Lies, Greed, And Wildcats Of A Different Kind

Growing up in Memphis, Bolton High School to many kids, like myself, was nothing more than a school tucked away in the middle of nowhere that had an outstanding basketball program that won State Championships in the 1970s and 1980s.

When it came to football, Bolton was more, in a sense, similar to the sad-sack opponent your favorite college team plays on Homecoming — an easy win that would more than likely leave the team in body bags.

But in the last decade or so, Bolton has been one of the best football programs in Region 5A with many standouts going on to play football at the next level, turning what was for many years a laughingstock in prep football into a formidable power.

Which in a sense sounds familiar to fans of a certain high school in the Orange Mound section of Memphis and how that program became the team everyone loved to hate during the mid-90’s.

And now, like the 2000 Melrose squad that was probably one of the best prep teams in Memphis history to never win the state title, the success that Bolton had in 2007 will be erased from the record book due in part to an overbearing mother’s desire to have her son play at a football power like Bolton.

Prior to the start of the season, junior defensive back Orlando Mendenhall transferred from Craigmont High School (a city school) to Bolton High School (a county school), which sounded at the beginning like an ordinary transfer.

But because of the fact that he was playing last year at Craigmont and he was at a new school, he would have to sit out a year and then play his senior year, which is something that athletes who transfer in from another school at the college and prep level do all the time.

That is, unless he could prove to the Bolton administration that he lived in the district thus allowing him to play right away.

Shelby-Metro Prep Football Playoff Pairings

With the prep football season over here in Memphis, it’s now time to start talking playoffs.

So here are your pairings involving Shelby-Metro schools:

Region 1A

Bruceton (7-3) vs. Manassas (6-4)

Region 2A

Memphis Carver (4-6) vs. Booker T. Washington (3-7)

Westwood (3-7) vs. Huntingdon (7-3)

72 First Quarter Points (Not A Typo)

What do you say to your team when you are winning 72-0 with 30 seconds left in the FIRST quarter of a football game? How about telling your players to fall down at the 5 yard line so they can set up the FG? How about that they are not going to pass?

All of which was said and done.

The Redmen from rural Kansas were playing in the high school state playoffs against Plainefield High School. They were 2-3 in the air with a touchdown pass, and they kicked a field goal 1st and goal from the 5. In the first quarter they had recovered 6 turnover (1 interception for a touchdown and 5 fumble recoveries). They only ran 15 plays in the quarter - which meant that they scored touchdowns on almost half the plays they ran - and converted all 9 of the 2 point attempts. They took out their offensive starters half way through the first quarter and their defensive starters at the end of the first half. This led to people questioning whether or not the starters were actually getting enough playing time to prepare for next weeks game. I kid you not, people actually asked the coach that question.

This might sound improbable, but their whole season is improbable. The Smith Center Redmen have yet to punt all year, they have yet to allow a touchdown all year, and their average margin of victory is 71-0 - which makes their total season score 640-0. If that wasn’t enough the school is currently on a 50 game win streak, which means they haven’t lost in something like 8 years.

My point? I don’t really have one. Maybe they should get stiffer competition? Who knows, because any team that can put up 72 points on another in 1 quarter shouldn’t be playing each other.

He Make It Rain

Apparently yet another internet-celebrity is surfacing this week by the name of Cody Paul, a running back and kick returner for the Los Alamitos Griffins Pop Warner Pee Wee National Champions (15-0) from 2006.

The only real information that I can find on Cody is that he is eight-years old in the video below (supposedly) which took place last season, but some places say that he is thirteen-years old now (making him twelve in the video).

After some research, the Pee Wee division of Pop Warner is for 9-12 year olds, so being the national champion last year at twelve-years old would make sense as that is the oldest he could be and nine at the time would be the youngest he could be (unless he was playing up a level at eight because of his skill).

But I have also heard he is fourteen now, so who really knows.

Either way, such phrases as “The White Reggie Bush” and “Heisman winnner in 2017″ are just a few examples of the type of buzz surrounding a kid who is just out of diapers (cue Dick Vitale, “He’s a DIAPER DANDY BA-BY!”).

Other whispers around the internet community is that Cody is a “soft-commit” to Pete Carroll and the University of Southern California. How much of that I believe is unknown at this point but football in this country gets fairly crazy so I would not rule it out - - and you thought Billy Gillispie’s freshman-recruit and Tim Floyd’s eigth-grade-recruit in basketball were absurd.

