Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
Another day, another commitment by a kid who still has yet to get a driver’s license. Today’s entry is of course the kid with the name straight out of the Sopranos, Vinny Zollo. Zollo is from Greenfield, Ohio and is listed at 6′8″ at this point (although height estimates on the kid do vary), with the possibility to grow into a 7 footer. He plays for the Indiana Elite AAU team, which is becoming fertile ground for the Billy Gillispie era, as it has also been home to 8th grade commitment Michael Avery. Zollo is a solid double-double kid, who some believe can turn into a star during his next three years of high school. He visited with Gillispie today and gave him his commitment, making Zollo the first member of the Class of 2011 for the Billy G era.
So what do we make of all this? Well put me firmly in the group of not sure what to think. I understand the pros and cons of such young commitments and unlike most, dont particularly have a strong opinion either way. If Gillispie is inclined to back out of a commitment if a kid does not develop (which my guess is that he is), then taking early commitments certainly doesnt hurt the program. There might be some minor loss in standing if families believe that a commitment wont be honored, but even the most naive parents must understand that a lot can change in 3 or 4 years. These commitments at this point are most certainly viewed by all sides as tentative and there really isnt a loss to the program by a kid taking such a commitment at a young age.
But I do admit that this style has taken a bit of the fun of recruiting out of it for me. Part of why I really enjoyed following the recruiting of the 2005-2008 classes is that you got to watch players develop and see schools go after players as they developed. While the time frame has moved up for virtually all recruiting, and the kid’s junior year has become what the Senior year once was, watching kids from the summer after their Sophomore year to the summer after their Junior year was actually quite entertaining. By that point, you had a feel for what the player was like, his strengths and weaknesses and you had a notion as to where he would fit on the next level. With guys as young as KC Ross-Miller and Dakotah Euton last year and Michael Avery and Vinny Zollo this year, that is simply not possible. It is not that you cant have a notion that a kid may not be a star….we have all seen ten year-olds play and have heard predictions of stardom at that age….but the fun of seeing the kid burst on the scene and decide what school he will attend has somewhat gone away….at least temporarily. Now we hear the name of a player that virtually no one has ever heard of…and a few minutes later he has committed. No time in between to learn about the player, compare strengths and weaknesses and figure out how he fits into the greater scheme.
Of course none of this means that the strategy by Gillispie isnt a good one. Gillispie may be on the outer edge of this recruiting trend, but he isnt alone….as USC and Arizona have embraced it as well. But, it certainly makes the sport of it less entertaining. I find myself much more interested in what Josh Harrellson will bring next year than what Vinny Zollo will bring in three years. In fact, with Zollo and Avery, I have almost no interest whatsoever in their commitments. It will be so long before they take the court that even the oldest one, Zollo, will be Freshman when guys that havent even put on a UK uniform yet (Miller and Liggins) are Seniors. I simply cant get worked up or excited about that…..and without that excitement, the whole purpose of following recruiting is somewhat lost to me.
I have often said in various interviews and conversations with people about the internet and college sports, that recruiting was what built this medium’s importance. Whereas the mainstream media ignored recruiting, the internet focused on it and now has become a major player in the sports news world. The internet forced the Courier Journal and the Herald Leader to focus on recruiting and now all media outlets, mainstream and internet, follow it religiously. But I do get a sense that the passion this summer in following the recruits has waned a bit. On the Barnstorming Tour, most who mentioned recruiting to me, talked about Josh Harrellson and only mentioned the younger guys to chuckle at the thought of recruiting an 8th grader. There are still those who are passionate about following every guy who UK may get, but I get the sense that their numbers are slightly fewer. As one man came and said to me in Northern Kentucky, “I can justify knowing all the High School Seniors and Juniors….but when it comes to Freshmen and 8th Graders, I am just too old for that stuff.”
