Archive for June, 2009

Reports are starting to surface that the Henry brothers will be heading to UK. THIS HAS NOT BEEN CONFIRMED!!! ESPN, The Shiver and countless media outlets are following this extremely close. I have found that the KU message boards are starting to look much the UNC and Duke message boards when Wall committed to UK. How long will it take for the air to clear on this one? No one is sure…it could happen tonight or in August.

Here is one KU blogs opinion….

allkyhoops.com

If UK does land the Henry brothers I would have to think there will be a new level of haters out there.

As I have mentioned previously, I do think Xavier is a great player but he may have some issues that follow him. Bomani thinks there is a “train wreck” possibly on the horizon if Xavier is to attend UK. He also is wondering about how everything will play out with the overload of the talent. Here is the post from Bomani….

I love when my phone rings and more rumors are brought to my attention. I love the excitement of not knowing what the actual outcome will be. I am sure many of you have heard most of what is being said and I posted some earlier today. There have been posts that there will be big news this week and some have speculated that it has to do with a 2010 recruit and others believe it has to do with the Henry brothers. Others have said that there is a player on campus playing pick up ball but no one is saying who it is. Others are saying that there are some ex-players are very mad at UK.

The facts that we do know is that the Henry’s are talking about options and what they want to do. Lance Stephenson committed to Cincy today. If the Henry brothers leave KU and go to any other school then they just lost out big time. Not only did they lose Stephenson but they will have lost the Henry’s. There has been just about every UK and KU media source covering the Henry’s meeting and what the possible outcomes will be. Here is the Courier Journal.

In other news there was an article today speaking about the intentions of the incoming freshmen this year. I don’t think anyone should be surprised at all that these players would go pro whenever they have the opportunity. It is likely that we will have players going pro after one year and others that realize they need to stick around for another year. As players come and go UK will be able to reload every year so lets enjoy every player while they are at UK. I am still finding it somewhat comical how Memphis fans are approaching UK and saying all they can to make themselves feel better. Hey, at least it looks like they are going to land the legend….Matt Pilgrim.

Here is Xavier’s website… Come on Xavier follow your heart, dont make the same mistake of Alex Legion.

Xavier Henry seems to be in the news more and more and rumors are getting stronger with latest interview from his father. This has turned out to be quite the story and will likely continue to grow until Henry plays his first game at which ever school or country he plays in. There are numerous rumors about what may happen so who really knows at this point. It does however seem that Xavier is not all that excited about being at Kansas. Here are some links to rumors that are going around as well as a link to the interview with Carl Henry that will be airing again at 5:00.

Carl Henry Interview….. Carl’s quotes are in the last two minutes of the interview.

Carl Henry 1….

Carl Henry 2….

Carl Henry Interview Replay….

Xavier to Europe?

Kentucky Sports Radio continues to tear it up as they are getting great interviews with possible recruits for 2010.  They have the best video quality around right now and they are a great source.  Their latest video is with Harrison Barnes….

Today news has been swirling about all of the incoming freshmen at UK being academically qualified. This is huge as I posted earlier. With Meeks out of the picture UK could not afford to have anyone not eligible. There has also been a lot of speculation about the roster which is sitting at 12 right now, one short of the limit. In a recent interview some have taken comments from Calipari to mean there might still be another player to go.

Along with all of that speculation the rumors of Xavier Henry still being an option for UK is starting to heat up again. While it would be nice to see his talent come to UK I think it is very very unlikely. From all reports about what has been going on with all of the freshmen one can only believe that there is a great level of team growth going on. The few times I have seen Cousins he is with Hood and I would only assume that they are forming a great bond that will be very good for next season. While talking about how much the freshmen are growing together I would not want to say Henry would not fit in, but there is a strong chemistry taking place right now. Henry does not have any known attitude problems or character flaws that anyone knows of. However, from interviews, watching Henry on the court and reading countless articles and reviews, there is definitely an issue with ego. I am sure all of the players have egos as they are the best of the best, but it seems something is off, especially from the interview I watched with Orton and Henry a while back….

Whether I am right on this one or not, I still believe that Henry is at Kansas to stay. I am very happy with our roster and do not think we need to add anyone else.

• I loved the comments from Pilgrim….

