Entries Tagged 'Recruiting' ↓

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.

In case you missed it, two top 50 prospects are scheduled to make official visits to Kentucky during the upcoming UK-U of L football weekend.

The two are guard Brandon Knight and wing Stacey Poole, Jr.

Analyst Evan Daniels of the Scout.com recruiting service, has reported the official visits this weekend. Daniels said that Knight, who is from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is rated as the nation’s top point guard in the high school class of 2010 by Scout.com.

Poole, whose father played for Florida, is from Jacksonville, Fla. Scout.com rates him in the top 50.

Knight is generallly considered among the nation’s top five overall prospects. There is talk that he has reservations about following Kenny Boynton, now a college freshman, to Florida.

Miami is supposedly trying to sell him on the idea of being a marquee player for the Hurricanes.

As for Poole, injuries (two torn Achilles and a torn ACL) ruined what seemed like a promising career when he arrived at Florida in 1989.

His son is about the same size (6-4). The younger Poole is billed as more a penetrator rather than a perimeter shooter, which suggests that he’d be a better fit for UK than Florida.

Eloy Vargas, a big man who played sparingly for Florida as a freshman last season, tweeted Friday that he would be making a recruiting visit to Kentucky this weekend.

Recruiting analyst Evan Daniels of Scout.com first noted the tweet on his website.

“Will be taking a visit to Kentucky Wildcats this weekend,” Vargas tweeted.

Vargas, a native of the Dominican Republic, averaged only 0.6 points and 0.7 rebounds as a freshman for Florida. An ankle injury limited him to nine games.

The Gainesville Sun has reported that Vargas had academic problems that might jeopardize his eligibility.

“I’m not at liberty to say much at all about him right now,” Florida Coach Billy Donovan told the Gainesville Sun recently. “But I think there might be a time I can come out and say something.”

Scouthoop.com rated Vargas at No. 33 in the high school class of 2008.

Meanwhile, Daniels reported that Marquis Teague, a top 10 prospect in the high school class of 2011, would be visiting UK on Saturday. Teague, who is from Indianapolis, is the younger brother of former Wake Forest standout Jeff Teague.

Earlier this summer, Teague listed Louisville, Illinois, Wake Forest, Ohio State and Purdue as his top five choices. But he said he would put Kentucky in his top five if UK offered a scholarship.

Thanks to the coaching change from Billy Gillispie to John Calipari, former UK recruit Dakotah Euton is going through the recruiting process for a second time.

His father, Clay, sent an e-mail update on Dakotah’s situation on Tuesday.

Here’s the update:

The elder Euton said that his son had received scholarship offers from Eastern Kentucky, Oregon State, Nevada, Wofford, Coastal Carolina, UNC-Greensboro, High Point, Murray State, Akron, East Tennessee State and Morehead State.

Dakotah planned to visit five schools in September and October, then make a decision in November, Clay Euton said.

Dakotah Euton committed to UK in Gillispie’s first year as coach. He played for Scott County last season and will be a senior this coming school year.

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.