I am starting to agree with that sentiment as well. While I understand the strategy of Coach Gillispie and can see why he is undertaking it, that doesnt change my interest in it. I will still follow recruiting on this site and Thomas and Evan are going to give plenty of updates on the 09 and 10 guys in the days to come. But I simply cannot make myself care about guys that are currently in middle school deciding where they are going to college. I appreciate the success of Coach Gillispie in the last few weeks, but of all the most recent commitments, only 2010 stud Dominique Ferguson even registers on my radar. We are in a new day in UK basketball, and maybe even college basketball, recruiting…..one that seems to me to be decidingly less fun. Bomani Jones always makes fun of me for “chasing these high school kids around” and following recruiting so in depth. Now that “high school” has changed to “middle school”, I may have to take Bomani’s advice and look for something more productive to investigate, like I dont know…..
Josh Harrellson’s jean shorts anyone?
and oh yeah…Harrellson will be on my show tonight at 8:20…check it out.
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May 6th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Bryan the Intern…make your self valuable and record that interview and post it on here!
May 6th, 2008 at 12:52 am
You want to investigate Josh Harrellson’s jean shorts? I’m not sure that’s the phrasing you should’ve gone with haha.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:00 am
maybe now we can follow the progressions of our recruits? there will still be a spot or two held open for elite or suprise recruits im sure, this takes a little of the desperation element out of it which is fine by me. Much easier to build a team this way
May 6th, 2008 at 1:10 am
I have no problem at all with the early recruiting. Make sure they knows where they stand. It’s the early commit that I’m not sure about. We’ll see how these kids develop and if they end up as Cats after all. But isn’t it great knowing kids are wanting to come to Kentucky again?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:14 am
Hey Matt - I understand your disappointment with what was a major source of your fuel here (last minute recruiting by Tubby Smith) but let Billy Gillispie get his program to a more stable state before you start thinging the fun is sapped out for good.
When Rick Pitino came in here in 1990 he had to take some chances. Then as his bench became solid again he was able to rely on the foundation of the program and more traditional methods. In other words his scenario is similar to Gillispies, and there is no reason to think BCG is doing this now because “creatures of habit often do things the same way.”
Successful recruiting is an adaptable beast, I think BCG is showing his limitless aspiration for getting us back on track in the fastest way that he knows is possible.
You, Tipton, and Dr. Lee Todd should give it a rest, BCG’s an innovator that your not familiar with… and when your dealing with an entity that you can’t put your thumb on there’s no reason to settle with criticism.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:15 am
I don’t understand the jean shorts thing, all you “others” wear dress shorts and a t-shirt?
May 6th, 2008 at 1:17 am
5) where’s the criticism? Matt just said it was less fun for him personally.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Well said Matt…
#3 - I thought the same that following would be fun, but after hearing negative things this year (warranted or not) about GJ Villarino, and D. Euton… then trying to figure how KC can put up monster numbers and consistently lose, I’ve concluded that progression watching is overrated.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Hey Matt - Also - Could you give a sliver evidence that supports your statement:
“If Gillispie is inclined to back out of a commitment if a kid does not develop (which my guess is that he is), then taking early commitments certainly doesnt hurt the program. There might be some minor loss in standing if families believe that a commitment wont be honored, but even the most naive parents must understand that a lot can change in 3 or 4 years.”
1. I see nmo evidence that he’s ever pulled out on a committed kid that we know of in his coaching career.
2. The only soundbites I’ve heard from BCG suggest otherwise as well… all recordings or quotes from BCG indicate that he is a man of traditional values (a man of his word - Texas style) and lead us to believe he wouldn’t retract an offer just because: 1) a kid didn’t grow, or 2)improve his game, as the reason. He considers commitments as done deals unless the kid pulls out. There were even questions about GJ Vilarino at first since initially he wasn’t doing so good in regular season play and BCG never gave the impression that he’d waiver on that decision. BCG even stated that he would not talk to a kid as long as he was still under a verbal commitment to another school - during the Hopson saga (something I’ve never heard another Division 1 coach ever say - and know 95% of other coaches do/would not reciprocate).
