Random notes: UK basketball’s non-conference home schedule nothing to cheer about
Random notes:
▪ Bringing Tubby Smith back for a New Year’s game against High Point is a nice touch, but the remainder of Kentucky basketball’s home non-conference schedule leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, this year’s rivalry game with Louisville is at Rupp Arena. But Miles College, Robert Morris, Mount Saint Mary’s, Ohio U., Albany, North Florida, Central Michigan and Southern as visiting foes. Seriously?
▪ Thursday night, Tennessee starts Michigan transfer Joe Milton at quarterback against Bowling Green. Saturday afternoon, Kentucky starts Penn State transfer Will Levis at quarterback against Louisiana Monroe. Big Ten invasion.
▪ Following Tuesday’s practice, Levis was asked what has been the toughest aspect of UK’s new offense to master? His answer: The under-center snap. Levis said he had not done much of that since high school. He also fumbled his first try in fall camp. Not to worry, Levis promised he has the center-quarterback exchange down now.
▪ Not having a vaccine or negative COVID test for Saturday’s UK opener is bad enough -- Railbird did it; why can’t UK -- but the first game of the program’s new mobile ticketing for parking promises to be a migraine. Be prepared.
▪ Former Frederick Douglass star Walker Parks is slated to start at right offensive tackle when the No. 3-ranked Clemson Tigers play the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday night in Charlotte. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. on ABC. A sophomore, Parks was a key offensive line reserve for Dabo Swinney last season.
▪ Kentucky football had six players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. All six made 53-man rosters to start the NFL season. The six: Jamin Davis (Washington), Kelvin Joseph (Dallas), Quinton Bohanna (Dallas), Brandin Echols (NY Jets), Landon Young (New Orleans), Phil Hoskins (Carolina).
▪ Rich Rodriguez is ULM’s offensive coordinator. During his six seasons (2012-17) as the head coach at Arizona, Rodriguez’s teams ranked 7th, 30th, 26th, 16th, 67th and 12th nationally in total offense. Rodriguez was offensive coordinator at Ole Miss in 2019 when the Rebels ranked 26th nationally in total offense.
▪ The hypocrisy continues. While fans in Kroger Field’s luxury suites can buy and consume alcohol this season, regular fans in the stands cannot. For Big Blue Nation, green has its privilges.
▪ I’ve been tweeting a random UK football stat each morning. Wednesday, I tweeted the passing starts for each Wildcat quarterback in the season opener since 2015. The best showing? Drew Barker threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns in the Cats’ 2016 loss to Southern Miss.
▪ Alabama men’s basketball is calling its Dec. 21 game in Birmingham against Colorado State the “C.M. Newton Classic.” The former UK athletics director was Alabama’s basketball coach from 1968-69 through the 1979-1980 season.
▪ Western Kentucky opens its football season at 8 p.m. Thursday against visiting UT-Martin. You can watch it on ESPN+.
▪ If you missed it, South Carolina will start a graduate assistant coach at quarterback Saturday against Eastern Illinois. Expected starter Luke Doty is out with a foot injury. So Noland, a former North Dakota State QB who joined the Gamecocks to be a GA on Shane Beamer’s staff, is in. Could be a long year in Columbia.
▪ On my podcast, I talked with colleagues Mark Story and Josh Moore about UK football’s Saturday opener. We identified one area that hasn’t been talked about enough this pre-season: The loss of punter Max Duffy.
▪ It is September and there has yet to be an official decision made on whether Medina Spirit will be disqualified from his Kentucky Derby win on May 1.
▪ Quick story about ULM coach Terry Bowden. At the 1993 SEC Football Media Days, Auburn sports information director David Housel invited members of the media to have lunch with the Tigers’ new football coach. When Housel introduced me to Bowden, I told him that a lot of Kentucky fans hated to see Terry’s brother, Tommy, leave Bill Curry’s staff in 1991 for the offensive coordinator’s job at Auburn.
Without missing a beat, Terry replied, “A lot of Auburn fans would like to send him back.”
