Until next year...

Now that Pesach is over, I can get back to my year-round eating habits. Pesach is my favorite holiday of the year. There's the fact that I have it on good authority that I descend from Aaron, thus meaning I'm a descendent of Levi. Most Jews, at least in modern days, claim to be descendents of the Tribe of Judah (יְהוּדָה, Yəhuda). However, during the time of the Kingdom of Yəhuda in ancient Israel, the tribes of Simeon and Benjamin lived in that area. Judah was the major tribe at the time of the Babylonian captivity, with the other two tribes not as large, hence Judaism being called what it is today. Aside from those claiming descent from the Lost Tribes of Israel, we know that the Tribes of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, and Levi survive. However, much of the ethnic identity was lost as a result of the Babylonian captivity, and the Tribe of Judah lended it's name to what's known as Judaism today. I probably just repeated myself but oh, well. I'm proud of my religious heritage.

In other news, Steffphon Pettigrew was named as Kentucky's Mr. Basketball today.

Pettigrew, who led the state in scoring this past season with 33.7 points per game, was named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball during a ceremony this afternoon in E’town.

Pettigrew, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward, added 13.2 rebounds per game and was considered a front-runner for the award all season.

He reportedly has narrowed his college choices to Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Saint Louis and Duquesne but has said he wants to play for the Wildcats.

No word yet as to whether or not he will be offered a scholarship by the University of Kentucky.

Coach Gillispie plans on buying a house soon. Whether or not the fridge will have food in it is a question that will remain unanswered for now.

Gillispie, who likes to entertain, is planning to buy a house. Currently, he’s living at the Crowne Plaza Lexington at the Campbell House.

Settling into his new role, Gillispie watched four or five game films of the Kentucky team and put players through a workout Monday to get a feel.

He said they were very “willing.”

On the recruitment front, Gillispie said UK has to recruit early. Ultimately, he expects Kentucky to be among the top two to three choices of the top players. This year, most of the best players have already committed.

G.J. Vilarino became the first player to commit to Kentucky for the Class of 2009. It's definitely a good sign that UK is returning to the glory days to the point where we don't have enough scholarships to offer.

McKinney (Texas) point guard G.J. Vilarino, considered one of the top 20 players in the Class of 2009, has become the first commitment of the Gillispie era.

“He’s further along than on cloud nine,” Gerry Vilarino, the player’s father, told The Courier-Journal. “It’s a dream come true for G.J. He’s very excited about the opportunity to play for coach Gillispie and to play at Kentucky.”

The 6-foot-1 Vilarino is only 16 years old and ranks as the No. 20 player in the sophomore class by HoopScooponline.com. He averaged 20.5 points and 4.5 assists this season and was recently named to the adidas Nations team, which features 15 of the top players from the sophomore class.[...]

Gerry Vilarino said his son picked UK over Kansas, Baylor, Illinois and Purdue and noted Gillispie had been in the mix for more than a year.

There's a few more recruits that will likely be interested in playing for Kentucky now that Gillispie is coaching. Some of them hail all the way from, what's that, Texas:

We have also received word that Gillispie is in great shape to land top junior Willie Warren, and top-5 freshman KC Miller told us yesterday that Billy Gillispie is his favorite coach. Both Warren and Miller play AAU ball for Team Texas.

Sources tell us that DeAndre Jordan, who committed to Texas A&M, will likely try to get out of his National Letter-of-Intent and follow Gillispie to Kentucky.

If you are a Kentucky fan, that final paragraph sounds like good news, especially if we are able to sign both Jai Lucas and Patrick Patterson. It gives us a top 10 recruiting class. There's this tidbit on Jordan which could further that speculation that he will ask out of his LOI.

On a standard form filled out by all players, Jordan -- who is scheduled to participate in Saturday's Adidas Derby Festival Basketball Classic in Louisville -- left blank the question about what college he will attend, game organizer Dan Owens said.

When Texas A&M's Gillispie was a rumored candidate for the Arkansas job, Jordan said he might follow the coach. He could not be reached after Gillispie became Kentucky's coach.

"Don't read too much into it," Owens said of Jordan's non-response. "But most players put the college they've committed to."

Typically, a school is part of a player's introduction at the Derby Festival game. Owens wasn't sure how Jordan will be introduced.

But he said he will ask Jordan for a school when the participants arrive in Louisville on Thursday. "Particularly in light of what he put down there or didn't put down there," Owens said.

Former Kentucky player John Pelphrey became the latest player from the Pitino coaching umbrella to move into the SEC with a head coaching position. He is the newest coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks and I offer my congratulations.

Do yourself a favor and don't listen to this!

Jeremy Cox is looking like he is the first assistant coach to be hired in the Billy Gillispie era. At least, that's what Matt Jones, WLEX, and WKYT are reporting. No, I have not seen Matt's new haircut but he's a cool guy. I've met him once.

GOP candidates are about to storm us with advertisements on television. Well, at least we now have the warning with regards to muting our television sets.

For Kentucky Democrats, there's no time like the present to see your candidates at work and watch them debate.

The Herald-Leader takes a look at campaign websites.

Candidate Jonathan Miller, the state treasurer, posted "volunteer videos" on his Web site, which includes a submission from a supporter that echoes Miller's first TV commercial. The minute-and-a-half video calls for less talk and a candidate with "no baggage" all to the tune of Elvis Presley's A Little Less Conversation.

Miller and running mate Irv Maze, the Jefferson County attorney, also have a video log, or vlog, on the www.miller-maze.com site that includes a three-minute chat between the two candidates about why they got into the race.

"There's such a culture that is against progress that wants to stop things and that really still envisions themselves in the smoke-filled rooms with the fat cats," Miller says to Maze.

The gubernatorial candidates have also spoke about priorities.

Miller said the good old' boy system has been an incubator for waste, fraud and ethics abuses.

"I know people want change, and that is why I proposed a sweeping plan with proposals to clean up government and restore the people's trust in Frankfort," Miller said.

In addition to Thursday's debate, it looks like Jonathan Miller, the next Governor of Kentucky, will be up in Covington for another event.

State Treasurer Jonathan Miller comes to town on Thursday to participate in the Covington Optimist Club's speaker series featuring gubernatorial hopefuls. Miller will speak at noon Thursday at Chez Nora, 530 Main St. in MainStrasse Village.

House speaker Jody Richards is scheduled to speak April 26, and the series has added two more weeks to the series: Republican candidate Billy Harper is to speak May 3, and other candidates are being wooed for May 10.