What a weekend!  Madness, the loss to USC and Daniel Orton commits.  Quite a bit of happenings in Lexington this weekend.

USC Game and Quarterback Questions

Holy Crap what an awful game that was Saturday.  It was by far one of the worst games I’ve seen two teams play in a while.  Although the final score was 24-17, it shouldn’t have been nearly that close.  South Carolina tried to give it to the Cats but the Cats, being the nice guys that they are, wouldn’t accept the gift.  They knocked it away like a receiver trying to catch a Mike Hartline pass.  I cannot remember the last time I watched so many balls hit receivers in the hands and then fall to the ground or into the opposition’s hands. 

Now, I’ve seen a lot of people saying that Hartline has to be blamed and that the Cats cannot win unless he is benched in place of Randall Cobb.  I have arguments both ways for that but I continue to return to the belief that this team can win with Hartline behind center.  Before you jump on me with insults hear me out. 

Hartline did make a few mistakes in the USC game.  Some of his passes were not thrown where they needed to be and he did throw two interceptions that hurt.  However, I think he still gives this team the best opportunity to win right now.  With Randall Cobb still not completely healthy, I think it’s better to have him in only sparingly at receiver.  Plus, he seems to be one of the only guys who can catch the ball consistently when he is in there. 

The dropped passes have to stop.  I do not care if a ball is high or low or thrown to far or behind a player.  If it hits them in their hands they must catch the ball.  These guys are at Kentucky to catch balls.  That’s what they do.  They were not given scholarships to swat at balls and just get their hands on them.  That’s why we have defensive backs.  It is their job to bail their quarterbacl out and come up with any ball that is thrown anywhere close to near them.  Mike Hartline would be a good quarterback and this post wouldn’t exist if he had the receivers from last year’s team. Those guys made plays for Woodson and caught anything near them.  Maybe this year’s team should go back and look at the film to learn something. 

Another reason you can’t take Hartline out just yet is because the running game still sucks.  A defense that is not made to fear the run will play the pass every down until they are shown they must stop the run with more than the front four.  Part of this problem falls on the offensive line.  Blocking and creating holes have not been strong points so far this year.  If a running back has no hole to get through or the quarterback has to hurry his decisions, problems will arise.  Being that Hartline is very young, our o-line has to give him more time to make decisions and then execute them.  I think several of his passes that may not have been on the mark were due to him rushing to avoid a sack.  One think Andre Woodson had last year was time and he made good choices when he had it. 

Another factor in this weekend’s debacle was the fact that USC’s defense is pretty good, one of the best in the SEC in fact.  The true test of the Mike Hartline era will take place this weekend when Arkansas comes into Commonwealth.  If he has another game like the USC one, we should probably let Cobb see a little more time behind center.  If he excels, then he stays the quarterback and the fans should shut up.  It’s that simple. 

Dicky Lyons Jr.

We don’t know much about it right now (waiting on MRI results) but I think that Dicky is the type of kid that unless his leg falls off, he feels like he should be on the field for his team.  I wouldn’t be suprised to see him back on the field in a few games if no mjor damage was done.  BTW, why was there no flag on that play for a horse-collar?  So much for protecting players, NCAA.

Big Blue Madness and Daniel Orton

I was there and thought the players were pretty pumped and it showed in their performances.  Not a lot to talk about.  Everyone seemed tight at first and then by the time they got loose the practice was ending.  I’m glad to see Patrick and Jodie back healthy again.  I expect a big year from both like everyone else.  Meeks has one of the best jumpers around and should see a lot of shots this year.  I’m glad the crowd got into the recruiting mix with their chants.  As it turned out, it must have worked because Daniel Orton liked his weekend here so much he committed on Sunday afternoon.  Nice work Big Blue Nation.

Well, it appears that there might be a solution to that problem. The story comes from Marc Maggard. I am neutral on Maggard. While I think he’s really been on the ball in tracking the decisions of this staff, I worry about how he can do what he does as an unofficial recruiting guru. Still, I like believing people when they post good news because it’s pretty easy to accept. Here is the blurb from Maggard regarding Donald Williams.

