Isaiah Thomas To Enter His Name Into NBA Draft

SEATTLE – Washington junior guard Isaiah Thomas has decided to enter his name into the upcoming NBA Draft. The two-time first team All-Pac-10 member issued the following statement:

 

“Although it was a tough decision, I have decided to forego my senior season and enter my name into this year’s NBA draft.  At this time I will not hire an agent.  Over the past 3 years I've enjoyed every single minute of my Washington Husky career.  I am very thankful to have played for a great coach like Coach Romar and our entire coaching staff. I have just over two quarter left to earn my degree, and I fully plan on finishing school. Also, I would like to take the time to thank all of my teammates and Husky fans for their support and the unforgettable memories.  Go Dawgs!”

 

Coach Lorenzo Romar, who is in Houston for the NCAA Final Four, issued the following statement:

 

“Isaiah Thomas has had an unbelievable impact on our program during his time with us. We will definitely miss him, but we are behind him in his quest to fulfill a lifelong dream to play in the NBA.”

 

Thomas (Tacoma, Wash./Curtis HS/South Kent Prep [Conn.]), an honorable mention Associated Press All-American after averaging 16.8 points and 6.1 assists per game for the Huskies during their 2010-11 campaign, led the Pac-10 in assists, ranked fourth in scoring, 8th in steals (1.3 spg) and 8th in three-point makes per game (1.7). His 213 assists are the second most in UW single-season history.

Thomas helped the Huskies to their second-consecutive Pac-10 tournament championship and a 24-11 overall record. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament for a second time, joining Arizona's Sean Elliott as the only two-time winner.

Thomas also led Washington with 15.5 points and 7.5 assists in the Huskies two NCAA tournament games.

Thomas ended his junior season ranked among the Huskies all-time leader in points (1,721/6th), assists (415/3rd), 3-point makes (164/3rd) and steals (122/8th). 

 

 

Tyler Honeycutt Declares For NBA draft

By Victoria Sun 
FOXSportsWest.com

The UCLA men's basketball team lost one of its key contributors on Monday when Tyler Honeycutt announced he would be turning pro.

The Los Angeles native said he made up his mind Sunday after talking with his family, advisors and coaches.

"We finished out on a good year, for the most part I finished strong and I'm pretty hot right now and I feel this year being considered a weak draft is a good reason to leave," Honeycutt said via a teleconference Monday afternoon. "The biggest factor that would keep me from going is the team next year and how good we could be.

"We could be a great team, but I feel like what's best for me is to leave this year."

Honeycutt averaged 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a sophomore this season for the Bruins. The 6-foot-8 forward led or tied for the team lead in rebounding in 10 games and shot 36.2 percent from 3-point range.

foxsportswest.com: Tyler Honeycutt Declares For NBA Draft

UCLA Pauley Pavilion Original Center Court Jump Circle Up For Auction

Laguna Niguel, Calif. (March 16, 2011) -- One of the most important pieces of basketball history ever offered at public auction, the original (1965-82) UCLA Pauley Pavilion center court section (jump circle), will be part of an internet auction presented by SCP Auctions, it was announced.  Bidding will be open to registered bidders on www.scpauctions.com on Friday, April 15 and conclude on Saturday, April 30. 

Measuring 12 feet in diameter, this original round section of the Pauley Pavilion court was ground zero for one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports for 17 seasons. Home to UCLA athletic teams since 1965, the original court was the home of eight NCAA men’s national championship teams and the Bruins’ first women’s NCAA national championship team in 1978.

Since its replacement in 1982, the original Pauley Pavilion jump circle has been carefully preserved in storage. In 1998, it was displayed as the centerpiece for an event held in Pauley Pavilion, attended by the legendary coach John Wooden and dozens of former UCLA greats, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Sidney Wicks and Walt Hazzard. Wooden and each of the players in attendance signed the original jump circle, knowing it would later be sold at auction by a UCLA alum that chooses to remain anonymous. A large portion of the proceeds from the sale will be dedicated to funding medical research.

The first basketball game played at Pauley Pavilion was Nov. 27, 1965. In the scrimmage, the Bruins’ varsity team, led by guard Mike Warren, lost to an amazing freshman squad featuring Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), who came to UCLA in large part due to the construction of a new arena.