I’ve got 2 pieces of evidence saying the opposite. Your turn.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:28 am
Get used to it Matt…this guy is crazy and this, “ain’t yo’ daddy’s Kentucky”. Or ironically…maybe it resembles it more.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:50 am
# 7 marsrover-
In the article Matt states that he doesn’t have an opinion of BCG’s program rebuilding recruiting effort in his “first” year, yet sets the tone that BCG is taking chances (exaggerating a statement about 10 year olds… see quote below) and more than likely will pull offers for reasons other than traditionally accepted (i.e., not just for getting in trouble, attitude, or poor grades) without any supporting evidence.
“…we have all seen ten year-olds play and have heard predictions of stardom at that age….but the fun of seeing the kid burst on the scene and decide what school he will attend has somewhat gone away….at least temporarily. Now we hear the name of a player that virtually no one has ever heard of…”
10 year olds? Where? When did 15 become 10?
Kids no one has heard of? Euton, KC Miller, Zollo, Ferguson all projected top 50 players.
We’ve been following Zollo on some boards for almost a year now.
Avery is a the one guy who no one has heard as far as scouts or rivals up until his committment, but… his dad is a college grad with a law firm. it’s not like these are orphan baby baskets BCG is taking advantage of with no parents to assist in making intelligent decisions.
Being critical doesn’t always mean you ransack something, you can also leave an air of slightly exagerted uncertanty around something which Matt is doing even if he isn’t intending to (that can be considered criticism).
May 6th, 2008 at 1:58 am
I still want to know about J’Mison Morgan. I know at one point we were in the running for this guy before he signed with LSU. His AAU coach is saying that he will be asking out of his LOI anyday now. This guy is a great talent, ranked 4th best C in ‘08. Do we have a chance since BCG already built a relationship with him?
May 6th, 2008 at 6:44 am
Matt, with all do respect, the reasons you and so many others on the net are in the positions you are is because of the putrid recruiting that was happening at Kentucky between 2005-2008. If it weren’t for the coaches’ inept recruiting abilities, there would be no reason for the masses of Kentucky fans to follow recruiting so feverishly, as they do now. I enjoy your blog, but if Kentucky’s coaches had been doing their jobs for the past four to five seasons, sites like these would just now be in their infancy, i believe.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Matt you sound like an old curmudgeon (I think I spelled that right). I realize this is the site PPat and Jai Lucas built, but the reason we were so interested was because of our desperation. I, for one, think I will enjoy not quite being so desperate in the coming years. UK has some catching up to do in the younger players minds. The coach who cannot be mentioned kind of let us slip out of their focus. If taking some early commitments get us exposure in the kid’s minds then I am all for it. Check out the recruiting pages right now. We are as prominent on them as we have been in a long time. Be glad for that change I say…..
May 6th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Someone call the police! Jerry Tipton has taken over Matt’s computer.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Damn Matt, would you like some cheese to go with your whine? All we have been hearing about is lack of recruiting news and when is Gillispie gonna get some big names in. Now the recruiting news has been blowing up the last 2 weeks and all you wanna do is bitch about it? Grow up and do your “job” and just report what the staff is doing and be grateful that kids are so excited to come to UK now because of our new, go get ‘em staff. I would much rather hear about Avery and Zollo committing than hearing about guys picking Hawaii and SMU over Kentucky.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:29 am
I do not understand, when we were not getting recruits, people complained and b*tched. Now, Billy is racking ‘em up and everyone
is hating on these younger kids. Something tells me our coach has been doing this for YEARS and knows young talent when he sees
it, plain and simple. Please, everyone support our new Cats and be happy when he getting new, up and rising players. What more do you
want?
May 6th, 2008 at 7:29 am
we are getting new*
May 6th, 2008 at 7:38 am
That was probably your worst work yet, Matt. It almost sounds like you are taking lessons from Tipton. Here’s a clue. Most schools offer kids all through high school. The only difference here is kids are actually taking UK up on their offer. Some are even tracking coach down. I can understand why you don’t like this style of recruiting. The other style provided lots of bill board material and this style has very little.
My guess is you will have lots more good things to write about when the games start. Unless you keep at those Tipton lessons…
May 6th, 2008 at 7:45 am
The point of recruiting is to win basketball games.
