Sports

Teague's Tough Rookie Season

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:14:00 -0400

Former Kentucky Wildcat now Chicago Bull Marquis Teague was in town today at Lexington Sports Cards to meet fans and sign autographs.

Teague averaged 2 points, one assist and one rebound a game in roughly 8 minutes a night for Chicago during the team's campaign to get back into the playoffs before losing the Miami Heat in five games.

Even though the stat line might not be ballooning right now for the rookie guard, Teague said he learned a lot in his first season against the pros.

Hear from the ex-Cat in the video.

Cal On Mays In Brooklyn

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:08:00 -0400

Nerlens Noel is likely to go number one in the June 27th NBA Draft.

If not, he's definitely off the board quickly.

Archie Goodwin is also expected to be a first-rounder.

But what about another guy with hopes of going pro?

Julius Mays spent five years in college...four playing for three different schools...North Carolina State, Wright State and Kentucky.

Yesterday Mays worked out in Brooklyn at the Nets draft combine...other teams were also present...Houston and the Clippers to name a couple really involved.

UK head coach John Calipari was also back in his old northeast stomping grounds.

Cal coached the Nets from 1997-99 and had this to say after about returning to the Nets and seeing Mays performance.

Hear from Cal in Brooklyn in the video.

Bat Cats Season Tale of Misses

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:00:00 -0400

The UK baseball season is likely over after the bat cats were bounced in their first Southeastern Conference tournament game by Ole Miss yesterday 4-1.

Kind of sums up the home stretch for UK this year as Kentucky missed out on opportunities to win close games.

Usually never getting enough guys around the bases. Getting them on wasn't exactly the problem...getting them home was.

No need to elaborate on that right Coach Gary Henderson?

Answer in the video.

Softball Sets Sights on CWS

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:57:00 -0400

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After hosting the school’s first NCAA Regional last weekend at John Cropp Stadium where it defeated Virginia Tech and Marshall to claim the regional title, the No. 12 University of Kentucky softball team is ready to hit the road to Tempe, Ariz., this weekend to play in the school’s second-ever NCAA Super Regional against No. 5 national seed Arizona State at Farrington Stadium.

Kentucky (41-19) and Arizona State (48-10) will start the best-of-three series Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2, with game two of the series coming Sunday at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN. If necessary, game three of the series will be played at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN2. All three games will also be available on WatchESPN.

Fans can also hear every game of the Tempe Super Regional on the UK/IMG Sports Radio Network with Dick Gabriel calling the action. Fans in Lexington can hear the game on 630AM WLAP while it will also be available online at UKathletics.com.

ASU will be the home team Saturday night, while UK will be the home team in game two on Sunday. The higher seeded team has the choice of home/away in game three, if necessary. A full schedule and ticket information is listed below.

Kentucky advanced out of the Lexington Regional behind strong pitching as freshman hurler Kelsey Nunley went 3-1 with a 0.83 ERA, striking out 15 batters in 25.1 innings pitched. Junior pitcher/infielder Lauren Cumbess also pitched well, going 3.2 innings in the clinching game, allowing no runs on two hits with one strikeout. Combined, opponents only hit just .184 against UK in the regional round, collecting a combined 18 hits and only three earned runs.

Offensively, UK was paced by freshman slapper Sylver Samuel, who hit .556 (5-for-9) with three runs scored, three stolen bases and a .556 on-base percentage. Junior outfielder Ginny Carroll hit .429 in the regional, while sophomore catcher Griffin Joiner hit .417 with a double. Cumbess collected three hits over the weekend with a home run and three RBI, while junior infielder Krystal Smith had a home run and two RBI.

Arizona State enters the Tempe Super Regional with a 48-10 overall record after finishing Pac-12 play at 16-8. ASU is an impressive 38-3 at home this season, while it won 21 straight games to open the season. Arizona State has been led offensively this season by Amber Freeman, who has started all 58 games with a .382 batting average, including 18 home runs and 61 RBI. Cheyenne Coyle leads the team with 19 homers and 61 RBI, while Bailey Wigness is hitting .379 with 14 stolen bases. Five ASU players have 10 or more home runs this season, while four players have 40 or more RBI. As a team, ASU is hitting .334 with 92 homers and 403 runs scored.

The Sun Devils have been just as good in the circle, posting a team ERA of 2.07 with 418 strikeouts as a staff. Dallas Escobedo paces the team with a 28-4 record and 2.10 ERA after dominating regional action with a 3-0 record and no runs scored on just five hits in three games. Escobedo hasn’t allowed an earned run in 31 consecutive innings. Mackenzie Popescue is 19-6 this season with a 2.03 ERA in 134.1 innings pitched, while Alexis Cooper and Jenna Makis are a combined 1-0 in limited action.

