Read about Vito "Babe" Parilli, the legendary Kentucky and AFL quarterback who passed away this weekend.
Also, you won't find more extensive football recruiting coverage anywhere else and there's plenty of basketball recruiting, too.
RECRUITING NOTES
Want the latest on Kentucky, Alabama and four-star DB Stanley Garner? Click the link below. Also included there you'll find updates on Kristian Pechac, a running back who used to be committed to Indiana, UK legacy and offensive lineman Zeke Correll, Blue Smith, Terez Traynor and more.
LINK: Camp Notebook includes recruiting notes from OL/DL action and 7v7
What we heard about the perception of Cincinnati's coaching staff, Kentucky's facilities compared to those at some football factories, Dean Hood versus Derrick Ansley recruiting in Georgia and scouting notes on Stanley Garner, Marquan McCall and others.
LINK: Sights and sounds from Friday Night Lights
What we heard about Kristian Pechac, 2020 Lexington Catholic quarterback Beau Allen and several other younger quarterbacks at FNL, four-star linebacker Chris Oats, four-star defensive backs Chandler Jones and Stanley Garner plus many others.
PARILLI PASSES
Vito “Babe” Parilli, the quarterback who led the University of Kentucky football team to the Orange, Sugar and Cotton Bowls in the 1949-51 seasons and was eventually enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, has passed away at the age of 87.
“Babe is among the greatest legends of Kentucky athletics history,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics. “He was the quarterback for a golden era of Wildcat football and loved returning to Lexington for the team reunions. We are saddened by his passing and send our sympathies to his family and friends.”
LINK: Vito "Babe" Parilli passes away
Parilli was the quarterback for the only Kentucky team that has won an outright SEC football championship. The 1950 Wildcats went 5-1 in league play and posted an 11-1 overall record that included a 13-7 victory over previously undefeated Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.
LINK: Babe Parilli, Bear Bryant's first championship QB, dead at age 87
Parilli lettered three years at quarterback for the Wildcats and set Kentucky records for touchdowns with 50, leading UK to wins over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl and TCU in the Cotton Bowl. He connected on 331 of his 592 passes for 4,351 career yards in three years as quarterback at UK.
After Parilli left Kentucky, the Wildcats did not appear again in a New Year’s Day Bowl until 1999.
“Saddened to hear about the passing of Babe Parilli,” former Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch tweeted Saturday. “He was a friend and inspiration to me. One of the best to ever wear the blue and white!”
USUAL 13-YEAR OLD
What makes Kentucky's offer to Kiyaunta Goodin a story, in part, is the fact that he's 13 years old. He attends Olmsted Academy North in Louisville, and yes, that's a middle school.
But this is a story, and an incredible one, because Goodin is already 6-foot-6 and more than 345 pounds.
LINK: UK offers a 13-year old who's not your typical 13-year old
OVERSEAS OPTION
Former Kentucky players like Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis probably face what ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla considers an annual basketball dilemma.
“Do I play in the D League, making $25,000 for six months?” Fraschilla said of the NBA’s development league now known as the G League. “Or do I check my ego at the door, quite frankly, and go overseas and start a career over there where the starting salary could be $200,000? But, if you play well enough, you can work it up to seven figures."
LINK: Hawkins, Willis at crossroads? Overseas basketball an option to ponder
WILLIAMSON UPDATE
Five-star Zion Williamson once again made waves on the internet with an impressive block on a fast break last night. The No. 2 player in the class of 2018 spoke with Cats Illustrated after one of his games on Friday morning.
LINK: Q&A with Zion Williamson
Able to go anywhere in the country to play out the rest of his high school basketball career, Zion Williamson is choosing to stay home at Spartanburg Day School, the team he led to a state title this past season while emerging as a national phenomenon on the court.
“My mom always told me growing up that if you were good enough, attention would find you,” Williamson said.
LINK: Zion Williamson has a must-see game and a wait-and-see recruitment
There were no rosters available to the media by Friday afternoon at the adidas Gauntlet Finale, but it didn’t figure to be that difficult to find the player it was most important to see. His team is SC Supreme. How many big forwards who almost literally can fly could any particular AAU team have in its lineup?
As the game developed, the other players on SC Supreme kept throwing the ball to No. 12, but that could not possibly be Zion Williamson. He had to be on the bench, resting. Because no one that big could execute the dunks and blocks and other feats of aerial magic the player everyone already knows simply as “Zion” has made such a routine part of his basketball life.
LINK: Williamson working to go from YouTube sensation to one-year college wonder
BAGLEY Q&A
The number one player in the country Marvin Bagley has some official visits set and played in front of NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant on day 2 of the Peach Jam. Rivals.com caught up with the five-star forward to get the latest.
LINK: Q&A with Marvin Bagley, the top player in the 2018 class
FIFTH-PLACE
Despite finishing in a three-way tie for second in the SEC East last season and returning 17 starters, UK was picked to finish fifth in the SEC East by the media. Georgia is the preseason favorite in the East with 138 first place votes. Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Missouri rounded out the East.
Alabama was picked to win the SEC West and the overall championship. The Crimson Tide had the most first-team All-SEC selections with 10, which is a new record for the SEC Media Days All-SEC Team.
LINK: Media predicts Kentucky to finish fifth in SEC East
Three University of Kentucky football players earned a spot on the Preseason Media Days All-Southeastern Conference teams, it was announced Friday by the league office. Junior defensive end/linebacker Denzil Ware was named second-team defense, while junior safety Mike Edwards and junior linebacker Jordan Jones were named to the third team.
RONDO TO NEW ORLEANS
Free-agent guard Rajon Rondo has reached agreement on a one-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, league sources told The Vertical.
Rondo met with the Pelicans on Thursday and again Saturday in Atlanta before committing to a contract with New Orleans, league sources told The Vertical. Rondo, a four-time NBA All-Star, has met with Pelicans general manager Dell Demps and head coach Alvin Gentry and has strong relationships with star center DeMarcus Cousins and assistant coach Darren Erman.
Rondo played for the Chicago Bulls last season, averaging 7.8 points, 6.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 69 games. He was in and out of the Bulls’ rotation at times, but was looked upon as a leader for younger Bulls players. Rondo flourished near the end of the season to lead Chicago to a 2-0 series lead over the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs before suffering a broken thumb. Boston went on to win the series 4-2.