The most amazing part of this story is that Williams has already agreed that this will be a one year deal. Yes, that’s right. He is on scholarship for 2008, but will NOT be on scholarship in any subsequent years. Donald Williams passed up four year offers from Marquette and St. Johns for a one year deal to the University of Kentucky!

This does not mean that Williams will be transferring after one year. His intentions are to make as big an impact in 2008 as possible and remains as a key member of this squad as a non scholarship player.

Talk about a U-turn. On Friday, the rumor (posted by Matt Jones – echo my thoughts on Maggard, then add the fact that I don’t like him) was that Williams was going to redshirt, which would make his recruitment by Coach Gillispie incredibly stupid in my humble opinion. In fact, the thought of Williams being a redshirt violates every lick of common sense in the world. Why would you recruit a guy that can contribute this season, but then make him sit out this season and tie up a ride for a player like Orton for the next season? Now it turns out that Williams will play this season, which makes all kinds of sense. The best part about all of this (if true) is that he’ll be walking on his last three years. That might make him the best walk-on in college basketball since Christian Moody.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and Tennessee embarrassed the SEC last night.

Billy Gillispie held his second Elite Camp of the summer on Wednesday, and two stories emerged, so let’s get right to it.

GILLISPIE AND ORTON, SITTING IN A TREE

That’s right, Kentucky’s #1 2009 target was there in all of his Daniel Orton glory, and his father was there as well, in all of his glory. One of the quotes that I heard from somebody who attended the camp was, “Gillispie and Orton’s father were so inseparable that you would have thought they were lovers.” Well, Coach is single, but I’ll leave it at that. Jerry Tipton can investigate further if he wants. Still, I thought it was very telling that Orton would make it to Wednesday’s camp after attending the camp at UConn earlier in the week. That’s some serious commitment to a school to take a second visit for a one-day camp and go halfway across the country from Storrs to Lexington to get there. I don’t know what I would do if Orton committed elsewhere. I might just drop dead. I’m already fat, so it wouldn’t take much for me to have a heart attack.

CHRIS LOFTON REINCARNATE?

As much as I loved the news about Daniel Orton, the biggest story of the day was the amazing play of Jacob Jenkins from Manual HS in Louisville. This is a kid who has absolutely blown up over the summer, and has played his most impressive ball in these camps against other top talent. Jenkins’ best skill is shooting. Spies inside the Craft Center say that his range begins as soon as the ball crosses halfcourt. That’s all fine and good, but there are a couple of things holding him back. One is defense. Jenkins is saddled with the unfortunate trait shared by almost all smaller white guards in that he is tenacious, but lacks the foot speed to keep up with the very best at the position he will be guarding. Defense is the thing on which Coach Gillispie’s teams pride themselves the most, so one wonders how well he would fit into the system if offered by Kentucky. Still, the name that has drawn the comparisons for Jacob Jenkins has been Chris Lofton, and you know all about that. I don’t want the portion of Jefferson County that isn’t 100% pro-Louisville to secede and become a fan of the team that gets Jenkins, like we experienced with Mason County and Lofton.

My opinion on this kid is this: I know that far too often, Kentucky has been burned by the local high school shooting legend that can light it up in practice, but absolutely disappear. Remember Chris Harrison, Todd Tackett, Brandon Stockton and Josh Carrier? Of course you do. Still, shooters are as much a premium right now as rides and roster spots. With one spot remaining for next year’s roster (barring defections or any other unexpected event), I say you throw everything you have at Orton. That’s just common sense. But Jenkins has played with more passion and desire than anybody at the camp, according to bystanders. If he really wants it, I say give him a shot. If there is a scholarship predicament, give him a chance to walk on like Cameron Mills did. If a scholarship opens up, I think it might be worth the risk to see what this kid can do. Considering that other schools like Wisconsin and Dayton are interested in Jenkins, the whole walk-on thing probably won’t work. I’m just throwing ideas out there.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and I award Internet points to anybody who gets the reference in the title.

