Memphis Says It Should Keep Wins; Henry Staying at KU; Wall, Cousins Will Qualify | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

Memphis Says It Should Keep Wins; Henry Staying at KU; Wall, Cousins Will Qualify

Keeping up with the developments at Kansas, Kentucky and Memphis has become a full-time job…Here are today’s developments:

**Memphis says it should keep its wins from Derrick Rose’s year on campus and not forfeit its Final Four appearance.

“Certainly, the University of Memphis should not suffer a financial penalty or vacation of records for the 2008 NCAA tournament as a result of this allegation,” according to a report detailing the school’s investigation into NCAA allegations.

This news comes a day after Andy Katz reported that John Calipari and the Memphis staff knew about the Rose/SAT scandal in 2008, a month after Memphis lost to Kansas in the national championship game.

Sheri Lipman, Memphis’ legal counsel, told Katz, “for the student-athlete, whoever that was, the first indication that we got was in early May [2008] that his score was being invalidated.”

If the initial allegations regarding Rose are found to be true, Memphis could vacate its 38-win season and Final Four appearance. Calipari would then have two Final Fours at two schools vacated.

Memphis will appear before the NCAA committee on infractions Saturday. Calipari, the Tigers’ coach when the infractions allegedly occurred, is expected to call or video in to the meeting from China, where he is conducting a clinic.

**Carl Henry told Jayhawkslant.com that his son, Xavier, will honor his commitment to Kansas and that he has no idea who Moses DuPre is. DuPre started an Internet rumor that Henry was unhappy with his role at KU.

“Nothing has changed,” Carl Henry said, according to KUsports.com.

Apparently someone opened a Twitter account in Xavier’s name during the recruiting process and started posting some false info.

On a side note, to all the folks emailing me and posting comments saying it was irresponsible of me to post this rumor yesterday, wake up and smell the coffee. What was irresponsible was posting this rumor initially. Once it’s out there, the mainstream media needed to report it out and investigate. Shay Wildeboor at Jayhawkslant did a great job of getting Carl on the phone and doing just that.

**Over at Kentucky, rumors are flying that Wildcat recruits John Wall,  DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe may not qualify academically, but sources close to Wall and Cousins say they will. I have yet to speak with anyone in Bledsoe’s camp.

“He’s gonna be fine, he’s gonna be qualified,” a source with knowledge said of Wall. “As far as everything that we see all his academics are in order. Summer school starts next week and we expect all those guys to be up there.”

Otis Hughley, Cousins’ high school coach, also said he believes Cousins will qualify.

“There’s nothing to speculate about DeMarcus Cousins,” Hughley said Monday. “From the 4th grade on up, he’s never had any issues. As far as his academics, you can’t dispute that. You can check his grades from top to bottom, they’re as solid as solid gets.”

(Photos courtesy Getty Images)

Latest comments

  • Adam …….. Sheri Lipman, Memphis’ legal counsel, told Katz, “for the student-athlete, whoever that was, the first indication that we got was in early May [2008] that his score was being invalidated.”

    If these allegations are found to be true, Memphis would vacate its 38-win season and Final Four appearance. Calipari would then have two Final Fours at two schools vacated. …………………First ……….you make this sound like that Memphis’s knowledge of the allegded infraction on May 8 , 2008 was was an allegation punishable by vacating its season and final 4. This inference by you is false . Secondly ….. if any allegations are found to be accurate …there has been no indication by the NCAA what the penalty would entail . Your statement is inaccurate and false .

  • at best …misleading

  • Unless Wesley didn’t tell Calipari that he was paying a player to take Rose’s SAT for him, this will certainly follow Cal to Kentucky. Maybe that’s why Cousins, Wall and Bledsoe are looking into alternate paths to play basketball.

  • poor Ben ……

  • Another piece that might upset Kentucky fans that haven’t been paying much attention to Calipari the last 20 years:

    http://jay-mariotti.fanhouse.com/2009/06/01/rose-scam-leaves-stench-in-all-directions/

  • Pasta,
    All indications from Josh Pastner, the Memphis Commercial Appeal and other sources are that Memphis could lose its 38 win season and Final Four, but that it wouldn’t impact the current team or future of the program.

    We’ll have to see exactly what punishments, if any, are meted out.

    Adam

  • Still Adam ….your post was misleading imho . It made it sound like knowlegde of the investigation on My 8 ( after the season ) is an allegation …when in fact it is nothing really …just information passed along from the NCAA to the University of Memphis .

  • Ben …give up …another article regurgitating the same guilt by association phlem . ( yawn}

  • You have to admit that the only 2 vacated final fours that I know of both involving the same coach is more than a little fishy. His reputation (what was left of it) has already taken the hit, the rest of it is just speculation to sell newspapers.

  • Memphis will respond with 63 pages and 480 pages of exhibits that Derrick Rose did nothing wrong ……. looks like the burden of proof will be on the NCAA for a change ……

  • I doubt Wall. Bledsoe or Cousins will qualify unless somebody was paid to take their SAT tests or they had grades changed.

    The NCAA should take a close a look at any players signed by Calipari and investigagte how William Wesley steers the top players to the school Calipari is coaching.

    Cal & Wes flew under the radar at Memphis – Kentucky will not be able to get away with the same cheating very long in the SEC. The other schools are not going to sit back – they will turn these cheaters in.

  • CBSsports.com has a poll going that asks about Cal cheating at Memphis. 71% of pollsters say YES. Which everyone suspects anyway. Conference USA is not the SEC-rules and standards are not the same. The end of this book is yet to be written

  • These blog comments are an entertaining place for gossip to be debated until the whole truth comes out, but sometimes people actually try to use it as a forum to publish their jaded agendas and start nerd fights.

    Case in point: Big Ben has spent a few days now passing on his “the sky is falling on Kentucky” stories about the roster emigrating to European basketball purgatory.