I’ll be glad to trade the fun of recruiting for the fun of winning championships.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Well Matt, maybe when Hood commits it will be a little more exciting for ya…
May 6th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Really? Seriously? We spend the last few years struggling… yearning for a chance to hear any sort of recruting news about top 50 recruits and all the sudden we have been inundated with them in the past 2 weeks. Has that gone to your head Matt? I usually love your posts, but this is a bit rough. I’m sorry you disagree with his recruiting, but no wonder UK fans get blasted for being unreasonable. With Tubby it was not enough recruiting… with BCG it’s now too much/too soon? I’ll take it… it will be just as much fun watching these recruits who have commited develop as those that haven’t committed. It’s not like every spot is going to be filled… especially with players entering the draft early. It’s never a bad idea to have a head start… Lighten up, Chicken Little.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:56 am
20) That is exactly what I was thinking. If I have to trade the excitement of wondering what Seniors are going to sign with UK in the Spring of their Senior year for a National Championship. I am pretty sure every single one of us would take the National Championship.
I love the “offseason” of following recruits as much as anyone but if giving up a little of that excitement gets us closer to an 8th championship, well sign me up!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Well, to me, winning is the most important thing and this seems like a better way to get top caliber players to UK instead of constantly settling on just players who haven’t signed anywhere yet. BCG has it right, kids are more basketball, at a younger age, against better competition than ever before so he is able to evaluate talent earlier than ever before. Will he make mistakes? I am sure he will but there are plenty of let downs and mistakes in past UK recruits who were signed during more normal periods of their life.
Anyways, I don’t think there will be any shortage of things to talk about in 3-4 years. At that point we will be trying to figure out why BCG is recruiting another couple of guys when he already has 3 guys signed and only 2 scholarships to give.
On a side note, if all these signees end up going to Scott County will they get their own KHSAA classification of future UK and thus banned from playing other mortal Kentucky high school teams?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:02 am
It’s great to have someone putting this kind of effort into recruiting, unlike Tubby (I have to start recruiting there is only one week left in the signing period) Smith
May 6th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I believe the debate about What is the biggest sports rivalry? is over.
First a Red Sox fan buries a jersey in Yankee Stadium now this…
Yankees fan kills Red Sox fan for heckling…OK, Red Sox-Yankess, you win
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/05/05/yankees.redso x.death.ap/index.html?cnn=yes
May 6th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Is the mystery guy Deandre Jordan? Who knows?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:16 am
What happened,Matt? Did you go to be Matt and wake up as Jerry Tipton? Boo! Hiss!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:17 am
“it has taken the fun out of it for me”??? I guess that’s why they brought Coach Gillispie in was to make sure that Matt Jones has fun. I am excited about getting these players instead of hearing about UNC, Florida, or UCLA getting them. Sorry if I find it “fun” to watch Coach G work his tail off to ensure his team’s future and current success. I have had more fun finding out about these kids committing to us and the prospects down the line than I have, well ever, when it comes to recruiting. People may say that Coach G is doing this for headlines (Dukie V), but the only one that is a stretch is the 8th grader and I trust Coach G as a talent evaluator and character evaluator more than anyone else…because it’s his job! Just enjoy this and keep looking foward to this year! GO CATS
May 6th, 2008 at 8:30 am
29 And it’s even a reach to say that Avery is a complete gamble. He is a 6′4″ 15 year old who is a pure shooter. At the very least he will be a 6′6″ or up good shooter. Tubby never recruited enough players who were really good shooters. That doesn’t sound like much of a gamble to me.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Matt, you are not a parent. If you were you would see that some parents don’t want their child being part of the recruiting zoo! For such a smart fellow you sure can be ….
