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: Henderson, Cats deal with tough SEC (John Clay, Lexington Herald-Leader)
His team has played better of late. Despite Sunday’s loss, it took a series with Georgia for the first time since 2007. It was tied 3-3 in the ninth inning of the rubber game with No. 1-ranked Vanderbilt last weekend before losing.Even Sunday, after trailing the Bulldogs 7-2, the Cats scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth, drawing to within one run of the visitors on a chilly, rainy day at Cliff Hagan Stadium. Alas, the Cats could draw no closer.“The effort part of it, that’s not been our problem,” said Henderson, sitting in the muddy UK dugout afterward. “Now we’ve got to figure out the win part.”
Men’s basketball: Future Cats put classes ahead of USA Hoops (Jerry Tipton, Herald-Leader)
USA Basketball wanted Gilchrist, Teague and Davis to be on the team that will play in the World Championship for players 19 years old and younger June 30-July 10 in Latvia.But the trio were among about 27 players who declined invitations to participate in the tryouts next month. Ford said that UK wanted Gilchrist, Teague and Davis to attend summer school and accelerate the process of becoming college players.
Men’s tennis: UK holds serve to against UofL to advance to Sweet 16 (JJ Hysell, Louisville Courier-Journal)
The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team continued its longstanding reign over rival University of Louisville with a 4-3 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.The No.10 Wildcats improved their series record over the No. 24 Cardinals to 26-0. It was the first meeting between the teams since Feb. 9, 2005, and a trip to the Sweet 16 in Stanford, Calif., was up for grabs at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center.
Men’s basketball: Harrellson may have helped Kanter after all (Aaron Smith, Kentucky Kernel)
And now, TNT’s David Aldridge has an article that ranks Harrellson as the No. 3 prospect at the center position. That’s one spot behind Enes Kanter (although lots of picks would probably separate the two, as the draft is weak overall and weaker at the center spot). It’s a crazy thought that Josh Harrellson may be the next center picked after Enes Kanter. A lot of his improvement can be credited to going against Kanter in practice.But the dynamic proved mutually beneficial. Kanter was able to keep some semblance of game-ready form by being able to practice every day. Dozens of stories were dedicated to how the ineligible Turkish center helped the forced-into-playing American center. None were dedicated to the inverse, and maybe some should have been. And here’s the quote, from a Pacific division executive (that’s either the Lakers, Clippers Suns, Warriors or Kings), that made me think of writing this:“You could have seen him go against Vanderbilt or Florida and you might not see him go up against a guy better than Harrellson.”
Former Wildcats making headlinesESPN post-lottery mock draft:-Brandon Knight No. 3 to Utah Jazz-Enes Kanter No. 4 to Cleveland CavaliersDraft Express post-lottery mock draft:-Brandon Knight No. 5 to Toronto Raptors-Enes Kanter No. 8 to Detroit Pistons-DeAndre Liggins No. 24 in second round to Cleveland CavaliersRandall Cobb deals with conditions of NFL Lockout (Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Cobb has been working out on his own, but this week he will fly to Phoenix and join teammate Greg Jennings in group workouts organized by Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Former NFL receivers coach Jerry Sullivan helps conduct the workouts and recently veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb was there to throw passes.The Kentucky receiver heard from Jennings soon after the draft and Jennings suggested Cobb come down and work out in Phoenix. Cobb will pack his bags for a several-week stay, hoping to sop up as much knowledge as he can from the others.“I’m really looking forward to that,” Cobb said. “There will be a lot of good receivers and quarterbacks there. They’re going to help me to be an NFL receiver. I’ll be there two weeks for sure or as soon as the lockout is over.”
Wizards President Grunfeld makes Rookie of the Year case for John Wall (Michael Lee, Washington Post)
Wall averaged 16.4 points and 8.3 assists, was a near-unanimous choice for the all-rookie team and finished second to Los Angeles Clippers all-star forward Blake Griffin, the 2009 No. 1 pick, for rookie of the year. But Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld believes that Wall should’ve claimed top rookie honors. While discussing the Wizards’ prospects in the draft lottery, Grunfeld expressed his excitement with picking Wall as the franchise cornerstone last summer and said, “He should’ve been rookie of the year, except for the rule of a second-year player being eligible.”
Brandon Webb looks to regain feel (Brian Dolgin, ESPN)
So often in baseball, we hear or read about “the feel” of the game. There are different ways that a baseball player has that feel. In the case of right-handed pitcher Brandon Webb, it’s all about re-gaining the feel he had back in 2008 — his last full season of pitching in the major leagues before shoulder surgery sidelined him up to present day. How close is he?“We’re three feet away. The ball is coming out of his hand a lot better than when he first got here,” said Keith Comstock, Rangers rehab pitching coordinator. “He is really starting to develop some arm speed through that zone. It’s the last three feet of the ball I want to see that late life, and it’s that finish that we are really working on right now for him to understand that he’s still got a little protection going on where he felt the pain the last time that he was pitching. It’s a mental breakthrough that he has really put the gas pedal to that he wants to get through here.”
Twist of fate landed Bogans in Chicago (Brian Schmitz, Orlando Sentinel)
The Bulls are in the East finals with coach Tom Thibodeau’s defense-first mentality, so you can make the case that Bogans-Brewer has worked just fine.“If he’s guarding you, you know he’s guarding you. He’s going to make you work. He’s a physical player,” Thibodeau has said of Bogans.Points never have been what Bogans has been about. He said people “need to understand that’s not why I’m here. I’m on the floor with Luol [Deng], Derrick [Rose], Carlos [Boozer]…there’s aren’t a lot of shots for me.”
News from UKathletics.comSoftball: UK set on seizing new NCAA standard Baseball: McCarthy tabbed Louisville Slugger NCAA Player of the WeekWomen’s basketball: Signee Goss named Parade All-AmericanTrack and Field: Boevers wins second straight SEC ChampionshipVolleyball: 2011 schedule announcedTweet of the weekWith spring sports seasons quickly wrapping up, there will not be a great deal to report on in the coming months, so we’re going to be taking a look at an interesting tweet or two from or about UK athletes or coaches. First up, we have a tweet from former UK punter Tim Masthay, who spend Tuesday punting to his new Packer teammate, Randall Cobb.”A blast getting to meet up with and punt to @rcobb18 this afternoon. I think that guy is going to have a great and long career as a Packer!” – @TimMasthayVideo of the weekESPN NBA analyst Chad Ford stopped by ATTACK Athletics in Chicago earlier this week to check out an Enes Kanter workout. Kanter has been honing his craft with renowned trainer Tim Grover and he spent a few minutes with Ford talking about the draft, his game and his time at UK.