    Others are quacking about how slimy Calipari is….when in fact all we know right now is that he is a coach who recruits the fringe. The gifted athlete who is academically flawed. Remember Prop 48? Same deal, but legitimized by an NCAA policy.

    Because of Wesley, people who wish to make him the conveyor of all of Calipari’s evil deeds have unchecked license to do so, yet no one with the ability to make this mental connection has demonstrated the moxy to supply proof beyond innuendo.

    The bottom line is that Memphis is going to defend their Compliance department with regard to the travel expenses and say “we billed the passenger, but did not receive reimbursement”. Why? Because it is just as logical to assume that an oversight could have occurred as it is to assume that coaches, administration and compliance were all so overconfident in their abilities to hide this from the NCAA that they brazenly violated a very clear and noticeable NCAA rule in order to receive…what benefit? Oh. None, really.

    As for the academic fraud that surely Calipari and Wesley orchestrated in order to get Rose and those other two high schooler’s into Memphis–oh, wait, only Rose came to Memphis. Or, is it just a logical to assume that since other academic fraud occurred at that Chicago school, that it was just those players’ doings?

    Folks, sometimes when there’s smoke there’s fire.

    But sometimes, when there’s smoke, there’s just smoke.

    If you want to put on your hard hat and run into the scene and report to me that flames are present, go to work.

    Otherwise, keep your nerd fighting in perspective

  • Pastaboy what Adam used to draw his conclusions is what you obviously lack which is called logic or simply put common sense. Just as it would also be correct for me to assume that if you were caught stealing from a bank you would go to jail due to past instances in which such a crime or infranction is punished. Adam is basically doing the same.

  • Bledsoe has already qualified and had only to finish up the last two weeks of a math class in order to meet the standards. This occurred during the recruitment by Kentucky and Florida, not after. If I were Cal, and was the big cheater you insinuate, I certainly wouldn’t help a guy cheat his academics until after I had secured a commitment, otherwise I’d be helping him potentially go to Florida.

    Again, check your facts, mate.

    Cousins, if you haven’t bothered to research, is a pretty good student and carries a higher than 3.0 average at his school.

    As for Wall, since I don’t know I won’t comment. I won’t even allege that he is too stupid to get a passing score on the SAT or ACT because I DON”T KNOW.

    What I do know is that he has spent time at a Prep School that probably doesn’t want its reputation sullied because some kid wants to play one year of college basketball.

  • I see no “conclusions” in Adam’s entry. Only the statement that Cal COULD have two final fours vacated if the ASSUMPTION that Rose was KNOWINGLY allowed to participate after being NOTIFIED that his academic status was called into question.

  • Adam has already corrected his paragraph by inserting the initial allegations against Rose …thanks Adam

  • My point was that Adam’s 1st paragraph reguarding the My 8th notification was made to look like an allegation in the next paragraph …he has corrected it .

  • DrDick, Maybe you should check the facts before spouting off about peoples grades. Demarcus Cousins has maintained a 3.4 GPA all throughout his high school years. John Wall was being recruited HEAVILY by Coach K and DUKE, who wouldn’t waste their time if they thought he wouldn’t qualify, Eric Bledsoe, I honestly know nothing about his academics so I can’t comment on him. I think everyone should remember we are talking about 17 year old kids here. Sound to me like SOMEBODY isn’t happy to see UK getting back to the top of the SEC, I can’t say that I blame you, when one team has more conference chapionships than all the other teams combined, that’s got to suck!

    So DrDick are you a UT grad or UF grad?

  • Look at Adam’s language in my 1st post here …then reread his article ….I think even the knuckle draggers here will understand the difference

  • Pasta, you’re on top of it. Thanks for paying attention to the finer details.

  • Pastaboy – the bigges problem I have with you is when you call Adam out, but then go on to make comments like these: THESE ARE DIRECT QUOTES!

    “…….LOL ….you guys just don’t get it do you? …..Cal rules college basketball and now Ky. does to”
    ——-
    Let me get this straight a guy who has never won a national championship, forced to vacate one final four appearance rules college basketball? Not Coach K, R. Williams, T.Izzo, Calhoun, B.Donovan, B. Self?

    “I’d say the Xavier story has legs ……”

    “according to a Louisville Cardinal site” -no link attached or ever attached.

    “too much smoke here …..there’s fire somewhere ….I’d say it’s 75/25 Xavier leaves Kansas and goes to play with Cal”
    ———-

    Well it turns out Pastboys assertions were dead wrong after all, 75/25? I hope he is not a betting man

    “….. he now realizes Self has no ability to teach guards ….. he’s a stiff who got lucky on a 30 footer at the buzzer …….. ”

    Really no ability to teach guards? What aboud Sherron Collins, Tyshawn Taylor, Mario Chalmers, Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Luther Head…….do I need to keep going?

    ———
    “most insiders consider the Kansas NC a fluke …..Cal clearly had the better team .” The best is when he uses a vague word like insiders, what most people took away was perhaps one of the biggest coaching meltdowns in recent memory.

    Pastaboy has the never to call Adam out labeling his blog misleading, when all the above “facts” he stated were misleading. This guys brings some mickey mouse,d-bag stuff to the table.

    I could go on and watch Pastaboy stumble over is faux facts but its best to assert that sometimes if you give someone long enough time they will slit their throats themselves

    “looks like the Magnificent Seven will ride again”

  • Nerd fighting! I love it, well stated sir!

  • I posted this in the other thread, but my ego is telling me it’s worth repeating:

    We had to go through this nonsense with pastaboy on one of the Memphis boards around the time of Bledsoe’s recruitment. It’s just on and on, the guy is relentless and generally full of it. He demands you state facts when debating with him, but his responses contain things like “generally accepted” and “very telling”. Stuff like rumors that were started by someone Xavier himself said he didn’t know are allowed to be facts for pastaboy’s arguments because they support his BS, but rumors from the people who broke Cousins leaving UAB become “laughable” since they would tarnish the “#1 Recruiting Class” shine. When all else fails and you continue to disagree that makes you a “hater”, but outside of LaLa Land (where pastaboy resides) that just makes you a realist. X isn’t going to Kentucky, we all know this, too many actual FACTS and statements from him and his family do not support this, but pastaboy doesn’t want to hear it so for your own sake I’d say let the fool ramble on and ignore him.