In the decades that followed, some of the top names in the history of college basketball, including Walton, Wicks, Marques Johnson, Ann Meyers, Denise Curry and Pete Maravich, and coaches such as Wooden, Dean Smith and Denny Crum, graced the court at Pauley.

Nothing enhanced Pauley's reputation as arguably the nation's most famous collegiate sporting venue more than the tenure of Wooden. “The Wizard of Westwood” as Wooden was known, built an incomparable basketball dynasty at UCLA against which all others are compared, and usually pale. His UCLA teams won 10 national championships in a 12-season stretch from 1964 to 1975. This court was home to 8 of those 10 UCLA titles under Coach Wooden including 7 consecutive (1966-73).

From 1971-74, UCLA won 88 consecutive games, still the NCAA men’s record. Four of Wooden’s teams finished with 30-0 records, including his first championship team, which featured no starters taller than 6-feet-5. Three of his other championship teams were anchored by Alcindor, the 7-foot-2 center. Two others were led by Walton, a three-time national player of the year.

The original jump circle offered by SCP Auctions remained in Pauley from its opening in 1965 until its replacement in May 1982. During those 17 seasons, the most memorable events in UCLA basketball history, and some of the greatest records in NCAA sports were set. These include:

• - Eight of ten of UCLA's NCAA championship seasons under Coach John Wooden including seven consecutive (1966-73)
• - A combined record of 148-2 under Wooden
• - A stretch of 98 consecutives home victories for UCLA men's basketball
• - Wooden's last coaching appearance at home on March 1, 1975
• - UCLA's first women's national basketball championship in 1978

SCP Auctions, Inc., has been a leader in auctions and private sales of important sports memorabilia and cards since 1979. The Southern California-based firm has handled some of the most significant individual items and prominent collections in their field, such as the record-setting sale of the T206 Honus Wagner card graded PSA 8 (sold for $2.8 million), Babe Ruth's bat used to hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium (sold for $1.265 million), The original 1919 Contract of Sale of Babe Ruth from the Red Sox to the Yankees (sold for $996,000), and the private collections of Hall of Famers such as Honus Wagner, Tony Lazzeri, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Casey Stengel, Pee Wee Reese, and Ernie Banks. For more information, visit www.scpauctions.com or call (800) 350-2273.

###

Coach John Calipari Teams up with Mike Gottfried and Team Focus to Bring Mentoring Program to Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky Basketball Coach John Calipari and former college football college and TV analyst Mike Gottfried today announced Calipari’s commitment to Gottfried’s decade-old Team Focus Program. A comprehensive, year-round community and outreach program started by Gottfried and his wife, Mickey, in 2000, Team Focus provides fatherless young men (ages 10 – 18) with life skills and a mentor relationship.

“This is something Coach Gottfried and I have been talking about for quite a while now and we’re excited to kick off what I know will be an important link between the Calipari Family Foundation for Children and thousands of young men throughout the Commonwealth,” Coach Calipari said. “Ellen and I are constantly looking for alliances that serve our mission of helping underprivileged children in both Kentucky and Memphis.”

With the CFFC’s initial pledge of $50,000 to Team Focus, Coach Gottfried and Coach Calipari will launch a Team Focus Chapter immediately here in Lexington to begin locating deserving young men right away and sending them to a leadership camp this summer. A local camp will begin in the summer of 2011 (details to follow later this year). The CFFC has made an initial five-year commitment.

“Growing up without a father around and knowing what it feels like, I have a desire to provide a place for young men from everywhere to come and be encouraged, motivated, and challenged,” said coach Gottfried, whose Lexington-area ties go back to his head coaching days at both Murray State (1978-80) and the University of Cincinnati (1981-82). “When my father died on April 3, 1956, my whole life changed. We were three boys and a mother looking at each other after the funeral and wondering where we go from here.”

In a multi-state effort to help boys going through similar uncertainty, Team Focus conducts annual, cost-free camps, events, and social media outreach (a tool called FocusBook, similar to Facebook) that pairs young men without a father figure with volunteers willing to share time, guidance and an open resource for the young men they mentor.