May 6th, 2008 at 8:38 am
#20. Exactly
May 6th, 2008 at 8:39 am
well lets say… blinded. Remember who Dale Brown recruited at age 13!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:40 am
30) I heard comparisons to Rip Hamilton coming off curls for jumpers. When we had Mercer, Sheppard, and Anderson coming off curls for jumpers we were practically unstoppable. The 97 team lived on the curl with Mercer and Anderson. If Avery shoots like that, I will take him at 6′4 or 6′6.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:41 am
I see what you’re saying Matt, but isn’t it worth the tradeoff for the fun of Final Fours and Championships?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Matt, I’m afraid I have to agree with the majority of comments here. I’m excited about recruiting and UK basketball for the first
time in a long while. I know that the excitement around PP’s signing with the CATS was great and your website was overwhelmed that
week, but I perfer as most of the posters above, to know that we are getting some of the top 25 recruits of each class to commit
to UK instead of UNC, dUKe, Kansas, and Florida getting all the studs! This was one of your most Tipton like posts and I can’t
understand the direction you are heading with this. Billy Clyde, I’m sure, knows a lot more about recruiting and noticing something
special in these young recruits than most of us combined, so just report the news. Your comments are welcome, it is your blog, but
don’t go down the negative Tipton road just to get hits! GO CATS!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:47 am
I don’t have a problem at all with these young commits. I’d rather be ahead of the curve in this area than following behind North Carolina, UCLA, Kansas, etc. in recruiting in the future. We have to catch up because we have been in a deep hole for some time now.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I love the new strategy. By improving the talent base, you can expect early departures. By taking early commitments you avoid being left holding the bag and scrambling to fill scholarships. I do know one thing, recruiting has declined over the past few years and as the old saying goes, “If you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same results”. Gillispie is drastically changing the recruiting process at UK and that is exactly what we needed.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I’ll be satisfied being bored with no recruiting news if CBC keeps piling them on like this. The Patterson sage almost drove me crazy. Getting recruits early in the game is refreshing to me. May be bad for blogs, but great for us fans.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Posters on Insidetheville are saying J’msion Morgan is going
to be a Card.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:52 am
35.) Totally agree on the fun that Final Fours and Championships will bring and I strongly believe they will happen soon. But c’mon Matt you’ve got to be somewhat excited. Maybe not cause the kids don’t have the stats yet for you to write on. BCG is getting it done to rebuild KY to an elite program again. I guess it means some unconventional recruiting methods. I am guessing that you won’t be complaining when these “gambles” payoff. I applaud BCG and love what he is bringing back to KY.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I am optimistic about this strategy too, but Matt’s point is well taken - other than Ferguson, none of these guys are guaranteed to be top-recruits. I think the chances are high, but you never know - the worse case scenario is that they end up being mediocre and the other top recruits head somewhere else as the perception will be that scholarships are gone.
But we’ve tried it the old way and I think it’s time to try something new…
May 6th, 2008 at 8:53 am
What about Jasper? Any news?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:54 am
40 - that just ruined my day.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Matt,
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Do you want some wah fries to go with that wah burger?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:59 am
I just looked at the class of 2010 on rivals and that is fun to see 3 studs already in (add a 2 and a 3 and we’ll have a starting 5). But Vilarino is not a top 100 as of right now for 2009, that is concerning. There are risk, but i guess it’s the new way…
6 of the top 10 for 2010 are already committed to a school.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I think Matt may need to adjust to the times. Sites better embrase the new way of recruitng instead of fighing it or readers will go elsewhere. Instead of guessing who the next recruit is, why not start finding the “blue jean short stories” on all these recruits for us? In other words, you may have to adjust your focuse to keep up with the times….
May 6th, 2008 at 9:06 am
44) You can find Cat fans saying the same thing.. LOL Rule number one: Never listen to a Card fan. Rule number two: Never listen to the Card coach. Or is that rule number one???
Disclaimer: Unless he is speaking at a Mr Wildcat memorial.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:09 am
48) Well, UofL was his number two choice.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Wasn’t UK in his top three? Anyway, he seems to be locked in to UCLA.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Not interested, yet you dedicate an entire blog post to it. Interesting.
I’m among those who think that BCG is doing this to make uk a “desitnation” again instead of “just another school”. He’s trying to make us the “it” place to come with the 8th grade and freshman kids. he can’t do it with the sophs-seniors because we had already dropped off their radar under the tubby regime. It’s a good strategy.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:11 am
it’s all about the hits. if we sign everyone early, then there won’t be the buzz around this blog like there was before. it’s all about the buzz which translates into hits.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Wasn’t it Matt that said after Patterson that the days of UK fans having to the last second for top talent would soon end & now he’s mad that it is?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:14 am
48 I preface this by saying that this is the first web-site I visit every day so I obviously enjoy it, but the direction it is taking has been interesting. I feel like it is becoming Politically Correct Central. We have been told in the last few months that:
1) We should forgive Pitino now.