It is safe to assume he is between nine and twelve-years old when the following video footage was compiled and for his age, his speed, quickness, direction-changing, and vision are all phenomenal:

Cody Paul (non-safe-for-work language dubbed over video, watch with volume down)

Kentucky Allegedly Garners ‘Solid-Verbal’ From 2010 Recruit

Rivals.com is reporting that the University of Kentucky has received a solid verbal from 6′0” PG from DeSoto (TX) God’s Academy, K.C. Ross-Miller.  The commitment is said to be on the heels of an unofficial visit to campus this weekend and the decision was reportedly made today (Sunday).  Miller is in the 2010 recruiting class and an AAU teammate of uber-recruit Rotnei Clark (4 Star on Rivals.com) who reportedly made an official visit this weekend and is part of the 2008 class.  Ross-Miller would join Dakotah Euton in the 2010 class, a class not yet rated and ranked in the Rivals.com database. 

At the rate Coach Billy Clyde Gillispie is going there won’t be any good players left for the rest of the nation.  More to come as this story develops.

We’re Baaaaack

“This is my serious face!”

In a move that will definitely be one that bests Kansas University head coach Bill Self, as he was going after the same recruit, University of Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie has landed 5-Star recruit DeAndre Liggins for the 2008 incoming class. Liggins is listed as a six foot, five inch point guard and is the third ranked point guard of the 2008 class and the 18th overall player. This is a huge early commit for Kentucky, a commodity that has seemed to elude the Wildcats in recent history, and will hopefully get the ball rolling for other top tier players to want to add to a 2008 class that is out of the gates in a blaze of glory.

But the implications aren’t just Liggins himself because realize this: in a mere 82-days Billy Clyde Gillispie has locked up a 3-Star recruit (GJ Vilarino - 6′0” PG - 2009 Class), a 4-Star recruit (Alex Legion - 6′5” SG - 2007 Class: #10 at position and #43 overall), and two 5-Star recruits (Patrick Patterson - 6′8” PF - 2007 Class: #3 at position and #17 overall & DeAndre Liggins - 6′5” PG - 2008 Class: #3 at position and #18 overall — not to mention Dakotah Euton - 6′7” PF - 2010 Class: rankings are unavailable this early but he was also being recruited by Florida and Duke).

That is what I call some ‘leg work,’ kudos to Coach Gillispie.

Now that we have defeated Florida and Duke in getting Patterson and now Kansas in getting Liggins, I can see the rest of the coaches across the nation cowering in fear, muttering those famous words that a young Heather O’Rourke, playing Carol Ann Freeling, did in Poltergeist II: The Other Side:

“They’re baaaaaack!”

And we are!

Recruitment rankings courtesy of Rivals.

If You Think People In Alabama Aren’t Crazy About Football, Think Again

Prior to my graduation from Whitehaven High School in Memphis, I was a student at one of the true football powerhouses in the state of Tennessee, Melrose High School; a school that both of my parents graduated from as well as my grandmother and numerous aunts and uncles on both sides of my family.

During the mid to late-90’s, Melrose was one of the top programs in the state of Tennessee, winning state championships in 1996 and 1998 while churning out NFL talent with players like Cedrick Wilson, Kindal Moorehead, and Dwayne Robertson.

But a year before I made the move to Whitehaven to finish my high school years, the school, along with rival Trezevant High, would be in the middle of one of the biggest scandals in Memphis prep football history.  The scandal would cost Melrose its coach Tim Thompson, who is currently doing a great job at Fayette Academy, and would place the school on a one-year probation, only toreturn to glory the following year and another appearance in the state championship game a few years later.

The reason why I brought this up is because lately, Hoover High School, the school that was portrayed in the hit MTV show “Two-a-Days,” is in suburban Birmingham has been under plenty of scrutiny due to its football program, which like Melrose, is the envy of many in the state of Alabama.

According to published reports in the papers in Birmingham, as well as blogs around the state of Alabama, Hoover High’s football team had been reportedly getting the teachers at the school to change struggling players’ grades as a way for them to remain eligible for athletic participation.

Not only that, the popular sportswriter at the Hoover Gazette, Hunter Ford, would receive his walking papers during a broadcast of the Paul Finebaum radio show on Friday afternoon after the owner of the newspaper called in to refute the allegations of head coach Rush Probst’s affair, whic was being brought up by Ford in his column and interview with Finebaum on June 20th.

Of course, this whole thing with the Hoover High football team has once again brought up what everyone outside Alabama has known for years:

They’re zealous for football and don’t have anything else better to do with their time except trying to dig up the grave of Paul “Bear” Bryant or Shug Jordan and try to give them C.P.R. so that they can get another win under their belt.

And now the sad thing about this is that Hoover, as well as another school down in Mobile, is cheating these kids, who go out on the gridiron every Friday night and bust their asses off for another step closer to gridiron glory, out of a future as productive citizens of society.

But the question is this: how long has this been going on?

The Implications Of Patterson

And just like that, it was over. The man who kept the Big Blue Nation on the edge of their seat for days, weeks, months, and even years, finally made his choice: The University of Kentucky. In a mere moment, the losses occurred on “Black Monday” just two days prior were not even a blurb on the radar and almost instantly, were all but forgotten.