We’ll do this one in numbered list form, since I have multiple reasons and numbered lists look prettier.

1. Playing time.

There will be loads of playing time for Daniel Orton at Kentucky, regardless of what happens with Patrick Patterson at the end of the season. Remember, Coach Gillispie has said that he will have failed Patterson as a coach if he can’t be an NBA lottery pick at the end of the 2009 season. Still, if Patterson does come back (and all indications from Patterson and his family suggest that he will), it will have no impact on Orton. Orton is a pure center, both in game and in size. If Patterson and Orton are on the same roster, Patterson will move to the 4, which is his natural position. He had to play default center last year because there was just nobody else who could. This year, Josh Harrellson figures to provide some help for Patterson inside. As for other recruits, unless you count Vinny Zollo in 2011, I can’t think of another pure center that Coach Gillispie has gone after, at least with the intensity that he has gone after Orton. There just aren’t that many top centers in high school basketball anymore. It’s a dying position.

2. Elite Camp.

Orton was injured when Kentucky held its first Elite Camp back in June. He couldn’t play, but he did attend, and loved everything about his “visit.” Later, at the father/son camp, Coach Gillispie invited Daniel’s father to speak on one of the days of the camp. This week, Connecticut (one of the schools making a late push for Orton) is holding an elite camp that ends tomorrow. Orton was there, and has not committed yet. I am under the assumption that Jim Calhoun is probably going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Orton on this unofficial visit, as he should. I bring up the UConn Elite Camp because Kentucky is hosting a second elite camp later this week. In fact, it starts on Wednesday. I’m not sure if Orton is going to be there, but Dominique Ferguson, Brandon Knight and some of Ferguson’s Indy Elite teammates are scheduled to attend. I think Orton is delaying his commitment until later in the year, but if he shows up at this week’s camp and enjoys it as much as the first one, I think we’ll be in even firmer control that we may already be.

3. Other contenders.

Orton is from Oklahoma City, so you would think that both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would be the leaders at this stage of the game. Well, Travis Ford faced his first recruiting challenge at a big school (all due respect to UMASS!!!), and he did not fare well. This time last week, It was thought that the Cowboys were going to add John Wall’s handlers to their staff, thus making John Wall a Cowboy. Instead, John Wall is a Bear – a Baylor Bear. I don’t know why there was a change of heart, but I can’t imagine too many scenarios where it would make Travis Ford look good. As for Oklahoma, Jeff Capel has had some success in picking up some quality recruits (Blake Griffin, Willie Warren), but with Griffin and his twin brother Taylor in the fold, the Sooners’ problem might be finding significant playing time for Orton, as both Griffin brothers can play both the 4 and the 5. I still think that OU and OSU will be the teams to beat for Orton, but if the good guys can jump out ahead of them this early into the game, I have confidence that they can stay ahead.

4. Desperation.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that Coach Gillispie is in scramble mode like Tubby Smith was during the springs of 2005 and 2006. I’m not saying that he’s putting all of his eggs in one basket with Orton, because if you’ve read this site, you know about Harrison Barnes (watch out for North Carolina in that kid’s recruitment) and hopefully we’ll know more about Brandon Knight later this week. But as it stands, unless something happens with Jared Carter, Patterson goes pro or there are defections, there is a scholarship logjam at Kentucky. The 2009 class at UK already includes Jon Hood and GJ Vilarino, but with limited rides, you’d be hard pressed to have a better class with an Orton commitment.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and Kentucky not landing Daniel Orton would be a bigger upset than Stanford over USC.

Ed. note: Today is part 2 of a two part series on facebook and recruiting. Part 1 can be found here.

