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It's Date Night For Joker As Game Approaches

For Joker Phillips, this has been a long time coming. 

He was named the head coach in waiting in in January of 2008 and at that point, facing Louisville in the season opener seemed a long way off.

Now, it's almost here.

"I am ready," Phillips said.

"I am ready. I am excited and ready to go. It seems like it has been forever but it has only been about eight months. I remember it seemed that a couple of days ago it was eight days and now it is two days, the day before the day before," the UK head coach said.

But the coaching job began Thursday night.  Of course Joker will continue to pour over film of his team in preparation for Saturday's game, but with Thursday night being the kickoff of college football nationally, he's going to be calling a few plays from his couch.

"I'll be watching the games tonight, be watching games Friday night just to try to coach up the situation. Hey, what if my team was in this situation what do I do? Is this a good time to call a time out? I'll probably be coaching the South Carolina-Southern Miss game tonight."

While neither of his coordinators will be at his house for chips and dip, he won't be watching the games along.  He'll be looking for a little advice from his wife.

"Thursday's date night so sometimes our date is to watch the game together," said Joker smiling.

It's almost here.  The day this coach has been waiting for since he wore a Kentucky uniform himself.

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Pioneering Lexington High School Basketball Coach Dies At 94

A longtime Lexington high school basketball coach who became the first African-American on UK's Athletics Association Board in 1974 died Thursday at the age of 94.

S.T. Roach led the first Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington to two Kentucky High School Athletic League state championships and, after integration, two runner-up finishes in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's Sweet Sixteen.

Roach finished his coaching career with a 610-166 record. Today, the annual S.T. Roach Classic and the gymnasium at Dunbar High School are both named after the Kentucky High School Hall of Fame coach.

Roach was famous for holding his tongue and taking the high road when there were some circumstances where it wasn't easy for his Dunbar Bulldogs.

Smith and Smith Funeral Home on East Third Street in Lexington will handle the funeral arrangements for Roach.

Governor Steve Beshear released a statement late Thursday afternoon, saying, "S.T. Roach is more than just a legendary coach in Kentucky high school basketball, he was a legendary force in helping our state move forward when our schools integrated more than a half century ago. Coach Roach’s long-standing commitment to integrity, honesty and respect live on not only through his players, but through everyone who had the honor of calling him a friend. He will be truly missed, and Jane and I will keep his family in our thoughts at this difficult time.”

"Our prayers go out to the friends & family of S.T. Roach, former UK Athletic Association Board member, who passed away," said UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart. "Coach Roach made an outstanding impact on this community and our university. We will miss his presence, insight and dedication to our cause here at the University of Kentucky."

Lexington mayor Jim Newberry said, "“Our entire community mourns the death of Coach Roach. Teaching was his profession and he certainly taught us important lessons in Civil Rights, leadership, ethics, sports and academics. For many years he worked to revitalize the Lyric Theatre, and I am glad he saw that goal nearly completed before his death. His legacy will live on at the Lyric, at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, through the history of the original Dunbar High School and in the lives of countless young people he coached and taught. We will miss him, and send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”

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Mike Hartline: "We Love Them. We Hate Them."

It's a process. It can be a tremendous struggle trying to become a good quarterback. So much to learn. Even though Mike Hartline's season ended last year against South Carolina, it was the best game he's every played. He's dreamed of playing like that. Now that he has, Hartline now believes he can do it again.

"Everything seemed to be in slow motion," says Hartline.

"To me everything seemed to slow down a lot. I was in such a zone. I think it has to do with preparing and practice and in the film room. It almost seemed surreal."

That is huge for any quarterback. Getting to the point where the game starts slowing down. That's what every quarterback hopes happens to them.

It's not easy at times playing quarterback in the SEC. If things don't go right, you take a lot of heat. Hartline has experienced tons of heat from fans. It's gotten to the point, and you can't blame him, he's gotten cold about it. He doesn't care what fans think.

"I really don't care."

"If people don't like me, you aren't supposed to like everybody in the world. That's fine with me. I care about the guys around me. This is a brotherhood. And, if people don't want to get on track, they can be a so called fan if they want to. But fans stick behind the team no matter what. And that includes the quarterback, middle linebacker, center, whoever. Whoever is out there you support them. If not, you can do your own thing."

"Fans are going to be fans. We love them. We hate them. We are always going to be there for them. We do this for the fans and that's it. If they can't support them, we are going to have a tough season. And that is a good thing about Kentucky fans. They always support us even if they are not liking us at that certain time."

For a long time, true blue fans remembered how special Bob Hardy was. He was 3--0 against Tennessee. Hartline can have the same record against Louisville with a win.

