Kentucky Sports Radio

A source tells KSR that UK fans’ favorite reporter, CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman has been offered a job by ESPN to join Andy Katz as their lead college basketball reporter. The source tells KSR that Goodman would write for the website and join Katz as the main sideline presence for college basketball games on the network. Katz is looking at expanding his role with ESPN and Goodman could become the face you see the most when watching college basketball on the network. If Goodman takes the job, it could be especially interesting to see what happens with UK’s relationship with the network as we all know about Calipari and Goodman’s difficulties in the past.

I sought out to Goodman for comment but could not reach him. More Jeff Goodman possibly? The Big Blue Nation cant wait….

The excitement surrounding Mark Stoops and the football program is really amazing, considering where the program dipped at the end of the Joker Phillips era.  Recruiting has been a boom, which is always a good place to start.  It seems the right assistant hires were made, and there is a new passion from the fanbase surrounding the program.  But moreso in football than in basketball, there is a rigid hierarchy in the SEC standings that tends to follow a similar trend year after year after year.  And Kentucky has unfortunately been on the wrong side of that hierarchy for a long time.  For example, here is where each team in the SEC has finished in their division over the last 10 SEASONS.  Missouri and Texas A&M were left out of this breakdown:

EAST DIVISION
Georgia: 1, 1, 3, 2, 2, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1
Florida: 2, 3, 2, 1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 3, 3
Tennessee: 6, 6, 4, 3, 5, 2, 2, 5, 1, 2
South Carolina: 3, 2, 1, 5, 4, 5, 5, 2, 4, 4
Kentucky: 7, 5, 5, 4, 6, 4, 4, 6, 5, 5
Vanderbilt: 4, 4, 6, 6, 3, 6, 6, 4, 6, 6

WEST DIVISION
LSU: 2, 1, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3, 1, 2, 1
Alabama: 1, 2, 4, 1, 1, 5, 4, 3, 3, 5
Auburn: 7, 4, 1, 5, 5, 2, 2, 2, 1, 3
Arkansas: 6, 3, 2, 4, 4, 3, 1, 4, 4, 4
Ole Miss: 5, 6, 6, 3, 2, 6, 5, 6, 5, 2
Mississippi State: 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 4, 6, 5, 6, 6

Let’s take the East Division first.  Consider that in 5 of the 10 seasons, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee have finished 1-2-3 in some order.  Half of the seasons, the top half of the division have been occupied by the same 3 teams.  Florida and Georgia have finished in the Top 3 in the conference in ALL 10 SEASONS.  In fact, Florida and Georgia have both been in the top 3 of the SEC East division EVERY YEAR since 1997.  And when you take Vanderbilt and Kentucky, in their 20 seasons combined, they have finished 3rd or better in the conference ONCE.  In those 20 seasons, that is 5 combined head coaches amongst the schools.  Multiple men have tried and failed to bring those 2 schools out of the East Division cellar.  Now, in the last 3 years, South Carolina has replaced Tennessee as the 3rd power in the division, but that hasn’t meant much upward mobility from UK and VU.

In the West, LSU has roamed the top of the league for the entire 10 year stretch, finishing in the Top 3 every year.  Alabama has certainly stabilized over the last 5 years with no end in sight.  Auburn and Arkansas have generally lingered in the middle of the division (besides Auburn’s national champion year) and then the Mississippi schools sit at the bottom of the division nearly every year.  What’s amazing is people think Dan Mullen has done a fantastic job at Mississippi State but they have never finished above 4th in that division.

What about recruiting?  Where has each school finished in the recruiting rankings within the conference over the last 6 years?