2) We should only love the Tub and all the wonderful things he did for us.
3) Recruiting too many kids too early is not fun.
4) Discussion of previous administration will not be tolerated.
I love what the site offers, but I feel like I am beginning to read a constant Mark Story article.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:22 am
Instead of worrying about not having recruiting news for the website, how about focusing on the stats of the players we got coming? I would love to see Zollo, Ferguson, Miller, Euton, Avery stats on here for the next few years. That would be fine with me.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:26 am
54 - (#4)If you want to discuss unrelated things like Tubby, there are plenty of message boards. The comments section should relate to the post. I don’t think thats too much to ask.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Could it be a little built in job security as part of the logic for Gillispie? Get top commits four to five years out that depend on you being there. Sounds pretty smart to me.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:29 am
54) While I do agree with you, I must say that I understand why they have taken some action. If people can not self police themselves, then they must be policed. But the way it was done does nothing but drive a wedge even further between the “two sides”. Having said that, the site has lost some of the “fun” feel to it in the articles and seems to have a more negative feel. The guys may need to take a look in the mirror..
May 6th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Bringing up an old subject but could one of these 2011 or 2012 kids ask if Gillispie would go ahead and sign a contract?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:32 am
59) No Recruits can not sign until their Sr year if I remember correctly.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:33 am
60) i was referring to Gillispie signing a contract
May 6th, 2008 at 9:36 am
61) Sorry for the misunderstnading.. Signing a contract doesn’t mean much anyomore, obviously. On the other side, Huggins just signed an 11 year deal. I would say that contract isn’t worth the paper its written on..
May 6th, 2008 at 9:43 am
56 While on the surface I agree with your comment, when discussing the current state of the UK basketball program (which is the over-riding topic of this site I think anyone can admit) then you can’t help but discuss the coach who brought in most of the players. It is the “800 pound gorilla in the room”. Another year or two from now then Tubby will be irrelevant, but right now he is relevant to the current state of the program. Any attempt to say otherwise is simply being “politically correct”.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:44 am
#54 and others, we should be able to defend our criticism of tubby when Matt links articles that basically call UK fans who thought Tubby wasn’t the right fit, “racist”. It’s hilarious the double standard.
Here’s the ironic thing. Some posts DEMAND political correctness (tubby). But others are so DUMB it isn’t even funny. Ranging from making fun of deformed babies, to making fun of tim teebo for doing charity work.
Regardless, this site is GREAT. There are times, as with anything, that it struggles. Jones is worried about what BCG is doing. THe bad, late, and lazy recruiting made for a great blog because we were always scrambling and we always had weird random names. There was a lot of “scoop” to be had.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:44 am
2 things I take from this. If BG keeps recruiting like this it won’t be any fun for Matt and it will lessen this mediums importance. Sounds like a selfish attitude. Thanks goodness Billy is about rebuilding our roster and winning a championship. Great job by Billy and not so great by Matt.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:51 am
64) I don’t want to go back to this topic but I completely agree with you on the deformed baby topic. I feel anyone and everyone are open to be made fun of as long as not in a cruel and demeaning way. Tebow is the Superstar player of one of our biggest rivals who has the image of a Saint. That is definite grounds to be made fun of in mopinon. THis site FREEly admits to doing things in a ridiculous manner. As long as you are not being cruel or demeaning ANYTHING is a topic to make fun of.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:52 am
^^my opinion—that’s my only complaint of this website that needs to be fixed! you can’t read what you are typing at the end of the page!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:54 am
64, give it up with the baby and how offended you are by some of the posts. stop being a pu$$y and poting that on every thread….seriously, just go kill yourself. the site will be better for it.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Bah humbug
May 6th, 2008 at 10:01 am
If we keep landing all of these recruits we are going to end up with a good basketball team that will contend for national championships. If landing recruits is taking the fun out of it, just think how awful a championship would feel….