 

 

 

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Bill Curry Returns To Coaching

(AP) - Bill Curry hasn't been on the sideline for a college game since 1996, so excuse the ol' coach if it takes him a few plays - maybe even a few games - to get up to speed.

"I'm trying to remember everything I can,'' the 67-year-old Curry said. "I hope it's enough to knock the rust off so I don't do too many embarrassing things.''

He's still got a few tricks up his sleeve, though.

With a sly grin, he won't reveal the starting quarterback for his new team at Georgia State until the offense runs on the field for the first time. And he's brought in some big names to chat up his players, such as former teammate and Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis, who stopped by a few days ago to give the Panthers a pep talk.

Now, it's time to see if all that chicanery and inspiration will pay off. On Thursday night, Curry leads the Panthers onto the field for their inaugural game against Shorter.

"This means a lot to me. This means lot more than I thought it would. This is my hometown,'' he said. "I have an emotional attachment to these streets. I know that sounds weird, but it's the truth.''

When Curry was let go by Kentucky 14 years ago, he seemed at the end of the line in a career than began at Georgia Tech, his alma mater, and included a highly contentious stint at Alabama, where he was never fully accepted trying to fill Bear Bryant's shoes.

But along came another school, right down the road from Georgia Tech and about six blocks away from the old Rich's department store where his father once worked, starting up a football program of its own. When Georgia State called, asking if he might be interested in coaching again, Curry jumped at the chance.

He has stayed familiar with the college game after leaving Kentucky, working 11 seasons as an ESPN analyst. He believes that experience made it easier to step back into coaching after so long away.

"I was right in the middle of a lot of great programs,'' Curry said. "I sat in the room with Tom Brady before his first start at Michigan, when nobody thought he would be the starter. As soon as Brady left the room, I knew he could be something special.

"I learned from all that. I hope it makes me a better football coach. I know it made me a better person.''

Even though he's now in his late 60s, Curry still has that same passion for teaching young men that he brought to his first coaching job at Georgia Tech, way back in 1980.

He'll go on and on about how football is the greatest team sport there is, the one where everyone has to work together on every play. Even if 10 guys get it right, he'll point out, one guy going the wrong way can mess the whole thing up.

Mark Hogan was certainly impressed with Curry's vigor. He wanted to play for the man who had coached Hogan's father at Georgia Tech, so much so that he was Georgia State's first - and, for a while, only - player. He worked out on his own in the early days of the program before the Panthers signed their first full recruiting class.

"He cares about his players. He's a man of integrity. He's knows what he's doing. He's got a lot of experience,'' Hogan said. "He told me the other day, 'If I wasn't so enthused about this, I wouldn't be here.'''

In some ways, Curry comes across as more preacher than coach, a deeply religious man who talks as much about hope and redemption as he does blitzes and running plays. To his critics over the years, this surely sounds familiar - they always thought he was much more impressive in front of the cameras than he was on the field.

Only six times in his 17 years at Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky did Curry's teams finish with a winning record. Even his best season - in 1989, Alabama went 10-2 and shared the Southeastern Conference championship - didn't end well. Hopes of a perfect season crashed with a third straight loss to rival Auburn. When school officials tried to strip away some of Curry's power in a new contract, he left for Kentucky and failed to produce a winning record in seven seasons.

All that's in the past now.

Curry and his players see a chance to leave a lasting legacy at school that has largely ignored its athletic programs. More than 4,000 season tickets have been sold for a team that will play a step below the big time in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision.

A crowd of up to 20,000 is expected for the historic first game at the cavernous Georgia Dome, also home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.

"We know we're going to playing in the same place where NFL players have played,'' linebacker Jake Muasau said. "That triggers something in your mind. I you want to be an NFL player, you better start playing line one.''

Curry promises an entertaining show, even if takes a while to knock the rust off.

"It'll be fun to watch us,'' he said. "We're not asking people to come to downtown Atlanta to see a team that will run it into the line and hope to hang in the game. No, there will be none of that.''

 

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Former UK Quarterback Woodson Cut By UFL Team

Former UK quarterback Andre Woodson has been cut by a United Football League team.

The league's Hartford Colonials have released Woodson. The former Wildcat had been a sixth round NFL draft pick back in 2008 for the New York Giants.

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Defense Making Strides

Is the defense ready?

So much of the offseason and fall camp has been focused on the offense.  Who will the quarterback be?  How much can Randall Cobb do?  Will the freshman running backs contribute?

But not as much attention has been paid to the defense and that might be where the most help is needed.

So far, defensive coordinator Steve Brown is pleased.

"They've been moving around pretty good.  They've been playing with a lot of enthusiasm," said Brown.

Kentucky hasn't really been able to stop the run for a long time, but last year jumps out at you.  Sure, they faced running backs like Heisman winner Mark Ingram and first-round draft pick C.J. Spiller, but the numbers were bad.

