in the class. He and Trae Young need to be priority 1 and 1a.
Michael Porter, Jr not a lock for Washington even though his dad was hired there? Yeah right- He says it's not a slam dunk and that he is still considering Virginia, Missouri, and Indiana. Not only is he dad the coach there, his younger brother has already committed to the Huskies. So, yeah he's going to be a Huskie.
John Calipari's 'next mission': eliminate contact on shooters - Rules have been implemented in recent years to promote more scoring, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Calipari's wish of a more stern rule about contact on a shooter come true. Is this another crazy Cal idea or will we see some real movement?
Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis Shine for the Suns- In an 87-74 route of the Celtics, Booker scored 24 and Ulis scored 10. But it was Ulis' overall stat line that was impressive. The SEC Player of the Year finished the night with four rebounds, five assists, and six (!) steals. The chemistry between Ulis and Booker transitioned perfectly from Kentucky and that guard combo is going to be fun to watch in the coming years. Boston's third overall pick Jaylen Brown is still struggling. He put up five points on a poor 0-6 from the field. All of his scoring came in the form of free throws.
Skal Labissiere struggles for Kings- Skal played 22 minutes but only had 4 points five rebounds. He continues to prove he will be a project for Sacramento. Willie Cauley-Stein had a solid outing with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and two blocked shots.
Kentucky football released depth chart ahead of SEC Media Days- Drew Barker is the clear starting QB. No "or" to start the season. Cole Mosier is listed ahead of much sought after JUCO left tackle Tate Levitt and George Asafo-Adjai is listed behind Ramsey Meyers at right guard. Your starting wide receivers for now are Jeff Badet, Ryan Timmons, and Garrett Johnson. Boom Williams, Jojo Kemp, and Saheim King make up your running backs, Mikel Horton is fourth on that list. Reggie Meant, Matt Elam, and Courtney Miggins make up the defensive front for now with Denzil Ware as the end/linebacker hybrid. This is a working roster and be sure that you will see some mix-ups during fall camp. I doubt this will be the exact line-up heading into the first game against Southern Miss but it will be close.
2016 Rio Olympics men’s basketball field set - The field for the men’s basketball event at the Rio Olympics is set. France, Serbia and Croatia completed the 12-team field by winning qualifying tournaments in the Philippines, Serbia and Italy Saturday and Sunday.
The Fierce Five are set for Rio- The USA Women's Gymnastic team is set and the five being sent to Rio should come as no surprise for most. Simone Biles and Aly Raisman highlight a team that will also include all-around gold winner Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian.
Kevin Durant’s decision resonates with top recruits - The past week has been dominated by the talk of NBA star Kevin Durant’s move from Oklahoma City to Golden State, a decision by one of the game’s greatest players to leave his role as the leader of a successful franchise for what is perceived to be a better shot at winning an NBA championship.
Andrew Harrison reaches deal with Memphis - Harrison made big strides for the Iowa Energy of the D-League last season and impressed the Grizzlies with his improving game, enough to land him a three-year, $3 million deal. And of course his coach was as proud as anyone:
So happy for @DrewRoc5. He's worked so hard to earn his new deal with the Grizzlies. He'll be in the league for a long time.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) July 10, 2016
James Harden signs new contract with Houston Rockets - Rockets guard James Harden has signed a new deal that will keep him with the team through the 2019-20 season, owner Leslie Alexander said Saturday.
Portugal stuns host France to win Euro 2016 - Despite the early loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal held on to stun France 1-0. Hooray?
Andy Murray's 1st Wimbledon Was for Britain, 2nd Was for Himself - It's been a rough few weeks for Britain, what with its vote to leave the European Union, the drop of the pound's value, and the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, so this was a nice win for Murray and his country.
With scandal behind them, Tar Heels find new life on recruiting trail - The Tar Heels have only signed one top 10 player in the last five recruiting classes. They’re in the running for several out of this cycle if they avoid major NCAA sanctions. Good to see them getting back on their feet (eye roll emoji).
SMU coach Larry Brown's resignation just the latest act of selfishness - Larry Brown does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. ESPN calls his latest resignation, this time walking away from SMU, proves that he is loyal to one person and one person only -- himself.
Ghostbusters Review - The Ghostbusters themselves are great, but the movie comes up lacking. My four-year-old son is a mega Ghostbusters fan, so I will be checking this out in theaters once we get back from vacation in about 2 weeks. So enjoy me while I'm here this week because you're going to miss me soon. Right? RIGHT??!!!
HBO debuts mini-series The Night Of and I'm already hooked- The true crime story about a night for a young straight-laced college student going horribly wrong pulled me in and hooked me. Check it out if you haven't already.