Alabama: 1, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1
LSU: 5, 3, 4, 4, 2, 3
Florida: 3, 2, 9, 1, 10, 4
Georgia: 4, 6, 2, 7, 3, 2
Auburn: 7, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5
South Carolina: 10, 5, 6, 8, 5, 8
Tennessee: 12, 10, 5, 6, 4, 9
Ole Miss: 6, 14, 8, 7, 10, 7
Mississippi St: 9, 7, 11, 5, 10, 8
Arkansas: 11, 8, 7, 9, 9, 6
Kentucky: 14, 11, 10, 11, 11, 11
Vanderbilt: 8, 13, 12, 12, 12, 12

Remember the HAVE’s in the list above of conference finishes?  Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and Auburn.  Look at the 5 teams with the best recruiting success over the last 6 years.  I think you’ll find some similarities.  Now, you might say that it’s obvious that recruiting success relates to on-field success.  Which is true.  Not breaking any barriers with that theory.  But the point is, there seems to be little movement on the teams who do the best in recruiting, which leads to the wins.  A group of 5 teams essentially hog all the wins in the league, all the recruiting success in return, and the cycle repeats.

So what does that mean for Kentucky?  Well, it means it will require your PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE.  I think taking a look at South Carolina is a perfect example.  Steve Spurrier is one of the best coaches in the game and it took him SIX SEASONS to see real success there.  Mark Stoops has quite the uphill battle ahead of him.  But so do the fans.  Because you are going to have to remain patient with this program if you want to see real success.  Are you will to take 2 or 3 straight 5 and 6 win seasons with the hopes of 7, 8, and 9 win seasons after that?  I certainly hope so, because that is almost certainly going to be the case.

Oh, by the way, Mark Stoops’s 2014 class currently ranks 9th in the SEC.  Or, the best spot in the league rankings in 7 years.  Not a bad start.

Follow me on twitter @BryantheIntern

In three short days, we will finally hear the familiar pings of the ukulele heralding the return of one of television’s greatest comedies, “Arrested Development.”

After seven years, the beloved cult classic will be back on the air…sort of. Netflix has kindly purchased the rights to the show, which means it’s time to dig out one of those old postcards with the code for the free trial if you’re not already a Netflix subscriber (and really, who isn’t these days?). If you’ve never seen “Arrested Development,” you’re really missing out. It’s the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. But it’s so much more than that. It’s GOB’s failed magic tricks, the chicken dance, it’s Steve Holt!, it’s never nudes, it’s the banana stand, it’s “no touching!”, it’s the sad Charlie Brown song, it’s…it’s just so good. “Modern Family” is just about the only dysfunctional family comedy I’ve seen that compares, and even then, I don’t laugh as much.

Why did this awesome television show go off the air? Like so many great shows before it (“Sports Night” comes to mind), it got all the critical acclaim (six Emmys and one Golden Globe), but none of the ratings. After three seasons, it was canceled. As each of the characters has said, Fox “made a huge mistake.”

Over the past seven years, fans have been teased by rumors of its return and a possible movie (a script reportedly exists), and on Sunday, the show will return for fifteen glorious episodes. Trust me, that’s plenty of time to catch up. It’s the final countdown!

Uber “AD” freaks will appreciate this giant infogram of the show’s running gags.

Like most of this week, news on Wednesday was slower than a Sunday afternoon on Papa Brooks’ porch. But when has that stopped us?

— In lieu of news, we speculated about what the Cleveland Cavaliers would do with the number one pick in the draft. Chad Ford still has Nerlens going first to the Cavs, but says that the team is investigating trading their pick to little interest. While many feel Otto Porter would be the ideal fit in Cleveland, John Calipari told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Cavs GM Chris Grant scouted Noel more than any other GM last winter, which bodes well for him heading to the city by the lake. Taking Nerlens wouldn’t do much for the Cavs in the short-term since Nerlens will be out at least until Christmas, but it would increase their chances at getting a high pick in next year’s loaded lottery. For now, it still remains very likely that the Cavs will chose Nerlens, so get used to seeing him in red and yellow.

— In case you were curious as to why none of Kentucky’s six McDonald’s All-Americans were on the FIBA U19 World Championships rosters, it’s because they declined the invitation in order to come to Lexington to prepare for next season. Cal told The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy that the decision was all their own: “Most of it is, they didn’t want to play. I’m not forcing kids to do anything. I think the reason they all turned it down is, they want to get started.” Willie Cauley-Stein also turned down an invitation to play for Team USA during the World University Games, citing the need to prepare for the spotlight in the fall. Kyle Wiltjer will try out for the Canadian National Team, but Calipari says he fully supports that decision. All of the players will be back on campus in June to start the summer session.