If they get better this year remains to be seen, but Brown is optimistic.

"I hope to be better.  I pray that we're better.  We're working hard to be better," said Brown.

"Obviously we've got to do a better job of stopping the run and we're working towards that.  We're trying to get guys to really play with great technique and doing a better job of tackling and not have any of those explosion plays where guys are missing tackles and guys are taking it to the house."

Brown didn't want to name names because he said the list would be too long, but did say several freshman would be contributing this year and in the future.

"We got some guys across the board that will be good players down the road and the list is pretty long."

Brown will be relying on linebacker Danny Trevathan to help keep his unit in check.  Trevathan is an excellent player but hasn't always been known as a guy who will stand up and speak his mind.  Brown says he's not looking for that.

"He doesn't have to be vocal for me, he just needs to be a leader by example and he's doing that."

We'll all see just how far this young defense has come on Saturday at 3:30.

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#16 UK Volleyball Team Gets Thrilling Win Over Louisville

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Behind the support of 2,178 electrifying members of the Big Blue Nation the 16th-ranked Kentucky volleyball team earned a dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind win (14-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-27, 15-10) over intrastate rival Louisville on Wednesday night at Memorial Coliseum. The victory snapped a nine-match winning streak by the Cardinals in the series with UK's last win coming in the 1999 season.

"The atmosphere was amazing tonight," UK coach Craig Skinner said. "I think whoever watches us play better not leave their seat because they are going to miss something. Something exciting is going to happen when we play."

Kentucky trailed twice in the match and clawed its way back to a victory - it's first of the season to improve to 1-2 on the season. The most remarkable climb was in the decisive fifth set when UK trailed 6-1 in the early portion of the frame. Three consecutive errors by the Cardinals and a kill from senior Lauren Rapp brought the score to within 6-5. UK knotted the score at eight apiece behind another Cardinal miscue. On the following play, junior Becky Pavan's powerful jump-serve caught the Louisville defense off guard for an ace. The momentum swung into the Wildcats' favor and UK never looked back. Senior Blaire Hiler finished the run for the Wildcats with three kills in the final five points of the stanza to bring the crowd to its feet for a final time with a 15-10 win.

"I love coaching this team because they compete," Skinner said. "They never give up and they are not afraid to make mistakes. You have to have that type of mentality to beat good teams and win five-game matches."

UK's senior duo of Rapp and Hiler delivered in a big way down the stretch for the Wildcats. Rapp led the offensive output with a season-high 15 kills while adding four blocks and eight digs. Hiler charted 10 hammers to reach double-figures for the second consecutive match. She chipped in a block and five scoops.

Freshman Whitney Billings continues to impress as she was the third member of UK's team to notch double-figure scoring with 11 kills and a pair of solo blocks. The freshman registered her first career double-double when she added 13 digs to her stat line.

Sophomore setter Christine Hartmann also set a career best in the digs column with 11 scoops to go along with 36 assists and a double-double effort as well. The difference maker was freshman Alexandra Morgan who made her first career start in her first collegiate appearance. UK's middle blocker struck for eight blocks to ignite UK's defensive effort. Stephanie Klefot anchored the back-line with a match-high 14 digs.

Kentucky's defense prowess was the difference-maker as UK charted a combined 15 blocks and 64 digs. UK limited Louisville's offense to just a .080 hitting clip and 39 assists.

Louisville opened the match with a dominating 25-14 set one victory behind .300 hitting and 10 kills in the stanza.

Kentucky roared back for a 25-19 set two win following four kills from Rapp and three more from Hiler. UK's defense was at its best with nine blocks in the stanza and forcing Louisville into a negative hitting percentage. The Wildcats grabbed a lead at 3-2 and would never relinquish its hold the rest of the set. UK had its largest lead at 18-9 after a solo block from Billings. Morgan and Rapp combined for a block and then forced the Cardinals into an erroneous shot to conclude the second set.

UK went ahead 2-1 with a 25-22 set three victory. In a back-and-forth battle between the squads, UK finally broke loose for an 18-17 edge after consecutive kills from Pavan. Once again UK's defense won the set as Louisville had another mishit which essentially gave the Blue and White the winning point of the set.

The Wildcats forced Louisville into 10 hitting errors and benefited from four service errors.

Louisville stormed back in the fourth frame to force the deciding fifth set. With UK appearing in control and ready to claim victory in four sets, the Cardinals rallied from a 24-22 deficit to capture the set by a 27-25 margin. This time it was a pair of UK misfires that enabled the Cardinals to earn a set-point win.

Kentucky's offense was smooth in the fourth frame with a match-high 19 kills with Billings and Rapp each accounting for seven hammers. Louisville charted just 14 kills, but the difference was seven blocks off of the defensive arms of the front row of the visitors.