  • I don’t know anything about Pasta’s posts on any other site. I will only say that as far as X leaving Kansas to go anywhere, no one I know took that seriously. Don’t know why this Moses guy started the rumor or what he heard. Don’t care. X, like Wall, is a one and done and won’t singlehandedly make that much difference at Kansas. He will be a nice piece of a championship caliber team, though.

    I will say this: If Plato is to Aristotle as Billy Gillispie is to Bill Self, nothing would surprise me. That could have been where the rumor grew legs. Or it could just be someone wanting to start some shite with the Kansas crowd, which is easily done. Just like all of you fanning these flames of conspiracy and dastardliness with Calipari, when, in fact, you don’t really know anything.

    If Cal proves to be dirty, it has NOTHING to do with Kentucky! (Someone is itching to type “yet”). Look, we have the Goddess of Compliance working at UK. She will not tolerate shenanigans. Why? Because UK is bigger than Cal. That wasn’t the case at UMass or at Memphis. But it is the cold hard truth right now. Not only does he have Sandy Bell and the UK Admin watching him, he has all the blogger hatred in the world salivating at the chance to insinuate and drooling with the possibility that they can say “TOLD YA!”

  • Wall, Cousins and Bledsoe have not qualified. Check your facts.

    I don’t care if Kentucky goes 40-0 and wins the national championship. The NCAA will take back those wins. Cal has been caught cheating at two schools. Please do not say he is not involved or had been cleared. He was the head coach and is responsible. I am sure you would defend Kelvin Sampson or Tim Floyd if UK had hired them.

    It’s the slimeballs like Calipari and the pimps like William Wesley that give college basketball a bad name. It is time the NCAA cracks down on this trash.

  • You check your facts. Bledsoe qualified. 17 ACT. Final academic issue-needed a B in a Math course. His high school coach confirmed it. Rather than do your work for you, do a little internet search, (try the Alabama newspapers).

    Wall you are right.

    Cousins–I will check.

    Then, while your are throwing out slimeballs and pimps, go read the Memphis reply to the NCAA. That slimeball Cal, it seems pretty clear, had nothing to do with Rose’s tests and scores. That is the school’s conclusion.

    You need to learn the perils of assuming guilt by association and subscribing to the “where there’s smoke there’s fire”.

    Yes, this is a blog, but there is nothing wrong with being rational and having a little integrity before you bang words off the keyboard.

  • Unfortunately, two final fours were vacated in the same year, 1971. Villanova and Western Kentucky both vacated final fours for players having signed with an agent.

  • BankSht,
    Please deal with your own village idiot before you attack fans of other teams jumping to conclusions.

  • Once again, reel in your wife (maybe the worst rumor monger on this site) before talking trash about others jumping on rumors.

  • Ha.

    “If Plato to Aristotle as Billy Gillispie is to Bill Self”

    Obviously you didn’t take Rose’s SAT because you have no grasp of analogies. Plato was Aristotle’s teacher. Self was Gillispie’s teacher.

    Perhaps you chose that answer on Wall’s SAT and that’s why he’s going to Greece?

  • Interestingly, BankShott and pastaboy have the same IP address.

  • Nice catch WKUfan. OK, so 1/2 the known FF forfeitures in history have involved Calipari.

  • There has been some concern that Bledsoe, who picked the Wildcats over Memphis, will not meet NCAA Clearinghouse requirements and will not qualify to play NCAA DI ball next year.

    http://blog.northstarbball.com/2009/06/01/will-eric-bledsoe-qualify.aspx

  • Keep spinning Mullin. That would be 1/3, based on WKUfan. Now, why don’t you put some effort into it and research it yourself. Here’s a hint: Championships have been vacated in the past! But you gotta look way back.

  • The concern about Bledsoe is unfounded. If you are so adept at posting a link, you can do your own research on this one too. go to Al.com as in Alabama.

    Wall and Cousins, as far as I know right now, need to get their standardized test scores in.

  • OK, how’s this

    100% of the Final Four vacancies in the past 35 years have been Calipari. Does that make you feel better?

  • Mullin, again, why bait? So I switched one Bill for the other. It occurs when attempting to multitask.

    Get over yourself, stop trying to inflame with words like village idiot and wife. Your pointing out my error is fine, but you need to learn about constructive criticism.

  • Seriously? Mullin, as of this post, you get none of my time.

  • “Bledsoe qualified. 17 ACT. Final academic issue-needed a B in a Math course.”

    Translation: Bledsoe hasn’t qualified.

  • Chris Mullin I have liked your posts so far but………really are you going to parse his words that much? As to criticize him for not ordering Self and Gillispie to Plato and Aristotle? Really?

  • Earlier BS/PB said things like:

    “….. he now realizes Self has no ability to teach guards ….. he’s a stiff who got lucky on a 30 footer at the buzzer ……..”

    And now he’s complaining about me baiting. LOL.

  • Well, it was funny (to me anyway) that we’re talking about SATs and he tried to make an SAT reference and failed so miserably.

  • He got the B. Still haven’t bothered to go to the trouble to do your own research.

    So far the only thing you’ve bothered to look up was whether or not Plato taught Aristotle. And that was just so you could take a poke at me….

    Laughable.

  • Breaking my statement, but I’m only going to do it to point out that I’m new to this site. First time posting is today. Have no clue who Pasta is.

    I’m not complaining to you about baiting, I’m accusing you of baiting. I told you to get over yourself and have a discussion.

    At this point, going back and forth is akin to a nerd fight. If that is your game, you win.

