Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
The most important four day period in summer recruiting is now over as (what used to be called) the Nike, Adidas and Reebok Camps are over. While there hasnt been a ton of new information flowing from these camps this time around and there is no hot recruit that is being linked with UK that we didnt know about before, these camps (and the AAU season before it) have provided us with some insight into the UK recruit commitments and the guys linked to the schools. So as sort of a mid-summer refresher, here is what we have learned about the guys UK is associated with:
2009 Class:
Jon Hood: The last month has done nothing but solidify Jon Hood’s status as a premiere recruit that will be a very solid player for UK during his four year career. Hood has played well at every opportunity and has allowed the national scouts to see what local folks and college coaches have noticed for sometime. Even though he may not look like a player and at times can seem awkward, he can score on anyone and has a very solid, well-rounded game. Hood has entered himself into the conversation for national all-star games and is a solid Top 50 recruit by every service. A great summer for Jon so far.
GJ Vilarino: It has continued to be a tough run for GJ this summer. He has basically blended into the woodwork during most of his action and whispers continue to increase that his status with UK might change in the coming months. He is actively being recruited over by UK, which is never a good sign, and his performance has made him listed somewhere between 200-300 by most services. It has been a tough summer for GJ and it is unclear what is ahead.
Daniel Orton: Orton has continued to convince anyone that watches that he is the real deal. He will be a star on the college level and has the potential to make the NBA leap after one year. He is a top 10 player who looks, by every indicator that we have, to be a Kentucky lean. The first big “must have” of the Gillispie era, Orton is the recruit that will have UK fans’ eyes over the next few months.
John Wall: Still showing himself to be one of the three best players in the class. An all-world point guard that will only see college for one year. He continues to dominate the camps and showcases that he is the best there is in this class at the PG position. Oklahoma State, Memphis and Kentucky are likely the three for him….but the kid is so good that you never know what might happen in the end.
Jacob Jenkins: The Manual player is the true winner out of the camp circuit. Has gone from an afterthought by everyone to a guy who will get major Div I offers, just like that. Louisville has supposedly made it clear they will offer him by the end of the summer and his suitors are lining up. At one time it looked like the kid would be an early commit to Tubby….and then he hit a slump. Now UK must decide whether to begin recruiting him again….tough call….one doesnt want to think about what happens if an in-state kid who grew up a huge UK fan, goes to Louisville and gets good.
2010 Class:
Dominique Ferguson: Write it down….the next true star at UK. Supremely talented at every skill on the basketball floor and he will only get better. No one who sees Ferguson play (not named Tipton) comes away with anything but “A” grades. The only question to be determined is whether he is good enough to be a one and doner….the early money is on “yes.”
KC Ross-Miller: Like GJ Vilarino, it has been a tough go for Miller. KC has simply not improved at the rate of his fellow classmates and it is showing on the court. While he likely shows more upside than Vilarino, he still has a lot of work to do. He finds himself outside of the rankings and continues to mystify as to why we havent seen more from him. I think it is safe to say that between GJ and KC, it is likely at least one wont end up at UK. As to who that is, who knows.
Dakotah Euton: Another tough summer. Dakotah simply doesnt look good enough to play at Kentucky when he is on the court. I like Dakotah as a kid and he still has time to develop. But if you ask any talent scout not affiliated with UK if Dakotah is a UK player, they will not say yes. His move to Scott County is a good one….if he gets to play. This is a huge year for Dakotah….not time by far to give up on him, but seeing him at UK becomes harder and harder.
Harrison Barnes: The breakout star of the AAU and Camp season. This kid will find himself as a Top 10 player coming out of Ames, Iowa and Kentucky will find itself as the kid’s co-leader along with hometown Iowa State. He will be in Kentucky this week for an AAU tournament and we will speak to him at that time. Barnes to Kentucky could set up the 2009 class to be epic. Watch out for him.
There are other stories, but these are the ones most closely related to UK. With Pilgrim, Hood and Vilarino currently using up 3 of the 4 rides UK has this year, I expect the Cats to hold off on offers until they (a) see what happens with Liggins (b) decide on GJ (c) find out about Orton/Wall. After those steps, we may see more names.
More throughout the day….another media person and a look at the Eddie Ford Tourney kicking off in Louisville…..and hopefully more Daniel Solzman gold…..
[powered by WordPress.]
Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
28 queries. 0.755 seconds
July 9th, 2008 at 12:14 am
I have absolutely loved the free camp updates.
Jody, Matt, the guys at TCP, WT, Scout, have been great.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:16 am
by camp i mean…
July 9th, 2008 at 12:22 am
drop gj and get orton wall if we can i thnk liggins will qualify
July 9th, 2008 at 12:28 am
If anyone was in Cincy for the It Takes 5, who was #1 on the Detroit 17 yr. old team? Scored at will, whenever.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Brandon Jennings is going overseas. I love it. Just because he is dumb and can’t pass high school.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:32 am
GJ Vilarino will be at UK!
