Brooks undervalued, deserves more credit

Posted at 3:39 p.m. EDT – Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Outstanding column by John Adams a few days back that someone forwarded to me. The column, titled Kentucky's success is all about Brooks, talks about Rich Brooks and how often he’s been overlooked for what he’s done in Lexington.

Adams praises Brooks throughout the column and goes on to award Brooks the Rich Brooks Award. Huh? Click on the story and it will explain.

But the story brings up a great point that we need to stop ignoring. When we talk about the best coaches in the Southeastern Conference, why is Brooks always an afterthought? Too often I read rankings of the SEC’s best coaches, and Brooks is almost always at or near the bottom.

Whether rankings indicate it or not, his track record proves he’s one of the best coaches in the conference, even if he doesn’t possess the hype and credentials of coaches like Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.

 

Paxton’s stock continues to soar

Posted at 12:43 p.m. EDT – Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

While we’re talking about drafts, let’s touch on baseball as well.

SportsCenter listed the top prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft, and Kentucky’s own James Paxton was near the top of the list. The left-hander was listed as the third best prospect overall for the 2009 draft.

Paxton has slipped a bit in the latest Baseball America Mock Draft, but he’s still listed as one of the top-50 prospects in all of America. Although Paxton didn’t make the first round in Jim Callis' latest mock draft (you must be a subscriber), he’s still listed as the 37th best prospect.

The 6-foot-1 lefty throws a 93-94 mph fastball, and has even been clocked as high as 97. His heater has good run and good sink to go along with an above-average curveball and good command, according to Baseball America.

“Anonymous a year ago, Paxton has pitched himself into first-round consideration,” Baseball America writes.

Paxton went 5-3 with a 5.86 ERA in 2009 for UK, including 115 strikeouts.

The 2009 MLB Draft is held June 9-11.

 

Meeks’ uncertainty raises uneasiness in the Commonwealth

Posted at 12:17 p.m. EDT – Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

The Bluegrass State is starting to feel uneasy about Jodie Meeks’ decision.

Since the moment he declared for the NBA Draft without signing with an agent, the fans, the media and NBA analysts have speculated that Meeks would pull out of the draft long before the June 15 deadline. They thought that Meeks, predicted by most early on to be a mid to late second-round pick, was merely testing the waters for experience.

Patrick Patterson, a borderline lottery pick, was viewed as the potential early entry, not Meeks. When the surprise came that Patterson was returning to school, it seemed like a formality that Meeks was going to be back in blue and white.

Not so fast.

As the calendar continues to turn, Meeks remains squarely in the pool of players vying to make an NBA team.

Following an impressive NBA Combine, word has leaked that Meeks’ stock is on the rise. Once thought of as a late second-round pick, Meeks’ name has been rumored with several teams in the late first round.

The interest is only mild at this point, but Meeks’ recent workouts have a handful of NBA general managers wondering if they should take a shot.

Meeks is wondering the same thing.

Maybe he’s fooling all of us with his last-minute decision, but Meeks and his father have said in multiple reports that he would consider staying in the draft if he was assured of a first-round pick.

To be honest with you, I really don’t know what he’s going to do at this point. When he declared for the draft, I had already made up my mind that it was nothing more than a trial run for next season. It could still be. But as each day passes and we get closer and closer to June 15, I’m starting to feel a little uneasy about my earlier notion.

After all, Meeks has the scoring mentality and skills to succeed in the NBA. Scouts have said so themselves. They’re impressed with his ability to shoot the basketball and his NBA-chiseled body. They have said he could use another year of college to hone his game, but they’ve also said his stock may never be higher in the same breath. Next year’s potential draft class looks to be explosive, which certainly won’t help Meeks if he decides to stay another year.

In the end, we shouldn’t live or die with what Meeks decides. The thought of playing alongside John Wall and Co. evokes national championships thoughts, but as Meeks has said on multiple occasions, he has to do what’s best for him.

If that’s staying in the NBA Draft, so be it. We should all support him and wish him luck. If he decides he’s coming back for his senior season, well, I don’t think there is anything I could say that could possibly calm your excitement down.

Not that these necessarily mean anything, but a couple of NBA Mock Drafts to scan over:

NBAdraft.net doesn’t even have Meeks getting picked, while draftexpress.com has Meeks going to the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 16th pick in the second round. Jodie Meeks playing alongside LeBron James?! Wow.    

 

Assistant coaches deserve much of the credit for giant splash

Posted at 11:13 a.m. EDT – Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

 

New head coach John Calipari sends out a 140-character Twitter text message and fans hang on to every word he says. Meanwhile, his little-known assistants walk the streets of Lexington, sit down at a table to get something to eat, and nobody notices a difference.

 

“Well the good thing is Orlando (Antigua), Rod (Strickland) and I have sort of flown under the radar where no one knows who we are,” assistant coach John Robic said. “It’s kind of neat when we’re out eating that they don’t know who we are so you can kind of hear what they’re talking about. UK basketball is all they talk about.”

 

If only the people at the adjacent tables knew who they were sitting next to. Soon they will.

 

Antigua, Strickland and Robic have all followed Calipari from Memphis and are embarking on their first few weeks at UK. If the first two months have been a “time warp” for Calipari, it’s been a “whirlwind” for his assistants, Antigua said.

