Entries from July 2009 ↓

Congratulations are in order for former Kentucky big man Lukasz Obrzut. He got married on Saturday to his college sweetheart, Nikkie Belcher.

Obrzut, who finished his college career in the 2006-07 season, met Belcher during his junior year at UK. They maintained a relationship as he played pro basketball in his native Poland and she went to law school.

The marriage was performed in Lexington by Judge Kim Bunnell.

“We fell in love,” Obrzut said of the decision to get married. “We just decided to do it. Nothing big. We went to court. We planned the whole thing is about 18 hours. No friends or family involved. We just wanted to do it on our own. We love each other.”

Obrzut, who left his home at age 15 to pursue a career in basketball, said he looked forward to settling down. He and his bride hope to move to Lexington by September.

“I’m just hungry to find a home,” he said. “I feel Lexington, for me, is my destination. It will be nice, for a change, to be around people you know.”

A top-25 point guard prospect, Doron Lamb, visited Kentucky two weeks ago. Lamb, who plays for the high school powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, liked what he saw and considers Kentucky among his college choices.

That might be considered news given UK will have two highly regarded freshman point guards next season in John Wall and Eric Bledsoe.

“I think John Wall is one-and-done,” meaning he’d play only one season for Kentucky before turning pro, Lamb said at the Nike-sponsored King City Classic on Thursday. “Eric Bledsoe, he’d be there if I go there. He and I will be a good backcourt.”

Lamb, whose first name is pronounced Dah-ron, listed his schools as Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Connecticut and Southern Cal.

When he visited UK, Lamb was escorted by Wall and another freshman, DeMarcus Cousins.

Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers and a high school junior-to-be who has committed to Florida, led his team to the King City Classic championship Thursday in Cleveland.

Rivers played point guard for “Memphis,” which beat “Connecticut” 95-77 in the championship game. This Nike-sponsored camp drew 80 players and more than 100 college coaches.

Rivers will be a junior this coming school year at Winter Park (Fla.) High School. He fits the Florida mold of highly skilled player who lacks an imposing physical style.

Other players on the “Memphis” team included at least two Kentucky recruiting targets: 6-8 forwards C.J. Leslie (a high school teammate of UK incoming freshman John Wall) and Johnny O’Bryant of Cleveland, Tenn.

The “Connecticut” team had at least three players who mentioned UK on their lists: Adreian Payne of Dayton, Ohio, Quincy Miller of Winston-Salem, N.C., and Cameron Clark of Sherman, Texas.

Harrison Barnes, widely considered the best prospect in the high school class of 2010, supposedly had concerns about Kentucky disposing of players in the wake of a coaching change.
Now, Barnes’ concern might be how his thoughts can be misunderstood.
After finishing play in the King City Classic on Thursday in Cleveland, Barnes said his concerns had been exaggerated at best, wrongly perceived at worst.
He’s still interested in UK. And vice versa.
“A little media situation,” Barnes said of reaction to his concerns. “My words got misinterpreted. I cleared that up with Coach (John) Calipari. Kentucky’s still interested.”
Barnes, a 6-foot-6 wing from Ames, Iowa, is one of the more celebrated seniors to be. He led Ames High to an Iowa 4A state championship and 27-0 record last season. He’s been a highly rated prospect for several years and carries himself on the court with a regal, erect bearing that could remind fans of a certain age of Dale Ellis at Tennessee in the early 1980s.
So when he wondered aloud about Kentucky shedding players after the coaching change from Billy Gillispie to Calipari, recruiting observers noticed.
Barnes noted the “good relationship” he had with Gillispie and the former UK coaching staff. “They took the time to develop the relationship,” he said.
When at Memphis, Calipari showed modest interest. “A little bit,” Barnes said. “Not much.”
The coaching change left Barnes in limbo.
“I didn’t know where I stood with them,” he said of the new UK coaches.
Calipari cleared up any confusion with a phone call within the first week on the job.
“When I talked to Coach Calipari, he let me know he had a lot of interest,” Barnes said.
Barnes, whose mother is a secretary in the school of music at Iowa State University, will have plenty of options to consider. It’s a who’s who of college basketball. He said his list of schools includes Duke, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Stanford, UCLA, “Kentucky, obviously,” Minnesota, Florida and Iowa State.
Minnesota stands out in the group. Tubby Smith, the former UK coach, is the reason Barnes is considering the Golden Gophers.
“I think Coach Smith, who came from Kentucky, has been very successful,” Barnes said. “I’m interested to see whether he has success at Minnesota.”
Barnes has not rested on his long history of laurels. He said he’s trying to expand his game, wanting to become more than a spot-up jump shooter.
Time will tell if Barnes someday plies his versatile skills for Kentucky.

