Kyle Macy’s Tuesday News and Views

Good evening, friends and trolls of KentuckySportsRadio.com. Tonight, we salute the life and career of Kyle Macy, who celebrates his 56th birthday on Tuesday. Macy played three seasons at Kentucky from 1977-1980 after one season at Purdue in his home state of Indiana. He was a three-time All-American and three-time All-SEC player in Lexington and won college basketball’s biggest prize with the 1978 team. He was selected with the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns and spent five years in purple and orange before a year with Chicago, a year with Indiana and then retirement from the league. He went on to coach Morehead State for nine seasons from 1997 to 2006.

These days, Macy is the color commentator during Kentucky’s basketball telecasts. He’s known for his ability to get injury updates mid-game by leaving the telecast to go ask a player on the bench what happened. It’s that kind of hustle and commitment to success that makes him so good at what he does. The same goes for his free throw shooting; he’s Kentucky’s second-best from the stripe all-time.

Join us in wishing Macy a Happy 56th Birthday.

Cats.

 Dominique Hawkins is set to announce his college decision on Wednesday. Hawkins, this year’s Mr. Basketball in Kentucky, will announce at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday in a press conference at Madison Central in Richmond. With two spots opened up on next year’s roster with the departures of Archie Goodwin and Ryan Harrow, Hawkins likely has an offer from John Calipari and Kentucky, and he’ll certainly take it if that’s the case. Another telling sign from his recruitment came on Monday when Hawkins’ high school coach told Butler head coach Brad Stevens that it’s too late to get involved. Stevens called to make sure Hawkins was still off the market, according to The Cats Pause.

 Andrew Wiggins is still out there weighing his options and staying very tight-lipped as his recruitment winds down. He has yet to announce a date for his commitment but it should be coming sometime within the next two weeks. I’m sticking with my Kentucky prediction, despite quotes from his older brother suggesting otherwise. The potential for complete dominance in Lexington is just too much to turn down and he knows it’s where he will improve the most. Come on down, please.

 Nick Wiggins thinks his little brother should go somewhere else to build his own legacy, but Julius Randle knows Kentucky is the only place to win a championship.  “You want to win a national championship, come to Kentucky,” Randle recently said. “Enough said.”

“I went because I knew there’d be a lot of other guys every day helping me get better,” he added. “Whatever I have to do to help my team win, that’s what I’m worried about. There were times when Michael Kidd-Gilchrist didn’t start and he was the second pick in the draft, so I don’t think that really matters.”

 James Young is a guy who will find himself on the bench if Wiggins does pick the Cats. And he’s okay with that, he says. According to ZagsBlog, Young will be satisfied coming off the bench because he’s in it for the team. “We need him,” Young said. “The more great players, the easier it is for a national championship.”

It doesn’t sound like sacrifice and brother-keeping will be a problem with the 2013-14 Wildcats.

 Monday kicked off the last week of spring practice for Kentucky football and Mark Stoops called it a “decent” day. He was very disappointed with his defense after Saturday’s scrimmage but said they were better on Monday. He still sees a lot of room for improvement in the secondary, especially at corner and free safety, but thinks Ashely Lowery is very capable of being a good player at the strong safety position. You gotta think the corners will be much better when Nate Willis and Jaleel Hytchye arrive on campus too.

 42,000 tickets have been distributed for Saturday’s spring game. Stoops said, “It’s a tribute to our coaching staff and how hard they’re working and to our players. We know we have a long way to go, but we’re working extremely hard to get that done.”

 Monday night’s episode of Castle was great television. Did anyone else see it?

 You can win some great prizes by registering to become a bone marrow donor at four Lexington locations on Thursday. The Be The Match Bone Marrow Donor Drive will be in the BBSB breezeway and UK Student Center room 249 from 10:00-4:00, at the Johnson Center from 2:00-9:00, and at the Lexington Legends game at 7:00 p.m. All you have to do is stop by for a cheek swab and a little paperwork and you’ll be added to the registry. The drive hopes to reach 400 new donors and your participation will go a long way.

 Speaking of matches, Robbie and Ashley Claggett appear to be a great one…

 

 

That’ll do it for now. I hope I didn’t miss anything.