Kentucky squared off against the Sun Devils once this season back in February in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. UK fell behind early to Arizona State in the game, dropping an 8-1 decision. Escobedo got the start for ASU, throwing a complete game, allowing one earned run on five hits with eight strikeouts. The lone run was scored on a solo home run in the fifth inning by Joiner. UK also had hits from Kara Dill, Alice O’Brien and Cumbess in the game.

Cumbess started in the circle for UK, going three innings, allowing three earned runs on three hits with one strikeout. Nunley came on in relief in the fourth inning, allowing five earned runs on seven hits. Elizabeth Caporuscio was the offensive star for ASU, hitting a double and triple with two RBI, while Freedman and Sam Parlich also had home runs.

Although UK only played Arizona State once this season, the Wildcats have played three games this year at Farrington Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. UK actually started its season with a win over highly ranked Cal at Farrington Stadium before defeating Oregon State the next day at the park as part of the 2013 Kajikawa Classic.

Saturday’s Super Regional game marks just the third all-time meeting between Kentucky and Pac-12 power Arizona State with the series tied a 1-1. The two teams first met in the Kajikawa Classic in 2010 in Tempe with the Wildcats posting a 5-2 victory over ASU. The second meeting was UK’s 8-1 loss earlier this season. Both games were played at Farrington Stadium.

For the latest on UK softball, follow "@UKSoftball" on Twitter or like Kentucky Softball on Facebook.

NCAA Tempe Super Regional
Kentucky - 41-19
Arizona State - 48-10

Schedule
Game One: Saturday, May 25 - Kentucky vs. Arizona State - 10 p.m. ET - ESPN2
Game Two: Sunday, May 26 - Arizona State vs. Kentucky - 5 p.m. ET - ESPN
Game Three: Sunday, May 26 - Kentucky vs. Arizona State - 8 p.m. ET - ESPN2*
* If necessary

With Draft Lottery Tonight...What Could've Been?

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:21:00 -0400

With the NBA draft lottery tonight, we think about what could've been.

Alex Poythress could've gone pro after his freshman year. A projected first round pick who may have slipped to round two.

But instead he's coming back...and that's okay with Coach Cal.

he knows it takes different amounts of time for each player to be ready for the pros. Some guys can do it out of high school. Others it takes all four years of eligibility at college or more.

And what's wrong with that says Calipari? Why is it that only at Kentucky do you have to be a one-and-done in order to be a success?

And how excited is Cal to have a hard-working, right-mind Poythress back for a sophomore season?

All that and more in the video.

NCAA Not Making Cal's Christmas List

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:12:00 -0400

The NCAA isn't on Coach Cal's Christmas card list...for a variety of well known reasons.

The latest? How he'll change his coaching strategy to better fit changes coming the game's way.

Physicality may be a thing of the past in collegiate basketball...as impeding an offensive player's freedom of motion could be deemed a personal foul.

But even if changes come to the rules, Cal says he'll adjust his teachings to better reflect them.

Because knowing the game and how to get to the foul line is half the battle of winning.

More from Cal in the video.

Ole Miss Bounces UK 4-1 In SEC Tournament

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:06:00 -0400

HOOVER, Ala. -- No. 21 Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead and held on to post a 4-1 win over Kentucky in the opener of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, eliminating the Wildcats, on Tuesday morning at the Hoover Met.

Kentucky (30-25) fell behind after the Rebels plated a single run in the first and third innings. The Wildcats manufactured a run with a delayed-steal play with two outs in the fourth inning, with Ole Miss plating a pair of runs in the sixth for a 4-1 lead. The Wildcats loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning but couldn’t get anything across to narrow the Ole Miss lead.

UK senior starter Jerad Grundy (6-6) worked 5.2 innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, striking out one. Sophomore Chandler Shepherd came on in relief in the sixth and allowed the first hit in a span of six consecutive innings, scoring a run charged to Grundy. Shepherd worked 2.1 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two.

UK was led at the plate by a two-hit game from Matt Reida, who extended his hitting streak to a career-long 11 games. UK also got a double from Zac Zellers and singles from Kyle Barrett, A.J. Reed and J.T. Riddle. Freshman Zack Storm came off the bench to post a 2-for-2 game with a pair of singles.