They’re not even in Lexington yet, but I’m endlessly impressed with the freshman class’ attitudes towards the upcoming season. Last year, we learned the dangers of high expectations, but this group seems to possess a “come at me” attitude that their predecessors lacked. Even more important may be the returning players’ vigor to come back and finish business. The loss to Robert Morris planted a seed of revenge within each of them, and combined with the freshmen’s confidence and “alpha male” attitude, that could be a very, very potent brew. Willie said it best when he said “this is not the summer for me to do this stuff. I just can’t wait to get back. I want to get prepared.”

— It looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer for John Calipari to get a shot at coaching Team USA. Coach K announced that he will return to coach the Olympic Team in 2016. Here’s a fun question: how many former Cats will be on that team?

Meanwhile, Cal, I thought we agreed that you would throw out this shirt after the Wildcat Lodge video??

— In other non-UK news, 2014 star Theo Pinson committed to UNC on Wednesday, picking the Heels over Indiana, Louisville, Duke and Georgetown. Pinson is the 13th best player in the 2014 class and while Kentucky was never really a contender for his services, it still feels good to see Indiana get slighted. Tom Crean and the Hoosiers wanted Pinson badly, but the talented small forward chose Roy Williams instead. Maybe he was afraid of being kissed on the mouth by a man?

— On Thursday, Julius Mays will be working out at the Brooklyn Nets’ league-wide combine. He’s scheduled to go on at 11:15 a.m., so be sure to tune into KSR to see how Uncle Julius does. He may not be a John Wall or a Nerlens Noel, but he gave it his all for Kentucky for one season, and I will always root for that.

— Finally, two epic days of KSR Radio begin on Thursday, first with MATTHEW MITCHELL in-studio with Matt to co-host (cue up the Kelly Clarkson, Shannon!), and on Friday, the gang will travel to Floyd County to meet Charles Ramsey, who will spend a half hour talking about ribs, salsa music, and dead giveaways. Don’t miss out.

Jodie Meeks is back on campus this summer to work on his degree. Though this hurts the narrative journalists would like you to believe about college athletes that leave school early, UK basketball’s twitter account (@KentuckyMBB) tweeted the above picture of Jodie in the UK basketball offices today along with the following message:

Always good to see family back in Lex! @jmeeks20 back taking classes and adding to the #successrate #54 twitter.com/KentuckyMBB/st…

— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) May 22, 2013

I don’t know what the hash tag “#54″ means. Maybe it’s an estimate of the percentage Meeks would’ve shot from three point range had he stayed for his final season. Or maybe it’s just a shout out to Patrick Patterson.

To me, Jodie’s early departure is the biggest “what if” thus far in Calipari’s tenure. If he would have stayed, I doubt we lose to West Virginia in the Elite Eight. And I bet we win the title. Even without Jodie we were the best team left in that tournament. If Coach Cal could’ve kept Jodie around Lexington I think the incoming kids would be tweeting about getting ten instead of nine.

But, we can’t go back and change it now.  I think I speak for the BBN when I say good on you Jodie. Way to set an example. I can’t say I’d be doing the same if I was an NBA star making tons of money. Best of luck in class. Don’t let J. Cole continue to distract you.

Power trip by J Cole keeps gettin stuck in my head and I’m tryna take notes in class lol…”Got me up all night!” haha

— Jodie Meeks (@Jmeeks20) May 22, 2013

In closing, here is one of my favorite moments from the career of Jodie Meeks. It combines an incredible move from a game in which Jodie had 40+ points with a legendary quote from one of my favorite announcers, Bill Raftery.

@AFlenerKSR

Barring a trade or some unforeseeable rise from another lottery prospect, Nerlens Noel’s NBA career, like the careers of Bone Thugz-N-Harmony, will begin in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Cavaliers franchise won the rights to the first overall pick and Noel is the clear-cut favorite to hear his name called first by commissioner David Stern in next month’s NBA draft. For Noel, it will be a dream come true to finally wear the hat of an NBA team as that franchise’s big investment, while shaking hands and posing for pictures in the Barclays Center on the biggest night of his life. Millions of people, many from similar beginnings, grew up with dreams of what will soon become Noel’s reality, but very few live it. It’s truly a remarkable and well-deserved accomplishment.

