- Kentucky basketball special assistant Rod Strickland was arrested Thursday morning for charges including driving on a suspended license, failure to signal, and having no vehicle registration. The university sent out a statement issued by UK athletics spokesman DeWayne Peevy. “Rod Strickland was pulled over this morning in Lexington on a routine traffic stop on the way to the office,” the statement said. “According to police reports, he was pulled over for failure to signal and for driving with a suspended license. According to Strickland, his vehicle was properly registered and he produced his driver’s license at the scene. We are currently gathering information on whether his license was suspended due to a clerical error which led to his arrest.” Strickland was last arrested in April of 2010 for a DUI while a Kentucky assistant.
- John Calipari and his Kentucky Wildcats worked hard for their national championship rings. And now they have given one to UK basketball fan and hip hop star Drake. Really? “They gave me a chance to actually come in and talk to them early in the season,” Drake told CoachCal.com in 2010. “Just them listening to me, I think we all connected. They’re all my boys. This is my family.” That’s understandable, but giving the guy a championship ring after he’s been a fan for three years? Come on. Give one to Ashley Judd, coach! Or find a way to reward the loyal fans who camp out for weeks to receive Big Blue Madness tickets. The ring was even etched with Drake’s nickname, “Drizzy”.
- Speaking of head coaches making friends with music stars, new South Carolina head coach Frank Martin is now friends with Pitbull. Martin sent out this tweet stating, “On my way 2 Atlanta 2 c the best performer that’s our there
@pitbull . I want our players 2 play w the same passion w which he petforms.” What’s next? How about Kevin Stallings going to a Reba McEntire performance? Maybe Mike Anderson taking in a Coldplay show? Steven Tyler could befriend Billy Donovan and start attending games in Gainesville. Who knows, maybe John Calipari will give Drake his national championship ring. Oh wait, maybe that’s not quite out there enough. Deadspin calls the relationship “weird,” but I say it’s awesome. I’m not sure how much inspiration the Gamecocks can seek from Pitbull’s performances, but I like a little celebrity action when I take in college basketball. I just don’t think any fan deserves a championship ring that the players and coaches earned.
- Laurence Bowers, the 6’8″ Missouri Tigers forward who sat out all of last season with an ACL injury, has been cleared for full contact. Bowers averaged 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his junior season for the Tigers in 2010-11. Frank Haith missed Bowers’ size last season, as he was forced into playing a four-guard lineup. With Bowers’ return, Missouri immediately becomes a major threat at the top of the conference, and for that matter, the nation.
- Rob Dauster of NBC’s College Basketball Talk wrote a post on how “sleaze is alive and well in the recruiting world.” In his article, he utilized a picture of Kentucky’s John Calipari on the cover, even though Calipari wasn’t involved in any of the implications. Oh uh. As you might expect, Kentucky fans responded. As our friends at A Sea of Blue point out, “The article does look a little bit like an attack, even though I’m pretty sure Calipari wasn’t the intended target, but “sleaze” in general. Sadly, for many, Calpari is the poster boy for that word. Yes, that’s unfair, but since when was life fair?”
Brian Joyce (333 Posts)Brian Joyce is an advanced metrics enthusiast, college hoops junkie, and writer for the SEC basketball microsite for Rush the Court.