[kybaseball]

First off, I'd like to give my opinion on the whole Michael Porter situation...

I have heard the rumors that he may want to call it quits as well. Apparently he and his wife are about to have a baby, and he also will be able to graduate this spring with his degree. If he chooses to stop playing so he can take care of his family, then that's fine and I will wish him well.

But I sincerely hope that UK or Calipari does not push him out. If Porter wants to stay on scholarship and play his senior year, I think he has earned that right. He has been through two coaching changes now, has never gotten into any kind of trouble, and has dealt with an enormous amount of criticism from the fanbase.

Most of the criticism was undeserved, as Porter was asked (forced?) to play out of position this past season. He was recruited to UK as a shooting guard, yet when asked to play point this year out of necessity he did it to the best of his ability. Should Porter be the starting point guard for UK? Absolutely not, and I think the results on the court bear this out. But that's not his fault. Let Porter stay at his natural position and come off the bench as a backup SG, and he will do fine in that role.

To me, Porter seems to me to be a good kid, who has poured his blood, sweat, and tears into the UK program. If it is his wish, I hope to see him run through a big paper hoop next March on UK's senior day. I think he has earned that much. If UK ends up pushing him out for some new recruit, it will be a disgrace to the university.

Porter has given a lot to UK but UK has given him back plenty in return. I think he will realize he is out of his league with the system Calipari will be putting in place. Calipari might as well trim the fat off the program and let him and some other dead weights go.