Kentucky favored for Daniel Orton

The father of highly regarded big man prospect Daniel Orton said on Wednesday that Kentucky was the favorite in the recruiting race for his son.

“I would kind of say that,” Larry Orton said.

When asked why Kentucky was the favorite, the elder Orton had a one-word response. “Basketball,” he said.

Orton, the son, plans to visit basketball country at an optimal time. He has set up an official campus visit for Oct. 9-11, the weekend Kentucky will stage its Big Blue Madness celebration.

Orton, the son, is a 6-foot-10, 256-pound center/forward. He said that Kentucky was among his top three schools. The other two are Kansas and Ohio State, he said.

Orton, who lives in Oklahoma City, Okla., also mentions Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas.

Interestingly, the elder Orton said he called former UK Coach Tubby Smith about a month ago to get an opinion of Kentucky’s program. Smith vouched for UK, the fans and his successor as coach, Billy Gillispie.

“He was telling me they really, really love the players,” said Larry Orton, who originally got acquainted with Smith when Smith coached at Tulsa. ” . . . And he really liked Billy Gillispie.”

Smith told Larry Orton that Gillispie “was a very good coach, a very good up-and-coming coach,” Larry Orton said.

Larry Orton took Smith at his word. “I thought he told me the truth,” the elder Orton said before adding, “I kind of can tell.”