Entries from October 2010 ↓

Bryan Settle, who was about to begin his second season as Kentucky basketball’s equipment manager, has resigned. No official word yet on why he abruptly resigned.

UK spokesman DeWayne Peevy confirmed Settle’s resignation.

Settle was one of many staffers who came to UK from Memphis with John Calipari.  He had worked on Calipari’s staff the previous six seasons, which included stints as a manager and video coordinator.

Settle’s resignation before his second season stands in stark contrast with his predecessor. The late Bill Keightley set the standard for longevity in as equipment manager. He worked in the equipment room from 1962 until his death in 2008.

Kentucky big man Enes Kanter is not the only freshman in eligibility limbo because of questions about his amateur status. Josh Selby, a guard at Kansas, is also awaiting word on whether the NCAA will declare him eligible to play this season.

In reaction to a media question, Kansas Coach Bill Self commented on the Selby case.

KU MBB: Bill Self comment on KU freshman basketball student-athlete Josh Selby

“Josh’s status for competition hasn’t changed,” Self said in a statement released Wednesday. “While he has met NCAA academic requirements to be on aid, practice and compete this year, we continue to work with the NCAA as we review his amateur status. We will not play Josh in games until that process is complete and a decision is rendered.

“We support and respect the process, and hope that it is over sooner rather than later. But we don’t expect a decision on this before the regular season begins.”

The Associated Press took the graduate rates released by the NCAA on Wednesday and applied them to the top 25 in its final poll for the 2009-10 college basketball season.

In that top 25, Kentucy ranked No. 19 with a NCAA Graduation Success Rate of 44 and a Federal Graduation rate of 38.

The NCAA Graduation Success Rate covers incoming freshman classes from 2000-01 through 2003-04. The Federal Graduation Rate covers incoming freshmen in the class of 2003-04.

Here’s how teams in the final top 25 poll by The Associated Press fared. The NCAA Graduation Success Rate is listed first and the Federal Graduation Rate is in parentheses.

1. Kansas 80 percent (67 percent)

2. Kentucky 44 (38)

3. Duke 83 (50)

4. Syracuse 54 (50)

5. Ohio State 64 (60)

6. West Virginia 71 (40)

7. Kansas State 40 (17)

8. New Mexico 56 (20)

9. Villanova 100 (85)

10. Purdue 67 (60)

11. Butler 83 (70)

12. Temple 33 (25)

13. Michigan State 50 (42)

14. Georgetown 78 (50)

15. Tennessee 40 (36)

16. Wisconsin 70 (54)

17. Brigham Young 100 (50)

18. Pittsburgh 64 (46)

19. Baylor 38 (25)

20. Maryland 31 (23)

21. Vanderbilt 93 (69)

22. Gonzaga 73 (50)

23. Texas A&M 64 (50)

24. Richmond 83 (55)

25. Xavier 60 (38)

The Southeastern Conference announced its coaches’ all-league pre-season team on Wednesday.

No Kentucky players made the nine-man first team. The coaches voted Darius Miller and Brandon Knight on the second team.

Here are the coaches’ teams:

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC       Pos         Ht           Wt          Cl            Hometown

Dee Bost, Mississippi State          G             6-2          176         Jr.           Concord, N.C.

JaMychal Green, Alabama           F              6-8          228         Jr.           Montgomery, Ala.

Scotty Hopson, Tennessee          G             6-7          200         Jr.           Hopkinsville, Ky.

Travis Leslie, Georgia      G             6-4          205         Jr.           Decatur, Ga.

Chandler Parsons, Florida             F              6-10       218         Sr.           Casselberry, Fla.

Marshawn Powell, Arkansas       F              6-7          220         So.          Newport News, Va.

Jeffery Taylor, Vanderbilt             F              6-7          225         Jr.           Norkopping, Sweden

Trey Thompkins, Georgia             F              6-10       245         Jr.           Lithonia, Ga.

Chris Warren, Ole Miss  G             5-10       168         Sr.           Orlando, Fla.

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC Pos         Ht           Wt          Cl            Hometown

Kenny Boynton, Florida G             6-2          183         So.          Pompano Beach, Fla.

Rotnei Clarke, Arkansas                G             6-0          184         Jr.           Verdigris, Okla.

John Jenkins, Vanderbilt               G             6-4          215         So.          Hendersonville, Tenn.

Ravern Johnson, Mississippi State            G             6-7          175         Sr.           Lyon, Miss.

Brandon Knight, Kentucky           G             6-3          195         Fr.           Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Darius Miller, Kentucky G             6-7          230         Jr.           Maysville, Ky.

Alex Tyus, Florida             F              6-8          220         Sr.           St. Louis, Mo.

Erving Walker, Florida    G             5-8          171         Jr.           Brooklyn, N.Y.

Kentucky touted “dramatic improvement” by its athletes in the Federal Graduation Rate and its highest showing ever in the NCAA Graduation Success Rate.