Kyrie Irving, a teammate of Michael Gilchrist at New Jersey powerhouse St. Patrick’s High School, downplayed the possibility that the pair could be a recruiting package deal.

He and Gilchrist have talked about forming such a tandem, said Irving, who is a year older, four inches shorter and 44 pounds lighter. “Nothing serious,” he said.

St. Patrick’s Coach Kevin Boyle also pooh-poohed such a possibility.

People jump — with Jordan-esque elevation — to conclusions when mega prospect Michael Gilchrist refers to his “Uncle Wes.”
That is the same William Wesley, whose has gained a reputation as a influential personality in college basketball recruiting. He’s been associated with several top prospects, including a trio of stars who played for John Calipari at Memphis: Dajuan Wagner, Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans.
So ties to Uncle Wes led to a widespread belief that Gilchrist’s commitment to Kentucky, Calipari’s new school, is a done deal (recruiting parlance for a fait accompli).
Except Gilchrist, the No. 1 rated junior to be in the country and arguably the best player in any high school class, says it’s not true.
“I’m not a done deal for Kentucky,” he said after playing in the Nike-sponsored King City Classic on Wednesday. “I’m still open to all my options, so I’m not a done deal.”
Wesley was in attendance. The player’s mother, Cynthia Richardson, acknowledged a fondness for Wesley that dates back to growing up across the street from each other in Camden, N.J.
“Friends for life,” she said. “He’s a brother.”
She meant that figuratively, not literally. And Richardson balked at the idea of Wesley being her son’s basketball Svengali.
“Michael has a mother and a father that make decisions for their son,” she said. “That’s it.
“Uncle Wes doesn’t make decisions for the family. I have a strong husband.”
Gilchrist mentioned several schools he’s willing to consider: Villanova, LSU, Memphis, Syracuse, Indiana. “Who else?” he thought aloud. North Carolina. North Carolina State. “Many,” he said.
His coach at St. Patrick’s High in New Jersey, Kevin Boyle, vouched for the Gilchrist being opened to options. For instance, Gilchrist will play on a summer team with the sons of Villanova Coach Jay Wright. Plus, Villanova is close to home.
Georgetown and Florida have shown interest in Gilchrist, a multi-skilled 6-foot-6 wing whose tireless zeal wows evaluators.
“I work harder than anybody, to tell you the truth,” Gilchrist said in explaining the effort he expends. “. . . I work my ass off. I just want to make it. I can’t be lazy.”
Gilchrist has been on the recruiting radar since he committed to play for St. Patrick’s, a New Jersey powerhouse, at age 13. At the same time, he said he wanted to play for Calipari at Memphis.
It’s a comment he clearly regrets. And it makes him reticent in interview sessions.
“I’m only 15,” he said. “I don’t get into all the hype. I just want to be a kid.”
The hype “gets on my nerves sometimes,” he said before adding, “I can’t do anything about it.”
Gilchrist made one admission. He likes to draw. “I’m an artist, really,” he said. But follow-up questions produced little elaboration.
Boyle saluted Uncle Wes for the influence he wields.
“He’s been very supportive of the team (and) the coach,” the St. Patrick’s coach said. “Some guys want to give you advice by telling you how good you are and the coach is wrong.
“He’s great for Michael. If there’s any complaint, (Williams’ advice is) work harder and do what he coach says.”
Gilchrist played well here on Wednesday. In one memorable sequence, he fell awkwardly to the floor holding a knee. A hush came over Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center.
After getting up, Gilchrist took an inbounds pass and zipped a one-hand dunk through the hoop.
One of his St. Patrick’s teammates, senior to be Kyrie Irving, is playing with Gilchrist at this camp. Irving said that Gilchrist tries to ignore the hype.
“He wants to be a normal kid,” Irving said. “If you lose your sense of being a kid, it turns into a business. Once it’s a business, it’s not fun anymore.”

Marquis Teague, a highly-rated point guard and brother of former Wake Forest star Jeff Teague, sounded close to announcing Louisville as his college choice.