The Wildcats will return to action when they host the Kentucky Classic this weekend. Miami (Ohio), Ohio State and South Florida will join UK and form the four-team round robin tournament. Two matches will be played Friday beginning at 5 p.m. Four more matches will occur on Saturday.

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At This Point It's More Mental Than Physical

Joker believes he and his staff have the Cats ready for the opener at Louisville. At this point, the bulk of the work left for UK is between the ears of the players.

"I like the energy and the enthusiasm but from here on out it is all mental," says Joker.

The last thing any coach wants to see is too many or not enough men on the field.

"Physically we have done all we can do, now it has to be a mental preparation. Tomorrow's practice will be a lot of mental reps, getting guys on and off the field, making sure we are in transition in our special teams."

"We will play a mini game so to speak. We have to get our guys back fresh physically and sharp mentally."

Joker is sticking to what he said earlier this week that eight new players are expected to see their first action.
He anticipates the obvious, that there are going to be mental mistakes, but when that happens, do it going full speed. Don't hesitate.

One of the freshman who Joker continues to praise is the 5-foot-8 inch running back from Georgia, Raymond Sanders.

"Prepare them mentally so that they are relaxed and know their assignments," Phillips said. "We think that we have some pretty mature guys. Raymond Sanders is one of the most mature guys that we have ever had as a freshman ... We have got some old freshmen and they are old enough to understand that."

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The Value Of UK Assistant Coach Mike Summers

It's no coincidence that when Mike Summers was the offensive line coach at Louisville, they not only beat UK all four times from 2003 through 2006, but they averaged 40 points a game. Louisville's offensive line, every year that Summers was there, owned UK in the trenches.

You wouldn't blame UK's new offensive line coach if he fought back a tear or two, or quietly became very emotional for a moment hours before the game on Saturday when he walked on Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

"I think you are exactly right," says Summers.

"There were a lot of good memories that took place during my time at Louisville and a lot of victories and a lot of successes. Certainly, there will be a time for reflection for that for a brief moment and then we will get back on task. But, we really are excited about going to take this Wildcat team down there and trying to put on our best performance."

When you lose four starting offensive lineman, and three make it to NFL camps, and you are Kentucky, many might think that the expectations would be that the offensive could take a step back this season. There are two reasons that probably won't happen. One is the obvious, more than one of the starting lineman have told LEX 18 that this group is stronger and really hungry to prove themselves. The second reason is Mike Summers.

When Summers took over, the lineman were lost. It was like learning a new language. The players had to think about what they were doing. You can't play that way. With repetition, it's gotten a lot better.

"Well I've seen progress. What level that is, certainly we will know on Saturday. I've seen these guys grow together as a group. I've seen the relationships with each other strengthen and the respect that they have upfront with each other has gotten stronger. So, all of those things help in the cohesiveness of that group working as one. A group without experience like we have, needs to rely on each other to be able to work through some of the tough things they are going to have to do. I've seen that progress."

How good will this years Cats be?

"This is a team that is going to have a lot of excitement to it and they will be good. How good they will be will be determined how close they get as a group. I am starting to see them everyday grow closer and closer together. So, I'm excited about what it can be."

Lexington Christian Academy's Zach West is a big time recruit was is going to play for UK. A big key in West's decision to stay home and play for UK wasn't just Mike Summers the coach, but as West said, the Christian man that he is.

"First of all, I appreciate Zach saying that and recognizing that in me. I also feel like I'm here not only as a coach, but as the strongest male influence that a lot of these guys have, and I take that role very seriously and hopefully what I stand for and the things I believe in and the character I have is some influence on them. If that's true, I feel really good about what I'm doing."

How can True Blue fans not be excited to have Mike Summers added to Joker's staff?

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Calipari Talks Recruiting And Kanter's Future

With four five-star recruits already committed to Kentucky, John Calipari says he's not done recruiting for the class of 2011.

"We're still out there actively looking," Calipari said Tuesday evening at a book signing in Lexington. ""We've got good news all summer. We've got a lot of kids that want to be here, want to be a part of this program."

The latest good news for Calipari came on Saturday night when Kyle Wiltjer, a six-foot-nine power forward from Oregon, verbally committed to Kentucky during a national televised high school all-star game. Recruiting services Scout.com and Rivals.com both list Wiltjer as a top-25 player in the class of 2011.

Wiltjer's commitment was the latest coup for Calipari. The prevailing opinion in the recruiting community was the he was still considering several schools. A commitment was thought to be weeks or months away. Yet Wiltjer committed to Kentucky, despite never taking a visit to campus.