 

“It’s been amazing, it’s been exciting and exhilarating,” Antigua said. “It’s just been a great experience in a short amount of time with all we’ve been able to accomplish. All the stars had to line up for this opportunity to become available to coach Cal willing to leave a great organization in Memphis and come here, and for these players still be available this late in the recruiting process.”

 

The stars aligned perfectly over Lexington on of all days, April Fool’s Day, when UK introduced Calipari as its head coach, and they’ve never moved since. UK secured what most consider is the nation’s best recruiting class, Patrick Patterson decided to return to school for his junior season and the Cats have stolen most of the national headlines, even garnering heavy preseason consideration as a Final Four contender next season.

 

Most of the credit – check that, all of the credit – has been thrown Calipari’s way, and most justifiably so. But let’s not forget about the men behind the scenes. Robic, Antigua and Strickland didn’t get here riding the coattails of Calipari. They earned their own success and UK’s recent triumphs on their own merit.

 

Robic has been a longtime assistant of Calipari’s. He started with Calipari at UMass from 1988-96, where he helped lead the Minutemen to an average of 26 wins a season and the 1996 Final Four. After Cal left for the NBA, he stayed on for three more seasons before taking the head coaching job at Youngstown State from 1999-2005.

 

The longtime assistant led the Penguins from the Mid-Continent Conference to the Horizon League, but was let go after the 2005 season. It wasn’t but a day later that Calipari called from Memphis and told him he had a job with him.

 

“I’m appreciative that he looked after me,” Robic said.

 

Calipari’s loyalty is one of his strongest but most overlooked traits. Loyalty and hard work is how Robic earned his way to becoming Calipari’s right-hand man. Where Antigua and Strickland serve as the primary recruiters, Robic is responsible for scouting, game film and keeping up with the program’s day-to-day operations.

 

It’s as if he’s a Calipari clone working behind the scenes. After 13 years with Calipari, it’s not that hard to imagine.

 

“We know how each other thinks,” Robic said.

 

Antigua and Strickland’s primary duties are to know what the recruits are thinking. Calipari’s ace recruiters, they’ve been the masterminds behind one of the greatest recruiting classes of all-time. If you thought Calipari racked up the frequent flyer miles, you should check out what Strickland and Antigua did securing the 2009-10 recruiting class.

 

Strickland comes to UK after a long and successful NBA career and three years as the director of basketball relations at Memphis.

 

The recent changes have been dramatic adjustments to say the least. For 17 seasons, Strickland tore up the NBA, averaging 13.2 points and 7.3 assists over his career. Then, after Milt Wagner left Memphis, Strickland contacted Calipari about taking over as the director of basketball relations.

 

Suddenly, Strickland went from speeding past wily NBA vets to chasing down adolescent college kids and making sure they were going to class. Quite a change. Given Strickland’s experience and success in the NBA, it came as no surprise when he was promoted to assistant following Calipari’s move to UK, allowing Strickland to recruit, teach and communicate with the players both on and off the court.

 

“I’m whatever imaginable,” Strickland said. “I’m here to follow the coach’s lead. I’m whatever needs to be done.”

 

The biggest need, and Strickland’s biggest asset, is relating to recruits and current players. They want to know how they can get to the next level, and Strickland is able to offer a perfect hands-on blueprint for getting to the pros.

 

“They’re trying to get to the place where I’ve been,” Strickland said. “For the kids, it’s an opportunity to pick my brain, pick coach’s brain and get a little insight to what it takes to be a pro and what work ethic will be needed.”

 

Having played for Pittsburgh and the Harlem Globetrotters, Antigua offers that same hands-on experience. But he also possesses a hardship that few have ever gone through. Antigua battled back from a headshot wound at the age of 16  and overcame a family eviction and homelessness.

 

They’re trials that nobody deserves to go through, but it changed Antigua’s outlook on life.

 

He was granted a second and even third chance because of his hard work and dedication. Antigua went on to a successful basketball career, including five years at Pitt and a seven-year stint with the Harlem Globetrotters, where he became the first Latino in Globetrotters’ history.

 

Antigua’s rough childhood made him a stronger person and one bent on taking advantage of a second opportunity on life. He went on to become an assistant at his alma mater for five seasons before joining Calipari at Memphis for a yea.

 

“It allows you to relate to kids who may be going through tough situations and their own personal obstacles,” Antigua said. “It may just be a tough family background or a small problem, but I can show them to appreciate the opportunity and use their God-given abilities to do something positive with their lives.”

 

When it came time for the assistant coaches to make a decision in their coaching futures in the aftermath of the coaching change hire, there wasn’t much to think about. They were all coming to UK.

 

“I don’t think there would have ever been a decision,” Robic said. “Everybody was coming. There wasn’t even any talk about not coming. I think he appreciates the job that we do and he is a heck of a loyal guy.”

 

That more than anything was the biggest factor behind the giant splash the coaching staff made in just a few short weeks. Maybe there was a little fate involved in the stars aligning over UK, but each coach said it can’t be undervalued how important is was keeping most of the staff together (Josh Pastner took over the head coaching job at Memphis).

 

The continuity and familiarity allowed the coaching staff to jump right into the job without wavering or stalling. Having done this together before, they were able to address the needs and holes of the program, and patch them up in one of the most exciting times in UK basketball in recent memory.

 

Now, UK appears to be headed back to national prominence. Much of the credit has been given to Calipari for the two-month transformation, but don’t forget about the men behind the scenes. Without Robic, Antigua and Strickland by Calipari’s side, none of this would have happened.