Kelenna Azubuike's Saturday Night News and Views

“Looks like Tarzan, also dunks like Tarzan” – NOT Tubby Smith

Born in London, England, raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Kelenna David Azubuike will forever be remembered by the Big Blue Nation as possibly the best pure dunker to ever don the Blue and White. I know what you might be thinking, and yes, Kelenna Azubuike’s middle name really is David, somewhere in between the first and last names there was a shortage of creativity. Anyways, ‘Buike came to Lexington via Victory Christian High School in Oklahoma where he averaged 39.1 PPG his Senior season and finished with 3,530 career points, 89 shy of the OK High School record. After his corner 3-PT shot at the end of regulation in the 2005 Elite Eight bounced directly to Patrick Sparks for the game-tying 3-pointer, Kelenna left Lexington to enter the 2005 NBA Draft. Although he wasn’t taken in the Draft, he has since played for the Warriors, Knicks, Mavericks, and Cavaliers over the course of the last 7 years. Kelenna’s best year in the pros came in 2008-09 when he was a starter for the Warriors and contributed 14.4 PPG, but due to injury has only played in 12 games for the Warriors and Mavericks since the 2009 season and was waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers in October. The best set of biceps in the history of Kentucky basketball turns 29 years old on Sunday, and in lieu of sending birthday cards, KSR only asks that you do 10 bicep curls today in honor of #24. In case you needed a reminder, heres some of his best work: 

  The biggest news of the day was obviously the basketball team’s overpowering 88-50 win over Lipscomb today in Rupp Arena, a win headlined by a career day for Kyle Wiltjer who recorded the first double-double of his Wildcat career with a 23-point, 12 rebound performance. Coming into today, Kyle was just 5 of his last 30 from 3-PT range but responded today even better than usual going 7-9 from behind the arc. In case you hadn’t already assumed this, the 12 rebounds from Wiltjer were also his career high. Kyle and the rest of the ‘Cats raced away in the 2nd half outscoring the overmatched Bison 45-21 and shot a cool 50% for the game, going 32-64 from the field with 8 players scoring at least 7 points.

Wiltjer’s strong performance came after Calipari benched the sophomore forward in place of Ryan Harrow, who started his first game since the opener against Maryland, and did not disappoint. Harrow certainly looked the part today of the team’s starting PG going forward and well on his way to realizing Calipari’s goal of him becoming the best lay-upper lay-up shooter in the SEC with a couple of smooth finger rolls. Harrow definitely has a ways to go, but sticking with the theme of the day, he “made strides”, even in the speaking department where Harrow claimed the he was “just screaming anything, even if it didn’t have anything to do with the play.  I was just screaming so he wouldn’t say anything to me.”. I guess that makes sense, Ryan. Calipari said that he decided to start Harrow over Wiltjer on the ride over to the stadium, but hasn’t decided if he’ll make it permanent just yet. He had to have liked the performances he saw from those 2 today though.

Nerlens Noel fouled out for the first time in his UK career but still managed to finish with an impressive triple-single, 7 points, 9 rebounds, and his 2nd consecutive 7 block game. Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress put in 10 and 11 respectively as well, but both struggled to find their shots consistently throughout the game. All in all, I would have to say that it was a good day for UK basketball fans, in fact, John Calipari even recorded his first smile of the season with about 30 seconds left in the game, and if the Grand Poobah is smiling, shouldn’t we all be?

 I know you, Big Blue Nation. I know the one thing you want on the day of a Kentucky basketball game is football news, so here goes. Kentucky officially introduced Bradley Dale Peveto as the Safeties/Special Teams Coach earlier today, locking up another good coach for Coach Stoops’ first staff. Peveto most recently was the Head Coach at Northwestern State and before that, a co-Defensive Coordinator for LSU’s 2007 National Championship team (which lost a game in Lexington that year I believe). Coach Stoops seems rather excited about it:

“Bradley Dale impressed me greatly during the year we worked together,” said Stoops, who was on the University of Houston staff with Peveto during the 2000 season. “He has relentless work ethic and excellent experience as a special teams coordinator and defensive coach.” 

And Peveto also seems to be the newest member of the Mark Stoops bandwagon:

“I knew the year we coached together at Houston that Coach Stoops had a great defensive mind and was one of the best coaches—both in teaching players on the field and building relationships with them off the field— I’ve ever known. I believed he had all the qualities necessary to become a head coach and I’m proud to join the staff at the University of Kentucky.”

One position that will still need to be filled however is the WR coach, as Darrin Hinshaw, who was previously reported to have accepted the job took another opportunity to be the QB coach and Passing Game Coordinator at Cincinnati, because if there’s a place to be a football coach, it’s the Big East.

 In some more football news, 4 star WR Ryan Timmons of Franklin Co. was in Lexington today to visit Kentucky, and he witnessed Coach Stoops become the “Y” during this afternoon’s basketball festivities in Rupp Arena, and also witnessed the arrival of the former WCW wrestler Sting, who toured the Kentucky football facilities today.

“Please quit poking me in the junk with your pinkie, Sir” – Mark Stoops

The staff has obviously made the in-state KY talent their first priority when it comes to recruiting, and Timmons will be a big part of that. Kentucky seems to be in a great position with Ryan, especially with the recent hire of Neal Brown as OC, considering how fondly Timmons spoke about the similarities between Brown’s Air Raid Offense and his own at Franklin Co. It remains to be seen how well Coach Stoops and Coach Brown have pitched the idea of Timmons in Blue and White next year, but as of right now, they seem to be in a good position to land one of the state’s most talented prospects. Because if getting to meet Sting doesn’t get you to commit, I don’t know what does.

 #1 Indiana lost to an unranked rival team away from home on a Saturday in December today, falling 88-86 in OT to a gritty Butler squad led by former Arkansas standout Rotnei Clarke. However, Indiana is much less likely to beat Butler in March on the way to an NCAA Championship, considering it’s been a quarter-century since that happened.  To a Kentucky fan who grew up in Vincennes, Indiana, that is all music to my ears. Celebrate that enormous pile of irony accordingly, Indiana certainly is: 

That’s about all I got for you tonight with the big news, but on a serious note, has anyone seen Brian Long? He wasn’t in at the end of the game today and I’m worried that #41 on Lipscomb may have ate him. See you guys tomorrow, in the meantime, follow me on Twitter @WillTottenKSR