Entries Tagged 'Recruiting' ↓

ESPN’s recruiting coordinator, Paul Biancardi, spoke highly of Kentucky-bound wing Stacey Poole, Jr., during a teleconference Wednesday.

After noting that ESPN rated Poole at No. 50 or 51, Biancardi said, “He could be better than that. He’s coming on strong, 6-4, 6-5 and built like a man.  He fits the dribble-drive to a T. From 17 feet in, he can really dominate.”

With the week-long November signing period beginning next week, Biancardi dismissed the importance of Kentucky having only one commitment in place for the high school class of 2010.

“It’s not how quickly (commitments come),” he said. “But that you get who you want.”

Quincy Miller, a top 10 prospect from the high school class of 2011, will not attend Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness, Scout.com reported.

Miller, a 6-7 forward from Winston-Salem, N.C., had been one of four top 10 prospects expected to attend. He cited a “personal problem” as the reason not to attend, Scout.com said.

The other top 10 prospects in either the class of 2010 or 2011 are still expected to attend. They are Michael Gilchrist (No.1 in 2011) and two high school seniors: Tobias Harris and Kyrie Irving.

Five Top 15 prospects are lined up to attend Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness on Friday.

The five include two top 10 prospects in the high school class of 2010 and two top 10 prospects in the class of 2011, according to rankings by the recruiting service Scout.com.

The top 10 high school seniors are guard Kyrie Irving of Elizabeth, N.J., and power forward Tobias Harris of Glen Head, N.Y.

The top 10 high school juniors are wing Michael Gilchrist, a teammate of Irving’s, and power forward Quincy Miller of Winston-Salem, N.C.

The fifth top 15 prospect expected to attend UK Madness is forward C.J. Leslie, a high school teammate of UK freshman John Wall of Raleigh, N.C.

Rivals.com also reports that two other prospects are expected to attend UK Madness: Jackonsville, Fla., native Stacey Poole, Jr., who earlier this fall committed to the Cats, and guard Achraf Yacoubou of Brookville, N.Y. Poole is a high school senior and Yacoubou a junior.

Michael Gilchrist, the No. 1 prospect in the high school class of 2011, plans to attend Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness celebration Friday night.

His mother, Cynthia Richardson, confirmed her son’s plans with an e-mail message on Wednesday.

Gilchrist is a 6-7 wing from Elizabeth, N.J.

Another prospect expected to attend UK’s Madness is forward C.J. Leslie, a senior at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C.

The Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer reported that forward C.J. Leslie, a former high school teammate of Kentucky freshman John Wall, plans to attend UK’s Big Blue Madness on Friday.

Leslie, rated No. 12 among senior prospects by Scout.com, attends Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh.

Leslie told the Raleigh newspaper that he was wide open in deciding a college. Among the schools that visited his home were UK, Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, N.C. State and Florida International.

Leslie had earlier committed to N.C. State. He re-opened the recruiting process in March.

Marquis Teague, one of the highest rated players in the high school class of 2011, considered attending Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness next weekend.

But because UK will stage its Madness on Friday, a day his father must work, Teague will not make it.

“It would be very difficult to me to get him there,” said the player’s father, Shawn Teague. “We were talking about doing it. But it doesn’t work out.”

Teague, whose older brother Jeff starred at Wake Forest, is generally rated among the top five players in the high school junior class.  He plays for Pike High in Indianapolis.

He has narrowed his list to Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wake Forest and Kentucky.

His father, who played for Rick Pitino at Boston U, said Marquis hoped to attend games to watch those teams play this coming season before making a decision.

Among the prospects expected to attend UK’s Big Blue Madness is Quincy Miller, according to the recruiting service Rivals.com. Miller is a 6-7 forward from Winston-Salem, N.C.

Wing prospect Stacey Poole, Jr., plans to announce his college choice Thursday afternoon on ESPNU’s Recruiting Insider show. The show airs at 5:30 p.m. EDT.

Poole, a 6-foot-4 perimeter player from Jacksonville, Fla., is the son of Stacey Poole, Sr., who played for Florida in the early 1990s. The younger Poole is expected to choose either Kentucky or South Carolina.

All indications suggested that Stacey Poole, Jr., a top 50 prospect in the high school class of 2010, would commit to Kentucky on Wednesday.

“He’s about to commit,” his father, Stacey Poole, Sr., said early Wednesday afternoon. “. . . Everything will be official by the end of the day.”

However, by the end of the day, a commitment had not been announced. The elder Poole said he planned to “sit down and finalize things” with his son Wednesday evening. “Make sure I know where his head is at and why he wants to do” what he wants to do.

Later Wednesday night, the elder Poole noted that no decision could be confirmed. He noted how his son faced a “big life-changing” decision.

The younger Poole, a 6-foot-4 wing from Jacksonville, Fla., is a consensus top 50 national prospect. He’s reportedly narrowed his list to Kentucky or South Carolina. He visited UK last weekend.

The player’s father played for Florida, where he arrived in 1989 as a McDonald’s All-American. Injuries cut short his career.

Recruiting analysts see the younger Poole as a similar player to his father — that is to say, a driver and a scorer around the basket. That makes him seem well suited for the attack-the-basket style being brought to UK by new coach John Calipari.

Evan Daniels of the Scout.com recruiting service noted that Poole will need to improve his perimeter shooting.

The recruiting service Scout.com is reporting that Chane Behanan will be visiting Kentucky this weekend of the football game against Louisville.

Behanan, a 6-7 power forward, transferred to Bowling Green High School this year. He will be a junior this coming season. He played for Cincinnati Aiken High last season.

Scout.com rates Behanan among the nation’s top 100 players in the high school class of 2011.

Two highly regarded high school seniors from Florida are expected to make official visits to UK this weekend. The two are guard Brandon Knight and wing Stacey Poole. Knight is a consensus top five national player. Poole is regarded as a top 50 prospect.

UK basketball coaches were expected to visit with guard Doron Lamb on Thursday. Lamb plays for high school powerhouse Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va.

Lamb considers Kentucky, Kansas and Oklahoma as the top three schools on his list, Oak Hill Coach Steve Smith said. Going into Thursday, Lamb had not yet set a visit to UK.

Lamb, a native of New York, also plans to visit Arizona and Connecticut.