  • Alright new guy. Hang around a little bit before you start accusing people with no idea what you’re talking about. If Bledsoe’s grade is not official, which it’s not, he still hasn’t qualified regardless of how much you cry about it.

  • For anyone to interject their opinions on the academic status of recruits without personal involvement in the recruiting process is asinine. No one and I repeat no one knows whether these recruits will qualify before they go through the clearinghouse. They might have a good idea but nothing is final until they go through the NCAA process. To hate on young men because you hate Kentucky or any other program is wrong. You can hate Calipari but these kids have done nothing wrong. Cousins has a 3.4 gpa in school but yet people say he will fail his test. These are irresponsible statements.

  • An IP check says you’re in the same building as pasta…

  • No, people have said he’s taken the test 3 times and has yet to receive the necessary score. No one is accusing him of cheating (though the general assumption is going to be there with all of Calipari’s recruits from here on out).

  • Proof that sometimes when there is smoke, there is only smoke, my friend.

  • Little computer lesson–if we are in the same building, using the same IP provider, you just might get the same IP address.

  • Perhaps, but it sure seems fishy that the only guy defending pasta has the same IP as him.

  • I dunno CM, you tend to come across overly aggressive, to the point I can’t always tell if you are trolling or trying to have a legit conversation. Unlike pastaboy, who is an obvious troll to everyone but himself, I tend give you the benefit of the doubt. However, BankShott appears more than willing to have a conversation and rather than engage in said conversation you pulled a very troll tactic and ridiculed him with nitpicky semantics.

  • Never felt bad for anyone but you. Working so hard to prove others wrong and yourself right. Even at the expense of providing a clean, clear, unobstructed presentation of the overall facts.

  • I have made one statement to him, that he was on top of noticing the amendment in the original article. I didn’t catch it. All my other posts have had to to with the media and bloggers rushing to judgment in order to further a professional or personal agenda.

    I made mine clear from the start.

    You are the one parsing words and thoughts in order to always come out on top.

    Latest example: if the grade isn’t official he hasn’t qualified.

    His coach stated that he needed X ACT score and at least a B in a Math class to qualify. Then a few weeks later it was published that his score was 17 on ACT and the B was obtained. Thus, if the Coach stated he would meet qualifications, and was willing to make a public statement as such, I would tend to believe a man intimate with the situation above reckless rumors probably spread by “the sky is falling” UK fans. Or UNC fans, or Florida fans, or fans of Fuddrucker’s. It may not be through the clearinghouse yet, but I would wager the coach and Bledsoe wouldn’t be saying “I will qualify” if they didn’t know what he had to have to get in. Give them some credit.

  • Precisely my point Mullin.

    What makes you think that Cal has to orchestrate that? You are eager to buy into that notion that he is a cheater without looking objectively at other possible rational explanations. I get it that you want Cal to cheat, you need Cal to cheat, but you can’t make it happen.

    Again, Cal will continue to recruit these fringe players (athletically talented but academically challenged) because he believes in giving them a chance, and they are tremendous players. Not much to lose if they are ineligible. So they don’t come to play for him. Guess what, they don’t go to play for anyone else either…..or

    like Darnell Dodson. He didn’t qualify. Went to a prep. Now, he has the grades and comes to UK to play for Cal. Why didn’t Cal help him cheat to get in to, if its so rampant?

  • Historically kids and coaches say they will qualify and then don’t quite often. Not sure about Bledsoe, only that the Kentucky blogs have been saying he’s far from a sure thing at this point.

  • Let’s be honest, Dodson wasn’t then, and isn’t now, good enough to cheat for. He was recruited by a lot of the Big East but not as a difference-maker type guy. He may end up as a decent role player, but certainly not a Derrick Rose or John Wall.

  • HATE, HATE, HATE…

    All of you haters are so quick to judge and crucify Cal when he’s never been found guilty of any NCAA violations.

    Disregard the fact that Camby was paid by an agent but has sworn that Cal had nothing to do with it…Disregard the fact that Camby of course paid the money back.

    The NCAA still threw down the hammer on Cal’s rep and UMASS.

    Meanwhile Corey Maggette has been proven by the NCAA to have been an ineligible player for accepting money before coming to college.

    What did the NCAA do to the Blue Devils and their Final Four and National Championship game appearance during Corey’s run with Duke? Not a thing…

    Memphis has provided a staggering amount of evidence that Rose did not cheat on his SAT…and still people are saying that Cal and WWW orchestrated the whole thing.

    Cal is certainly not a genius but to orchestrate such an illegal scam as to get someone to take Rose’s test for him — that would make him much worse than Kelvin Sampson, TIm Floyd, Eddie Sutton, etc. And if the NCAA proves that — they should throw the book at CAL…BUT…..

    The thing is…..HE DIDN’T DO IT…

    He didn’t even find out about the ALLEGATIONS until after the season.

    If they prove that Rose didn’t take his SAT..then the punishment will most likely be a the forfeiture of the wins and the Final Four…but the blame should fall on Rose. NOT CAL.

    However, even if Cal had known about the test before the May 08 allegations…I’m glad he didn’t say anything.

    What good would come of that? Cal exposes Rose’s ineligibility. Rose gets a horrible reputation, he’s kicked out of school, goes to Basketball purgatory in Europe for a year and he doesn’t get drafted #1…

    For what?

    Keep hating folks…all our recruits will qualify and Cal won’t need to use WWW after this upcoming season.

    UK will win big (probably not a Final Four or a Championship) but we will win big…and the recruits will pour in.

    Memphis is a dump — UK is college basketball royalty and WWW’s services will no longer be needed to get recruits.

  • BS-
    Dodson originally signed with Pittsburgh IIRC, so that would be a big reason that Calipari didn’t cheat to bring him in.

  • Please post a link that says Bledsoe is eligible. Perhaps you can also posts link to all the stories about how unhappy Bledsoe’s high school coach is with being lied to by John Calipari.

    Do you think people are so dumb that they do not know that John Calipari and his “friend” William Wesley are dirty? Kentucky will be on NCAA probation long after these two have left for the NBA or another school.

