WBKR » university of kentucky basketball

John Calipari Suggests Separating from NCAA If One-and-Done Rule Doesn't Change [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:50:59 +0000

The NBA’s so-called “one-and-done” rule–a kid has to be 19 before he can play pro ball–has come under fire since its inception. It was set up to eliminate the growing phenomenon of a decade ago wherein high school seniors were jumping straight to the league. But that rule has discouraged kids from focusing on their [...]

7-Year-Old Leukemia Patient Accompanies UK's Nerlens Noel to the Kentucky Derby [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:00:25 +0000

It's fair to say that UK forward Nerlens Noel could have taken anyone to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. As it turns out, his guest for the Run for the Roses was the most special guest of all at Churchill Downs that day.

Top Basketball Prospect Wiggins Might Choose UK, But He's Already a Superstar…Way Too Early

Dave Spencer — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:42:38 +0000

The college basketball wonks of the world continue to froth at the mouth over where the Number One High School Basketball Prospect Andrew Wiggins will play college ball. Oh, was I not supposed to capitalize “number one high school basketball prospect?” Gee, I thought with all the insane hoop-la surrounding this kid, it was the [...]

UK Shaping Up to Be a 2014 Title Contender [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:00:50 +0000

With the news that Alex Poythress will join Kyle Wiltjer and Willie Cauley-Stein and return to the University of Kentucky for the 2013-2014 season, UK is looking more and more like a team that will be playing on the final weekend next April at Cowboys Stadium. Of course, Ryan Harrow won’t be coming back–opting to [...]

John Calipari: 'The Program Almost Got Hijacked'

Dave Spencer — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:40:08 +0000

Hijacked. In 2013, it’s no longer a word you can use in a joke. And, trust me, I don’t think Kentucky coach John Calipari was joking. I don’t think anything could make him laugh right now. Or maybe the season was just such a colossal train wreck that you have to laugh just to try [...]

UK Off to Pittsburgh to Take on the Robert Morris Colonials in the NIT

Dave Spencer — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:00:34 +0000

It would seem that the Kentucky Wildcats will face a weird but unavoidable irony when it begins play as the overall #1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament–the NIT. That’s a position that guarantees a home game in that tournament’s opening round. All higher seeds in NIT games get home games until the semifinals at [...]

UK May Be Safe for an NCAA Tourney Bid, But I Wouldn't Lose to Vandy Just the Same [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:00:01 +0000

It’s been interesting and humorous watching these SEC Tournament games. Bridgestone Arena in Nashville is playing host to the tournament this year and to look out across the landscape of that building, you’d think Kentucky was playing in every game. But, no, that’s just what Big Blue Nation does at conference tournament time. The fans [...]

UK Tops Florida 61-57 and Clinches SEC Tourney 2-Seed as Big Dance Dreams Remain Intact [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 21:40:43 +0000

For a while there, I was concerned that Kentucky was going to help #11 Florida erase two big black marks on its basketball profile. Florida has had a tough time on the road in SEC play as losses to Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas readily prove. Florida has also had a tough time winning games decided [...]

Missouri Win Was a Momentary Cure for Ailing 'Cats [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:02:06 +0000

It was a good type of game to win. Kentucky was playing a good Missouri team that was trying to prove it could beat a team on the road that wasn't woeful Mississippi State (7-19). But in the meantime, Kentucky was trying to prove that it could beat a team that was going to the NCAA Tournament.

John Calipari Discusses Remainder of UK's Season with ESPN's Andy Katz [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:47:40 +0000

It’s been three days since Kentucky got rocked at Tennessee. The Vols topped the ‘Cats 88-58. There’s been plenty of time for Coach John Calipari to get it through the players’ heads that Nerlens Noel is not walking through that door. It’s time for the ‘Cats to play as the team they are. And that [...]

USA Today Honors Nerlens Noel and Contemplates His Future

Dave Spencer — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 19:00:56 +0000

The typical USA Today will feature an icon, of some sort, in the upper left hand corner of each of its sections, depending on what the respective section’s top story happens to be. On this Valentine’s Day, the national newspaper has chosen to honor freshman big man Nerlens Noel to complement its story about Noel’s [...]

UK's Nerlens Noel Out for Season with Torn ACL [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 20:45:12 +0000

The gruesome injury UK freshman Nerlens Noel suffered during Kentucky's loss to Florida Tuesday night has turned out to be as ugly as advertised. Noel has a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and will miss the rest of the season.

UK's Nerlens Noel Suffers Scary Knee Injury in a Loss to Florida [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 05:57:19 +0000

With just over 8 minutes left to play in Kentucky’s Tuesday night matchup with Florida, freshmen defensive specialist Nerlens Noel charged after Gator Patric Young in an impressive hustle play. He did block Young’s shot, but then slammed right into the basket stanchion, seriously injuring his knee. Young was nearby and said his leg “wobbled” [...]

UK's Tallest Task of the Season — a Road Game at Florida — May Have Gotten a Little Shorter

Dave Spencer — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 01:30:51 +0000

As the Kentucky Wildcats struggled through the first three-fifths of this season, fans were keeping a wary eye on February 12th, 2013. That’s the day of the first of two meetings with the 7th-ranked Florida Gators. Florida has been playing extraordinarily good basketball and I even picked them, a few weeks ago, to win the [...]

Former Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie Will Attend UK / Texas A&M Game

Dave Spencer — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:47:19 +0000

Fall of 2007 through spring of 2009 might lovingly be called The Dark Days by some UK fans. Those were the two seasons that Billy Gillispie was at the helm of the Kentucky basketball program. Those two seasons featured, respectively, an 18-13 record with a first-found NCAA Tournament exit as an 11-seed and a 22-14 [...]

UK and U of L Need to Regroup Heading Into the Weekend

Dave Spencer — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 05:11:44 +0000

One thing Kentucky fans can look to for consolation when the ‘Cats lose is a loss by Louisville. One thing Louisville fans can look to for consolation when the Cards lose is a loss by Kentucky. Consequently, there must have been a lot of consoling happening in the Bluegrass State Tuesday night. Still and all, [...]

John Calipari Rethinks an Undefeated Season

Dave Spencer — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:00:14 +0000

Right after the Kentucky Wildcats won the 2012 National Championship, Coach John Calipari said that he would like to have an undefeated season before he leaves coaching. Yep, to be part of a short list that includes the ’72 Dolphins and the ’76 Hoosiers is his dream. But, now he says that’s unlikely to happen. [...]

Irony Anyone? UK at Risk of Missing Tourney While Louisville and IU Sit at 1 and 2

Dave Spencer — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 02:00:37 +0000

After watching Louisville confuse and then throttle Connecticut on the road Monday night, I became even more impressed with Kentucky’s 3-point loss at the Yum! Center a couple of weeks ago. Of course, Big Blue Nation would’ve liked for that to be a sign of good things to come in the near term rather than [...]

Top Center Johnson Commits to UK for 2013 [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:55:17 +0000

As Charlie Brown would say, “Good grief!” Except there’s no grief in ‘Catville tonight. Only joy, as the mighty Calipari has struck gold once again. The 2013 University of Kentucky recruiting class now welcomes the nation’s top high school center into the fold. New York City native Dakari Johnson, a senior at Montverde Academy in [...]

UofL Center Dieng Returning for UK Game [VIDEO]

Dave Spencer — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 03:45:38 +0000

During a win over 7th-ranked Missouri at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas last month, Louisville center Gorgui Dieng injured his wrist. He has been out for a month. Speculation in the Bluegrass State has been rampant about whether or not he’d return to go toe-to-toe with University of Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel. Well, [...]