The first “Camp Focus” was held in Mobile, AL in the summer of 2000. Along with athletic values, young men selected for camp were exposed to a variety of social, educational, and spiritual skills intended to help them as they advance through school and life. Today, 5-day summer leadership camps are held in Texas, Alabama, Washington D.C., Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas, California and beginning in 2011, Kentucky.

For more information on Team Focus, visit: http://www.teamfocususa.org/

For more information on the Calipari Family Foundation for Children, visit: http://www.caliaprifoundation.org/



*Please be on the look out for a special announcement from Memphis’s Streets Ministries on an initiative Coach Calipari will soon be taking part in.

USBWA Names Jim Boeheim National Coach Of The Year

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) - Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, the winningest coach in Big East Conference history and the second winningest active coach in Division I basketball, is this year's recipient of the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the National Coach of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

The USBWA District II Coach of the Year now has 829 career wins - 371 of them in Big East Conference play - and has led the Orange into the NCAA Regionals for a 16th time in his career. Overall under Boeheim, Syracuse has played in 27 NCAA Tournaments and three times the Orange have played for the national championship, winning the 2003 title.

In a season in which Boeheim won his 800th career game, Syracuse captured its first outright Big East regular-season title since 1991 and was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll on March 1. This season, the coach registered his record 32nd 20-win season and the Orange are 30-4 entering their West Regional Semifinal game vs. Butler. A win will tie Boeheim with Jim Phelan of Mt. St. Mary's as the fifth all-time winningest coach in Division I basketball.

Yet, with all those accolades, this marks the first time the legendary Syracuse coach has been named National Coach of the Year by the USBWA. Boeheim also becomes the first Big East coach to earn the honor since Pittsburgh's Ben Howland in 2002.

Now in his 34th season as the head coach at his alma mater, the Lyons, N.Y., native started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Syracuse in 1969, before being promoted to assistant coach and then head coach in 1976. A former walk-on player at Syracuse, Boeheim was co-captain of the team with Dave Bing as a senior. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 and Syracuse named the court at the Carrier Dome "Jim Boeheim Court" in 2002.

Through the newly-formed Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation, Boeheim is also active with numerous charitable causes. His annual "Basket Ball" gala has raised more than $3 million and he is among the most active coaches in the "Coaches vs. Cancer" campaign.

Boeheim will receive the Henry Iba Award at the USBWA's College Basketball Awards Breakfast held in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis on Friday, April 2, at The Columbia Club at 8 a.m. For tickets to the breakfast, visit the usbwa website, usbwa.com.

USBWA Names Evan Turner National Player Of The Year

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) - The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Ohio State guard/forward Evan Turner as the winner of the 2009-10 Oscar Robertson Trophy, annually presented to the National Player of the Year.

The 6-7, 210-pound junior from Chicago, Ill., was the consensus choice by voters in all nine geographical districts of the USBWA. Turner becomes the first national player of the year from Ohio State since Jerry Lucas won his second straight USBWA Player of the Year award in 1962. Turner is also the first Big Ten player to win the honor since Purdue's Glenn Robinson in 1994.

Turner will be presented with the Oscar Robertson Trophy by its namesake Oscar Robertson at the USBWA's annual College Basketball Awards Breakfast on Friday, April 2 at 8 a.m. at The Columbia Club in downtown Indianapolis in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Final Four. For tickets to the awards breakfast, visit the USBWA website, usbwa.com.

Turner, a first-team USBWA All-American and USBWA District V Player of the Year, was chosen as the national player of the year from a field of 16 finalists. The Big Ten Player of the Year has the led Buckeyes (29-7) to the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships and into the Midwest Regional in St. Louis, where they face Tennessee on Friday.

"I think he's very deserving," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "I am very proud of what he's done, the work he's done to put himself in position to win the award is something that's truly amazing. He's one of the most multi-dimensional players in the country. He has an ability to score the basketball, drive it, get to the foul line, and shoot threes. His passing makes everyone on the floor that much better."

Despite missing six games due to injury early in the season, Turner led the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding. Including his two NCAA Tournament games, Turner is averaging 20.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He was second in the conference in assists and steals. Turner was also third in the conference in field-goal percentage and 14th in free-throw percentage. He has recorded two triple-doubles and 16 double-doubles this season.