And the part about moving to Cleveland?

No one wants that. Not one person in the history of ever grew up with dreams of one day living in Cleveland, Ohio. But that’s the price Nerlens Noel will pay to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. You’ll get used to it, big man.

So in order to fully prepare Noel for life ahead in The Cleve, I put a phone call in to the Cleveland tourism board and had our friends there create a guide to the city for him. Consider it our way of saying thanks to the young man who did so much in his short stint in the bluegrass. I hope it helps.

**********

Welcome to Cleveland, Nerlens!

Nestled up here in northern Ohio on the southern banks of one of those Great Lakes, you’ll find the city of Cleveland, the second-largest city in Buckeyeland. “Under Construction since 1868″, the locals say, Cleveland is a manufacturing city and home to many large companies such as Applied Industrial Technologies, Eaton, Forest City Enterprises, Sherwin-Williams Company and KeyCorp. Even NASA maintains a facility in Cleveland! Maybe they can track down one or two of those basketballs you’re going to swat to outer-space!

Maybe you’ve heard of us?

The Drew Carey Show was based out of Cleveland for its nine-year run on ABC.

But it began the same year you were born.

Hmmm… You watch Glee?  No. OK.

First things first, let’s get that hair touched up.

Don’t worry, big guy. The flat-top isn’t going anywhere. You just need to trim the Cavaliers logo into the back.

I recommend Mr. C’s Cutz Barber Shop because it has a YouTube video, or any of Cleveland’s 62 GreatClips locations.

Now meet our celebrities!

It’s important to avoid the drifters — except that one with the golden radio voice, he’s OK — and stick to Clevelanders with a similar social status and tax bracket. Keep in mind, some of these people were born in Cleveland and moved away, but you’ll still see them from time to time:

– Halle Berry – Now we have your attention!

– Mike Golic – I wouldn’t recommend his show, but he’s a good guy to have around when he isn’t talking

– Kid Cudi – I know you like “Day ‘N Nite”

– Machine Gun Kelly – This one’s a reach

– The Miz – Not a pro wrestling guy? What about The Real World: Season 10?

There are so many stars in Cleveland.

Time for activities!

There are plenty of things to do when you aren’t leading the Cavaliers to the playoffs:

– Tour the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame

– Go sailing on Lake Erie

– Hear the Cleveland Orchestra

– Leave Cleveland and do something somewhere else

So many options!

Things you should learn…

If you’re going to be a true Clevelander, there are 10 facts you should know about the city:

1. LeBron James is gone.

2. A Cleveland radio DJ coined the term “Rock N’ Roll” in the 50s

3. Cleveland became the world’s first city to be fully-lighted electrically in 1879

4. Cleveland is home to the world’s largest indoor Ferris wheel, built in 1985. It stands more than 120 feet high.

5. The world’s largest rubber stamp has a home in Cleveland’s Willard Park.

6. The actual home from A Christmas Story is in Cleveland. It was purchased on eBay and renovated to an exactly replica of the movie setting.

7. America’s first traffic light was installed in Cleveland in 1914.

8. East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland was the site of the first pedestrian button for the control of a traffic light.

9. The city is often called “The Mistake On The Lake.”

10. LeBron James might come back.

Now go get us to the playoffs!

See you in December, right?

Kyrie is waiting and could use a hand — a really, really big hand.

In his short tenure as Kentucky head man, Mark Stoops has done nothing but exceed fans’ wildest expectations. Not only did he pull in a stellar recruiting class on incredibly short notice, but he also gave fans the incentive to pack Commonwealth Stadium for a meaningless springtime scrimmage. You may not be one to believe in miracles, but if we were diagnosing such occurrences in the football world, Stoops and his staff’s work would certainly be close to qualifying in the miraculous category. While his performance in the Bluegrass State has been superb thus far, his work at Florida State was arguably as spectacular. When Stoops arrived in Tallahassee in 2010, he inherited the nation’s 94th ranked scoring defense which allowed 30 points per contest. Fast forward three seasons and Stoops transformed the Seminoles into one of the country’s best defensive units, allowing 14.7 points per game (6th overall). By now we know the stats which caused Mark Stoops’ defense to be so successful, but we don’t know very much about his in game strategies. Because of my ever-growing quest for knowledge, I took it upon myself to watch seven Florida State games from last season to see what makes his defense click.