Ole Miss (37-20) senior starter Mike Mayers (5-5) working 6.1 strong innings, allowing six UK hits and one unearned run, walking one and striking out four. Lefty Jeremy Massie came on in relief in the seventh, working 1.2 shutout innings, allowing one walk and an infield single to the speedy Storm. Tanner Bailey came on to record the save with three outs in the ninth.

Two singles and a sacrifice fly put Ole Miss up 1-0 in the bottom of the first. Austin Anderson reached first on a single into rightfield with one out and advanced to third on a single into a rightfield from Stuart Turner. Andrew Mistone brought Anderson home, flying out to rightfield for a sacrifice fly and giving the Rebels a 1-0 lead.

Two doubles in the bottom of the third scored an additional run for the Rebels. Christian Helsel opened the inning with a double into leftfield, moving over to third on a sacrifice bunt. Anderson followed with a double down the rightfield line, scoring Helsel and increasing the Rebels’ lead to 2-0.

Kentucky scored its first run in the top of the fourth after Zellers knocked a one-out double into right-centerfield. Reed moved Zellers to third on a ground out to second base and an Austin Cousino walk gave UK runners on first and third with two outs. With Riddle at the plate, Cousino stole second and an errant throw enabled Zellers to score from third.

Ole Miss added two in the bottom of the sixth, pushing its lead to 4-1. Mistone reached second on a double down the leftfield line and came around to score when Auston Bousfield singled into rightfield. Pinch-hitter Austin Knight singled through the right side, moving Bousfield into scoring position. A single up the middle from Will Allen scored Bousfield from second.

GAME NOTES: UK falls to 4-3 in its blue and grey uniform combination … Ole Miss leads the series with UK, 44-30, including a 2-1 mark in the SEC Tournament … UK is now 3-2 in neutral site games in 2013 … UK falls to 19-6 in non-conference games … UK is now 22-12 in day games … UK drops to 20-17 against right-handed starting pitching … UK is now 5-4 on Tuesdays … UK drops to 7-15 vs. top-25 foes … UK is now 8-15 when its opponent scores first … UK has played four consecutive errorless games.

Junior second baseman J.T. Riddle made his team-leading 121st consecutive start.
Senior Jerad Grundy made his 14th start of the year and the 30th of his career.
Freshman Kyle Barrett has hits in 18 of his last 19 games.
Senior Zac Zellers doubled for the fourth time in 2013.
Sophomore Austin Cousino stole his 14th base of the year.
Junior Matt Reida extended his hitting streak to a career-long 11 games.
- Reida recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the year.
Junior catcher Micheal Thomas caught his 12th runner stealing in 2013.
Sophomore Chandler Shepherd made his 26th appearance of the year, second-most on the club.

Harper Makes U-19 Team

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:31:00 -0400

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s basketball signee Linnae (La-NAY) Harper was one of 12 players selected to the 2013 USA Basketball Women’s U19 World Championship Team, announced USA Basketball on Sunday. Harper was one of 33 athletes invited to tryouts for the team, which were held May 16-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The 12-member team was selected by the USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee, chaired by UT Chattanooga head coach Jim Foster.

Harper, a 5-foot-8 guard from Chicago and a former teammate of current Wildcat Janee Thompson at Whitney Young High School, is no stranger to USA Basketball. She won gold medals as a member of the 2012 USA U17 World Championship Team and the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship Team. She also was awarded an honorary bronze medal in the inaugural 2011 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship. She is one of eight members on the team who have won a gold medal playing with USA Basketball.

“Just being here the last day, everyone was anxious and ready to hear their name called,” Harper said. “Every year I’ve been here I’m always nervous, my stomach feels like it is dropping and spinning, lack of rest, then to hear my name called was a big relief. I was so excited. This is another opportunity to represent our country and be with another group of girls I’ve never played with, a mixture of college and high school, and I really can’t wait to spend a nice month with them.”

Harper and the rest of Team USA will compete at the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship, hosted by Lithuania from July 18-28 in Klaipeda and Panevėžys. The red, white and blue has won the last four gold medals at the FIBA U19 World Championships.

“We were able to pick a U19 team that has a lot of strengths in a lot of different areas,” said Foster. “I think that bodes well for them. They have good size. They have some people who can put the ball in the basket. They’re athletic, and I think they can be good defensively. It’s a team that has a lot of potential to be very successful.

“The team has some players whose skill set is a little different than their position. Breanna Stewart, A’Ja Wilson and Brianna Turner are all 6’3” or above and are equally as comfortable putting the ball on the floor after they get a rebound and starting a fast break on their own. It’s an interesting dimension, and it makes the team that much more versatile because you could actually play some of them at wing positions and have a very, very big team on the floor. It makes for a lot of versatility.”

