Courtside with the Kentucky Wildcats

UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart blamed Indiana for killing the basketball series with Kentucky.
“We are extremely disappointed in Indiana’s decision to end our annual men’s basketball series,” he said in a statement. “We were under the impression that we were in continued negotiations with Indiana University on signing a two-year contract to play the annual game at neutral sites.
“After the NCAA Championships, both schools verbally agreed in principle to play for two years at neutral sites (Dec. 8, 2012 and Dec. 7 or 14, 2013) and agreed to revisit campus sites upon completion of the two-year deal.”
Indiana acted unilaterally to end the series, Barnhart said.
“The public comments by Indiana prior to today over the last week led us to believe that our previous verbal agreement could be in jeopardy,” he said in a statement, “but at no point did we ever have any mutual discussions with Indiana to end the series.”
Indiana informed UK of the decision to end the series prior to a public acknowledgment, Barnhart said.
“Our desire to play the series at a neutral site was due mainly to the success of the series from 1992-2006,” Barnhart said. “It allowed the fans of both schools to enjoy the experience of one of the greatest rivalries every year. Everyone that watched or attended those games said it was a great atmosphere for college basketball. We looked at this as an opportunity to recapture that atmosphere and unfortunately it ended today.”

Tuesday is the deadline the NCAA set for college underclassmen to enter this year’s NBA Draft.
To which, Kentucky Coach John Calipari has shrugged.
Earlier this spring, Calipari said he would use the NBA’s deadline for entering the draft as the sole timetable his players should consider. That NBA date is April 29.
“That’s the only one we’re going to worry about,” Calipari said prior to the Final Four. “I don’t even know the other (NCAA) date. Nor do I care.”
The high school coach for Anthony Davis said Monday that his former player might not be ready to announce his future plans before the end of the month.
Cortez Hale, who coached Davis at Chicago’s Perspectives Charter school, said he suggested to Davis, “Why not make it fun and drag it out? . . .
“He might drag it out until April 29.”
Hale said he had not heard if Davis had decided to enter the 2012 NBA Draft, as is widely expected, or return to UK next season.
Davis was tickled by Calipari’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the big man return next season to be UK’s point guard.
“He’s really thinking of that one,” Hale said with a chuckle.

UK and John Calipari launched a charity auction Tuesday.
The prize package includes a courtside seat for a SEC home game next season, a front-row seat at the post-game press conference, and hang out with Calipari after the game.
Calipari, 102-14 in three years at Kentucky, is one of only two coaches to lead three different schools to the Final Four.

Bidding is open at leading online charity auction house Charitybuzz.com now through April 19th at: http://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/295692

The proceeds for this experience benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bluegrass, a nonprofit that creates and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and strengthens families by keeping them together in times of medical need.

Here’s an item released this morning involving the UK-U of L game and congressmen from the Lexington- and Louisville-based districts.
John Yarmuth (Louisville) and Ben Chandler (Lexington) kidded each other about the game.
“The teams are both so good, I’m sure that whoever prevails, it will be the experience of the teams’ seasoned upperclassmen that leads the way,” Yarmuth said in the release.

“Even when you look back at our seven championship teams, I’m not sure anyone’s ever seen such an unbelievable display of talent at the college level as this one,” Chandler (UK) said. “I think it’s great that everyone in Kentucky can be a part of the Wildcats’ journey to another championship.”

“The Cards have been underdogs in the vast majority of their games in the post-season, and they continue to rise to the challenge, surprise people, and just find a way to win,” Congressman Yarmuth added.

Added Congressman Chandler: “While nobody is surprised by the way Coach Cal and the Cats have absolutely dominated the tournament.”

Yarmuth continued: “The Cats haven’t faced a defense like this one.”

Chandler responded: “How did your defense fare in December?”

Yarmuth: “At Rupp! Besides, these guys are playing at a whole other level now.”

Chandler: “We’ll see about that.”

Yarmuth: “It’s on!”

Chandler: “It is definitely on!

Tickets are still available for fans wanting to attend the presentation of the Oscar Robertson Trophy to Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis as college basketball’s national player of the year during NCAA Final Four activities in New Orleans.

Davis will be presented with the Robertson Trophy by the Big O himself at a college basketball awards breakfast this Friday beginning at 8 a.m. at the New Orleans Marriott hotel. Tickets to the breakfast, which is hosted by the U. S. Basketball Writers Association, are $75 each and can be purchased online at usbwa.com until 6 p.m. Thursday.

At the breakfast, the USBWA will also present the Henry Iba Award to Frank Haith of Missouri for coach of the year and a Lifetime Achievement Award to former LSU coach Dale Brown. The USBWA will also honor LSU’s 1981 and 1986 Final Four teams.

Indiana Coach Tom Crean noted how Kentucky shot 37 free throws to his team’s 17.
“The biggest difference is just the fouling,” he said of UK’s 102-90 victory. “And when they got to the bonus (with 13:11 to go in the first half).
“I know we had to foul at the end a little bit, but I would just say, for two teams that shoot the free throws as well as we both do, national leaders like we both are, get a lot of attempts, certainly it’s going to come down to that.”
IU set a school record for free-throw accuracy this season: 76.3 percent.

Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist dismissed fatigue as a concern.
“I spent a lot of energy,” he said. “I’m going to be good. I’m going to be all good for the next game.”
Kidd-Gilchrist played 34 minutes against Indiana. He was one of four UK players to log 32 or more minutes.

Indiana became the first UK opponent in 70 games to shoot 50 percent or better.
The last team to do that: UConn (57.7 percent) in the Maui Invitational last season.
“Part of it was Anthony (Davis) was out,” Calipari said of the freshman’s foul trouble. “The other part was we were just getting broken down. We were playing pick-and-roll defense so poorly that they were getting whatever they wanted.”
Of Indiana’s many drives to the basket, Calipari said, “They had more layups in the first half than we have had scored on us for the year.”

Practice made close enough to perfect as Kentucky survived Anthony Davis’ foul trouble against Indiana.
UK had practiced without Davis a few weeks ago.
“I think it helped us, and it also helped us coaches feel comfortable we could play without him,” Calipari said of those practices. “That’s part of it, too.
“You’re over there in a panic mode, they can feel it. These kids at this time of the year are goign to go where you take them. … I’m just wanting them to have a ball playing basketball. I want them to have fun.”

Indiana invited Marquis Teague to take perimeter shots, UK Coach John Calipari noted.
“Sometimes they don’t play Marquis Teague, and I say take good shots,” Calipari said of opponents backing off Teague. “Iowa State sad we’re not going to play him.”