Let’s briefly review the latest rumblings on a rainy Monday morning in Lexington:
– Less than two weeks to go until the 2010 NBA Draft, which will be held June 24 in Madison Square Garden in New York City. DraftExpress.com released its latest mock draft and has all five draft-eligible Wildcats going in the first round. The website has John Wall going No. 1 to the Washington Wizards, DeMarcus Cousins to the Golden State Warriors at No. 6, Patrick Patterson to the New Orleans Hornets at No. 11, Daniel Orton to the Boston Celtics at No. 19 and Eric Bledsoe to the Vancouver Grizzlies at No. 25.
– Although Kentucky is not in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, there has been some great action nationwide on the diamond. Six teams have punched their tickets to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series with two more left to be determined. The Southeastern Conference already has two teams, Florida and South Carolina, in the final eight, with the possibility of one more. Alabama will take on Clemson on Monday at 1 p.m. for the chance to be the only team this year with three teams in the CWS. Tune in to ESPN2 today at 1 p.m. to catch the Alabama-Clemson game.
– Ho-hum. Just another night for Rajon Rondo on Sunday. The former Kentucky guard had 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Paul Pierce led the way with 27 points, but it was once again Rondo who provided the key plays down the stretch to win the game. It’s truly been a joy to watch this kid mature over the last few years. The Boston Globe has a story tody on the Celtics’ love of Rondo’s Rise. Celtics head coach Doc Rivers thinks this is only the beginning of Rondo’s rise. “I still think we forget how young he is,” Rivers said in the story. “He still has some growing to do, and I think he’s actually doing it during the playoffs, and it’s good.”
– I’ve done my best to stay out of the conference realignment mess because of Kentucky’s affiliation with the SEC, but it’d be my guess that we’ll see the largest dominoes fall this week one way or another. There are reports that suggest Texas is considering staying in the Big 12, in essence keeping the conference intact. Then there are the latest reports that rehashes last week’s news that several Big 12 schools are planning a move to the Pacific-10. But the biggest news as it pertains to the SEC right now is the very realistic possibility that Texas A&M is considering a move to the SEC. How that will affect the league structure for the future I don’t know, but what happens the rest of this week could very well change the structure of college sports as we know it. Stay tuned.
– Reminder that the second annual UK Hoops 5K Run/Walk is Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The race, which will begin at Memorial Coliseum, will feature interaction with the women’s basketball players and coaches, entertainment, food, and activities. Fans can still register.