One of the first things that pops out when you glance at Florida State’s 2012 stat sheet is the immense number of sacks the Seminoles accumulated. In 14 games, Stoops’ defense sacked opponents 36 times, placing them 14th nationally. By looking at the numbers, one would expect to see a blitz-happy scheme with players attacking from all portions of the field, but this wasn’t the case. In the below table, I’ve charted just how many players rushed the backfield on the 557 plays I observed.

About 82% of the time Stoops only brought four men to rush the backfield, meaning seven were back in coverage. The next most common amount for Stoops to rush was five, meaning 6 were back in coverage. Naturally, this means around 95% of observed plays saw Stoops either rushing four or five men. So how did they accumulate so many sacks with so few men rushing? Besides the obvious answer of talent, they also ran a high percentage of stunts and twists near the line of scrimmage. Fret not if you’re unfamiliar with the terminology as it’s pretty basic to understand. A stunt or twist in the most basic terms means that two or more defensive linemen (or linebackers) are going to cross paths when rushing the backfield. This is confusing to the blockers as it becomes more difficult to pick up a man to defend. This strategy worked brilliantly in bringing increased pressure to the quarterback with minimal men rushing. By only rushing four players, you leave yourself with seven players in coverage, shutting off all outlets for a quarterback. Knowing this, it’s pretty easy to see why the Seminoles had the nation’s most efficient pass defense. If you want to learn some of the finer points on stunts and twists, Ben Muth of Football Outsiders wrote a piece detailing just that.

Now that we know the strategy behind Stoops’ defense, let’s get a visualization of where it was most effective and most ineffective in terms of passing. If you remember back to last week, I introduced a new way to scout the passing game similar to a basketball shot chart. The football field is divided into eight zones and teams were charted on yards per attempt, completion percentage, and number of times a particular zone was targeted. This is infinitely better than the old way of scouting (looking at basic numbers) as it gives insight on where teams actually like to throw. In case you missed last week’s post, the below image shows the eight zones when the line of scrimmage is located on the 30-yard line (moving left-to-right). Keep in mind zones one and two are behind the line of scrimmage.

Now that you have a visualization on how the field is divided up, you can use this to interpret how effective the Seminoles were at stopping opponents when these zones were targeted. The below chart contains data for the seven games viewed.

As you can see, the data from nearly every zone is hugely impressive as the Noles only allowed five yards per passing attempt in two of the eight zones. Though Florida State surrendered 8.1 yards per attempt in zone eight, their completion percentage in that zone was only 26%. This implies that coverage was stellar outside of a few big gains. Another thing to notice is the absolute domination in zone 7. Not only did opponents attempt 17 passes into that zone, but when it was targeted, only 35% of passes were completed for an average of 4.5 yards.  It’s often difficult to tell if Cover 3, Cover 2, or Cover 1 was being run due to shoddy camera angles, but such coverage in the deep middle implies Cover 3 or Cover 1. This is somewhat similar to what Nick Saban and Bo Pelini run with their respective teams. Back in 2010 when Stoops was first hired at Florida State, Tomahawk Nation wrote an excellent piece on the intricate ins-and-outs of Stoops’ philosophy.

Now we turn our attention to rushing defense. Opponents tried a handful of different rushing attacks on Stoops’ defense; the triple option, the zone read, and the jet sweep to name a few. While these attacks are tricky for many, the Seminoles conquered those with little issue. Since rushing defense is currently evaluated like passing defense, I created a new way to scout by dividing rushes into three separate categories; left, middle, and right.  By doing this we can see where the Seminoles’ strengths and weaknesses were. The below chart contains the data.

