Coverage of World Championships, Miller

Posted at 4:55 p.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Wanted to pass along some information regarding the United State U-19 National Team and UK player Darius Miller.

The U.S. just wrapped up its second-round games and will begin quarterfinal play Friday against Canada in Auckland, New Zealand. If the U.S. advances, it will play the semifinals on Saturday and then must win again to play in the finals on Sunday. The team is supposed to return Monday.

If you're hoping to catch Miller and Team USA in action, there is supposed to be a production of the four quarterfinal games, two semifinal games, the bronze medal game and the gold medal game. FIBA was unable to secure a broadcast partner in the U.S. for the games, so if the U.S. advances, the plan is to stream the games live on www.fibativ.com. The downside is there will be a small fee to view the games.

 

Behind the numbers: A closer look at the women's basketball schedule

Posted at 3:37 p.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

The UK women's basketball team announced its 2009-10 non-conference schedule, a slate that includes 13 teams from 11 different conferences.

The most notable matchups include games against Louisville, Middle Tennessee, UC Santa Barbara, but I thought I'd take a little more in-depth look at what the Cats' schedule looks like.

Matthew Mitchell's Cats will face 13 opponents that had an overall record of 241-176 last season, which translates to a 57.8 winning percentage. Six teams on the non-conference slate were in last season's RPI top 100, including three NCAA Tournament teams.

UK's four road opponents will be true road tests and an opportunity to pad the tournament résumé. The average RPI of the four road teams is 78.5, while UK's total average RPI total comes out to 155.3.

Upon first glance, it's obviously not the toughest schedule in the nation, but it's one that fits the Cats perfectly. UK has bid farewell to a couple of key players in Carly Ormerod and Eleia Roddy because of graduation and it will have to deal with a pretty major roster turnover. The Cats' incoming freshmen and transfers are expected to make a huge difference in terms of talent and depth, but like any new class, it's going to take time for them to adjust to their new roles and team. UK's fair-to-moderate schedule should give those new players the time they need to prepare for the always-tough Southeastern Conference.

Date	Opponent	Location	Last year's record	Last year's RPI
Nov. 13	Boston University	Lexington	25-8, 11-4 American East	88
Nov. 15	Butler	Lexington	20-12, 10-6 Horizon	118
Nov. 17	at Morehead State	Morehead, Ky.	17-14, 4-10 OVC	197
Nov. 22	Tennessee-Chattanooga	Lexington	22-10, 8-5 Southern	99
Nov. 25	at UC Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, Calif.	22-10, 7-7 Big West	84
Nov. 28	McNeese State	Lexington	14-16, 5-10 Southland	271
Dec. 1	Miami (Ohio)	Lexington	16-15, 6-8 MAC	154
Dec. 4	at Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	14-17, 2-9 Big East	91
Dec. 13	Florida A&M	Lexington	14-17, 3-12 MEAC	262
Dec. 20	Louisville	Lexington	34-5, 12-3 Big East	4
Dec. 22	Tennessee-Martin	Lexington	2-27, 0-14 OVC	338
Dec. 28	at Middle Tennessee State	Murfreesboro, Tenn.	28-6, 10-5, Sun Belt	29
Jan. 1	Mississippi Valley State	Lexington	13-19, 3-12 Southwestern	284

 

Meeks signs three-year deal with Bucks

Posted at 2:25 p.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that former UK guard Jodie Meeks has inked a three-year contract  with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Meeks, UK's record-holder for the most points in a game, was drafted 41st overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.

"I'm excited about it and relieved to have done it," Meeks said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story. "I know they have a lot of confidence in me. I've got to continue to come in here and work hard and show what I can do."

The story doesn't say if the deal is a guaranteed contract, although former UK assistant coach Alvin Brooks announced on his Twitter account that it was a two-year guaranteed deal.

If that's the case, it should squash the remaining criticism about Meeks taking a chance in this year's draft. All Meeks wanted was a chance in the NBA, and if the deal is indeed true, he now has it.

"It shows they have a lot of confidence in me," Meeks said in the story. "I'm definitely going to prove to everybody I can play on this level.