  • If all of this proves true you’ll be in good shape. The question is only how much of it is truth and how much is wishful thinking.

  • Radcliff …..Cal has alot of Memphis people who are hating on him now …..Ben is probably one of them …..the rest from KU and elsewhere fear Calipari especially now that he’s got a BCS base of operations in a historic program with power and prestige . Cal’s game plan is pretty simple really …play a style of ball which these kids enjoy and is productive ….teach them how to play defense ( we often forget Cal’s teams at Memphis always ranked high in defense ) ….. and get the top kids into the NBA . That’s it . Now alot of the top kids want to play for Cal . The haters will always be there …..but the bottom line is Cal has never been accused of anything illegal by the NCAA. He’s the hottest coach in America and is the pre season favorite going into next year. So hate away guys ….. I’ll be hear to laugh at you along the way . LOL

  • Go to Al.com, look around for yourself. Perhaps you will also will find that link you are talking about regarding Bledsoe’s coach. I know nothing about that. I heard the BS about Xavier Henry being unhappy about being lied to by Bill Self, but that was just that, silliness.

    Now if you have a credible link you’d like to share about Bledsoe being lied to, I’m ready to go read it and judge for myself.

  • jreeves …..I agree with most of your comments except the ones about Memphis . Memphis is a dump? …..The Fed Ex Forum is a state of the art NBA Arena built 3 years ago . Rupp Arena was built 35 years ago . The city of Memphis provides a variety of activities for young black men to enjoy …Beale Street etc……according to FBI stats the crime rate per capita in Lexington is higher than Memphis …. yes the recruits will pour in jreeves …but not because its KY. …but because its Caltucky …..make no mistake my friend ……John Calipari is bigger than KY. basketball …..you’ll find out .

  • I saw where there was some buzz from some unknown blogger (northstar something or other) that Bledsoe didn’t take some online HS course. No source named, just innuendo. So, until the Coach or Bledsoe, or a credible source with some knowledge comes out and say that it’s so, I’m going with the only official statement made to date, that by his coach, that he met his academic goals.

    But honestly, if he didn’t take this online course and can’t play right away, so what? Maybe he needs to spend a year preparing for the rigors of college academics. He, unlike Wall, is not a one-and-doner.

    Oh, wait though, if I was Cal the Cheater, I’d just phone Wesley and have him fix the grade situation. So, no worries, right? wink wink

    (Pardon the sarcasm)

  • BIG BEN — YOU CAN SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE FOR ALL I CARE…

    YOU’RE A BALL-BREAKING MORON WHO GETS A KICK OUT OF HATING ON UK AND CALIPARI.

    THAT’S GOT TO MAKE FOR QUITE AN ENJOYABLE EXISTENCE (RIDICULOUS SARCASM).

    ALL YOU DO IS SPOUT INNUENDO AND CONJECTURE.

    WALL, COUSINS AND BLEDSOE ARE LOOKING ELSEWHERE — SAYS WHO? CITE SOMEONE!

    BESIDES, YOU ALSO SAY THAT THOSE SAME RECRUITS ARE NOT GOING TO QUALIFY…

    SO ARE ALL OF THEM BEING COURTED BY SONNY VACCHARO SINCE THEY WON’T BE PLAYING BALL IN COLLEGE?

    I’ll take my chances on my theories versus your theories…

    Moreover, I’d much rather be a wishful thinker than someone who displays schadenfreude with such rabid zeal.

  • Right, but the academic standards at Pitt are a little higher than at Memphis…..so I was just thinking that when he fell short at Pitt, Cal the Cheater could have swooped in and made it all better. I didn’t really take the time to spin my twisted line of reasoning regarding that thought. My apologies.

    good catch though–keeps me honest!

  • schadenfreude? where have I heard that one before? 😉

    all shouting aside, I, too would like to see sources.

  • Lexington has a higher crime rate per capita than Memphis…

    Really?

    Cite your source man…I don’t buy it. I went to Rhodes and the town is flat out dirty first and foremost…

    Murders are fairly common…

    My buddy is a doc and he was shot just outside his hospital trying to help another patient into the ER…

    That stuff doesn’t happen in Lexington.

    But you are correct the FedEx forum is nicer than Rupp…and Memphis’ facilities are very nice as well…

  • Pasta, did you know that you and I are the same person? Shocking isn’t it?

    I’m just not sure about Cal being bigger than UK basketball. I have a feeling that Cal will find himself voted off the island if things start to go sideways.

  • Rhodes has a beautiful campus ……. I think most metropolitan cities of a million or more total area tend to have areas which are undesireable from a safety and aesthetic standpoint ….but the Germantown / Cordova / Collierville area is quite nice ….the midtown area of Memphis has beautiful homes and fabulous restuarants …… the crime rate is high yes …. its high in other big cities …. but its not a dump ….. Lexington has a pretty high crime rate also …..per capita …check the FBI stats .

  • Like I thought man…

    FBI statistics for crime are much worse for Memphis.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

    The rate for violent crimes per capita in Memphis is 1,951 per 100,000…the rate for Lexington is 651 per 100,000

    Memphis has the 3rd highest rate of violent crimes in this list of cities behind other great cities like Detroit and St. Louis.

    So, Lexington’s rate of violent crimes is ONE THIRD of Memphis’ rate.

    Lexington is NO metropolis but crime – ridden it is not.

  • jreeves5319 I think the dirty part of Memphis you speak of was when you went from Rhodes through the sewers to hang out at the zoo… All kidding aside, like most major cities it all depends on what part of town you are in for the grime and crime. People getting shot at the hospital, HIGHLY uncommon, thugs shooting each other in the hood, sadly, rather common. I won’t pretend that Memphis isn’t a cesspool (the politics of this town are disgusting and only encourage the nonsense), but most of the violent crimes are limited to certain areas of the city and do not reflect the whole, the campus itself is in a decent area of town (it’s near where my mom lives), so it’s not like these kids will be coming to town and gangbanging the next week.