"One thing is I wanted to surround myself with the best players and they have a very skilled recruiting class coming in and I thought it would be a great fit," he said while announcing his decision.

NCAA rules prohibit Calipari from talking directly about any recruit until the school has received his letter of intent, but he seemed to have Wiltjer on his mind when discussing the past few weeks.

"When young men say they want to play with other great players, that's what you want to hear," he said.

Rounding out the 2012 recruiting class - one that True Blue Fans already are comparing to the all-time greats in program history - is something Calipari will do cautiously.

"If we offered 25 scholarships here, there's 25 takers. So we got to be careful and know who we are going after," he said. "It's important for me that a young man really wants us, too."

Simply being a five-star talent is not enough for Calipari. He's searching for players who aren't afraid of having to compete with equally talented teammates for minutes and who can accept the extra attention that comes with playing at Kentucky.

"Things that go on at other campuses, it's not that big a deal. If that goes on at this campus, it's on 60 Minutes," he said.

Calipari has signed back-to-back top ranked classes in his first two years on the recruiting trail for Kentucky. Yet he thinks his success so early with the 2011 class is a result of the five first round picks from Kentucky in June's NBA draft.

"Don't say that's one of the biggest things that's ever happened because you'll get in trouble," Calipari said, taking a jab at True Blue Fans who took offense to his claim that draft night was among the most historic in program history.

""I said, ‘the next five years you'll feel the effects of that night' and it's already started," he said.

Decision Coming Soon On Kanter: Calipari confirmed Tuesday that Eloy Vargas has joined the team on campus and gave an update on the status of freshman Enes Kanter.

"Still going through the process," Calipari said of Kanter, who has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse but did not travel with the team to Canada. "The process with the foreign student will take a little longer, but I think in the next couple of weeks we'll know," he said.

 

 

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McDermott Is Surprised He's Starting Too

Walk-on defensive tackle Luke McDermott knows that most true blue fans are wondering who he is and how he won the starting job against Louisville.

McDermott knows those fans are surprised, and they're not alone.

"I'm surprised, yeah," said McDermott.

The junior from Trinity came out of no where on Monday when Joker Phillips named him the starter.  From that point on, it's been a whole new world for McDermott.  On Tuesday, he was the most sought after interview by the media.

There's the nickname "Freaky Luke", given to him by former UK star Corey Peters, the stories of how he eats for an hour longer than the rest of his teammates and lifts weights when he's not eating.

Yes, Mr. McDermott has become quite a legend in a very short time, all because he was named the starter and he didn't even see it coming.

"I get a lot of jokes from my family, they are trying to get a story out of me.  I really don't know what it is."

That doesn't mean Luke isn't planning on taking full advantage of his opportunity.  He believes he can play at this level.

"I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think I could play.  I wouldn't go through all this work if I didn't think there wasn't something in it," McDermott said.

As a Trinity grad, Luke admits he grew up a Louisville fan.  He even talked to now UK assistant coach Greg Nord while he coached for the Cardinals.  But McDermott never really got any scholarship offers and decided to walk on at Kentucky.  Now he'll get the chance to start against Louisville in the season opener, a pretty unbelievable feeling for McDermott.

"They put me in there.  They will take me out just as fast as they put me in.  As long as I stay focused on football I'll be fine.  I just need to stay focused."

Whether McDermott remains the starter all season or is replaced doesn't seem to affect him.  Sure, he wants to contribute.  He wants to play.  He believes he can play.  But he's also just enjoying the moment he's in now in case it's fleeting.

"I like coming out here and working everyday.  I love football.  I just pretty much do what I want to do.  I'm trying to become a coach when I'm done playing so I'm trying to get as much knowledge about that game that I can.  It works out because the more I learn the better I become."

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Joker Loves The Cats' 'Juice'

(AP)  With only four days remaining until the University of Kentucky football team hits the field for the season opener against Louisville, head coach Joker Phillips seemed excited about his team's effort at practice Tuesday.

"It was enthused," Phillips said. "We had a lot of juice, lots of energy and lots of enthusiasm. Guys are starting to get cranked up and ready."

That "juice" could be attributed to the physicality and the increased demand the UK coaching staff has put on the players. Phillips said increasing the demand on the players was important in order to continue the growth of the program.

"We made it a physical camp because we felt that is what we had to do to take this thing to the next level and to continue the growth of this program," Phillips said. "It is one of our goals, too. We have three goals: graduate our players, be known as a physical football team and the other is to win the SEC East."

Phillips talked extensively yesterday about preparing for Louisville's personnel, offensively and defensively. The Cardinals return 15 starters from their 2009 squad, including nine on offense and six on defense. UL also has a veteran team with 27 seniors.  Phillips said Tuesday that when you play a rivalry game like UK-UL game, everything goes "out the window."

