Kentucky will be fine, even without adding Kofi Cockburn to its reboot
Random notes:
▪ Wednesday’s status report states that Kofi Cockburn will not be picking Kentucky when the coveted Illinois center announces his future plans on Friday.
If true, that’s fine. Sure, Kentucky or any other team could have used the 7-foot center who was a consensus Second Team All-American last year. And Cockburn certainly boasted strong Kentucky ties, what with former Illini assistants Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman on John Calipari’s staff. It’s crazy to say UK will be better off without Cockburn, but the guess here is that the Cats will survive.
For starters, Kentucky already has Oscar Tshiebwe, the 6-10 transfer from West Virginia. Could Cockburn and Tshiebwe co-exist on the same roster? Absolutely. Could they possibly play together on the floor? Where there’s a will, there’s a way. But Calipari is already well into his summer of team-building for the upcoming campaign. Chemistry will be huge in 2021-22.
▪ With all that said, I’m sure Cal would welcome Jalen Duren with open arms if the nation’s No. 1 prospect chooses Kentucky and re-classifies so that he can play this season.
▪ Even with all the new faces at Calipari’s disposal for next season, it’s a holdover I’m most looking forward to watching. Step right up, Jacob Toppin.
▪ From the I-can’t-believe-I’m-using-this-note department, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has UK as a No. 2 seed in his earliest of all early Bracketology projections for ‘21-22.
▪ After winning 10 of 12 before the All-Star break, the Cincinnati Reds play host to the Milwaukee Brewers in a key three-game series starting Friday. The Reds ended the break by taking three of four from the Brewers in Milwaukee.
The key to the Reds’ second half? The bullpen. Cincinnati’s offense is second in Major League Baseball in on-base percentage. Its starting rotation is excellent, especially now that Luis Castillo has found his groove. The key to the Reds’ recent surge was the improvement out of the pen. That needs to continue.
▪ CBS Sports senior writer Matt Norlander on my most recent podcast: “I think (Calipari) is positioned — both because (Mike Krzyzewski) is outgoing and Cal has won a national championship, been to Final Fours, coaching at Kentucky — I don’t know if he’s going to be the face of college basketball, but he will be the voice whether he wants to be or not. . . . I think when you use that with the NIL, I think Kentucky is positioned well to return to prominence atop the recruiting rankings.”
▪ How about those All-Star Game uniforms on Tuesday night? I’m no fashion expert, but what was MLB thinking? “Project Runway” that was not.
▪ SEC Football Media Days return next week in Hoover, Alabama, after a one-year absence. Let the overkill begin.
▪ Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby at the conference’s football media days on Wednesday: “We are certainly encouraging athletes to get vaccinated. . . . Frankly, anyone not getting vaccinated is taking unnecessary and unwarranted risks.”
▪ Kudos to Klutch Sports, which honored former Kentucky guard Terrence Clarke during its Pro Day on ESPN on Tuesday night. Clarke died in a traffic accident in April. Players participating at the Pro Day each wore the name “Clarke” on the back of their jerseys and Clarke’s Kentucky jersey was draped over a chair on the bench.
▪ Believe it or not, high school football begins Aug. 20 in Kentucky. The hope is we’ll be dried out by then.
▪ I come down against giving Reggie Bush back his 2005 Heisman Trophy. The former USC star says that the new NIL rules mean he shouldn’t be punished for taking money way back when. Sorry, Reggie, we can’t do time travel.
▪ Under the hoops radar, Ohio State basketball picked up Louisiana grad transfer Cedric Russell, who averaged 17.2 points per game last season for the Ragin’ Cajuns. He was First Team All-Sun Belt. And he’s another reason UK’s CBS Sports Classic matchup with Ohio State on Dec. 18 will be a tough one.
▪ Just about a week till season two of “Ted Lasso” begins on July 23. If you missed season one, do yourself a favor and check it out.