  • yeah Bank …I saw that …that’s why I haven’t post you …to perpetuate the rumor …..what drives guys like Cal and Pitino nuts is that they’ve coached bad teams in the NBA and lost ……then they see a team like the Cavaliers with 66 wins go down in 6 games and it drives them nuts . They know with those players they could win it all …this Howard guy had no clue. Cal is bigger than Ky. and probably will not stay there much more than 5 or 6 years ….win 2 ot 3 NC’s …then he’ll go back to the NBA

  • Check the stats out….Pasta.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

    Lexington is ranked 46/73

    Memphis is 3rd…

    That’s per capita rankings…

    So Memphis has roughly 2.5 times as many people and 3 times as much violent crime as Lexington…

    In total, that would be about 7.5X the amount of violent crime you see get in Lexington.

  • Zag,

    Any news regarding the rumor that Elliott Williams is thinking of transferring to Memphis because of his unfortunate situation with his sick mother?

  • I’m done now with the rant on Memphis’ crime rate…

    The argument is over and I won…

    but LORD2FLI has a point…Memphis ball players obviously aren’t gangbanging the second week they’re in town.

    My point was simply that the city of Memphis was not the draw for these kids — Calipari was the reason the kids came to Memphis.

    Lexington won’t be much of a draw either…but with one good season — this upcoming season — Cal will be able to rejuvenate the UK brand, and recruiting will come much more easily at that point.

  • Tattered:

    This from Gary Parrish’s blog quoting Elliot’s dad:

    “As of right now, to my knowledge, Elliot will be attending Duke University as a sophomore and playing basketball. You can quote that.”

  • if the stats we’re based upon metro area ….they would be about 875 per 100,000 …very misleading …and I’m done too ….. but remember some 18 and 19 year old kids like cities with lots of action ….. stay out of the hood and you’ll be fine .

  • You can’t say “I’m done” and then come out with another swipe against my sources…

    In reply, I’ll say… Yeah, and if you added in statistics from West Memphis, the crime rates for Memphis would be even higher…

    NOW I’m done.

  • West Memphis is not considered metro area Memphis ….. besides the biggest crime ever committed there was signing Keith Lee :0

  • Andy Katz has brought up a great point that Memphis Athletic department has pointed out now…

    How is it that the NCAA clearinghouse can rule first that Rose was eligible and then renege??

    Surely they did some homework in the beginning…No?

    Better question, why hasn’t the SAT Board come out and declared that Rose’s test was fraudulent?

  • You’re wrong again Pasta — I have quietly been trying to tell you to quit…

    But you keep taking your foot and putting it back in your mouth…

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee

    Here’s a quote for you:

    “The Memphis Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 42nd largest in the United States, has a 2003 population of 1,239,337, and includes the Tennessee counties of Shelby, Tipton, and Fayette, as well as the Mississippi counties of DeSoto, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica, and the Arkansas county of Crittenden.”

    Crittenden county is West Memphis…so yes the Metro Area contains West Memphis, which is crime ridden.

    Now please stop…

    You lost the argument…it’s over…talk about something else.

  • Man, B-More came in 2nd only to Detroit with Murder rate. I thought we would have had that one locked down for sure. Oh well, always next year. Maybe Lance would feel beter coming to College Park after seeing that?

  • the Fbi stats are misleading ….thats all I’m saying ….. just be thankful incest is not a category …..or Kentucky is blown out of the water

  • I have no idea where Lance ends up but I would hate it if he went to Maryland…

    I like Maryland…They’re the only ACC team that I root for…and Lance is a ridiculous primadonna and a Terrell Owens/Brandon Marshall waiting to happen.

    Gary Williams is a great coach and after the Terps beat UK back in 2002, I rooted for them the rest of the way.

    Can’t believe Steve Blake is still in the NBA…

  • Pasta — are you the product of incest?

    B/c I’m thinking that you meant to say ” if incest was a category…then Lexington would blow Memphis out of the water…”

    Instead you said, “just be thankful incest is not a category…or Kentucky is blown out of the water…”

    FAIL

    Yeah, and UK would also blow Memphis out of the water for a number of other reasons…

    Quality of Education
    Aesthetic Beauty of the Coeds
    Quality of Campus Facilities

    I could go on…but I won’t.

  • Ole Miss has the best looking co-eds

  • Lance isnt’ going to Maryland ….he’s going to Memphis ……. also Memphis took the lead over Ku with 8 minutes to play …prior to that it was a seesaw game ….. with niether team in “control” ……up 9 with 2:12 to play ….. they lost on a fluke shot …it happens in basketball …. with Dorsey having fouled out and the mental delation of a fluke buzzer beater …Memphis had little chance in OT. Yes its true ….Kansas won another NC on a fluke play just like the Manning game …but everyone knows Memphis was the best team in 2008 .

  • If Memphis was the best team in 2008 then why didn’t they win the NC? You had the whole game plus an over time to prove that. Instead you got blown out of the water in OT. Shame you still think so. Hang on to that for as long as you can little man, its as close as you will ever get.

  • Memphis has actually vacated a final four before in 1980s. Along with three sweet sixteens. There have been several final fours vacated besides the three you have mentioned. Cal is slime, but Memphis does not deserve to have this one vacated. Just read the University’s response on commercialappeal.com.

    The university did everything they could to verify Rose’s eligibility including using his SAT score over his ACT score to declare him eligible when there was a rumor that something was wrong with his ACT score. The university submitted the information about the potential grade change to the clearinghouse when Rose was initially cleared. So the NCAA knew about that and cleared him. Then Rose’s SAT score was not declared invalid by the ETS until after the entire season, postseason, and academic year were over. No one knew until after the everything was over, so as far as everyone knew he was eligible.

  • Pastaboy, Memphis obviously wasnt the best team, or they would have won. The only thing good to come out of Memphis was Michael Oher. Can’t wait to have him protecting Joe Flacco this season.