He is a point guard, one who does not have to impress the coaches because he has already knows where he will play college ball.
Remember guys like A. Epps, a good college PG is a good leader, not a stat builder.
Now, with that said, it would not surprise me to see him do one year of prep school between high school and college. Think about it, OJ Mayo was a 20 year old freshmen, taking an extra year to grow and mature before going to college is a wise move for your average player.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:49 am
Too bad about Euton, being from the ashland area and all, and super too bad about Ross-miller. I thought that kid looked like a stud in the making. Thankfully they both have an ETERNITY to turn things around.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:51 am
So will UK have a top 25 team this year MATT? Or anyone been gone a year…..Whats up with this gut Pilgrim? Is UK going to be good?
July 9th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Sorry Ive been gone a year. and this guy Pilgrim?
July 9th, 2008 at 12:55 am
pilgrims the real deal i seen him play at the uk camp…………… and 5 jennings aint playin at arizona?
July 9th, 2008 at 1:03 am
A class of hood orton and wall would rival the 04 class of morris crawford and rondo. I have heard that it is only a matter of time until orton comes public about choosing UK but I dont know how well I trust the source. The 2010 class is going to make or break it for bill g. I think euton will be ok because of his ability to shoot but we need a big class to get back to greatness.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:12 am
09 will be that class 10 will just add on so id say the 11 or 12 season would be the make or break yr for clyde not 10
July 9th, 2008 at 1:12 am
so far the early commitments for Billy don’t seem like they are panning out. Of course, I guess we can wait until they actually play college basketball to make a final decision.
I can’t help but feel the early commitments were part of a bigger strategy to generate buzz around the program.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:16 am
13. except ferguson
July 9th, 2008 at 1:33 am
i think barnes is 2010
July 9th, 2008 at 7:21 am
“The first big “must have” of the Gillispie era”…did you forget about once hearalded recruit named Patrick Patterson. Seems to me, he was the “The first big ‘must have’ of the Gillispie era.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:55 am
16, I thought the same thing. If we didn’t have Patterson last year, we would have had a losing record, IMO.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:03 am
I thought I read from a credible source over at Catspause that Liggins is qualified, on campus, and ready to go. Is that not true?
July 9th, 2008 at 8:12 am
I dont know if this has been posted yet, but a great interview with Joe……./lakers/news/080708joecrawfordsummerleague.html
July 9th, 2008 at 8:16 am
I hope BCG learns from this Vilarino/Ross-Miller/Euton thing and stops offering unproven kids so far in advance. Hopefully Zollo and Avery will turn out to be stars but I’m not counting on it based on what I’ve seen from Vinny.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Per Jodie Demling, Noel Johnson is down to 3 schools. They are
USC, UofL and G-Tech. I wonder if we backed off or he just isn’t
interested in UK?
July 9th, 2008 at 8:38 am
FWIW, not everyone has been unimpressed by GJ. Michigan State writer Jim Comparoni had this to say about him:
“* In watching Wilson’s team, I’ve been very impressed with their point guard, GJ Vilarino. The Texan is quick and efficient with the dribble, and makes good passes while playing at a high rate of speed. He committed to Kentucky in April of ‘07, and isn’t ranked by Rivals.com. Kentucky got a good one. He was being heavily recruited by Texas A&M when Billy Gillespie left College Station for Lexington.”
http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=824841
July 9th, 2008 at 9:01 am
How about some updates on Hunter McClintock? What happened to the hype?
July 9th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Patrick Patterson was the 1st “must Have” of the Gillispie era.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:26 am
It’s no secret thatMatt gives credit to Tubby for getting Patrick Patterson to UK. That’s why he says this is ‘the first big “must have” of the Gillispie era.’ He counts Patterson as the Tubby era.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:27 am
From the LHL this morning straight out of Orton’s mouth!
“Orton acknowledged not even considering Kentucky until becoming aware that Glynn Cyprien was an assistant coach. Cyprien coached Orton’s older brother, Terrence Crawford, at Oklahoma State. (By the way, when he was an assistant at Tulsa, UK Coach Billy Gillispie recruited Crawford unsuccessfully for that school.)
“I really was not thinking of Kentucky that much,” Orton said. “I had forgotten about Coach ‘Cyp.’ That really brought them onto my list.”
Orton plans to take the allotted five recruiting visits. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, he seemed to suggest that ultimately he would be UK-bound.
After noting that his brother told him to expect a “love-hate relationship” with Cyprien (tough love from the coach, which the player belatedly appreciates), Orton mentioned how demanding Kentucky fans can be.
“People say the fans are crazy on me now,” he said of the attention that comes with the recruiting process. “As soon as I get there and play bad, they’ll be harsh on me. I figure I need that.””
Sounds pretty good to me. Hoping Coach BCG can land this one soon! Please do not bash me for reading Tipton’s article!
July 9th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Good find #22
July 9th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Please sweet lord let CBC and GJ part ways ASAP. That works out to let GJ get recruited to other schools and frees UK up.
