[Overrated]

Well here was the deal with Avery. I listened to a podcast with Avery's father and his father stated that Michael plays on Indiana Elite's 17U AAU squad. From my take of it, Gillispie was impressed with Avery, but wasn't allowed to talk to Michael or his parents about him. Michael's father called Gillispie multiple times a day trying to see what G thought about his son. Well after 3 days of calling, Coach G answered and said he was interested in his son and what not. Michael's father made G aware of the fact that Michael was only in 8th grade and it wasn't until that point that Coach G even knew. But since G was so impressed with the kid, G told the parents that Michael had a scholarship offer and Michael accepted.

If you keep up with recruiting any at all, you will notice that coach G is laying out a pipeline from Indiana Elite to UK. He got a commitment from Avery and Ferguson who are both members of Indy Elite. Expect Vinny Zolo, a 6-9 player for the class of 2011 to commit on Monday when he visits UK's campus. He is also a member of Indy Elite. Also expect Evan Anderson, a 6-11 player from the class of 2010 to commit within the next 2 weeks. Anderson, also a member of Indy Elite. Every one of these players I have mentioned are ranked in the top 20 of their class and five star athletes.

I understand that it may sound crazy to offer an 8th grader a scholarship, but Coach G is making kids interested that the previous staff could not. If we jump on these guys early enough, we will see better classes coming in year after year. It's obvious by watching recruiting, that usually the team that shows the most interest early on, is the team that the kid will ultimately choose. The old days of waiting on recruits are over; we are now going after recruits.

Indeed!