The Oscar Robertson Trophy is voted on by the entire membership of the association, which consists of more than 900 journalists. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA's first player of the year in 1959. The USBWA renamed its player of the year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998.

USBWA Names John Wall National Freshman of the Year

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) - Kentucky guard John Wall has been selected National Freshman of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for the 2009-10 season.

The 6-4, 195-pound Wall, from Raleigh, N.C., has averaged 16.8 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game for the Wildcats. He is a first-team USBWA All-American as well as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and the USBWA District IV Player of the Year. He has led Kentucky into the East Regional with a 34-2 record that includes both the SEC Eastern Division championship and the SEC Tournament championship.

Wall was a unanimous choice in voting by USBWA members in all nine of the association's geographical districts for Freshman of the Year and was among 16 finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, given to the USBWA's National Player of the Year. He is the just the second SEC player to win the USBWA's National Freshman of the Year award joining LSU's Chris Jackson, who was the first winner of the award in 1989.

"He's a deserving player by how he has led this team - an inexperienced team - and his ability to make plays when the game is in the balance," said Kentucky coach John Calipari. "I'm happy for him because he's as hard-working a player as any I've been around - on the court, in the weight room and in the classroom. This is a great honor for John to be recognized by the USBWA and another reflection of how our team success leads to individual accolades."


All-Time USBWA Freshmen of the Year:
1988-89 Chris Jackson, LSU
1989-90 Kenny Anderson, Georgia Tech
1990-91 Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest
1991-92 Chris Webber, Michigan
1992-93 Jason Kidd, California
1993-94 Joe Smith, Maryland
1994-95 None selected
1995-96 None selected
1996-97 None selected
1997-98 Larry Hughes, Saint Louis
1998-99 Quentin Richardson, DePaul
1999-00 Jason Gardner, Arizona
2000-01 Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall
2001-02 T.J. Ford, Texas
2002-03 Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
2003-04 Luol Deng, Duke
2004-05 Marvin Williams, North Carolina
2005-06 Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
2006-07 Kevin Durant, Texas
2007-08 Michael Beasley, Kansas State
2008-09 Tyreke Evans, Memphis
2009-10 John Wall, Kentucky

UCLA Fans Shouldn't Easily Forget What They Had

Watching the Hornets light up the Clippers in the 4th quarter of Monday’s 108-100 loss reminded me of something.  UCLA’s run of back-to-back to back Final Four appearances from 2006-2008 was probably more impressive than most people realize, including Bruins fans.

Seeing Darren Collison guide the Hornets to their 13th straight win over the Clippers by scoring 18 points and dishing out 14 assists in 48 minutes of action took me back to the years when he ran the point for Ben Howland.  Talk about his skills all you want, but Collison is a winner.  Plain and simple.  And you can say that about the other players who came through Westwood during that remarkable run.  From Jordan Farmar and Arron Afflalo to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, they were all about putting up W’s, even in games in which they probably shouldn’t have.

foxsportswest.com: Bruin Faithful Should Continue To Hold Their Heads High

US Basketball Writers Association Announces All-America Team

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) - Two pairs of teammates from the nation's top two teams headline the 2009-10 U.S. Basketball Writers Association's All-America Team. Senior guard Sherron Collins of Kansas and freshman guard John Wall of Kentucky pace the first team. Along with Collins, Notre Dame senior forward Luke Harangody returns to the All-America team as a second-team choice. Collins and Harangody were both second-team selections a year ago.

Each of the ten selections is among the 16 Oscar Robertson Trophy finalists. The USBWA's National Player of the Year Award will be announced next Monday and presented on Friday, April 2 at the 2010 USBWA College Basketball Awards Breakfast at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis.

Collins' Kansas teammate Cole Aldrich earned second-team honors, while Wall's Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins also earned a spot on the second team. A pair of Big East standouts - Wesley Johnson of Syracuse and Scottie Rodgers of Villanova - were first-team selections along with Ohio State's Evan Turner.

Joining Aldrich, Cousins and Harangody on the second team are James Anderson of Oklahoma State and Jon Scheyer of Duke.

