I had to work late (as usual). I did not get to Lex until aroun 10:10. The rain welcomed me into the BBM campout. The BBN were all dodging the rain in their tents.

The highlight of the night was watching Gilly the Kid playing pickup games. Then Anthony the Big Guy Davis joined in. The Kid had several dunks that my camera (brought the wrong one) could not capture. As usual the BBN was fantastic.

My spot in line is AMAZING. WE ARE IN LINE #3 which puts me at about 30 or 40 spots from #1(OMG). My boy really took care of us. I will have a lot more and better pics tomorrow.

Being here is better than any tailgate or BB game. Hats, shirts, cars and stuff most of us have never seen before. As usual the best thing is the BBN. This is a BUCKET LIST EVENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every member of the BBN has to do this once. My 50th B-day is on the 10th of Oct and I will be here every year until they cast my ashes on Commonweath stadium at the 50 yard line (it’s in my will). BB is how I learned to love the BBN but Sonny Collins and FB is where I cut my teeth. Nothing big happening but the FELLOWSHIP AND I REALLY MEAN FELLOWSHIP is what keep bringing me back.

WISH YOU WERE HERE (Pink Floyd)

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. GO BLUE OR STAY HOME.

By LARRY VAUGHT

So how do media members who cover the Wildcats regularly feel about the season? I asked WLEX-TV sports director Alan Cutler (http://twitter.com/cutler18), radio play-by-play voice of the Cats Tom Leach (tomleachky.com and twitter @tomleachUK), Kentucky Sports radio founder and talk show host Matt Jones, WLEX-TV sports anchor and WVLK Sunday talk show host Mary Jo Perino, former UK basketball All-American and college basketball analyst Kyle Macy and UK IMG Sports Network analyst Dick Gabriel for their thoughts. Here’s how they evaluate the Cats going into this season.

Question: Who will be Kentucky’s most valuable player this year?

Lemond: “The ‘most valuable player’ may not be the leading scorer, he may not be the ‘best’ player, but as far as ‘valuable goes, it has to be Terrence Jones.  Since Anthony Davis will more than likely play the ‘5,’ Jones will have to handle the power forward spot and provide the much needed “inside muscle” that is lacking on this team.  Josh Harrellson was able to handle the middle last year, and I’m not so sure Davis is tough enough to handle the inside game in the SEC.  So not only will the Cats need Terrence Jones to provide a much-needed inside presence, but he’ll also have to showcase his ‘inside-outside’ game at the “4”, and be a much-needed leader in the locker room.”

Perino: “Darius Miller. It’s his year to be a defensive stopper, an offensive force and a LEADER.”

Macy: “Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. His versatility will often place the ball in his hands in late game situations.  How he handles these situations by scoring, passing or just directing will have a major impact on the Cats success!

Gabriel: “Jones.”

Leach: “Marquis Teague, even though if he makes the rookie transition into Calipari’s system as successfully as John Wall and Brandon Knight did, we may not pay as much attention to his value as we would if he fails on that mission.

Jones: “Terrence Jones will be the MVP but I will give a shout out to Mike Gilchrist as well. The difference between this team being very good and potentially great is whether he is as good as we thought coming out of high school. If he is a superstar, this team will not lose more than three games all year.”

Cutler: “Davis.”

Doron Lamb photo by Victoria Graff

By LARRY VAUGHT

It’s no surprise to long-time family friend Eddie Rivera that Doron Lamb was an impact player at Kentucky in his freshman season, or that has established himself as a premier college basketball player.

“Doron grew up on the Lower East Side (of New York) and pretty much went to school with my daughter from kindergarten to eighth grade,” Rivera said. “Even when he was just a kid, I remember watching him in the after-school program and he was an exceptional athlete. He was some kind of baseball player, too, but you could watch him dribble and play basketball and tell he was exceptional. His dad was a good buddy of mine and it was so much fun to watch him grow up.

“He is like the kid everybody wants to have. He was mellow, but was never a troublemaker in any way. And when he was on the basketball court, he was just special. He’s becoming much more mature in how he sees things now. He has learned to focus, but also have fun and be himself. His character is such that everybody loves him. He is like a teddy bear. He’s just an ideal kid.”

Lamb eventually moved to Queens, but his grandfather, aunt and uncle still live on the Lower East Side, where he lived until he was about 16. And that’s where Lamb still remains wildly popular among youngsters because of his basketball success and willingness to come back to his old neighborhood.

