Each Wednesday here at Cat Scratches, we’re going to take a look back at the latest week’s news in UK Athletics from around the web.Best on the ‘netBaseball: Meyer’s stock on the rise (Aaron Fitt, Baseball America)
Meyer’s fastball was explosive for most of the game, ranging from 94-97 mph. He also mixed in two-seamer at 91-93 toward the end of his outing. He said he uses the two-seamer and an 84-86 changeup to give hitters a different look.Meyer’s breaking ball is hard, at 84-86 mph, but he said it’s actually a knuckle curveball, not a slider. One National League crosschecker commented that it looked like Bert Blyleven’s hammer curveball when he threw a good one, but at other times it was more sweepy.
Men’s basketball: John Calipari deals with, defies public perception (SL Price, Sports Illustrated)
Calipari’s detractors delight in noting that he has always left town one step ahead of the sheriff, even if he was cleared by the NCAA of any personal culpability in the UMass and Memphis messes. And what do the message-board cynics make of his $1 million donation last June to Streets Ministries of Memphis, or his washing of poor kids’ feet in Port-au-Prince and Detroit last year, or his organizing a January 2010 telethon that raised $1.3 million for Haiti’s earthquake victims? They cite ESPN analyst Bob Knight, who in December 2009 called Calipari the embodiment of the sport’s ills. “Integrity is really lacking [in college basketball],” Knight said in a speech in Indianapolis. “We’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation, and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.”Never mind that the General, no pillar of rectitude himself, had his facts wrong: Only Memphis went on probation. Knight is the bulldog eyeing the cat as it lands, again, on its feet, and he’s not the only one perplexed. Calipari once declared that rather than competition or education, “everything in this game is marketing,” and it’s a constant struggle for rivals and the hoops commentariat to decide where his sell begins and ends. “John’s out there,” says Larry Brown, one of his coaching mentors. “The way he dresses, the way he talks nonstop. A lot of people look at that shtick and say, That guy is not real.”
Men’s basketball: Improved Darius Miller on a roll (vaughtsviews.com)
This is not the same Miller who passed up a chance to take a meaningful 3-point shot late in an early Southeastern Conference loss at Mississippi that set in motion road woes that that had the Cats only 1-6 in SEC road games before the win at Tennessee.
Women’s basketball: Back injury limits A’dia Mathies (Jennifer Smith, Herald-Leader)
Each time A’dia Mathies would take a seat on the Kentucky bench, there was a searing pain in her lower back.As the sophomore point guard waited to get back into the championship game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Sunday, the UK trainer would put heat packs on her back.
Men’s basketball: Brandon Knight draws high praise (Brett Dawson, Louisville Courier-Journal)
When Kevin Stallings raves about University of Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight, the Vanderbilt coach knows what people are thinking.When Stallings says — as he did on Monday — that Knight is among the top freshman point guards he’s seen in 12 seasons coaching in the Southeastern Conference, he knows that thoughts will turn to Knight’s point-guard predecessor at UK.
Women’s basketball: Cats, Dunlap move on from bittersweet SEC (TJ Walker, Kentucky Kernel)
The No.17 Cats (24-8) are proud of the way they fought in the SEC this year, after starting league play 0-2 the Cats overcame adversity and finished second in the league standings and second in the SEC Tournament.”I want to compliment our players on a really good run after starting our SEC portion of the season 0-2 to get to the SEC Championship game they put a lot of hard work in,” UK head coach Matthew Mitchell said.
Baseball: Cats kick off home-stand with win over EKU (Ethan Levine, Kentucky Kernel)
UK (6-6) was hot at the plate all afternoon long. Eight of nine UK batters recorded at least one hit against EKU, including Thomas McCarthy, who reached base for the twelfth time in twelve games, and Taylor Black, who was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week last week. Black, hitting out of the leadoff spot, went 4-for-5 on the afternoon, and was only a home run away from hitting for the cycle.”I’m kind of streaky so far,” Black said, “so it’s good to go out there and get a couple hits when our team needs it, especially coming off of a couple losses.”
Former Wildcats making headlinesRedrafting the 2010 NBA Draft (ESPN.com)
No. 5 pick: The Kings select Patrick Patterson — Don’t let Patterson’s pedestrian averages fool you. If he had been drafted by Sacramento, or any team not loaded with strong veterans inside, Patterson would likely be a 14 and 7 guy right away with relative ease. And he’d do that more efficiently than the guys in Sacramento.
Patterson’s shooting and defense would have earned him a starting spot quickly, too. When we revisit this draft in a few years, Patterson will be among the top performers.
Jodie Meeks shows off shooter’s mentality (Gordie Jones, Philadelphia Sports Daily)
The shooter’s mentality is always a fascinating thing, as shown by Jodie Meeks on Sunday in the Sixers’ 125-117 overtime win over the Warriors. He missed his first six shots from the floor and had a single point through 46-plus minutes.But with the Sixers down three and 1:45 left, he shaped up beyond the 3-point arc on the left wing, took Andre Iguodala’s pass and hesitated not a bit before splashing in the shot that tied the game.”My confidence,” Meeks said, “never falls.”
Eric Bledsoe leads Clippers past Nuggets (David Lassen, Press Enterprise)
Bledsoe had 15 of his career-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, and had seven steals to help turn back the Nuggets, who erased a 16-point second-quarter deficit to lead in the third.”Eric Bledsoe was the difference,” said Coach Vinny Del Negro. “… He was all over the place. He did a great job making plays and shots.”
Brandon Webb feeling good about progress (Richard Durrett, ESPN Dallas)
Rangers Brandon Webb threw another bullpen session on Sunday consisting of 62 pitches. He said he threw his 4-seamer, 2-seamer, curve and change.”My arm is fine, but I was a little wild,” Webb said. “I can feel what I’m doing. But I need to be able to correct it in one pitch when things are going good and I’m not doing that yet.”Webb said he hopes to be throwing to hitters soon, maybe even after one more bullpen session.
John Wall: “I think I’m getting my step back” (Michael Lee, Washington Post)
Jason Maxiell made two free throws, Wall took an inbounds pass and sprinted up the court for a layup before the Pistons could even set up their defense. Wall went from one end of the floor to the other in just six seconds.”I think I’m getting my step back a little better than I had before,” said Wall, who has been playing better basketball since losing nearly 11 pounds in the past month. Wall has scored in double figures in nine of his past 10 games, averaging 19.5 points and 8.5 assists over that stretch.
Randall Cobb still proving critics wrong (Daniel Cox, Maryville Daily-Times)
Last Friday, Cobb held his press conference in front of the media before beginning his workouts on the field of Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday.The 5-foot-10, 191-pound Cobb said he’d heard the critics of his game and he hoped to use the weekend to once again change perceptions.”I want to shatter any expectations anyone has of me,” he said.
News from UKathletics.comMen’s tennis: No. 12 UK wins key SEC road match at Mississippi StateMen’s basketball: Jones, Knight, Liggins, Lamb recognized by SEC coachesWomen’s tennis: Cats cruise in SEC openerBaseball: Wildcats to be televised 11 times this seasonSoftball: Cumbess sends No. 24 UK past SIUE
Video of the weekWith the men’s basketball team headed to Atlanta to defend its 2010 SEC Tournament title, this is a clip that you may see a time or two this week if you haven’t already. Even so, I’m sure you won’t mind watching DeMarcus Cousins send last year’s SEC title game into overtime with a buzzer-beating put-back.