Following is the complete 2009-10 USBWA All-America team:

First Team
Sherron Collins, Kansas (G, 5-11, 205, Sr., Chicago, Ill.)
Wesley Johnson, Syracuse (F, 6-7, 205, Jr., Corsicana, Texas)
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova (G, 6-2, 190, Sr., Herndon, Va.)
Evan Turner, Ohio State (G/F, 6-7, 205, Jr., Chicago, Ill.)
John Wall, Kentucky (G, 6-4, 195, Fr., Raleigh, N.C.)

Second Team
Cole Aldrich, Kansas (C, 6-11, 245, Jr., Bloomington, Ind.)
James Anderson, Oklahoma State (G, 6-6, 210, Jr., Junction City, Ark.)
DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky (F, 6-11, 260, Fr., Mobile, Ala.)
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame (F, 6-8, 246, Sr., Schererville, Ind.)
Jon Scheyer, Duke (G, 6-5, 190, Sr., Northbrook, Ill.)

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its All-America team, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-421-0339.

Expect The Unexpected At The PAC-10 Tournament

I had the opportunity Monday to host the annual PAC-10 Tournament Tip-off Luncheon put on by the LA Sports and Entertainment Commission.  For the past three years, the LASEC has invited various clients and business partners of the PAC-10 to take part in a Q & A with the head coaches from UCLA and USC as a way of setting up the annual conference tournament held at Staples Center.

This year was slightly different because USC will not be participating in the tourney.  So instead of Kevin O'Neill joining Ben Howland at the luncheon, FSN college basketball analyst Marques Johnson shared his thoughts about both this year's regular season and the upcoming tournament.

Marques once again shared his mantra for the season and applied it to this year's tournament:  Expect the unexpected!

USBWA NAMES 2009-10 MEN'S ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS

ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (of which, I am a member) has released its 2009-10 Men's All-District Teams, based on voting from its national membership. There are nine regions from coast to coast and a player and coach of the year are selected in each. Following is the entire region-by-region listing:


USBWA Names Men's All-District Teams

PAC-10 Announces Men's Basketball Award Winners

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., - In a vote of the 10 Conference coaches, CALIFORNIA senior guard Jerome Randle has been named the 2009-10 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Player of the Year, ARIZONA forward Derrick Williams has been named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year; OREGON STATE senior guard/forward Seth Tarver has been named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year; USC sophomore forward Nikola Vucevic has been named Pac-10 Most Improved Player of the Year and Herb Sendek of ARIZONA STATE is the Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Commissioner Larry Scott announced today. 

The Complete Conference Honors:

Kevin O'Neill Fires Student Manager For Running His Mouth

Technical fouls for criticizing officials are about as common in college basketball as alley-oop dunks.  They happen all the time.

However, they are only supposed to be handed out to coaches, although players are often guilty of loose lips as well.  But under no circumstances whatsoever, should a student manager receive a technical foul for criticizing or yelling obscenities at referees.  I guess it's a little too late to tell that to USC graduate student Stan Holt, who not only got hit with a tech in the Trojans loss at Oregon, but may have cost USC a victory.

Trojans coach Kevin O'Neill, who can curse out an officiall as well as anyone, took the necessary immediate action by firing Holt after the game.

"The referee told me he was screaming obscenities at him," O'Neill said. "That's on me and that will be rectified. It already has been. He's gone. If somebody's getting a technical foul, it's going to be me."

I applaud O'Neill for wasting no time in doing the right thing.  Albeit, coaches are still given a little slack on the decorum tip, the behavior of fans at sporting events has been getting worse and worse the last several years... foxsportswest.com:  Zip The Lip 

USC Self-Imposed Sanctions Include Post-Season Ban and Forfeiture of Wins

Los Angeles, Calif. - The University of Southern California (USC) today announced that it has implemented self-imposed sanctions on its men’s basketball program for violating NCAA rules. 

The sanctions are a result of a University investigation that found NCAA rules violations related to O.J. Mayo, who played for the USC’s men’s basketball team during the 2007-2008 season.

“USC takes allegations of NCAA rules violations very seriously.  When allegations were made regarding our men’s basketball program we immediately began an investigation and worked closely with the NCAA and the Pac-10 in an attempt to ascertain the truth,” said USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett.  “When we’ve done something wrong, we have an obligation to do something about it and that is exactly what we are doing here.”