Yesterday, Seth took a good stance on the whole Daniel Orton/facebook issue. It makes little sense for someone, anyone, to hack a player’s facebook profile. Although, I’m not exactly sure his profile was hacked… he may not have wrote it, but come on he’s a high school senior and he has friends. Who hasn’t ever had a friend write something stupid on your profile, and you probably laughed? But that’s not my point today.

My point is directed toward you. And you, you and even you, all of you. We know you love recruiting. It’s your fix for when games aren’t being played – a way to feel like basketball or football season is still on-going. It’s a way for you to get to know players before they see the field/court even. It’s harmless and fun if fans (and bloggers and media members) do it right.

But it’s not being done right.

I have no problem with a group like “Daniel Orton Come to Kentucky and Be a Legend”. Most of those groups are harmless. But DO NOT invite the player themselves. Like Seth said, it’s a recruiting violation, dummy. Then you assume he’s coming to Kentucky because he joined the group, when in fact he probably only joined it so people didn’t bad mouth him.

Facebook was not created for you to spy and stalk current and prospective players. What is the point of posting a picture of Josh Harrelson with girls at a party? What’s the point of showing a picture of Jared Carter holding a fish he caught? And it’s not even like you caught them drinking, like Matt Leinart or something. No, you are just invading their personal space. It’s the same when people befriend recruits and then post their facebook statuses on message boards.

I’d love for someone to explain to me why all that matters in the world of recruiting. Oh wait, it doesn’t. And usually it isn’t even true. Name one recruit who posted that they loved a visit on facebook, then committed to UK. I’ll wait. Can’t think of one, right? Thought so.

The only thing I can think of is that fans are trying to live through these kids or are asking for a visit from Dateline NBC and Chris Hansen. Stop stalking facebook profiles. You aren’t getting any info and you are invading privacy. People don’t realize what they are doing until it’s done to them. So remember when you want to rush to a blog to post a picture of Jared Carter eating a hamburger… ask yourself: How in the hell does this matter to me, other fans, or Jared Carter’s basketball ability? And when you realize it doesn’t, kindly log yourself out of facebook and delete your account.

Recruiting is fun when it’s factual and people aren’t chasing dumb rumors. Then again, I am talking to the fanbase in which every person saw Billy Donovan or had a cousin/uncle/grandma/friend who did. Get a life, honestly.

Because now, I bet Daniel Orton wished he had a life. He’s a kid. You all are adults (hard to believe?) why don’t you act like it and stop trolling facebook for these kids.

As the girls would say, stop being a bunch of creepers. Get info the real way, not through recruiting violations and facebook. They don’t ever help clarify or bring new, truthful infomation. So stop.

Or I’m calling Chris Hansen.

Ed. Note: This is the first in a two-part series about the impact of sites like Facebook and Myspace on recruiting. Part One is a column from writer Seth Stogsdill. Two part will be tomorrow morning.

THE SHOOT: EPISODE #13 – FACEBOOK

–Seth Stogsdill

The views I’m about to express are my own, but as you’ll see, they may also be yours. Last week, I did a piece on Daniel Orton, the ***** center from Oklahoma City who may very well have Kentucky at the top of his list. Since the time I published that article, some things have happened involving Daniel Orton and the Facebook network. If you’re reading this, I don’t have to explain to you what Facebook is. So there was this Facebook group called “Daniel Orton: Come to Kentucky and become a legend!!!!WTF!!” or some other bullcrap like that. That kind of stuff happens all the time, and not just at Kentucky. It’s just fans wanting top recruits to come to their schools, even though it’s actually illegal per the NCAA. Does the name Sandy Bell ring a bell? But, I digress.

Even though that kind of “recruiting” is illegal, it’s innocent, so the NCAA pretty much lets it slide. So, when Daniel Orton himself came to the “Daniel Orton: Come to Kentucky and PLAY WITH REECHIE!!!!” group and posted a message, one would think that good news was on the way, right? Here’s the message.

