03-05-2010, 04:39 PM
Itâs finally that time of year again. The time of year when even getting your girlfriend out to the local BW3âs isnât quite so hard and every day seems like an NCAA fanâs Christmas morning with double-digit gifts of hard-fought basketball match ups ready to unwrap. Only itâs better than Christmas because your mom doesnât get upset if you get hammered. Thatâs right, itâs March Madness.
On the recruiting front, life is exciting as well. This time of year represents the end of an era for most recruits and the beginning of a new stage in their life. With high school playoffs wrapping up, itâs time for your favorite recruit to finally start thinking about that big life decision heâs been putting off all these years. Letâs take a look at when we might be able to expect decisions out of some of UKâs most prized recruits graduating in 2010.
Brandon Knight- Brandon recently suffered a heartbreaking loss in his state semifinals and his tenure as point guard for Pine Crest High is now officially over. The buzz surrounding BK for quite awhile has been that he was close to making a decision but that he wanted to wait to announce that decision until after his high school season wrapped up. Furthermore, buzz at his state tournament games pointed to Knight possibly deciding between Kentucky or Florida. Officially, Kansas, Connecticut and Miami are still in play as well. Official visits have been taken to each school and a decision from Knight could literally come any day now.
Josh Selby- Josh also suffered a loss in his playoff tournament and last night marked the end of his tenure as well. However, things with him arenât quite as set in stone as they are with Knight. Selby has an official list of four schools (Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona) but Tennessee has been hanging around as well. Most believe that a decision from Selby wonât come until later in the Spring, possibly after the NCAA tournament, but after his official visit to Kentucky this Sunday, he will have visited all the schools on his list. Selbyâs situation, therefore, looks like one that may have to wait a bit before we can get a better bead on when the date might come.
Doron Lamb- Lamb has most likely finished up with all of his official visits and is just waiting to get an opportunity to travel back to NYC from Oak Hill in Virginia, in order to talk with his parents about his decision. Spring break for Oak Hill students takes place from March 6th until March 22nd and that has been the targeted date for the Lamb family to discuss their options. That period and the period immediately following looks to be the time when Lamb will decide. Kentucky and Kansas have been the long rumored favorites, with Arizona and West Virginia rounding out the top four that Lamb gave previously.
Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross- Ross and Jones can probably be lumped together for now. Jonesâ decision has been put off for the sake of his basketball season and Ross is still awaiting the appeal process in order to see if heâll even get to play this year. Jones has made his decision to hold off no secret, saying that he put it off in order to help his teammates get some high major viewing time themselves. Rossâ appeal to the Oregon boardâs decision to not allow him to play should be decided this Friday according to OregonLive.com. Jefferson High will open their postseason play this Saturday and the two-time defending state champs are expected to go deep in the tournament. Therefore, itâs possible that Ross decides early, with Jones still in the playoffs and itâs equally possible that both will wait until the end of the postseason, whether Ross plays or not. Rossâ has a current list of Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon, while Jonesâ list merely swaps Kansas for UCLA. The buzz has been that both may attend school together, a high statistical probability as you can see, and that Washington may be the leader at this point.
CJ Leslie- CJ Leslieâs recruitment is a lot like his personality, you canât help but smile. CJ rarely gives out firm lists and probably never will. ESPN recently reported his list cut down to 3 (UK, Florida and NC State) but Leslie has since said that the cut never occurred. If you add Oregon to that 3, you have what most believe to be CJâs leaders. Personally, the lure of playing at Kentucky and following in the footsteps of Wall seems to me to be a bit too much for CJ to pass on. Leslieâs high school season is over and a decision could be coming very soon or he could wait until the zero hour. As always, return trips to UK or NC State are always strong possibilities.
Enes Kanter- With players who have previously chose to pull the trigger early, when they end up opening the process back up, banking on the later date is usually the safest bet. Since Kanter decided to look around, Florida State, Syracuse and Kentucky became early suitors but there has surely been many more schools sending coaches and asking questions about this big manâs situation. Expect Kanter to take some visits, with UK getting one of those this weekend, before making a final decision. Pinpointing the date of that decision would be difficult at best at this point, but with Kanter on campus, UK fans are surely gonna keep their fingers crossed that this weekend could be the weekend Kanter pulls the trigger again.