There are not words that describe the importance of taking Patrick Patterson from the University of Florida. If Patrick chooses Florida, he joins an already Top-5 recruiting class and leaves Kentucky with their then-ranked recruiting class of 96th. Patterson joins the University of Kentucky and instantly, their recruiting class breaks in to the Top 25 on Rivals.com.

Furthermore, Kentucky went on the national stage with one of the most highly-touted recruits in some time and took down the evil forces of Duke and Florida. This proves, once again, that Kentucky will be a forced to be reckoned with in the recruiting world. Coach Gillispie has truly turned a corner.

Taking a look back at the week’s events, there are some questions worth asking and even if the answers are not apparent, it is interesting to speculate.

1. What would have happened if Beas Hamga and Michael Sanchez DID commit to Kentucky on Monday? Does a sudden influx of big men affect Patterson’s decision, if even a little? It was a well known opinion that his decision seemed to fluctuate by the minute and it is possible that some facets of “Black Monday” may have helped us.
2. Considering the unexpectedness of the decisions of Hamga and Sanchez, and seemingly coincidental manner in which the choices were made, it is worth wondering if Coach Gillispie contacted the two, or at minimum Sanchez, and told them “thanks, but no thanks” because a Patterson signature was imminent? Did the Kentucky brass have some sort of comfort about the situation as early as Monday, and that is what lead to all of this?
3. What happens if Jai Lucas waits to make his decision until AFTER Patterson commits, does he suddenly have a change of heart and makes the move to Lexington? It was well documented that Lucas and Patterson would have liked to play together, but it is possible that Lucas was far more enchanted with the idea than was Patterson. Furthermore, did the Lucas committal to Florida seal the deal for Kentucky because Patterson did not want look like a follower?

These are all fun, interesting questions but at the end of the day I guess it is better to not over think things as we landed Patrick Patterson and we should all just be happy with his decision. It seems as if the biggest reason was family and considering Lexington is just over two hours from Hunington, West Virginia, it will make it easy for Patterson’s friends and family to come watch him play.

Additionally, not enough credit can be given to Coach Gillispie and his staff. According to Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio, during the McDonald’s All-American game, Patrick’s Mother said that Kentucky was then a lame duck with the exit of Coach Tubby Smith. Just over a month later, Gillispie did the recruiting work that usually takes months, if not a year or more. The Big Blue Nation can be thankful to the Patterson family for waiting until the end of recruitment to allow Coach Gillispie to plead his case; and successfully so.

The future looks bright in Lexington as there is now a core to our team, something to build around. Hopefully this is one of many McDonald’s All-Americans that will attend Kentucky under the tutelage of Billy Gillispie and know this:

Kentucky is back.

Patrick Patterson A Wildcat

Hunington High School standout and 5-Star Rival Recruit, Patrick Patterson, will attend the University of Kentucky in the Fall of 2007. Patterson announced his decision at a press conference at his high school at 3:45PM EST.

I will be posting more on the implications of this decision later, but the decision has been made: “Pat-Pat” is a Wildcat!

As If Millions Of Voices Suddenly Cried Out In Terror And Were Suddenly Silenced

Reports coming in are that both uber-recruit Jai Lucas and big man Beas Hamga, who reclassified for the 2007-2008 class almost at the request of Coach Billy Gillispie, will NOT be suiting up for the University of Kentucky next season. Both decisions come as big blows to the recruiting trail and for different reasons for each. The Lucas decision is difficult because he strung the program out for so long and then went to our arch nemesis the University of Florida. The Hamga commitment to UNLV was tough because Coach Gillispie did a lot to help the big man reclassify for 2007 and get through the NCAA Clearing House to obtain eligibility this year, on top of the fact that we are much in need of an athletic inside presence.

This news also does not bode well for the press conference of All American post player Patrick Patterson, who has close ties to Jai Lucas and looks to be almost certainly destined for “The Swamp.”

This is also a huge blow to the fans who follow University of Kentucky recruiting so adamantly as multiple sites, Kentucky Sports Radio and Wildcat Nation to name a couple, crashed at the start of Lucas’s 3:30PM press conference.

Obviously these are just verbal commitments and nothing is quite for certain until a Letter of Intent is signed, and even that is not quite certain, depending on the circumstances. Nonetheless, Houston Bellair standout Jai Lucas is heading to the University of Florida next year and Decatur Christian 7-footer Beas Hamga will be going to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas next season.

More to come IF something develops…

Wednesday News Break

ESPN.com is reporting, at roughly 10:45AM, that a NCAA committee is considering a ban of text messages to recruits through an approved measure to be decided at the April 26 meeting of the Board of Directors. This would close a HUGE loophole in the rules limiting the amount of contact with recruits, a rule that does not yet cover text messages. This will have a large and instant impact on recruiting for the University of Kentucky basketball program as Billy Gillispie is an AVID user of the text message to keep in contact with his recruits. We will keep you posted as the story develops.