“Hey, i promise this is the real Daniel Orton. i joined this group looking for help recruiting a few players to UK with me. John Wall, John Henson, Mason Plumlee and Terrence Boyd. I feel with atleast two of the guys along with me we can bring in the 8th national title to UK. John Henson and Mason Plumlee i know have already committed. Im working on pulling them out of that. I feel though with the UK fan support we can bring these guys all to Kentucky.”

John Wall (Raleigh, NC) is the #1 point guard and #1 overall player in the 2009 class. John Henson (Round Rock, TX) is the #3 power forward in the 2009 class and has already committed to North Carolina. Mason Plumlee (Arden, NC) is the #10 power forward of 2009 and has already committed to Duke. He also looks like a giant dork. Terrence Boyd (Norman, OK) is the #4 small forward of the 2009 class. Boyd and Wall have not committed yet. Wall has Kentucky on his list. Boyd does not.

Now that you know all of this, you should know that Daniel Orton didn’t actually write that (surprise, surprise). Some loser hacked into Daniel Orton’s account and was able to post that message last week. The loser that did this is either a rival fan or a retarded Kentucky fan. I’ll go ahead and address both of these cases.

If it was a rival fan, congratulations, you’ve created yet another situation where Kentucky fans with no sense of humor become dangerously paranoid. Nice job, rival fan. You got ‘em. If this is the case, then I also have a message for those paranoid UK fans: This is not going to make Daniel Orton go elsewhere. I may have graduated high school with some certified morons, but typically, the athletes that are being courted by dozens of schools have a pretty good grip on their own situation. Let’s just imagine that Orton picks Oklahoma State, and at the press conference, when asked why he chose OSU over Oklahoma and Kentucky, he says, “Well, I would have gone to Kentucky under any other circumstances, but some jackass hacked into my Facebook and posted under my name. I got scared, called Travis Ford and the rest is history.” All you can do is imagine it, because – and this is going in all caps due to its importance and my need to shout it from the rooftops – IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. EVER.

Now let’s assume it was a Kentucky fan who, honest to God, thought this was a good idea. First things first, how stupid can you get? Do you have any idea how unethical it is for a person to go after people who have already chosen another school? Kelvin Sampson did it with Eric Gordon when Gordon was committed to Illinois. Bruce Pearl did it with Scotty Hopson while he was still committed to Mississippi State. It’s a dirty tactic, and it’s garbage. Also, what recruit decommits from Duke or North Carolina? The only one I can think of is Shaun Livingston when he decided to go to the NBA instead after he had chosen Duke. Secondly, what Kentucky fan would assume that Daniel Orton was stupid enough to announce that he was coming to Kentucky on his Facebook page? That’s as idiotic as watching Patrick Patterson do the Gator Chomp at a Florida game and assuming that he just committed to Florida because of it. And IF Orton was dumb enough to make his verbal commitment on Facebook (this is a statistical impossibility), there’s STILL no way that he’s stupid enough to say, “Hey, I’m trying to get Mason Plumlee to leave Duke and come to Kentucky.” It violates every common sense test ever created, especially since he chose Mason Plumlee, who is without question the goofiest looking player I’ve seen in ten years and has “STIFF” written all over him. A Kentucky fan smart enough to hack into Orton’s account should know better than that.

And besides, what good does it do if you’re a Kentucky fan doing the hacking? “I GOT IT! I’ll pretend to be Daniel Orton on Facebook and I’ll say I’m coming to Kentucky and I’ll say I’m bringing people with me and it will be so ZOMG awesome and then maybe he’ll come to Kentucky Go Big Blue! C-A-T-S CATSCATSCATS!!!” Once again, you’ve missed your stop on the logic train. Just like I said that I didn’t think this Facebook stuff will sway Orton’s decision if he goes elsewhere, I also don’t think it will come into play if he ends up at Kentucky. Again, can you imagine Orton at the press conference?

“I was torn between Kentucky and Oklahoma State, then I logged onto my Facebook and saw that somebody had hacked into my account and posted in the ‘Daniel Orton: Come to Kentucky and THROW IT DEEP, JAY-RUD!!!’ group. I figured that if all fans are going to be as creative and loyal as that guy, I definitely have to come here. This is the only reason why I came here. Travis Ford bought me a Bentley (Kidding, Travis – you’re the man), but nobody from OSU was this creative and driven.”