The self-imposed sanctions for the men’s basketball program include a one-year ban on post-season competition following the 2009-2010 regular season, including the Pac-10 Conference basketball tournament; a reduction of one scholarship for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years; a reduction by one of the number of coaches permitted to engage in off-campus recruiting activities during the summer of 2010, and a reduction in the total number of recruiting days by twenty days (from 130 to 110) for the 2010-2011 academic year.

In addition, because of Mayo’s involvement with Rodney Guillory, whom under NCAA rules became a USC booster due to his role in Mayo’s recruitment, USC will vacate all wins during the 2007-2008 regular season, which was when Mayo competed while ineligible.  USC will also return to the NCAA the money it received through the Pac-10 Conference for its participation in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament. 

These self-imposed sanctions impact only the men’s basketball program, and do not affect any other program.

“We have very high standards for our faculty, athletic department, staff and students,” said USC Senior Vice President Todd R. Dickey.  “We expect and demand that everyone associated with the University live up to these standards.  Nothing is more important than the integrity of this institution and its people.”

Mr. Garrett said, “We believe the self-imposed sanctions are consistent with penalties imposed at other NCAA member institutions which have been cited with similar rules infractions.  Although we are disappointed that rules were violated, we look forward to moving past this matter and to the future success of our men’s basketball program.”

Kevin O’Neill, head men’s basketball coach for USC added, "I think the University did the right thing in self-imposing sanctions.  I respect and understand the action that was taken. Our players have risen to many challenges already this season and I am proud of what they have accomplished.  I am confident that they will rise to this latest challenge. 

“As their coach, I will do everything in my power to make our program better on and off the court every day,” he said. “Our job as a team now is to move forward in a positive manner.  We have 16 games left to play this season.  I have no doubt that our players will prepare and play well in those games. While it is unfortunate that our players won't have the chance to compete in the post-season, that just makes every game for us now a post-season game.”

Mr. Garrett concluded, “While we recognize there may be additional questions about our announcement today or other alleged NCAA infractions, until the NCAA concludes its inquiries, we cannot make any further comment.”

Coach Cal Looking For That Big Blue Swagger

Even though I moved away from Kentucky more than 10 years ago, I have never left my commonwealth roots. Whether I was living in Memphis or here in LA, I have always been a Kentucky boy at heart, and it's a heritage I display quite proudly, as my framed Kentucky Colonel certificate will attest.

From MLB players to NBA coaches, if people know one thing about Michael Eaves, it's that he was born and raised in Kentucky and is a proud UK grad.

With that background comes a bit of a responsibility however, especially on the West Coast. There just aren't that many Kentucky natives running around Southern California, so thus I become a spokesman for all things Kentucky, particularly UK sports, which can be both good and bad.

For example, when the Cats were dying a slow, agonizing death during the ill-fated Billy Gillispie era, I was fielding constant questions and jokes about how Billy G was killing the program. I often agreed with all the criticisms, but it was harder for me to laugh. My Big Blue blood wouldn't allow it. I found the situation more sad than funny.

Thank God, that mess is over. But I digress.

The flip side to this dynamic is that when things are going well at UK, life is grand. When the Cats are winning games and climbing up the rankings, I'm the one who gets to crack on other people's programs. I relish those moments.

And right now, there's no better time to be a UK grad, because the Cats are the talk of the college basketball world. Even in the land of UCLA, people are talking about UK Basketball, and not KU, even though the top-ranked Jayhawks are the favorites to cut down the nets.

I can't tell you how many times I've had a PAC-10 coach or NBA GM ask me about what John Calipari is doing at Kentucky. They want to know if the Cats are really going to be as good as everyone is saying. My go-to answer of late has been, "I hope they are even better!"

Call me greedy, but I am fully hoping for the program's 14th berth to the Final Four, which would be its first trip to the NCAA Tournament's final weekend since 1998. But you notice I used the word "hope" and not "expect." Hope is safe. Expectations will get your feelings hurt.

It's a reality that Coach Cal obviously realizes, but he also understands that things are just different at Kentucky.