"All that stuff goes out the window when you play this game, we all know that," Phillips said. "It will be a physical game and we want to make our team a physical team."

Earlier in the week, Phillips and the UK coaching staff announced the two permanent captains for the season in junior wide receiver/quarterback Randall Cobb (offensive captain) and senior defensive end DeQuin Evans (defensive captain). Seniors Mike Hartline and Ricky Lumpkin will be game captains for the Louisville game. 

Phillips also announced that junior tight end Nick Melillo, redshirt freshman safety Dakotah Tyler and junior wide receiver Gene McCaskill definitely will be out for the game against Louisville. However, several Wildcats returned to the practice field on Tuesday, including returning starter at linebacker Danny Trevathan.

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Bleeding For Both Schools

He has given blood for both schools.

After playing at UK, and moving up the coaching ladder at his alma mater, and surviving two coaching staffs, with both Fran Curci and Jerry Claiborne, for some reason that no one seemed to understand, Bill Curry didn't want Nord on his staff.

The nomadic life of a coach began for Nord and his family after being forced to leave Lexington.  There were stops at East Carolina, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Illinois. Nord had joined Illinois last winter as tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator after spending the previous 15 seasons at U of L.

Nord was at Louisville from 1995-2009. He was the assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator, tight ends coach and running backs coach.

Nord knows every inch of Papa Johns Stadium.

"I think I've tried to keep the same routine as much as possible," says UK's special teams and tight ends coach.

"I'm sure there are going to be some emotions. I mean anyone who has spent the time that I had there is going to have some. If I'd say different, most anybody could call me a liar."

"I have a lot of close friends and they were good to me while I was there. But they are on the other sideline and we are going to be firing all of our bullets at them."

If you are looking for calm and cool, that's the best way to describe Joker so far this week with the media leading up to UK-Louisville. Nord, who used to have Joker tag a long during his early days at UK on recruiting trips, has fun picking on his boss and friend.

"Well there is none of us like that. We are all faking it."

Then it gets serious. This is one of the best answers you are going to get about what coaches really do.

"Anybody who has played this game, there is a certain amount of calmness as coaches that we have to bring to it to make sure the guys get to the game in play in control yet on the edge of out of control. That's the fine line we all have to skirt. There are times where we as coaches have to bring that emotion and intensity and there are times we have to be the calming effect. That's part of the art of being a good coach I believe."

Do you believe you have a degree in psychology where you got it nor not?

"Well I don't know my psychology teacher might still be on campus and they may argue with that."

 

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Howard Schnellenberger MVP Award For UK-Louisville

The MVP on the winning team between Kentucky and Louisville on September 4th will receive the first annual Howard Schnellenberger MVP Award.

"It is a source of great pride for me to become a part of the Governor's Cup Football Game," Schnellenberger said.

"This intense rivalry has become the defining game for collegiate football within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. My hat's off to the Wildcat and Cardinal teams, coaches and fans."

Schnellenberger was recruited to UK out of Louisville Flaget High School by the legendary Bear Bryant, earned varsity letters in 1952-53-54-55 and was an All-American tight end for the Wildcats under Blanton Collier as a senior. Schnellenberger was an assistant coach at UK under Collier in 1959 and 1960. As the head coach at UofL for 10 years (1985-1994), Schnellenberger is credited with rejuvenating the football program and boosted support for a new, on-campus stadium. He led the Cardinals to victories in the Liberty and Fiesta Bowls.

The Howard Schnellenberger MVP will be selected by a vote of the working press covering the game as identified by the sports information directors from each school. Voting will take place near or at completion of the game at the discretion of the SIDs.

Schnellenberger currently is head coach and director of football operations at Florida Atlantic University, having built the Division I program from scratch starting in 1998.

At Miami, Louisville and FAU, Schnellenberger-coached teams are a remarkable 6-0 in bowl games. Schnellenberger was an integral part of four national championships in college football and two Super Bowl victories.

He coached the University of Miami to the 1983 national championship and was offensive coordinator under Bryant at Alabama for national titles in 1961-64-65.

He was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under Don Shula, including the 17-0 season in 1972, and assistant for the Los Angeles Rams under George Allen.

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Tall Receiver Wants To Play For Joker

Joker Phillips has added a 19th recruit for the Class of 2011.

The Press-Register in Mobile, Alabama says that Davidson High's Rashad Cunningham, a 6-foot-4 inch 200 pounder who has been clocked in a very fast with 4.4 speed will play for UK.

UK Wide Receiver coach Tee Martin recruits the Mobile area for the Cats.

In 2009, Cunningham caught 11 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns.

According to Rivals.com, Cunningham is the fourth receiver in this recruiting class.

