Random notes: For UK basketball and Shaedon Sharpe, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Random notes:
▪ Not that John Calipari needs my endorsement, but it says here the Kentucky basketball coach is doing the absolute right thing keeping Shaedon Sharpe as a practice player the rest of the season.
Yes, the 6-foot-6 early-enrollee is a big-time talent, but Calipari spent a (normal) summer, a (normal) preseason and a (normal) confidence-building slate of non-conference games to get the Cats‘ chemistry just right. We’re seeing the fruits of that labor now. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
And if Sharpe takes the NBA Draft exit route this summer, so be it. Just a guess, but I think Sharpe stays put.
▪ Luke Fortner may not have been one of the marquee names in Mobile, Ala., last week, but you know who got a lot of love at the Senior Bowl? The Kentucky center, that’s who.
“Luke Fortner, the center from Kentucky, I think has been really solid,” said draft analyst Fran Duffy on the Journey to the Draft podcast. “He was one of the two guys who coming into this week I had not studied, and he’s been really, really good. He really caught my eye this week.”
“He’s a competitive kid,” said draft analyst Ben Fennell. “He played a couple of spots on the offensive line. He’s never out of position. He doesn’t get himself in trouble. He’s going to need you to hit a really nice move on him to win.”
Having played both guard and center at Kentucky, Fortner’s versatility could be the asset that puts him on an NFL roster in 2022. Most teams carry only seven to nine active linemen per game. The Rams carried eight in their NFC title game win over the 49ers. Fortner’s ability to play both guard and center could make him a valuable commodity.
▪ If indeed Mark Stoops is hiring Zach Yenser to his staff, the new offensive line coach will be another assistant with experience in the Kyle Shanahan offense. Yesner worked the past two years as assistant offensive line coach for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers under Shanahan, who worked with Sean McVay in Washington. And UK offensive coordinator Liam Coen worked under McVay with the Los Angeles Rams before coming to Lexington. Yesner should be a good fit.
Yenser also coached with new Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who was the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator this season. Here’s what NFL Films guru Greg Cosell said about McDaniel on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast: “There are a lot of people in the league who view him as the zone run game savant. Obviously, Kyle Shanahan has been doing it for a long time. His dad (Mike) did it for a long time. But there’s many who believe that McDaniel is the real genius behind the zone run game.”
▪ Add Messier to the long list of excellent 3-year-olds we are not likely to see in the Kentucky Derby because trainer Bob Baffert is banned from the Kentucky Derby.
Messier won the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday by a ridiculous 15 lengths. But he is trained by Baffert, who Churchill Downs has suspended for two years.
Baffert also trains Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Corniche and Southwest Stakes winner Newgrange, both of whom have zero Kentucky Derby qualifying points because of Baffert’s suspension.
▪ Louisville basketball has not had a losing season since going 12-19 in 2000-01, Denny Crum’s last as head coach. The Cards take an 11-12 record into Wednesday night’s game at Notre Dame. U of L has dropped eight of its last nine games.
▪ This could be the first NCAA Tournament without Louisville and North Carolina since 2002. The Tar Heels were 16-7 heading into Tuesday night’s game at Clemson. They’ve lost by 17 to Tennessee, 29 to Kentucky, 28 to Miami, 22 to Wake Forest and 20 to Duke.
▪ Be sure and circle Saturday on your calendar. That’s the day Morehead State plays host to Murray State. Morehead State has won 20 straight games at home. Going into Thursday’s games, Murray State leads the OVC at 12-0. Morehead State is 11-1.