May 6th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I like what Billy G is doing. I have no complaints. There is one thing though. Im pretty sure Spud Webb was as tall as he was ever gonna be in like 7th grade. I played youth league football with a monster who was about 5′11, or 6′0. He only played like 6 games and he hurt 8 QBs. He went to Trinity, I heard he played at UL one year, then quit. I saw him out 5 or 6 years later, or aftewr middle school and he was still 5′11, or 6′0. Dude was also dunking in the 8th grade. Also I think Morris who plays UK football was the same way. H e used to be a beast on the court. Not trying to discourage, but maybe the 8th grader stays 6′4.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:14 am
6′4″ is probably tall enough to play basketball. If he were 5′7″ like Spud I would be concerned.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Which is more fun - watching kids develop and having their decision come down to UK and another school and having them pick the other school or locking kids up early and watching them develop knowing that they will be playing at UK someday? I know for me which is more fun and more interesting. I don’t want to have to keep up with 20 or 30 potential recruits. I want to only follow the 3 or 4 from each class that I know will be at UK.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I can’t help but to wonder if this strategy will not only put UK back at the peak of the
basketball world, but set it apart from other programs for good. When I think about this
recruiting strategy, I see he is locking up most available scholarships in advance. This in
turn will create a waiting list for those who want to play at UK. If that is the case, then
the interested prospects better jump on board early, or miss the UK Express. If this is part
of the rationale, I am not sure it would work, but it is a breath of fresh air and makes for
exciting news. If nothing else, Kentucky is being talked about a great deal these days.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I am really against taking commitments from guys for so far in the future. With a limited number of scholarships available, you are putting yourself in a situation where you may not get a stud because you have no room left or you have to renege on an offer you already gave to somebody. Both scenarios are not good. There is way too much room for error here. It is equivalent to the NBA drafting based on potential instead of talent. Count me in the not a fan column.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Jody Demling suggested that Jon Hood might be the “mystery” recruit that is being discussed on internet forums.
I have not heard of a mystery recruit, but Jon Hood would be HUGE.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Number 15 is too funny!!! Thanks for making my day!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:39 am
76) I would love to have Hood but some of the big centers in 2009 look really good and have UK on their list that I would love to have as well. I don’t know how much space for 2009 recruits. I guess it depends on Jasper, Williams, Carter and the sad possibility of Patterson leaving after his sophomore year.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:40 am
73.) The first is way more fun up until the point that they pick the other school, but that is part of the process, and has been forever. Now what is more exciting locking a five star player up as a senior over the likes of NC, Duke, UCLA, UL, or watching a recruit that we have been waiting on for 4 years back out of his recruitment as a senior to go to the likes of NC, Duke, UCLA, or UL.
My only beef with the whole thing is that what if this 8th grader blows his knee out his senior year of high school, noone else has recruited him for the last 5 years, and he has nothing to fall back on? Better yet what if he gets seriously injured this summer, and UK is forced to retract the offer, how does a 12 year old kid handle that??
May 6th, 2008 at 10:43 am
79, Very good point. I just wonder if the kid is that phenomenal, would other schools pass for five years, provided the kid has only verbally committed and not signed?
May 6th, 2008 at 10:52 am
78 - which centers are you referring to..? I know Scouts is wrong in saying that Redardo Sidney has us as a “high” - his comments suggest that he is not considering UK anymore. Cousins if off to UAB. Dan Orton maybe?
May 6th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Exactly its a double negative, what if kentucky has a 10 loss season in 2011, and UCLA DUKE UNC and UL are in the final four. What would keep this kid from backing out. Atleast when you get a senior or junior, you know what you get. What if the kid gets a serious girlfriend??
May 6th, 2008 at 11:15 am
82, Serious girlfriends can mean the end of a basketball player…been there, done that.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:27 am
If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts we’d all have a Merry Christmas.