"(Players) are held to a higher standard than other players across the country, and so am I as a coach," Calipari said. "You are held to a different standard. That is the privilege of being here."

Now, as I said around the time Kentucky hired Calipari, I'm not sure if he's the long-term answer at UK because I don't know what his ultimate coaching goals are. But there is one thing I am absolutely certain of: John Calipari is the right man for the job right now because he knows exactly what the program needs as this very moment.

"This Kentucky program always had a swagger," Calipari said. "People saw it. The players knew it. It had a swagger about itself. The other team knew it, the officials knew it, everybody knew it. You walked in and there it was. We've just got to get that swagger back."

And in a very short amount of time, that's exactly what Calipari has done. He's given UK it's swagger back, and thus mine too--West Coast Style!

Go Cats!!

UPDATE: It's hard for kids to reject hip hop culture

Jason Whitlock adds some perspective to the recent events at Kansas, where the football and basketball teams engaged in some on-campus brawls.

It's hard for kids to reject hip hop culture - Kansas City Star

UPDATE: Another one of my sports journalism colleagues, Justice Hill, adds even more insight and perspective to what transpired on the KU campus. However, unlike Whitlock, Hill argues that "What this fighting means in a larger context isn’t simple to discern."

John Calipari Hanging Out With Larry Brown

One of the reasons John Calipari has won so many games on the collegiate level is because he has never professed to knowing everything about basketball. His ego does not get in the way of his learning.

From the time he first picked up a whistle, Cal has never had a problem asking other coaches for their advice on new schemes, strategies or systems. It's one of the reasons he's been so effective and molding his system to fit his personnel.

Case in point, Mike Cranston wrote today that Cal was in Charlotte taking in part of the Bobcats training camp:

"Long after the players had left the court following the morning practice, (Larry) Brown was jogging through the lane and Kentucky coach John Calipari was setting an imaginary screen from the left wing as they discussed a play. Calipari, a longtime friend of Brown, was in town watching the workout with several other college coaches."

Wildcat Tipoff 2009-2010 Is Ready!!

Hey, UK Basketball fans, heads up! Wildcat Tipoff 2009-2010 is now ready for pre-orders. I was asked to write a column for this year's season preview, which includes some great insight I received from John Calipari.

Click on the Sea of Blue link below to order your copy!

What did I do This Summer? Well, I Edited a Kentucky Basketball Annual - A Sea Of Blue

Billy Gillispie Checks Into Rehab

Check out the article below regarding the report that former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie has checked into a rehabilitation center in Houston. I have two immediate responses: 1) Finally!! 2) What took so long?

Having said that, I sincerely hopes he gets the help he needs.

Billy Gillispie Checks Into Rehab

Pitino Comes Up Way Short On Apology

I have known Rick Pitino since 1991 after first meeting him during the second semester of my freshman year at Kentucky. I will not profess to ever being very close to him, but having several friends on his teams, working his summer camps, and then covering the team on a professional basis, we were on a first-name basis during his time in Lexington.

I respected him as a basketball coach and motivator. I also admired the way he treated his players once they graduated. He always seemed to have their best interest in mind, provided of course, they stayed the course and did things his way.

Now having said that, I believe Coach P fell way short on his attempted apology Wednesday evening in Louisville.

<a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=9d9db8e9-e3f5-4b73-b529-d470c81dd8a0&amp;from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles" target="_new" title="Pitino: Sorry for &#39;indiscretion&#39;">Video: Pitino: Sorry for &#39;indiscretion&#39;</a>

Instead of throwing himself at the mercy of the Cardinals fans and the local community, Pitino seemed to give the impression that because this event happened six years ago, it wasn't a big deal. If it weren't a big deal, there wouldn't be a need for an apology, right?

And what exactly did 9/11 have to do with his affair? I am hoping the analogy he was trying to make didn't exactly come out right. Despite being one of the most confident and cocky men I have ever known, I am certain he was quite nervous standing in front of those microphones and cameras. The scene wasn't exactly a post-game news conference.

Again, I still believe this matter is a private one between the Pitino and Sypher families. However, if you are going to go public with your apology don't half-ass by trying to deflect blame or looking for excuses.