Cunningham is a three-star prospect on Rivals.com who was ranked as the No. 17 prospect in Alabama on the Press-Register's Elite 18.

Cunningham had received scholarship offers from Arkansas, Mississippi State, Memphis, UAB and South Alabama.

 

 

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ESPN's Erin Andrews Will Be At Calipari's Clinic

ESPN's Erin Andrews will appear as a special guest at the 2010 Women's Clinic.

Since the 2004 season, Andrews has served as a reporter for the ESPN College Football Saturday telecast, the Saturday Primetime college basketball game and Big Ten college basketball coverage. In 2005, she began reporting from the sidelines of the ESPN College Football Thursday Primetime series and added Major League Baseball sideline reporting to her responsibilities. She is now also assigned to the season-long Monday Night Baseball telecast.

The women's clinic, designed for women with all levels of basketball knowledge, is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Attendees will learn the Dribble Drive Motion offense, get a tour of the Cats' state-of-the-art practice facility, and coaches' offices. There will also be scheduled presentations that include behind-the-scenes looks at UK video, strength and conditioning and sports injury/rehabilitation lectures, as well as a Q&A with Coach Calipari, staff and current players.

Registration for the women's clinic will be from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. on October 6th in the Joe Craft Center.

There cannot be any recruitable age participants at the Women's Clinic. Any person entering 7th grade-12th grade will not be allowed to register or attend.

Registration is available at www.ukathletics.com/camps.

 

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Wildcats, Cards Playing Guessing Game

LOUISVILLE (AP) - Charlie Strong isn't the kind of guy who leaves things to chance.

The coach charged with restoring Louisville to the glory of its not-so distant past is a stickler for details, monitoring everything from the number of available towels in the locker room to where his players park their cars.

Strong's meticulousness has instilled a renewed sense of discipline at Louisville, keeping the Cardinals on their toes and delighting a fan base turned off by the decidedly more relaxed - and ultimately unsuccessful - approach of former coach Steve Kragthorpe.

Still, after eight months of sweating the small stuff, even Strong isn't so sure about some of the big stuff, like what kind of team he's got on his hands heading into Saturday's Governor's Cup showdown with Kentucky.

"I just don't know who we are right now," Strong said. "We're searching for an identity."

A certain air of mystery may not necessarily be a bad thing, particularly for a team coming off its worst season since 1997.

Strong brings in a new coaching staff, one that features Louisville's fourth offensive and defensive coordinators in as many seasons.

Former UNLV coach Mike Sanford will bring the spread offense he perfected under Urban Meyer at Utah in 2003-04. Former Florida secondary coach Vance Bedford will partner with Strong to help a defense that ranked 91st in the country last year.

It has sent Kentucky coach Joker Phillips to the film vault trying to figure out what to expect in a series the Wildcats have dominated in recent years. Kentucky has won three straight over its archrival, swinging the balance of power in the state firmly back to Lexington.

"We've got to be mentally prepared for a lot of different things," Phillips said. "It's just been a pretty difficult team to prepare for."

Well, not entirely.

Phillips has spent enough time watching Strong's talented defenses at Florida have its way with the Wildcats over the last seven seasons to know what to expect whenever Kentucky has the ball.

"It's going to be a blitz-o-rama," Phillips said. "He'll be blitzing as soon as he comes out of the locker room. It's just what they do."

Even if the Cardinals won't do it with the same kind of athletes Strong had at Florida. That's the least of his worries at the moment.

He knows his teams lacks depth and size. He can work on that. Right now, he'd like to see some confidence. It's a rare commodity in a program that has gone 15-21 since winning the Orange Bowl four seasons ago.

"What these players have heard (for years) is 'You're not very good, you can't do this, you can't do that,"' Strong said. "It's a confidence thing with them now because we have nothing to show for it."

The only way to get it is to win. Though the more experienced Wildcats are a slight favorite, they have questions of their own.

Can anybody else besides do-everything wide receiver Randall Cobb catch the ball? Can quarterback Mike Hartline do more than just manage the game? How will eight first-year players react while playing in front of 56,000 mostly hostile fans?

"The biggest thing is how those guys are going to react?" Phillips said.

It's a question that's not limited to Kentucky's players. Though Phillips has spent the last 24 years preparing to make his head coaching debut, he knows things will be different when he walks into Cardinal Stadium and sees his longtime friend on the other
sideline.

"I'm sure maybe Saturday morning I'll be hugging the toilet somewhere," Phillips said.

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"Freaky Luke" Starts For UK Against Louisville

Be honest. How many great True Blue fans had even heard the name Luke McDermott before today.

Who?

Luke comes to UK as a walk-on. Made the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2008.

Was a two year starter at powerful Trinity High in Louisville when they won the state championship in his final two seasons, as the Shamrocks had a two year record of 27-3.