For what it’s worth, I do think Orton will end up at Kentucky because I like Coach Gillispie’s chances of outworking both Jeff Capel and Travis Ford. Having Orton’s father speak at father/son camp probably did a lot in building Orton’s current opinion of Kentucky (“Kentucky’s kinda my leader”). In have nothing on which to base my conjecture, other than Orton’s enjoyable visit to the camp. And it didn’t take hacking into a Facebook account to figure that out.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and…wait a second. What is this crap? I don’t remember writing this! HACKERS!!!

If you would like to contribute to UK Wildcat Country, e-mail me at kennethcolston@gmail.com

SCOUTING REPORT: DANIEL ORTON

–Seth Stogsdill

Well, I know you can’t always believe things you hear on the Internet, but sometimes the news is just too good to ignore. If you believe the rumor mills coming from the Elite Camp, Kentucky may now be the leader for top 2009 prospect Daniel Orton. Coach Gillispie got Orton’s father to speak at the Elite Camp, which can only mean good things if you’re a fan of the UK Wildcats and omens. Here’s the professional rundown on Orton, followed by my own opinion.

Name: Daniel Orton
Position: Center
HS: Bishop McGuinness HS, Oklahoma City, OK
Height: 6’ 10”
Weight: 260 lbs.
Ranking on Rivals 150: #8
Ranking among centers on Rivals 150: #1
Ranking on Scout.com: #3 Center
Consensus ***** recruit

Apparently he is considering Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA and Wake Forest. I know that’s a ton of schools, but when you’re as good as Orton, it’s par for the course to have so many schools courting you. According to the various sites I’ve checked, Orton’s game is defined by strength and defense. He already has the body of an NBA center, or at least a big power forward. They say he’s an excellent shot blocker and interior defender, although that made me skeptical, because I’m always skeptical of the agility of people that size.

I was wrong. Not only can Daniel Orton get up and down, block shots and stick to his man inside like glue, but he can also put the ball on the floor. Also, now would be a good opportunity to mention that he TORE DOWN A BACKBOARD.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buUKohdHaeQ&hl=en]

That’s insane, kid. You’re a senior in high school. When I was a senior in high school, breaking backboards was the last thing on my mind. For what it’s worth, I was more focused on my handle and screening, but I digress. Daniel Orton is legit in every way possible. It is very difficult to pin down a college or pro player whose skill set is similar to that of Orton. He reminds me a lot of Danny Fortson (Cincinnati Danny, not “Dirtiest player in the NBA” Danny) in how he uses his size to create room and get open. On defense, he reminds me a lot of David Robinson in how he can get up quickly to block a shot, but can also recover on defense in case he has to block another one. Offensively, his shot doesn’t have a lot of touch. In fact, it’s basically a line drive at this point, but it goes in. In the highlight reels I watched, I was most impressed with his timing on defense. He always seemed to know when to go up and block the shot, and many times, like Bill Russell, Orton will block a shot and keep it in play for his teammates instead of swatting it into the 5th row like so many like to do right now. His game is pure power, with just a hint of finesse when he gets it down low on the blocks, since his vertical is quick, but not extraordinary.

I can’t get over that backboard. He tore the rim clean off the goal like Darryl Dawkins, and he did it from straightaway, while Chocolate Thunder went baseline. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a broken backboard? Darvin Ham against North Carolina? That was 12 years ago. Orton needs a little work on offense, but too much – just some refinement. Given the strides I saw in Joseph Jones at Texas A&M and Perry Stevenson at Kentucky, I think Coach Gillispie would do an outstanding game in developing Orton’s skills. An already good 2009 recruiting class would instantly become great with the addition of Daniel Orton.

Make it happen, Coach.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and I’m going to work on breaking a backboard now.