The 12-player team includes: Candice Agee (Penn State/Victorville, Calif.); Nia Coffey (Hopkins H.S./ Minneapolis, Minn.); Bashaara Graves (Tennessee/Clarksville, Tenn.); Gabby Green (St. Mary’s College H.S./Oakland, Calif.); Linnae Harper (Whitney Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.); Moriah Jefferson (Connecticut/Glenn Heights, Texas); Alexis Jones (Duke/Irving, Texas); Kelsey Plum (La Jolla Country Day/Poway, Calif.); Breanna Stewart (Connecticut/North Syracuse, N.Y.); Morgan Tuck (Connecticut/Bolingbrook, Ill.); Brianna Turner (Manvel H.S./Pearland, Texas); A’ja Wilson (Heathwood Hall H.S./Hopkins, S.C.).

University of Miami head coach Katie Meier will be leading Team USA and will be assisted by Nikki Caldwell (LSU) and Kelly Graves (Gonzaga).

“I’m thrilled. The length is incredible, the talent, the diversity,” Meier said. “Everybody brings a little something different. That gives us a lot of choices as coaches in a lot of different ways that we can win basketball games. (The committee) put together what I think is the team that answers any type of a question. We have speed. We have quickness. We have size. We have shooters. They really made sure that they gave us every weapon.”

The USA will regroup for training on July 1 at the USOTC prior to traveling to Europe for a July 11-14 Spain-hosted tournament in Lanzarote, Canary Islands. Featuring U19 squads from Australia, Canada and Spain, the tournament will be good test for the U.S. From there, the American women will travel to Lithuania in an attempt to defend gold.

The FIBA U19 Worlds will feature 16 teams with athletes 19-years-old or younger. While Lithuania earned an automatic berth to the tournament as host, the remaining 15 nations were determined by the five FIBA zone qualifiers in 2012. In addition to the U.S., nations qualified out of the FIBA Americas zone include Brazil (silver medalist), Argentina (bronze medalist) and Canada (fourth place). Senegal (gold medalist) and Mali (silver medalist) will represent FIBA Africa; advancing from FIBA Asia are China (gold medalist), Japan (silver medalist) and South Korea (bronze medalist); Australia took FIBA Oceania’s spot after winning the best-of-three series against New Zealand; while FIBA Europe will be represented by France (gold medalist), Russia (silver medalist), Serbia (bronze medalist), Netherlands (fourth place) and Spain (fifth place).

Drawn into Group D, the U.S. will play its preliminary and second round games in Panevėžys, and opens against Lithuania on July 18, followed by China on July 19 and caps the preliminary round against Mali on July 20.

The top three finishing teams from each first-round group will advance to the second round, held July 22-24. The 12 nations qualifying for the second round will be divided into Groups E and F. Each team will play the three new teams in its new group, with all results of games played in the preliminary round carrying over to determine the second-round standings.

Teams finishing in first through fourth places in the second round will qualify for the quarterfinals, with the opportunity to advance to the semifinals and finals. The medal round will be played in Klaipeda, with the quarterfinals held on July 26, semifinals slated for July 27 and the gold medal game on July 28.

In addition to Foster, the 2013-14 USA Basketball includes NCAA appointees Melanie Balcomb (head coach, Vanderbilt University), Lindsay Gottlieb (head coach, University of California) and Joi Williams (head coach, UCF), as well as athlete representative Kara Lawson, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist who has played on nine USA Basketball teams.

Goodwin Got Game?

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:25:00 -0400

Archie Goodwin didn't exactly have the best showing last week at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

Coach Cal said before last week's performance Goodwin's individual workouts for certain teams would be more important anyway.

With Archie being the youngest player in the draft, Cal thinks it's a great opportunity for a team who needs or wants a guy with the right attitude and work ethic...an opportunity to snag a young prospect and mold him into what they need.

But is Goodwin too young? Does he have the skill-set to begin with?

Cal wouldn't get into the particulars and his opinion on Archie in the league, but did offer this as the NBA Draft Lottery is now roughly 24 hours away.

Check out the video for more of Cal's take on Goodwin's chances in the league.

Cat Fighting May Be Necessary

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:20:00 -0400

Fighting can be a good thing for a team. It might sound weird at first but stick with it for a second.

Two years ago, the UK men's basketball team had guys like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis to lead the way for Kentucky en route to an eighth national title.

When guys got on one another, it created a better on court product.

They understood the value of pushing each other...of fighting to become better.

The value of building chemistry by 'cat fighting.'

But how much could be too much?

Cal on that in the video.