Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

Former Florida point guard Jai Lucas cautioned not to put great importance on his including Kentucky on a list of possible transfer destinations.

“Just me releasing my (transcript) to the schools who called,” he said on Thursday. “Nothing too serious with anybody right now.”

Lucas said he asked Florida officials to release his transcript to Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Stanford, Rice and Maryland as well as UK.

But he emphasized that it’s too early in the process to draw conclusions.

Lucas put Kentucky on the list after UK assistant Glynn Cyprien called to ask about his transfer plans. Cyprien had a relationship with the Lucas family that goes back to being an assistant coach at Oklahoma State when older brother John Lucas played for the Cowboys.

Jai Lucas remains convinced that his best option should be to concentrate on finishing the fall semester, and then seriously weighing his transfer options.

Lucas decided to transfer when Florida opted to make Nick Calathes its point guard.

UK made it official on Wednesday by announcing that Daniel Orton, G.J. Vilarino and Jon Hood had signed with the Cats.

Wednesday marked the first day of a week-long November period in which high school seniors can sign national letters of intent.

Here’s the UK news release:

The University of Kentucky men’s basketball program received three National Letters of Intent from Jon Hood, Daniel Orton and GJ Vilarino, Coach Billy Gillispie announced on Wednesday.

Jon Hood, a senior at Madisonville North Hopkins, is a 6-6 shooting guard. A native of Madisonville, Ky., Hood averaged 21.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks per game as a junior. He shot 52 percent from the field and 41 percent from behind the three-point line. He also tallied three triple doubles last season on his way to first team All-State honors.

Daniel Orton, a senior at Bishop McGuinness High School, hails from Oklahoma City, Okla. The 6-10 center is a three-time class 4A state champion in Oklahoma and was named the 2008 state tournament MVP. Orton averaged 15.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 6.8 blocks and five assists as a junior en route to first team All-State honors.

Point guard GJ Vilarino, from McKinney, Texas, is currently a senior at McKinney High School. A 2008 first team All-State performer and District MVP, Vilarino averaged 20.5 points and 4.63 assists last season while shooting 48 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line.

The early signing period runs from Nov. 12 through Nov. 19.

Former Kentucky Coach Tubby Smith will be one of two coaches appearing on a recruiting show planned by ESPN for Friday. The other coach is Jay Wright of Villanova.

Smith’s appearance might raise the eyebrows of some UK fans who questioned his recruiting efforts for the Cats. Smith is now coach at Minnesota.

Here’s the ESPN news release on the show:

The ESPNU College Basketball Signing Day Special will be televised Friday, Nov. 14, from 4 - 6 p.m. ET during college basketball’s early signing day period, which begins today (Wednesday, Nov. 12).  The program will showcase several men’s college basketball coaches and top basketball recruits from the ESPNU 100 player rankings.  ESPNU anchor Lowell Galindo will be joined in studio by ESPN Scouts Inc. basketball recruiting analyst Paul Biancardi, who will provide in-depth analysis of top recruits and recruiting classes from around the country.  Special guest players will include No. 1 Xavier Henry, SG (Putnam City H.S., Oklahoma City, Okla.), No. 3 John Henson, PF (Sickles H.S., Tampa Fla.), No. 14 Abdul Gaddy, PG (Bellarmine Preparatory School, Tacoma, Wash.) and No. 30 Michael Snaer, SG (Rancho Verde H.S., Moreno Ranch, Calif.), who will announce his college decision between UCLA, Kansas, Missouri, Florida State and Marquette.  Coach Tubby Smith (Minnesota) and coach Jay Wright (Villanova) will also make appearances.

Basketball prospect Russell Byrd committed to Michigan State on Friday, his father said.

Kelly Byrd cited “a gut feeling” and “sense of connection” for his son choosing Michigan State over Kentucky and Michigan.

It also helped that Michigan State is the closest school to Byrd’s home in Fort Wayne, Ind., the player’s father said.

Those factors outweighed getting “blown away” by other aspects of the recruiting process, Kelly Byrd said.

Byrd visited UK during the Big Blue Madness weekend. The player enjoyed his relationship with UK Coach Billy Gillispie, the staff and players, Kelly Byrd said.

