Last week I gave you the ESPNU article that listed the Wildcats as the #1 class in 2010. Today I am giving you the Rivals.com version. UK is still #1, but there are some shakeups in the rest of the list. Memphis moves past Ohio State as #2. There are also four more SEC teams in the top 25 besides UK: Tennessee at #9, Florida at #19, South Carolina at #22 and LSU at #24. The big surprise is that the Kansas Jayhawks are all the way down at #23. They have one scholarship left and the only recruits they have right now are Josh Selby (1) and Royce Wooldridge (120).
Is the SEC in the midst of a college basketball rebirth? Is the Big East on the down slide? There are 4 Big East teams compared to the 5 the SEC has. The SEC also has 2 in the top 10 and the Big East's earliest entry is Syracuse at #7. The next highest is Marquette at #14. Louisville is definitely NOT in the top 25.
Back to the Cats: with studs like Enes Kanter, Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones, this was pretty much a lock. But with Stacey Poole Jr., Doron Lamb and Eloy Vargas, it was no competition. Most analysts will tell you that the 2009 class was a better class than 2010, this remains to be seen. I can see this class being just as special as last year's and I also envision more guys staying for their sophomore year, adding to the lethal team that 2011 is shaping up to be. Look for DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller and Josh Harrelson, yes I said it, Jorts, to have BIG years. It is yet to be seen how Darnell Dodson reacts to the off-season troubles that he endured.
This year the Cats do big things. John Calipari has a year under his belt and I believe these players are going to be more cerebral and cool headed compared to last year's group. My only concern is who is going to step up to be the leaders like Patrick Patterson and John Wall were for last year's tem?
Go Cats.
OH NO>>>>>>>>>>>>>Trouble Brewing in Cat Country..................................
ReplyDeleteNEW YORK (AP)—The New York Times is reporting that the NCAA is looking into the academic history and recruitment of former Kentucky star Eric Bledsoe.
The report posted on the Times’ website late Friday says the NCAA has sent investigators to several places in Alabama to ask about Bledsoe, who declared for the NBA draft after one season with the Wildcats. Bledsoe graduated from A.H. Parker High School in Birmingham.
The Times said most of the questions center on Bledsoe’s academic history, payments made for an apartment shared by him and his mother, and whether his high school coach demanded money from schools that were recruiting him.
The NCAA does not discuss ongoing investigations, and Bledsoe and Kentucky coach John Calipari were unavailable to comment.