“He has changed in a few ways. It’s obvious he has grown up and is more focused on what is at hand. He has really developed into someone special. He knows he has an opportunity to do big things in basketball,” Rivera said. “But he does a lot of things in the community. When he is home he usually comes to watch a basketball tournament we have for kids. A lot of these kids look really look up to him. They want to go to college and play basketball like he is. Doron is going to have an opportunity to impact a lot of people in our community.

“The kids love to see him. They are all over him when he comes back, but he keeps it simple. He will be with the kids doing about anything. He will throw football with them, shoot around on the court with them. He is the same Doron Lamb when he does come back.

“A lot of kids here have Kentucky gear because of him. Even I do. He is just about the best thing to happen to people on the Lower East Side. We don’t get many top-tier players out of the Lower East Side. We’re proud of him.”

Lamb, who averaged 12.3 points per game and shot 48.6 percent from 3-point range last season to help UK reach the Final Four, appreciates the support he has at home even now.

Rivera, who works at Standard & Poor’s financial services company, had Lamb visit him at work.

“Socially, I wanted him to meet people from all aspects of life from the president of our company to the mail room worker,” Rivera said. “That makes you a better person. He came here for an hour, and I took him around and introduced him to expose him to something different than basketball.

“He represents Kentucky so well. I wish him nothing but the best going forward. I am in finance, but I loved it when

Kentucky came here (to New Jersey in the NCAA tournament) and I got to write a free-lance piece on him for The Villager. I am in finance, but that story was easy to do because he’s so much fun to be around. He is just like a little, happy kid all the time.”

By LARRY VAUGHT

So how do media members who cover the Wildcats regularly feel about the season. I asked WLEX-TV sports director Alan Cutler (http://twitter.com/cutler18), radio play-by-play voice of the Cats Tom Leach (tomleachky.com and twitter @tomleachUK), Kentucky Sports radio founder and talk show host Matt Jones, WLEX-TV sports anchor Mary Jo Perino, former UK basketball All-American and college basketball analyst Kyle Macy and UK IMG Sports Network analyst Dick Gabriel for their thoughts. Here’s how they evaluate the Cats going into this season.

Question: Who will be Kentucky’s best player this year?

Cutler: “Anthony Davis.”

Lemond: “This is a great question because the ‘best’ player may not necessarily be the ‘most valuable’ player.  I think Doron Lamb may end up being the leading scorer, but the best overall player might end up being Anthony Davis. He has point guard skills in a big man’s body.  Word out of early workouts is that Davis is not only very talented down low, but can also hit 3-pointers!  Wow! I guess there is a reason why many observers feel like Davis could end up being the first pick in the NBA draft next year.”

Perino: “Anthony Davis/Terrence Jones … I’m torn!”

Macy: “I would like to see the best player be Terrence Jones or Darius Miller. Their skill level is as good as any and they also possess experience, which would be a bonus!”

Gabriel: “Jones.”

Leach: “I’m going with Terrence Jones. With a year of development of his game and maturity under his belt, I look to see what we saw in Maui last year on a more consistent basis.”

Jones: “That is a tough question. Doron Lamb will be the leading scorer, Darius Miller the most important player, Terrence Jones the team MVP and Anthony Davis the most talented. ‘Best’ usually means most talented, so I will take Davis, but any of those four could be the answer.

By LARRY VAUGHT

Here are some thoughts from Scout.com national recruiting analyst Evan Daniels on the recent verbal commitment by Arkansas guard Archie Goodwin to Kentucky.

Question: Did Goodwin surprise you with his commitment to UK and what do you think changed his mind on waiting until spring to commit?
Daniels: “The commitment didn’t surprise me as much as the timing.  I think Kentucky has been the leader here for quite some time and I think it was important for them to get him on board and get their class started.”

Question: How good a fit will he be for Calipari’s system?
Daniels: “Archie is a great fit for what Calipari is trying to do. He’s at his best when he’s in attack mode and he knows how to get to the rim and finish once he’s there. He won’t have any issues getting used to the dribble drive offense.”

Question: What impact might his decision have on other recruits?
Daniels: I don’t know if it has a direct impact, but it certainly can’t hurt. Now the Cats have someone at Midnight Madness that is sitting with all of the uncommitted guys and talking them up.”

Question: Could this be the start of another No. 1 class for John Calipari?
Daniels: “It’s certainly possible. There are still some things that will have to play, but if things go the way I expect them to for Kentucky then they are probably looking at, at least a top three class.”