Just not quite as much as with Michigan State.

Kelly Byrd noted Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo being “incredibly persistent” and “very personable.”

Basketball prospect Russell Byrd of Fort Wayne, Ind., plans to announce his college choice on Friday, his father said on Monday.

The player visited Michigan State last weekend. Afterward, he felt ready to choose between Kentucky, Michigan State and Michigan.

“He felt he had enough information,” Kelly Byrd said about his son. “He’d seen enough, heard enough. He wanted to take this week to pray and discuss this with his mother and father.”

Byrd, a guard, is a high school junior. His father said the visit to Michigan State, which included Midnight Madness, went well. The Byrds also visited Kentucky for its Big Blue Madness weekend.

When asked about the prayer, Kelly Byrd said, “We’re aware of God’s allegiance to Big Blue Nation.”

Prospect Russell Byrd enjoyed his visit to Kentucky last weekend. But the player plans to visit Michigan State this coming weekend.

“He’s going to keep chewing on stuff,” his father, Kelly Byrd, said. “He’ll go to Michigan State on Friday for their Madness. He may figure things out. He may not.

“Coach (Billy) Gillispie and Coach (Tom) Izzo, all the coaches say the same thing: At some point in time, you’ll just know. He’s just waiting for that point in time.”

Russell Byrd, a junior for Blackhawk Christian school in Fort Wayne, Ind., had visited UK earlier this year. But the latest trip was the best, his father said.

“He spend a lot more time with the guys,” Kelly Byrd said. “He hung out with Daniel (Orton), Jon (Hood) and G.J. (Vilarino) and loved it.”

His son was “absolutely amazed” by Madness and almost apologetic after the public pickup games on Saturday. A fan yelled at him for not wearing blue. Byrd played in a yellow t-shirt and black shorts.

“He felt bad,” Kelly Byrd said. “He almost felt like it was disrespectful. (Russell Byrd said) ‘Dad, I didn’t know. I grabbed the first thing out of the drawer.’ ”

Orton, a top 25 national prospect, committed to UK on Sunday. Hejoined Vilarino and Hood in UK’s class.

I just received a call that strongly suggests that highly-regarded prospect Daniel Orton will commit to Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

The call came from Andy Fisher, an assistant coach at Orton’s high school in Oklahoma City, Okla. Fisher called to say Orton would be making his college choice at a news conference in Lexington Sunday afternoon.

You add it up and the choice must be Kentucky.

Orton is visiting UK this weekend. He was well received by UK fans. He’s making the announcement in Lexington.

If Orton was choosing the other school at the top of his list, Kansas, would he be making the announcement in Lexington?

Orton is considered a top 25 prospect in the high school class of 2009. He gives Kentucky the ability to absorb the loss of Patrick Patterson next spring should Patterson choose to enter the 2009 NBA draft.

Big news for UK basketball.

Kentucky expects 12 prospects to attend its Big Blue Madness Friday night, Coach Billy Gillispie said on Thursday. Of those, three will be making official recruiting visits, with one being top 30 national prospect Daniel Orton of Oklahoma City, Okla.
The objective will not be to show the prospects how well UK plays basketball.
“It will be very, very, very, very bad basketball,” Gillispie told the Lexington Rotary Club. “But it should be a lot of fun.”
Showing how much Kentuckians love basketball is the point of Madness, Gillispie said. That love is what the UK coach hopes makes a winning impression on the prospects.
“It’s one of the best events I’ve ever been a part of as a basketball coach,” Gillispie said. “You really get a feel for how important basketball is at Kentucky.”
UK expects to fill Rupp Arena (capacity about 24,000). The doors open at 9 p.m. with the team expected to appear on the court around 10:30 p.m.
“It’s a big weekend for us,” said Gillispie, meaning the recruiting overtone to the evening. “and it needs to be a big weekend for us.”
Of the 12 prospects expected to attend, some will have already committed to Kentucky. That category will include Jon Hood of Madisonville and G.J. Vilarino of Mckinney, Texas.
Besides Orton, the uncommitted prospects who will attend include Russell Byrd, a high school junior from Fort Wayne, Ind.
The player’s father, Kelly Byrd, said the family would get a full dose of Kentucky on the visit, which began Wednesday night. The Byrds had scheduled a tour of horse farms, racing at Keeneland, Madness and UK’s football game against South Carolina.
“That’s a good time,” the elder Byrd said.
Whether it will convince Byrd to commit to UK remains unknown. But the player’s father made it sound like a commitment might happen.
“There’s not much question left about their commitment to him,” Kelly Byrd said of UK’s interest in his son. “Now, we’re looking for that gut feeling.”
Byrd has visited Ohio State and Michigan the last two weekends. He’s considering a visit to Michigan State on the weekend of Oct. 17-19.
As of Friday, it was unclear whether one of the top point guards in the high school class of 2009 would attend. John Wall of Raleigh, N.C., had all but suspended the recruiting process after his mother was hospitalized. Reportedly, Wall’s family believed the stress of recruiting had contributed to her illness.
Sportswriter Tim Stevens of the Raleigh News & Observer said on Thursday that Wall did not mention a visit to UK when the two spoke a week earlier.
Wall has visited Kentucky unofficially and made trips to Oklahoma State and Baylor.
Among the prospects publicly linked to UK, at least two are not expected to attend. Schoolwork prohibited forward Adreian Payne of Dayton, Ohio, from attending, his high school coach said.
Guard KC Ross-Miller was also not expected to attend.

