True Blue Kentucky

Jason Horowitz and Clark Kellogg discuss the upcoming SEC tournament in Nashville:

Check out some of today's most popular topics on the TBK message boards:

• UK PG recruit Josh Selby to announce college decision April 17th.
• KACAT has another great update on spring football , this time for the LBs and DBs.
• SEC Tournament roll call . Who's going?
• Vote for John Wall for National P.O.Y.
• playerjoe1414 has a nice recap of what Joker Phillips had to say at the Sports & Social Club.
• Some tidbits on Coach Cal's most recent recruiting trip.
• New Josh Selby video - Welcome to My World.
• Quincy Miller - The Young Truth video.

'Tis the season for post-season awards, and Dick Vitale has come out with his own brand of All-American teams, labeled the 2010 All-Solid Gold Teams. Not surprisingly, Kentucky is fairly well represented, as they land two member on the first team.

John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are joined on the first team by Jon Scheyer, Greivis Vasquez, Scottie Reynolds, Evan Turner, and Wes Johnson.

Somewhat surprisingly, Patrick Patterson does not make an appearance on Vitale's second team, which includes, Greg Monroe, Luke Harangody, James Anderson, Jimmer Fredette, Damion James, Cole Aldrich, and Sheron Collins. I'll leave it to you to debate the merits of their inclusion over Patterson.

In more good news for the Cats, Vitale tags John Wall as his national player of the year, citing his ability to make his teammates better and his ability to take and make shots in crunch time.

Jim Boeheim takes coach of the year honors, though Vitale acknowledges Calipari, Frank Martin, Gary Williams, and Steve Alford as other potential candidates.

John Calipari has done a remarkable job since taking the over as head basketball coach of the University of Kentucky. Taking over a team that finished in the NIT with a 22-14 record, Cal's Wildcats have compiled a record of 29-2 heading into postseason play.  He brought in the nation's top recruiting class led by point guard John Wall.

Snubbed by coaches for the SEC Coach of the Year award, Calipari has been named one of 15 finalists for the 2010 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award. An article in the WCFCourier describes the award.The Jim Phelan Award is given annually to the nation's top coach, as voted on by the 20-member panel. The winner will be presented with the award at the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Calipari is not new to winning this award.  Last year's winner, John Calipari (Kentucky), and this year's midseason honoree, Frank Martin (Kansas State) are among the finalists. Calipari would become the first coach to win the honor multiple times since the inception of the Phelan Award in 2002-03.

A list containing the 15 finalist for the Phelan Award and the rest of the article can be found by clicking here.

 

One more day till the SEC tourney kicks off...and really Uconn?...really? no wonder they are questioning our SOS...

• Our SOS is under fire
• A look at the tourney at this point
• More on Cal’s focus on the big prize
• Vegas article about Cal’s visit to Joseph
• More Wall love
• More Wall and Cousins love
• Morriss apologizes

 

Coach Calipari discusses the SEC Tournament, SEC Awards, and more in this video:

Click "read more" to see the second part of Cal's press conference.

UK recruit Brandon Knight, who is regarded as the #1 player in the 2010 class by some, will be keeping an online diary for Slam Online documenting a day in the life of a McDonald's All-American.

The first diary entry was written earlier today by Brandon's mother and offers a unique perspective into the young man's life.  By reading her work, you can definitely see why Brandon is such a good student and bolsters a 4.3 GPA.

Some excerpts:

Five, four, three, two….one. As the buzzer sounded the crowed stood up and began to clap wildly. Somewhere in the corner Pine Crest students began to chant Brandon’s initials and the rest of the fans joined in, “BK…BK…BK…”

And so it was over, just like that my son’s high school career had ended. As I looked at Brandon limping to the center of the court (with a pulled groin) to accept his runner-up medal in The State Championship game, I cried. It was at that moment that it hit me–not the fact that we had lost the state championship, but rather the fact that my son would never play in another high school game again. I realized that the final chapter had been written and that this particular book was closed forever. As I stood next to my husband wiping my eyes, trying my best not to let the tears fall, he seemed to read my mind.

To read the full diary entry, click here and be sure to look for more in the future.

 

Check out some of today's most popular topics on the TBK message boards:

• Several Cats make the all-SEC teams including P.O.Y. honors. Congrats!
• If John Wall sweeps P.O.Y. honors, should he have his jersey retired ?
• Comparing the games of CJ Leslie and Terrence Jones.
• Is Rod Strickland going to be a candidate for a coaching job at Depaul ?
• What sets Brandon Knight apart from the rest of the 2010 class as the #1 player?
• What do you want to see the individual players accomplish during the postseason ?
• Wall named P.O.Y. by Yahoo , Cousins named 1st team All American.
• KACAT says Junior Day was a huge hit for UK Football .

The SEC has unveiled its awards for the 2009-2010 season, and several UK players were honored.

Freshman phenom John Wall received top billing, winning SEC Player of the Year. He's only the second freshman to be named Player of the Year, following LSU's Chris Jackson in 1989.

DeMarcus Cousins was named the SEC Freshman of the Year.

Wall, Cousins, and Patrick Patterson were named to the First Team All-SEC. Georgia's Trey Thompkins, Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado, South Carolina's Devan Downey, Tennessee's Wayne Chism, and Vanderbilt's Jermaine Beal also were named to the first team.

Wall was a unanimous selection on the SEC's first team.

Patterson was included on the SEC's All-Defensive Team. Wall, Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe made the SEC's All-Freshman team.

All three were unanimous selections to the freshman team.

Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings was named SEC Coach of the Year.

The votes for the awards come from the SEC's coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

John Wall highlights from secsports.com