  • The best team doesn’t always win NC games ….. not saying Kansas wasn’t good ….they were damn good and did a number on Carolina …but Memphis was clearly better and Kansas clearly won on a fluke shot at the buzzer ….

  • here we go again…

    you know free throws count dont you? if memphis could make a free throw then you would have something to talk about. memphis was not “clearly better” it was a back and forth game just like you said. very very evenly matched.

    and you forget that after chalmer’s three, there was a whole overtime! memphis had 5 more minutes to prove it was better, but they didnt. if you want to blame it on “mental deflation” then all your doing is saying that KU was tougher then memphis was.

    i dont understand your argument dude.

    and what fluke play are you referring to with manning in 88?

  • LOL at Memphis and Kentucky debating on which school is better academically. Welcome to the USNews’s third tier.

  • Not sure if it’s really that hard a question. The claim (through unidentified sources) is that the NCAA has someone admitting they took the test for Rose.

    That’s been out there for a few days…

  • Everyone I knew thought Kansas was the better team in 2008. They proved correct though Memphis showed far more fight than most expected. Everyone I knew agreed that North Carolina was the second best team followed in a tie between UCLA and Memphis.

    Memphis played quite well to stay in the game and should be proud of that.

  • LOL. Why on earth would anyone ‘hate’ Cal. He is what he is. More than anything it cracks me up to hear who you decide ‘must be hatin on Cal’. It’s gone through a lot of different universities in the past few days, despite the fact that no one has ever disguised their allegiances.

    If Big East/Syracuse fans dislike the complete apathy for NCAA rules that Cal has exhibited then P10/Arizona fans must also, so let’s just randomly attack all of college basketball at the same time, right?

    What it comes down to is that in college basketball circles, Calipari is a Pariah in the most basic terms- which is why no one was interested in hiring him until a decent number of coaches turned down the job in Lexington.

    Maybe everyone in college hoops is wrong about the guy, but my guess is that Kentucky made a bad decision that will eventually come home to roost.

  • Putting Cal and Pitino in the same sentence is sure to upset anyone that values basketball coaching.

    Of course neither Cal or Pitino is as good a coach as StanVan.

  • WWW was the draw. Calipari was just the front man.

  • Wow if I have learned anything, it is that the memory of Cal/Memphis fans of that night in April is slightly off. Maybe too many adult beverages that night caused this problem. So far today we have heard that Chalmers hit a fluke 30 ft shot and now it was at the buzzer. Memphis did get one more inbound and shot before overtime.

    Also if you do think everything fell to Kansas it did not. If CDR and Rose make their free throws than they help seal the deal. If Ed Hightower calls a T on CDR for his little hissy fit he throws (before the Chalmers shot) or Sherron’s run down the court does not end in a block…the Chalmers shot might not be necessary. KU won the game and proved they were the better team.

    So given that some cannot seem to remember what happened in 2008, why would I believe they might be able to know/remember something that happened in 1988. What is the fluke shot/play in the 1988 championship?

    Above all, I guess buzzer beaters are flukes that should not count toward a win. The NCAA tourney is built on the last second shots. The potential for this is what keeps people watching. Also it is the nature of any game that has a game clock.

    In the end, the only argument on why Memphis cannot come back is that they are deflated or mentally shot. I would not go hanging your hat on an argument that says we were mentally done. The mental acumen of players is just as important as any other facet of a players game. Mental toughness is crucial in NCAA tourney and if a team lacks it they are a lesser team. Also signs of the mental breakdown were clear well before the Chalmers shot Dorsey fouling out and CDR’s little temper tantrum were signs they were coming mentally unhinged. Again, shows the mental weakness of one team and toughness of the other team that was able to come back from 9 down at the 2:12 mark ( sort of misleading because Arthur does not hit his 17 footer to start this push until about somewhere between 1:57 and 1:54 left on the clock).

  • pastagirl is just a kentucky fan posing as a Memphis fan. Anything Adam says about kentucky, pastaboy gets all offensive. He went on thememphisedge.com bitching about memphisroar saying all we do is bash calipari. He is a kentucky troll just like all kentucky fans. I think Memphians would love to see cal fail in every way possible and it’s happening before he even plays his first game. Kansas you won the national championship far and square so there is no need to explain what happened.

  • Pastaboy continues to call the shot made as a fluke? What about sinking a guarded three by a guy who had a three throw percentageof .468% is a fluke? It was statistically near a coin flip chance. Again I would also like Pastaboy to explain how Cal (a coach who has never won a national championship and has at this point been forced to vacate one final four apperance) bigger then Kentucky Basketball? Highlight of the year for me in college basketball, watching Missouri and Mike Anderson absolutly dismantle and embarass a suppsosedly “better and more athletic” Memphis squad while Cal wildly flailed his arms about complaining about every call made. Pure Pleasuse.

  • Memphis beat UCLA by 15 ..and it could have been much worse……..hardly a tie Ben …..Memphis would have run Carolina off the court much like Kansas did . I’ve never said KU wasn’t good …they were obviously a great team as I have stated before ….. my point is simply in 2008 Memphis had the better team ….they blew the KU game at the line ….and lost it on a fluke shot …most knowledgeable basketball people agree with me . And remember this thing about Memphis not taking over the game until the last 8 minutes is typical of how they have played tough games for years under Cal …..they wear the opponent down and simply blow them away in the last 10 minutes …..they’ve done this numerous times.

  • I think we should move on to a more topical discussion of current events rather than replay KU’s fluke win over Memphis ….

  • Quickly …why is Cal bigger than KY.? ….thats an easy one ….. did Wall , Cousins, and Dodson come to Ky. to play for Big Blue? …..no they came to play for Cal …insert those 3 into any top 50 team in the country and you have a potential final 4 contender ……… as to the Missouri game …..I’ve addressed this but will do so again ….The BCS blue bloods were getting tired of Cal’s mid major all stars embarrassing them so they allowed Missouri to field a rugby team against Memphis …..this was also done in the UCLA elite 8 game 4 years ago ….Cal finally saw the handwriting on the wall and decided to get a ticket to the blue blood party .