Now a beefed up 265 pounds, which has to be one of the lightest defensive tackles in the SEC, he is the starter for the opener against Louisville.

There can't be anyone, from McDermott's family, to his teammates, to his own family that could have predicted this.

"We gave him a nickname, Freaky Luke because he does some the most freakiest things in practice that you are not supposed to win with but he will win with it," says Ricky Lumpkin, the Cats other starting defensive tackle.

Lumpkin never thought McDermott could start when they met. Who could? He's put on 30 pounds.

"He comes out and gives 100%. He rarely messes up. If he does he's flying around. There are multiple occasions where he is out there drenched in sweat. He is the hardest sweater I've ever seen in my life. I know one thing. We will get 100% from him. We will get his all on Saturday."

Taking nothing away from McDermott, but between injuries and perhaps other lineman who haven't lived up to expectations, McDermott obviously wants it more.

"He is a guy who always gave you 110%," says Joker.

"He's one of those guys who has a high motor. He's very aggressive. He never backs down from anyone or anything."

Coaches love athletes who will do just about anything to get on the field. It's the biggest mystery in coaching, why some will do it when many won't.

"We told him to eat and he needs to get bigger and stronger. Go to the dining room and as soon as your full, eat some more. He's over to the dining hall and hour and a half, two hours sometimes. We'll leave breakfast and go for lunch and he's still there. Same thing in the weight room. He's in the weight room, 2 and 3 hours. He's in there an hour after he's supposed to work out. The guy continues to do everything he needed to do to get ready at this level."

 

 

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"Hugging The Toilet"

Being funny on Monday guarantees nothing about Saturdays kickoff against Louisville, but you have to like the way Joker handled himself with the media.

"My thoughts are similar to the other seasons that I've started," says Joker.

"But, I'm sure, maybe Saturday morning I'll be hugging the toilet somewhere. I don't know. Haven't done that in a long time since I was a player. But, I don't know. It's one of those deals that I've been as relaxed as I've ever been. But Saturday, who knows. The thing that I know that I have to be, I have to have my emotions under control."

Can you imagine Steve Spurrier saying "hugging the toilet?"

Then it's Joker on his job change. No, not as head coach, but as offensive coordinator, he was in the press box. Now he is the man with his headset on walking the sideline getting in a lot of TV shots. But, when the offense was poor, fans at Commonwealth Stadium have been known to say a few things.

"From being in the box, it will be different from there. Having all those folks turn around and looking at you."

That comment, with Jokers smile, got a big laugh from the media.

For all the obvious reasons, the players want to beat Louisville not just for themselves, but for their new head coach. Joker would never talk to the players about how it's important to get his career off on the right note.

Randall Cobb, the captain of the offense, knows what Joker will face if Louisville wins.

"Yeah I think there is a lot of second guessing if you start off with a loss," says Cobb.

"That's not something I want to do for Joker. He's done so much for us in this off-season. Putting this team together that we have to give him this win."

We keep on hearing that on both sides of the ball, this years Cats are going to be a lot more aggressive. Finally, in only a few days, we are going to find out.

 

 

 

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Sanders Steps In As Cats Play-Caller

Joker Phillips' debut as the head coach of Kentucky is the main story line heading in to Saturday's Governor's Cup matchup with Louisville.

But as Phillips tries to replace Rich Brooks, someone has to replace him as the Wildcat's play caller on offense.

For the past five seasons Phillips has led the offense, now that job belongs to Offensive Coordinator Randy Sanders.

Sanders served as the primary play-caller for Tennessee when he was Volunteer's offensive coordinator from 1999-2005.

"You got to go out and have a little bit of success, hopefully you're able to find a rhythm and once you find a rhythm it's much easier to set things up and get it going," he said.

While play calling will always be one of the favorite topics of debut among True Blue Fans, Sanders believes it's far from the most important part of his job.

"The one thing I have learned having been a play caller in the past is it's probably the most over-rated part of what goes on around you on game day," he said.

Preparation during the week in practice trumps dialing up the right call during the game, according to Sanders.

"The play calling counts, but not as much as people think," he said.

No matter what he calls, Sanders knows that ultimately it's success or failure comes down to a player making a play.

"I've called lots of plays that were absolutely perfect and if we don't execute them, if we don't throw it, catch it, block it right, it doesn't work," he said. "I've called plays that probably weren't the best in that situation and it worked out very well."

Sanders knows successful plays begot more successful plays and if he can get a few plays to work,  he can settle in to a rhythm.

"Working doesn't necessarily mean 15-yard gains, it could be a four yard run," he said. ""It's much easier to find a rhythm if you have a little success. It's easier to set things up if the things you're calling are working."

 

 

 

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