Meeks has been working out with his Milwaukee teammates for the past two weeks and will play in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas starting Friday.

UPDATE: We have confirmed with Jodie Meeks that he has in fact struck a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks. The deal is three years, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel originally reported, the first two of which are guaranteed. The team has an option for a third year.

 

Morning coffee

Posted at 10:20 a.m. EDT - Eric Lindsey, UK Media Relations

Not a whole lot of anything going on out there today in the form of news. The stories are worth your reads, but don't get your hopes up for anything breaking in your morning read.

What's definitely worth viewing takes place at 11:45 a.m. We'll continue "Wildcat Wednesdays" with pitcher Alex Meyer and baseball head coach Gary Henderson. It will be the same format as usual. If you haven't had a chance to send a question in and talk to some of UK Athletics' athletes and coaches, today is the day.

UK highlight of the day: Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger caught up with former linebacker Wesley Woodyard, a personal favorite of mine.

Woodyard will always have a special place in the heart of UK fans. He was one of the catalysts behind the rebirth of the UK football program. There have been a handful of more talented players than Woodyard to come through Kentucky over the last few years, but nobody worked harder or bled more blue than Woodyard.

In part, it's why the undersized linebacker has succeeded on the next level. Based on physicality alone, Woodyard shouldn't even be in the NFL, but he's such a tireless worker and so dedicated that it's spilled over to the pro level. Woodyard is making yet another transition this season with the Denver Broncos as he switches to an inside linebacker. Are there any doubts that he won't succeed again?

Bonus UK highlight: Steve Moss of WKYT writes that head coach John Calipari and Kentucky native and PGA Tour golfer Kenny Perry are enjoying a budding friendship.

Darius Miller update: Miller had his best game of the FIBA U-19 World Championships in the United States' 76-69 squeaker over Lithuania. Miller scored 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including three rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.

SEC highlight of the day: In honor of Michael Jackson's memorial service Tuesday, Mike Herndon from the Mobile Press-Register writes on the state of the upcoming Southeastern Conference football season this week under the titles of some of Jackson's greatest hits. Clever idea.

UK didn't make Herndon's list, but here are some highlights:

• Don't Stop `Til You Get Enough: Theme song for the Florida Gators, who want to add a third national title in four years to their trophy case.

• Wanna Be Startin' Somethin': Ole Miss, which thinks it's ready to throw off its reputation as SEC also-ran and join the big boys in preseason top 10.

• Off the Wall: New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, whose sanity has been questioned nearly every time he's opened his mouth since taking over in Knoxville.

• Love that last one. If only Jackson had written a song called "In over his head."

National highlight of the day: After a four-year stint with retirement, Lance Armstrong is back in the Tour de France and right back in the hunt for an unprecedented eighth yellow jersey.  

Armstrong currently sits in second place, mere fractions of a second from the overall lead. Really, we shouldn't be surprised at this point. I mean, what hasn't the guy done? If he can survive a life-threatening bout with cancer and return to win seven Tour de France titles, what's a little four-year break? That's maybe worth a small chapter in Armstrong's novel of accomplishments.

The scary thing for the rest of the field in the race is Armstrong is just getting started. The race is about to hit the hills, a place Armstrong has feasted on the field over the years. Because of Armstrong's age, the race isn't a formality yet, but it's getting darn close.

Bonus UK highlight: The King got crammed on. Word out of the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio, is that Jordan Crawford, the brother of former UK player Joe Crawford, threw down a nasty two-hand dunk on LeBron James during a pick-up game Monday night.

The dunk became an instant blogging legend, partly because James had some of his Nike basketball people confiscate evidence of the dunk. Nike senior director Lynn Merritt made sure to seize all tapes of the throw down, leaving us disappointed bloggers without video proof of the slam.

Come on, LeBron, grow up and show some humility. It's one little dunk and it's not like you haven't done the same to just about every player in the NBA. Don't let your ego get in the way of some harmless fun.  The fact that people confiscated the tape only make you look worse.