  • I really don’t see Lance coming to Memphis, he’s been looking for every reason not to come here. Personally, I think the order is Arizona > Maryland > Memphis. Both Arizona and Maryland will have to tell him no for him to end up at Memphis, and I don’t either team will pass.

  • They were the best team, unfortunately they didn’t have the best coach. Hell if Coach Cal did nothing else in those last two minutes he should have called a timeout and to calm his guys down. However, that isn’t his coaching philosophy, he let’s the players on the floor decide their fate rather than reel them in and provide leadership from the bench.

  • pastaboy, as I said yesterday you are trully an idiot. The game was controlled by Kansas for 38 of the 40 minutes. Derrick Rose is an amazing talent, kept it close, and took a lead with 7 minutes left. Kansas cut the deficit, tied the game, sent it to overtime and the proceeded to win the game. If Memphis wore teams out over the course of games, where were they in overtime when we were throwing ally-oops effortlessly. You are obviously terrible at evaluating teams and film, you might want to watch that game over without the Memphis goggles on.

  • Gaychalk …… the largest lead KU had in the game was 7 ….in the 1st half …… Memphis took the lead 49 t0 47 with 8:11 to go and built a 9 point lead …..at that point KU fouled hoping Memphis would miss free throws and they did ….. typically Memphis would have won by 15 or so if they make just 60% in the last 2 minutes …..CDR went 1 for 5 ….amazing …Dorsey fouled out ….Rose was limping …..and the guys were demoralized mentally by the fluke shot ….so they had little chance in OT ……… to say that Ku controlled the game until 2 minutes were left simply isn’t true ……had the 2 teams played 10 times Memphis would have won 7 or 8 ….they clearly were the best team of 2008 …they just don’t have the trophy due to a fluke finish ….everyone in the country recognizes this ….you are in denial .

  • Sorry rockChalk but you are the idiot. i watched that game and every news station said Memphis was in control until the final 2 minutes even ESPN. The Jay Hawks did win but it was luck. Memphis starting center Dorsey fouled out in the final two minutes and rose put two hands on the guy before he shot the ball but the ref didn’t call it. One head line even said National Miracle Jay Hawks win, just google it and see i don’t have time to defend Memphis, but that game was there’s, Cali just screwed up in the final two minutes and that’s why UK won’t win a NC with him. They Only had 2 losses that season Tn and KU and the Tn game could have been easily won if they could hit free throws. Long story short Calipari sucks as a coach but best recruiter(or cheater) or ire time

  • And im a Missouri tiger

  • Hmm yeah that is a very “credible” and “neutral” perspective coming from the rose colored glasses of a Mizzou fan. Your right, you don’t have to defend Memphis but Mizzou fans will take a swipe at KU fans any chance they get. Apparently Tigger4Life has been cocking back the same “crazy” kool-aide that limpnoodleboy is on.

    Pastaboy best line:

    “Quickly …why is Cal bigger than KY.? ….thats an easy one ….. did Wall , Cousins, and Dodson come to Ky. to play for Big Blue? …..no they came to play for Cal …insert those 3 into any top 50 team in the country and you have a potential final 4 contender ……… as to the Missouri game …..I’ve addressed this but will do so again ….The BCS blue bloods were getting tired of Cal’s mid major all stars embarrassing them so they allowed Missouri to field a rugby team against Memphis …..this was also done in the UCLA elite 8 game 4 years ago”

    The same arguement could be made for Orton, Hood, Patterson and company!!!!! Besides who cares about talent you bring in…………THE DUDE HAS NEVER WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AND HAS HAD ONE OF HIS FINAL FOUR APPREANCES VACATED!!!! You can not be that stupod to realize that! Kentucky Basketball is a Dynasty! A too bit coach that sucks at the crooked tit of AAU coaches and boosters is not bigger then Kentucky. Cal barely had a winning record against BCS teams go take a look for yourself(I know actually backing up and researching a topic is hard for you to do, but please try)

  • Saying Calipari is bigger than Kentucky is simply laughable.

  • You are so annoying

    Who do you like? Memphis, UK or whomever Coach Calipari is coaching? Pathetic and annoying.

  • Kentucky basketball was a joke until a month ago …… Cal will save them because he’s bigger than Kentucky

  • Ever heard of Adolph Rupp pastaboy, or are you twelve years old like you sound in your posts? You make asinine statements that hold no ground!

  • Rock …Alabama was big in football back in the roaring 20″s too …..but it’ll take the best coach in college football to bring them back to prominence ……Cal at Ky. is a similar situation …… the best coach in basketball .

  • pasta, i have no idea what youre even talking about. kentucky basketball has been one of the elite programs in the country for at least the past 25 years. cal is a good coach, but to say that cal > kentucky basketball is laughable. kentucky has been able to win NCs, calipari has not.

  • qwerty ……… Cal owns Ky. basketball now …..without him Ky. basketball is nothing ……. he’s bigger than Big Blue ……. you’re nothing but a has been laughingstock without him ……….. want to get rid of him? …………ROFL

  • I am so sick of hearing and reading Coach X’s name that I could puke.
    As it all turns out, Cal seems to be a CANCER wherever he is at or wherever he leaves. He also turns out to be a PAIN IN THE ASS.

    We all can put 2 and 2 together, cancer + pain in the ass = PLOYP ( a term for a growth within your colon).

    I vote that we all use his new name CALIPOLYP. Which seems to be very fitting.
    He also is at the perfect school KY (which is a petroleum jelly) and could possibly relieve the itch and discomforts of their newly purchased Coach Calipolyp.

  • Correction….befor I am hammered by all the elite that read this. I mis-spelled Polyp. I apoligize for that only.

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