After reviewing all of the data, it’s pretty safe in assuming that Mark Stoops will eventually be successful here at Kentucky. His elite level defenses have faced just about every type of offense imaginable, and in most games, they passed those tests with flying colors. Stoops also has success in turning around bad defenses as evidenced by Florida State’s rankings before and after his tenure in Tallahassee. More specifically, we can expect to see a base 4-3 defense which varies its looks in the secondary from straight man all the way to Cover 3. Very rarely will we see 6+ rushers on defense, but we will see intelligent/efficient 4-5 man rushes which utilize stunts and twists to confuse the offensive line. Building a defense from scratch takes time, but if anyone can do it, it’s Mark Stoops.

It’s that time of the year again, friends. Matthew Mitchell is making his long-awaited return to the Kentucky Sports Radio airwaves tomorrow.  Arguably the most popular KSR co-host/guest in the show’s existence, Mitchell will be back to answer your questions about UK, country music and whatever else comes up on tomorrow morning’s broadcast. So clear your Thursday morning schedule and plan on being near a radio for two hours because it’s going to be a good one. He might even dance.

Curious why you haven’t seen any UK players on the rosters for this summer’s FIBA U19 World Championships? Cal tells Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News that his players declined offers to play in order to come to Lexington to prepare for the national championship run.

“Most of it is, they didn’t want to play. I’m not forcing kids to do anything. I think the reason they all turned it down is, they want to get started.”

All six of UK’s incoming McDonald’s All-Americans were eligible for the team, but decided to come to Lexington early to train this summer. Julius Randle actually approached Cal and told him he would rather not go, as did Willie Cauley-Stein, who was offered an invitation to play in the World University Games for Team USA:

“Willie said, ‘This is not the summer for me to do this stuff. I just can’t wait to get back. I want to get prepared.’ I’m happy they’re thinking in those terms. They know the spotlight’s on them.”

The one exception is Kyle Wiltjer, who plans to try out for the Canadian national team this summer, a decision which Cal fully supports. The players will return to campus in early June for an eight-week summer session, save a few freshman whose high school classes will keep them an extra few weeks.

The season starts now.

Kentucky coach John Calipari tells Plain Dealer that #Cavs GM Chris Grant scoutedNerlens Noel more than any other NBA GM last winter.

— M.S. Boyer/J. Valade (@PDcavsinsider) May 22, 2013

Straight from several horses’ mouths: Coach Cal told the local Cleveland newspaper that the Cavs GM has scouted Nerlens Noel more than any other NBA GM. This all occurred while Nerlens was healthy last winter, when NBA folks were packing Rupp Arena to see the flat top in action.

Here’s to hoping the streak of No. 1 overall picks continues. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Or so I heard.

KSR has a new favorite song. Boone’s-Boone’s Butcher Shop.

During this visit to UK’s Spring practice I got to see Elam for the first time in person, passing the SEC “look test” with flying colors.

Defensive Tackle

6’6”, 325 lbs.
Elizabethtown, KY (John Hardin)

Rivals: No ranking
Scout: #28 OT
247: #242 overall, #20 DT, #2 player in KY

Choosing between UK and: Alabama, Louisville, Florida, and Tennessee.

Twitter: @FballIsLife69

After announcing his commitment to play for the University of Kentucky, Northern Kentucky QB Drew Barker vowed to reach out to his peers to make the best recruiting class in the history of Kentucky football. In the coming weeks I will be breaking down some of the players on Barker’s wish list. “Who’s Drew Barkin’ At?” may be a grammatically awful pun ending in a preposition, but I just can’t help myself. Past profiles: Derek Kief , Braxton Berrios

Congrats To My Bro @d_barker7 We Have Already Been Talking Alot About The #BBN And How It Takes The In State Players To Start It Off Right

— Matt Elam™ (@FballIsLife69) May 10, 2013

Matt Elam sent this Tweet out less than an hour after Barker committed to Kentucky

After the state’s #1 prospect Drew Barker committed to UK, the attention immediately went to the state’s #2 prospect Matt Elam. The gargantuan defensive tackle from John Hardin is choosing between some of the best schools in the nation, receiving an early scholarship offer from Alabama. While SEC powerhouses may have established tradition on their side, the in-state SEC school has a few recruiting weapons up their sleeves. Elam told Matt Jones on KSR in April that he has become close friends with UK commits Drew Barker and Mikel Horton, communicating with them on a regular basis about the recruiting process. Elam also got to witness the Spring Game firsthand in April, “I would say I like Kentucky a lot with Stoops coming in. I went to the Spring game and the environment was special. I could tell that he is changing the program already. It’s SEC football in my home state, and that sticks out a lot.”