Jeremiah Davis, a sophomore guard at Muncie (Ind.) Central High, will not attend Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness, the player’s father said Tuesday night.

A scheduling conflict  caused the player to reluctantly decide to miss UK’s Madness, his father, also named Jeremiah Davis, said. Muncie Central Coach Matt Fine had asked Davis to be among players going with him to a coaching clinic in Marion, Ind., on Saturday. The players will demonstrate the coach’s x-and-o thoughts.

“He’s kind of upset with it,” the elder Davis said of missing UK’s Madness on Friday night.

A family decision on how to divide its basketball time led to the conflict. The family decided to make AAU and family time the top priority in the summer, the elder Davis said. To be fair, the family decided to let the high school coach have  the top priority during the school year.

When asked how missing UK’s Madness might affect the ultimate decision on a college, the player’s father said, “I don’t think going or not going –  how can I put this? — he’s still young. He’s still just a sophomore. He’s got a couple more years to catch that Madness. . . .

“Tell Kentucky fans we’re sorry we’re not able to make it this time. We’ll try to plan better next year.”

Several top prospects are expected to attend UK’s Madness. The name at the top of the list is Daniel Orton, a 6-10 player from Oklahoma City, Okla., and a national top 25 prospect.

Highly-regarded big man prospect Daniel Orton says that Kansas and Kentucky top his list of schools. Orton told The Oklahoman, the daily newspaper in Oklahoma City, Okla., that those are his top two choices.

Orton visited Kansas last weekend, when he saw the KU players receive their rings for winning the 2008 national championship. He plans to visit Kentucky on Oct. 10-12, when the Cats will stage Big Blue Madness.

Here’s the story in The Oklahoman:

Kansas and Kentucky are the leaders in the basketball recruiting battle for Daniel OrtonView More Most Popular Categories…

Orton had listed Kentucky as his leader, but the Bishop McGuinness forward on Monday said Kansas has joined the Wildcats atop his list. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Ohio State are the other programs on Orton’s final list.

Orton took an official visit to Kansas last weekend and was on hand as the 2008 NCAA championship team received its rings.

“My favorite part (of the visit) was hanging out with the players,” said Orton, who has no timetable for his decision but will likely announce on one of ESPN’s family of networks.

Orton is ranked No. 10 on the ESPN 100, No. 12 on the Scouthoops Top 100 and No. 22 on the Rivals Top 150. He averaged 13.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 5.2 blocks and 2.8 assists per game as a junior.

The 6-foot-11, 260-pounder has hosted Kentucky’s Billy Gillespie, Kansas’ Bill Self, Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel and Oklahoma State’s Travis Ford during in-home visits this month.

Orton said he expects to take an official visit to Kentucky on Oct. 9 and will likely return to Kansas on Oct. 17. Orton has visited Oklahoma and Oklahoma State on multiple occasions and has no plans to make an official visit to either school.