UK’s freshman class of 2003-04 had a Federal Graduation Rate of 67 percent, a 15-point improvement from the class of 2002-03. The 67-percent graduation rate was UK’s highest since it began collecting data with the 1984-85 freshman class. That marked UK’s highest in the six-year history of the GSR.

UK released those figures on Wednesday, when the NCAA released its nation-wide numbers.

In its news release, UK noted improvements in the high-profile sports of football and men’s basketball.

The 2003-04 freshmen in men’s basketball had a Federal Graduation Rate of 75 percent, an increase of 42 percent from the previous year’s freshmen. The four-year NCAA Graduation Success Rate improved by 13 points to 44 percent.

In football, the Federal Graduation Rate improved 29 points to 75 percent for the freshmen of 2003-04. The four-year Graduation Success Rate improved eight points to 63 percent.

Kentucky expected to borrow an idea from arch rival Louisville. To fill out the teams for its Blue-White Scrimmage Tuesday night, UK planned to use three former players.

Ever the promoter, Coach John Calipari used his website to stage a contest asking fans to guess who the three players would be (the prize was the DVD Blue Dawn).

Then the NCAA stepped in saying former players cannot be used in competitions open to the public. If UK chose to use the former players, the scrimmage would count toward the limit of games for schedules. So Wayne Turner, Mark Krebs and Perry Stevenson did not join the 10 players on UK’s team.

This left some UK fans wondering about Louisville using a former player in its Red-White Game last Sunday.

Perrin Johnson, who played for the Cards from 2003 to 2007, played 22 minutes. He scored six points and grabbed six rebounds.

Injuries — Stephan Van Treese’s sprained ankle, Elisha Justice’s  broken rib, Russ Smith’s broken foot and Jared Swopshire’s strained groin — led U of L to use Johnson, spokesman Kenny Klein said Wednesday morning.

When asked a possible effect on U of L’s schedule, Klein said, “We’d have checked in advance. We wouldn’t have just done it.”

U of L has scheduled exhibition games against Northern Kentucky on Sunday and Kentucky Wesleyan on Nov. 11.

When asked about Kentucky planning to use former players in the Blue-White Scrimmage, NCAA spokesman Chuck Wynne said ex-players can participate in practice on an occasional basis, but they cannot play in a scrimmage that is open, publicized and has an admission charge.

Wynne declined to comment on U of L using Johnson in its Red-White game, which drew an announced crowd of 21,218 to the school’s new KFC Yum! Center.

“We don’t comment on current, potential or pending investigations,” Wynne wrote in an e-mail.

Judging by the color shirts worn during warmups, it appears Kentucky Coach John Calipari wants to pit the would-be starters against the substitutes.

At least at the start.

Wearing blue in warmups are returning juniors Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins, both cited as team leaders. Joining them in blue are the team’s tallest player, transfer Eloy Vargas, heralded freshman point guard Brandon Knight and freshman forward Terrence Jones.

Wearing white are Stacey Poole, Jon  Hood, Jarrod Polson, Doron Lamb and Josh Harrellson.

The NCAA has told Kentucky that participation by three former players in Tuesday night’s Blue-White Scrimmage could bring unwanted consequences. So Wayne Turner, Mark Krebs and Perry Stevenson will not play in the scrimmage.

Spokesman Chuck Wynne said that NCAA bylaws allow for former student-athletes to practice with the current team on an occasional basis.  However, they cannot participate in a scrimmage with the current team that is open, publicized and has an admission charge, he wrote in an e-mail message.

Assistant Coach Orlando Antigua just showed up at the Rupp Arena floor wearing a t-shirt, shorts and gym shoes. He’s also carrying a ball. It appears he’ll be filling in.

But no, Antigua just said he’s not playing.

Wiht Enes Kanter awaiting a ruling from the NCAA on his eligibility, UK has only 10 players on the team.

Here’s the notice by UK spokesman DeWayne Peevy:

“Mark Krebs, Perry Stevenson and Wayne Turner will not be available to participate in tonight’s scrimmage. We were informed by the NCAA office this afternoon that their participation in a public scrimmage would constitute a contest against outside competition. Therefore their participation could affect our two scheduled exhibition games against Pikeville and Dillard.”

UK just announced the three former players who will participate in the Blue-White Scrimmage Tuesday night.

The three are Wayne Turner, Mark Krebs and Perry Stevenson.

In the tweet announcing the trio, UK Coach John Calipari said, “Excited for them to be a part of it.”

Here are the guidelines The Associated Press gave its voters for the weekly top 25 college basketball poll. The pre-season poll is scheduled to be released later this week.

“Base your vote on performance, not reputation or pre-season speculation.

“Avoid regional bias, for or against. Your local team does not deserve any special handling when it comes to your ballot.

“Pay attention to head-to-head results.

“Don’t hesitate to make significant changes in your ballot from week to week. There’s no rule against jumping a 16^th-ranked team over the eighth-ranked team, if No. 16 is coming off a big victory and No. 8 squeaked by an unranked team.

“Teams on NCAA probation ARE eligible for the AP poll.”