Elam is most noted for his size, rarely getting the much deserved praise for his technical skills in the trenches. Even though he easily runs over most of his KY competition, when presented with double and triple teams (which happens more times than not) Elam holds his ground well, before using a variety of finesse moves in pursuit of the play (check out his executed spin move at :30 below).  Interior defensive lineman rarely receive glory for making big tackles. A very good DT bats down passes at the line of scrimmage and clogs up running lanes, allowing for linebackers to make the tackles. Elam does all of the little things it takes to make an impact on the defensive line. D-Line Coach Jimmy Brumbaugh has told Elam that he could be “the nucleus of the line” in the future; getting Elam into a UK sweatshirt permanently ensures consistency in UK’s front four for years to come.

Elam will most likely wait to make a decision until the fall, but all early signs indicate that it is currently a two-horse race between UK and Alabama. While Elam waits to decide, you can cheer him on by following him on Twitter and watching some highlights from Elam’s sophomore year below (for a full compilation you can click here).

@RoushKSR

Moore, Oklahoma continues to recover from Monday’s devastating tornadoes. This morning, UK AD Mitch Barnhart got on Twitter to show his support for the recovery efforts, and asked the BBN to help out. Barnhart said that he, Matthew Mitchell and Mark Stoops have all made pledges to the Red Cross relief efforts and encouraged UK fans to do the same by donating online at RedCross.org or texting “REDCROSS” to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Barnhart asked that fans send out a tweet afterwards with the hashtag #BBNCares to show the fanbase’s united support for the victims.

Barnhart’s brother Eric lives three miles from where the tornado hit, and while he is safe, Barnhart says the devastation has hit close to home.

#BBNCares

I’m not done with this .gif yet.

During his weekly chat, ESPN’s Chad Ford addressed the uncertainties regarding the Cavaliers number one pick and what it will mean for Nerlens Noel. Ford said that the Cavs are looking into trading the first pick, but so are half of the GMs in the league. According to Ford, no one really wants the #1 pick, nor are they willing to give up a valuable asset to get it, therefore the Cavs might be stuck with it, and in turn, Nerlens Noel.

If they do keep the first pick, what will Noel’s future look like in Cleveland? Ford predicts that Noel will have “almost zero impact” in his first year, if he plays at all, and that because of his slight fame, “year two also might be rough.” However, the Cavs have enough big players that they can be patient with the flat top feller, who, right now, Ford calls “a runner and a shot blocker.”

Ford adds that if the Cavs want immediate help, they should take Otto Porter, not Nerlens Noel; however, if they want a chance at the number one pick next year (aka Andrew Wiggins), Nerlens is the smarter choice. If the Cavs do pass on Noel, Ford sees him sliding as far down as Charlotte, in part because Victor Oladipo might not be an ideal fit alongside Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

For the record, Ford still predicts that Nerlens will go to Cleveland in his latest mock draft. What do you think the ideal spot is for Nerlens?

A few weeks ago I wrote on here about how this is going to be the “Summer of Transition” on KSR as we move to some new endeavors and expand what we do on this site. We are very excited about the changes and looking forward to announcing new additions to the site in the months to come. One of those additions is bringing on some new writers, a couple of which are names from the past (BTI and John Wilkinson), some new names you don’t yet know and a couple of folks you do know that you will be excited (and surprised) to see in the KSR environment.