It plays out like it plays out. We’ll deal with it and move on… we have quite the stable of young recruits locked up now. You can’t predict the future so there’s no use arguing about it.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:33 am
We gave Tubby hell (well deserved) for waiting until the last minute to start recruiting. Now, you are giving BCG hell for getting a tremendous headstart. At least give teh guy a chance and see how some of these pan out. We gave tubby 10 years! These negative posters must be women, because it is a proven fact that you cannot please a woman no matter what.
Furthermore, it is not just BCG. A lot of coaches are beginning to do this. Ohio St. has been committing Fr.’s and So.’s for the last 4 or 5 years. seems to be working out for them so far. We have been getting our asses handed to us on the recruiting trail, not only by the perennial’s, but now UL, Memphis, UF, LSU, and numerous others. God Bless BCG for not taking this lying down or bending over, and having the BRASS to go out and do something about it.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:34 am
This coach has been exciting, seems like a full time labor of love for him since he signed(?) with the CATS!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Who cares if the offseason is not as exciting for Matt anymore. I just want to win again. PERIOD! I usually like what you have to say Matt, but I believe you are wrong on this one.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
yall understand how bad indiana is gunna be next yr?
May 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
How many top 50 players committed and stayed committed to their respective schools from this year’s class???
May 6th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
^ as freshmen in high school
May 6th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
89) Its much easier to recruit someone that has already committed, wouldn’t ya think? If a guy de-committs, there is usually a good reason for it. Other times I think coaches make the mistake of not continuing to recruit guys after they think they are locked up. I don’t think this coach will do that.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
91.) I agree most of the time it has to do with coaching changes, but what about kids like hopson who sign with a college, start getting more pub. and go somewhere that is hot?? Also I can not fully understand what you are trying to say, my question was how many kids in the top 50-100 players in the nation committed as freshmen in high school to a college, and ended up signing as seniors??
May 6th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
92) I thought your question was retorical.. LOL I don’t have an answer for you on your question…
Some kids (Hopson) get more attention and decide they can get a better offer. Kind a hard to get a better offer than UK. And it looks like it may be darned near impossible if the studs keep committing. To be honest I think UT is a much better situation for Hopson than either Miss St or UK. It may happen to a few of these recruits. But I also can’t see living in the “if” world. “If” it does, you hope you have enough talent on your team to buffer until you can fill in.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Matt,
Do you think Gillispie will settle for one two or even three guys in the 2010 class and 2011 class? Hell no. There will always be last minute additions. Hopefully it will never be again what it was this year. Trying to add two to three guys in the spring. THis method of recruiting works alot better if your worried about building a solid squad year after year. IT won’t hurt this site in the least. Now we will be able to follow the commitments on this site. After every one of their games you can give us stats and insight along with videos.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
damn, tough crowd.
they do have a point. smith couldn’t recruit enough…now BG recruits too much too soon.
Personally, I don’t need surprise recruiting sagas from hell….
I’d rather know who is coming and I’d rather coach have the time to develop a plan of action on how to incorporate those players into his system.
Winning Championships is what should fuel BG. Recruiting is a tool to get there. It’s a means to an end, not the end itself.
May 6th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
[...] sure the lack of a surprise element each Spring is going to hurt some of the recruiting blogs. So I can see their concern. Slower site. Fewer hits. That’s gonna hurt the bottom line. But [...]
May 6th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Would you rather see BCG ink the young guys who will potentially be very special or waste scholarships on project players at the last minute tha. I know where I would play my cards. Yeah some of these young guys may not pan out, but the special ones will far outweigh any developed project players. Besides, BCG can always hold on to a scholly or two that he can use on those late bloomers that seem to be must haves. This coach is going to be a great fit for UK and get us back to the talent level everybody wants to be at.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
It will continue to be fun in the future. Billy G is building up a pipeline that didnt exist before and we have some heavily wieghted classes. I think things will be even more exciting after the 2010 class because we will have more rides to give out and more guys considering a jump to the pros.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
I’m pretty sure that #68 CHad Burton is the old Les Miles. Les Miles must have had to change his name to Chad after an episode on this site when he told another person to kill themselves. We all know its you LES MILES.