I am kinda shocked about KC with his stats. Sounds like he needs to transfer to a Oak Hill or some sort to play better competition.
Euton is from my area. I truely believe the boy is flat-footed. Worst running style I have ever seen. A possible spot up shooter but he has to play defense against someone.
CBC needs to cut ties if he has to and do it quickly.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:53 am
HUNTER MCCLINTOCK…WHAT HAPPENED???
July 9th, 2008 at 9:55 am
From Rivals:
Power guard Terrence Boyd, who had a solid camp, stated that Kentucky is a definite leader in his recruitment at this point.
http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=825226
(at the bottom of the article)
#32 - it’s not MJ vs BCG. Players change. MJ is reflecting on his current observation. I follow this site closely and MJ’s opinions are usually on the money.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:05 am
37. Did you read 34’s link? I’ll take Jerry Meyer and Boyd himselves word over yours. And it’s dated July 9, so yes it’s recent.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:13 am
39. I take it you talked to Boyd since the Rivals article came out?
July 9th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Well if that’s the case, go start your own blog.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:16 am
42) I talked to Boyd at the Take5 Sunday in Cincy. He said that UK was A leader but that Kansas State was THE leader at the moment. I also chatted briefly with his AAU coach who said he had a lot of work to do in the class room.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:17 am
#29 - Wall is still a possibility for UK, but Memphis has shown in the past they will whore out to the AAU coaches to
get a player. That most likely will be the difference in who gets this kid. The Clifton brothers know this is their meal ticket.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:21 am
47. No offense, but I imagine you being a “one-upper” kinda guy.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:29 am
I have seen all of these players play multiple times….but I think we are better off if our SEC friend just finds his own blog as his only posts here are blasting me. This is not an “open” forum. It is a place for the respectful exchange of ideas…you coming on here and simply saying that everything I say about a player is wrong and that I have no idea what I am talking about isnt that exchange. I am sure there are other sites where you can do that.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:31 am
I agree. It is extremely rude to come on someone else’s website insult the people making comments as well as the host of the website. Sounds like he stalks high school boys too.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:34 am
what a joke
July 9th, 2008 at 10:42 am
39-that’s what she said.
July 9th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Can you put up that post about “nerd fighting”?
July 9th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I wouldn’t be the least bit disappointed if Euton didn’t make it to UK. He’s had stiff written all over him from the first time I saw him play, and he hasn’t changed my mind, I was more optimistic about Cote. GJ and KC are going to be here no matter what IMO.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Matt - when have you seen KC Miller play? How did he look? Was it good competition? What is yoru take on him? In all honesty, you have not given your take on him, only your take on what others have said.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Jacob Jenkins committing early to Tubby LOL!!
Yea right….
July 9th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
#43 Matt has given his take on K.C. many times. Matt thinks that K.C. will be a star at UK no matter what any of the recruiting services say.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I guarantee that G.J./K.C./Dakotah will all be solid four year contributors. No they are not stars but K.C. has the potential to be. They will be solid and do what it takes in practice to work hard enough to make a difference on the court.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
BCG knows what he is doing. I hope we land Wall or Orton because if we don’t and we pass up on Jacod Jenkins we could end up being sorry. Although I am pretty sure that Orton will end up at UK.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I just dont get why people are doubting Euton and Ross on being good players for UK…they are only JUNIORS! They have two more basketball seasons, the rest of this summer, and next summer to prove themselves worthy of playing for UK. I mean, look at Ross’ averages for his sophomore year, he can only get better. And as for GJ, they need to figure something out quick. Is it better to have a 4 year pg, or a one and done. Besides, GJ still has another year as well. I just hope we dont end up missing out on someone huge because of this guy and he turns out to be like Brandon Stockton or something. But I’m just going to trust in Billy Gillispie.
July 9th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
#48 I agree with you on Ross and Euton. I think they will both be excellent four year players. I honestly don’t think Wall will come to UK so we have to put our trust in Vallarino and give him our full support. Some people like him and some people don’t but the kid has to have alot of potential or something for BCG to go after him. I think the kid will end up being tough as nails from all this negative publicity he is getting and will come on campus and be ready to contribute as a freshman. It seems like once players commit they can sometimes be overlooked by the scouting services and I think that could be the case with Ross/Euton/Vallarino.
July 9th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
When I watched Euton play I couldn’t believe that CBC offered him. Maybe Tubby but couldn’t believe CBC did. I do vividly remember E.Ky cat fans kept on and on about him on all the message boards pleading that CBC offer him as soon as he took the job. I watched him not to long after that he blew pretty bad against some decent comp. ya I could see him looking good in somebody’s back yard but he has a very long way to go. that said I hope he reads this and gets mad and proves me wrong. I watched Scotty Hopson play and I thought this guy had the potential to be a jordanesque play. He has all the abilities that you need. Then he gets blasted by all the cat fans that are not from the W. ky area saying he wasn’t any count and all then next thing you know he climbs the charts and is a top 10 player. I wished fans would shut their mouth about a recruit and let the coach decide.