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=46411
On the recruiting front, life is exciting as well. This time of year represents the end of an era for most recruits and the beginning of a new stage in their life. With high school playoffs wrapping up, itâs time for your favorite recruit to finally start thinking about that big life decision heâs been putting off all these years. Letâs take a look at when we might be able to expect decisions out of some of UKâs most prized recruits graduating in 2010.
Brandon Knight- Brandon recently suffered a heartbreaking loss in his state semifinals and his tenure as point guard for Pine Crest High is now officially over. The buzz surrounding BK for quite awhile has been that he was close to making a decision but that he wanted to wait to announce that decision until after his high school season wrapped up. Furthermore, buzz at his state tournament games pointed to Knight possibly deciding between Kentucky or Florida. Officially, Kansas, Connecticut and Miami are still in play as well. Official visits have been taken to each school and a decision from Knight could literally come any day now.
Josh Selby- Josh also suffered a loss in his playoff tournament and last night marked the end of his tenure as well. However, things with him arenât quite as set in stone as they are with Knight. Selby has an official list of four schools (Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona) but Tennessee has been hanging around as well. Most believe that a decision from Selby wonât come until later in the Spring, possibly after the NCAA tournament, but after his official visit to Kentucky this Sunday, he will have visited all the schools on his list. Selbyâs situation, therefore, looks like one that may have to wait a bit before we can get a better bead on when the date might come.
Doron Lamb- Lamb has most likely finished up with all of his official visits and is just waiting to get an opportunity to travel back to NYC from Oak Hill in Virginia, in order to talk with his parents about his decision. Spring break for Oak Hill students takes place from March 6th until March 22nd and that has been the targeted date for the Lamb family to discuss their options. That period and the period immediately following looks to be the time when Lamb will decide. Kentucky and Kansas have been the long rumored favorites, with Arizona and West Virginia rounding out the top four that Lamb gave previously.
Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross- Ross and Jones can probably be lumped together for now. Jonesâ decision has been put off for the sake of his basketball season and Ross is still awaiting the appeal process in order to see if heâll even get to play this year. Jones has made his decision to hold off no secret, saying that he put it off in order to help his teammates get some high major viewing time themselves. Rossâ appeal to the Oregon boardâs decision to not allow him to play should be decided this Friday according to OregonLive.com. Jefferson High will open their postseason play this Saturday and the two-time defending state champs are expected to go deep in the tournament. Therefore, itâs possible that Ross decides early, with Jones still in the playoffs and itâs equally possible that both will wait until the end of the postseason, whether Ross plays or not. Rossâ has a current list of Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon, while Jonesâ list merely swaps Kansas for UCLA. The buzz has been that both may attend school together, a high statistical probability as you can see, and that Washington may be the leader at this point.
CJ Leslie- CJ Leslieâs recruitment is a lot like his personality, you canât help but smile. CJ rarely gives out firm lists and probably never will. ESPN recently reported his list cut down to 3 (UK, Florida and NC State) but Leslie has since said that the cut never occurred. If you add Oregon to that 3, you have what most believe to be CJâs leaders. Personally, the lure of playing at Kentucky and following in the footsteps of Wall seems to me to be a bit too much for CJ to pass on. Leslieâs high school season is over and a decision could be coming very soon or he could wait until the zero hour. As always, return trips to UK or NC State are always strong possibilities.
Enes Kanter- With players who have previously chose to pull the trigger early, when they end up opening the process back up, banking on the later date is usually the safest bet. Since Kanter decided to look around, Florida State, Syracuse and Kentucky became early suitors but there has surely been many more schools sending coaches and asking questions about this big manâs situation. Expect Kanter to take some visits, with UK getting one of those this weekend, before making a final decision. Pinpointing the date of that decision would be difficult at best at this point, but with Kanter on campus, UK fans are surely gonna keep their fingers crossed that this weekend could be the weekend Kanter pulls the trigger again.
http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=46411