“I kind of know where I want to go,” he told reporters at the Cleveland-based King City Classic on Wednesday.

After listening to Teague speak about Louisville (the first school he mentioned on his list of five schools), U of L seems like a good guess.

“I love the whole university,” he said. “. . . It’s a great school.”

Teague also likes U of L Coach Rick Pitino, who coincidentally coached the player’s father, Shawn Teague, at Boston University.

“Coach Pitino is going to make you play hard,” Teague said. “He won’t let you slack off and waste his time.”

Teague downplayed the significance of his father playing for Pitino.

“That was at Boston,” he said. “My dad says Coach Pitino has changed a lot. He was trying to make it (in the early 1980s). The practices were terrible. My dad says there were drills then that Coach Pitino doesn’t do now.”

For instance, Teague noted a drill in which players held a brick in each hand while doing defensive slides.

Besides Louisville, Teague mentioned Indiana, Wake Forest, Ohio State and Purdue as his final five schools. A junior to be from Indianapolis, he said he’d like to visit Kentucky if UK offers a scholarship.

In its summer ratings, The Prep Stars recruiting service tabbed Teague as the fourth best player in the high school class of 2011.

“I try not to pay attention to the rankings,” he said. “You can lose that in one day. It means you have to bring it every day. Somebody’s coming for your spot.”

His older brother’s example serves to remind Teague not to take the rankings too seriously. At a similar stage, Jeff Teague was not a top 50 player. He became a star at Wake Forest and a first-round draft pick.

“He never really worried about the rankings,” Teague said of his brother. “He just wanted to compete.”

That competitive spirit extended to games pitting brother against brother.

“I don’t get anything easy,” Teague said of those matchups. “He bullies me.”

The older brother isn’t entirely merciless. He’s advised Teague on how to improve his perimeter shooting, an aspect of the player’s game that needs work.

“It’s average,” Teague said of his shooting ability. “It’s getting better. I”m so used to getting to the hoop so easy, I never had to shoot.”

Now, his older brother is reminding him of the importance of shot preparation.

“Getting your feet ready,” he said. “If you’re not ready, you’re not going to get that off in college.”

Kentucky Coach John Calipari is attending the recruiting camps in Cincinnati and Cleveland this week.

Play in Cleveland for the King City Classic began on Wednesday. Calipari was among the coaches spotted in the stands of CSU’s Wolstein Center. During the morning session, Cleveland Cavalier star LeBron James was seen leaving his seat on the court to sit with Calipari for about 30 minutes.

Calipari also used his Twitter to say he also met with Nike officials in Cleveland. They talked about possible new uniforms for Kentucky next season, Calipari tweeted.

Top 30 wing players in the next two high school classes expressed interest in Kentucky after playing games in the King City Classic in Cleveland.

The wings were senior to be Cameron Clark (ranked No. 26 by the Prep Stars recruiting service). Junior to be Adonis Thomas (No. 23 in the class of 2011) also mentioned UK as did Quincy Miller (who was not on Prep Stars’ summer listing of the top 25 players in the class of 2011).

Clark, a 6-foot-6 player from Sherman, Texas, said that UK had offered a scholarship. He’s also received interest from Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas.

His versatility interests the schools, Clark said. “I can put it on the floor, dribble it, pass it, rebound. Basically, everything.”

Thomas a junior to be from Memphis, said he’s also considering Memphis, Miami, Florida State and Florida.

Miller, a 6-8 player from Winston-Salem, N.C., listed a number of schools including Louisville, Duke, North Carolina and Memphis.

Miller noted how he likes the uptempo way Kentucky and Louisville play.

Former Georgia Coach Jim Harrick was spotted at the adidas-sponsored It Takes 5ive basketball camp on Tuesday.

Jim Harrick? A messy firing at Georgia in the wake of embarrassing charges of rule violations marred a successful coaching career capped by a national championship at UCLA. To see him at this camp was startling.

Harrick is serving as an assistant coach for the Pump N Run Elite, a summer team based in his home area of southern California. Harrick said he was helping coach the team as a favor to Pump N Run officials who are long-time fixtures in recruiting circles.

Since leaving Georgia, Harrick has scouted for pro teams and coached in the NBA’s developmental league. Now he’s content to play with his nine grandchildren, he said.