But along with that, it is time to once again cast a net and add some new writers to the KSR family from our readership. It has now been 2 1/2 years since our last blogger contest and in these 30 months, we have not added on any new writers from outside the KSR world or the KSR College environment. This summer that changes. Over time, the most important names at KSR have come from either the Blogger contest or writing on separate blogs and then joining Kentucky Sports Radio. Now we will set out to look for the new Beisner, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson from our KSR Readership. So we are asking you, do you have what it takes to write for KSR.

Here is What We are Looking For:

1. Creative Writers to Cover UK Sports: You know the KSR style. Do you think you can do it? If so, we would like to read your submission. If you decide to apply for one of these positions, make sure and let us know what sports you would focus on and what you consider your expertise. Remember, most will say basketball and football, so if you have an interest in another area, please let us know. You can be any age, any walk of life and have any profession…just a desire and ability to write at a high level about Kentucky sports.

2. College Students: Many of our best writers have come from KSR College and we are continuing another year of that starting in August. The form of KSR College will alter slightly and the posts will be integrated into the main site as part of the redesign. But if you are interested in joining the KSR College group, you should apply for this position. This involves actual covering of UK games, press conferences and events (last year writers from KSR College were able to cover the John Calipari Fantasy Camp). We prefer to have students who can be in the Lexington area for events, although this is not required. If you are a college student, this is the best position to apply for and we have had a number of writers coming from KSR College land full time sports reporting jobs after their time with us.

3. Creative non-UK Sports Writers: Part of our new endeavor will be to create a “Culture” page, similar to what Bill Simmons has done with Grantland that will include writing beyond the world of UK sports. Some of our best writers, such as Tomlin, Drew and others will be writing extensively here. If you think you are particularly capable of writing about interesting, non-UK topics (movies, politics, pop culture, long features), this is the position for you and you can be part of building a spin-off phase of KSR going forward.

These are the three main types of writers we are now seeking. We are adding a KSR Photographer, but she has already been picked and will be joining us in June. What we are looking for now are great writers and I know you are out there. If you come down this path, it can literally change your career, just as it did for Thomas Beisner, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson. And now is the time for you to try as as well.

To Apply, EMAIL KSRJOBS1@gmail.com with this information:

— Reference in SUBJECT OF THE EMAIL as to which position/s you are interested in

— A couple of paragraphs on who you are, where you live, what you do for a living, why you are interested…a biographical look at the person applying. Make sure to use this as a time to sell us on you as it will be (at least until we interview you) our only chance to know who you are as a person.

— At least 2 WRITING SAMPLES OF YOUR WORK. This can be created specifically for this application or something you have done elsewhere. But we are interested in seeing your writing ability.

— Contact information and schedule availability. If you are chosen, how often, and when, would you be available to write.

Our vision is that you will join us as a secondary hobby to whatever career you are pursuing now, but with the possibility of advancement, just as other KSR writers have done before. We need your submission by TUESDAY MAY 28 at 5 PM. We will spend some time reviewing the applications and then be in touch by mid-June. This is an exciting time for KSR and we are eager to pursue the next phase of the site’s growth this summer. We hope to have you a part of it and look forward to reading your submissions. Thanks!

The Cleveland Cavaliers select… Nerlens Noel from the University of Kentucky.

Kyrie and Nerlens will be a solid combo. Maybe the Cavs will be back in the lottery next year to add another Wildcat to its roster?

Vandy freshman Sheldon Jeter wants to transfer to a school closer to his home of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania because of some personal issues with his family. Vanderbilt’s head coach Kevin Stallings has granted him a release, and in a statement through the school, said the following: “Sheldon has indicated that he’d like to play closer to home, and we wish him the best.” Sounds fine, right?

Wrong. Beaver Falls is a suburb of Pittsburgh, about 40 miles out. Pitt is the biggest major college basketball program in the area, and for some reason, Kevin Stallings is blocking Jeter’s transfer to Pitt, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Why does Stallings not want Jeter to go to Pitt? Who knows. There are message board rumors that Pitt actually knew about Jeter’s intent to transfer there before Vandy granted his release, which could be considered tampering, but there is no concrete evidence of that. Now, Jeter’s only option if he really wants to enroll at Pitt is have his family pay for the first year, and then accept a scholarship for the remaining three years.

Stay classy, Kevin.