True Blue Kentucky

Coach Cal and staff have been looking for the right pieces to fill the roster after losing 5 underclassmen to the NBA draft.  After bringing in the nation's top freshmen in Nerlens Noel, Archie Goodwin, and Alex Poytress, Kentucky still needed to add depth to the back court.  That depth was filled yesterday after Wright State transfer Julius Mays picked UK.

Mays has one year eligibility left and will be immediately able to play next season.  He originally played for NC State before transferring to Wright State.  Julius will help UK's other NC State transfer Ryan Harrow and Archie Goodwin manage the guard play.  Ben Roberts has a write up about the transfer in this article for Kentucky.com. Some excerpts from the article are below.

Julius Mays, a 6-foot-2 combo guard from Wright State, announced that he will transfer to UK. Since Mays is on pace to graduate this spring and plans to attend graduate school in an area not offered at Wright State, he is expected to be allowed to play immediately for the Cats. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Mays averaged 14.1 points per game last season for the Raiders, leading the team in scoring, assists and steals. He was named the Horizon League's newcomer of the year and was a second-team all-conference selection.

Mays, who will be 23 years old when the season begins, is expected to play significant minutes off the bench behind a likely starting backcourt of sophomore Ryan Harrow and freshman Archie Goodwin.

"I'm excited," Mays told Cats Illustrated. "That's obviously two very talented guys. We all bring something different to the table. It'll be exciting. We'll have a lot of fun and hopefully get a lot of wins."

Kentucky dished out some contract upgrades to the basketball staff just one day removed from signing a contract extension with women's head coach.  Coach Cal and staff received their incentive raises after winning national title and a job well down.  Calipari also recieved a retention bonus of a million dollars added to his contract if he stays passed the 2015 season.

Kentuckysports.com had an article detailing what increase the staff received.  You can read the article below, or by going to the Kentuckysports.com site.

University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari and assistants Orlando Antigua, Kenny Payne and John Robic have signed multi-year contracts, Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart announced Friday.

"It's rare, in this day and age, to be able to keep a staff together that has helped produce a national championship and back-to-back Final Four runs," Barnhart said. "We want to show them how appreciative we are of their hard work and dedication, and how much they mean to this program."

Calipari, who signed a new eight-year deal last spring, was awarded an 8.3 percent increase annually in guaranteed compensation from media rights and endorsements over the remaining seven years of his contract. Calipari's contract amendment also added a retention bonus of $1 million on July 31, 2015.

Kentucky became one of the front runners for former Xavier guard Mark Lyons when he made is intentions to transfer.  Lyons is now looking at three schools to take his service to.  Those schools include Kentucky, Arizona, and Kansas.

Lyons visited Kentucky on Monday and still has visits to the two other schools left before making his decision.  Cincinnati.com's Shannon Russell wrote her latest article on what he is looking for in his next school that he attends.  Here are some excerpts from the article.

The 6-foot-1 guard said he visited Kentucky’s campus Monday, will be at Arizona Friday, and plans to round out his search at Kansas once a date is set.

“I’m looking for a program that wins where I could play a major role,” Lyons said.
Xavier announced April 23 that Lyons would not be returning for his last season. Mack said in a release that Lyons did not recognize outlined expectations as important and “ultimately it was decided that a change of scenery would be in his best interest.”

Coach Cal and the Kentucky coaching staff may still have some spots open after the starting 5 declared for the NBA last week.  One of those open spots may come from a transfer from a NCAA Tournament team.  Xavier's Mark Lyons announced his intentions to transfer at the end of the year.  Lyons would become immediately eligible for next season if he finishes up his degree.

Lyons was the second leading scorer for Xavier.  He averaged 15.1 points a game and shot 39.2% from three last year.  Mark stands 6'1" and weighs 188 pounds.  He would give Kentucky some depth at guard.

Kentucky is not the only school showing interest in Lyons.  According to Jeff Eisenberg's article at Yahoo Sports, Arizona, Kentucky, and Kansas have all shown serious interest  in Lyons.  Here are some excerpts from that article.

Mark Lyons, Xavier's second-leading scorer the past two years, intends to transfer and will become eligible immediately if he finishes his degree this spring, CBSSports.com first reported on Sunday. Brewster Academy coach Jason Smith said via email Monday morning that Arizona, Kentucky and Kansas are among the schools that called or texted Sunday to express "very preliminary interest."

Adding a scoring and playmaking combo guard for one season would be a boost to all three of those programs, but it's Arizona that may have the greatest need for Lyons. While Kentucky needs guard