• Looking forward to July there are going to be some huge events for the upcoming recruiting classes. It should be fun to see and hear the news coming out of these events.

• Tomorrow we will start taking a look at the UK football team and their upcoming season.

According to some reports all of the freshmen have qualified! This should ease what worries UK fans have had lately. More on this later….
Also, we will discuss how the roster looks and what changes might be coming if any.

Today will offer some great sports for everyone to watch. Probably the most exciting for American soccer fans and hopefully for all Americans will be the match between USA and Brazil. Nobody expected the USA team to be in this situation and they have shocked the world to make it this far. Even though I am not a soccer fan I will be tuned in to see if the US can make some more history today.
In Lexington today there will be some great basketball in the final day of the top 150 freshmen camp down at the Craft Center and Memorial. I have been impressed with several of the players down there this weekend and today will be one more chance to see these kids in Lexington.
Also, there will be some Dirt Bowl games down at Douglas Park which are about as entertaining as it gets. If you want to see some high flying extremely talented ball players then this is the place you want to go.

In UK related news there has been some speculation about the latest interview with Coach Cal. Many think that the roster will be cut down to 11 after his comments. There are also those people who are criticizing Calipari for not renewing scholarships so this will surely add some more controversy to that. I totally support and understand what Coach is doing here. If players are knowingly not going to be happy because of playing time in the second half of the season then he is not going to allow that to be a distraction. Criticize all you want but it gives the player a chance to go somewhere to get playing time and be happy and it eliminates distractions for UK. In the past we have seen more distractions from players that have hurt the team so I am a big supporter of what Coach Cal is doing. Here is the latest interview….

I have had the opportunity to watch some of the Freshmen camp down at Memorial and I have been impressed with some of these players. There is some really good size and some great athleticism. While they play is not always smooth and there are some players who are greatly over matched it is a great chance to see some of the 2013 class. There were some players that really stood out to me, but two that seemed to stand out more than the others. Rodney Purvis from North Carolina and Jordan Swopshire the brother of Louisville signee Jared Swopshire (who is likely to be a player that UK fans will not like). There are plenty of other talents at this camp.

Lately the conversation has come up several times about the difference of high basketball 10 or 20 years ago to now. Some have said that in Kentucky it is not nearly as good but in other parts of the country the talent is much better. There have also been comments about how these kids are living in a much different world because they have handlers, AAU coaches and many more distractions. I agree with some of these comments but most of all I think top to bottom these kids are more athletic and stronger than in the past. The number of kids that have more athleticism now far exceeds that of the kids back in the 1990’s. Growing up playing against some pretty good ball players in the state of Kentucky I can personally say what there is a difference. While there were players like Charles Thomas (whose career was unfortunately cut short), Vince Bingham, Darnell Burton, Barry Bowman, Nimbo Hammonds and many others the overall number of talent was not the same. Even attending Five Star Basketball camp it is very apparent that the level of play is different from a numbers standpoint. I know I have left out some great players from Kentucky in the past but those are just off the top of my mind.

Please comment on who your favorite Kentucky high school basketball players from the 1990’s were.

The top 150 Freshmen camp is underway at the Craft Center at UK. There should be some exciting basketball to watch down there this weekend.

Congratulations to Jodie Meeks who was drafted by the Bucks with the number 41 pick. There was much speculation if he was going to be picked at all. Being the 41st pick certainly does not fit into his initial plan of having to be drafted in the first round. If he is able to get a guaranteed contract then that will be what he was looking for the most. All we can do is wish him the best and hope that he gets everything thing that he is wanting.

There is also news of Elliot Williams who is transferring from Duke. He is considering UK as one of the possible destinations. Elliot is also trying to get a waiver that would allow him to play next season. This will be interesting to watch as we do have a spot for him. Williams was a McDonalds All-American and has some good talent.

Today Mychal Parker is going to be visiting UK.  He is a mid to high ranked recruit who has shown the ability to slash.  He very well could see his stock rise through the summer and into next season.  Here is your video on him…

Also, the top 150 freshmen in the country will be at the Joe Craft Center for a camp. The camp is open to public for very little cost. A four-day pass is $30, while daily passes are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 18 & under. This will be a good chance to see some young talent.