Here's a tweet from Dave Telep of ESPN.com earlier today:

At what point is Virginia Tech going to release Montrezl Harrell? End of period is upon us. Kid should be released by now.

— Dave Telep (@DaveTelep) May 16, 2012

Telep asks a very good question here. Harrell is asking for a release from his Letter of Intent because of the coaching change -- Seth Greenberg, who recruited Harrell, got fired earlier this year. Per NCAA rules, even if the Hokies release him from his LOI (and almost everyone expects that they will), he cannot sign another LOI with Kentucky, but he would be able to sign a scholarship agreement much as other players, like Brandon Knight, have done in the past.

I am not 100% convinced that Kentucky needs Harrell, or that he would be a particularly good fit here. If he comes, he would be the lowest-ranked freshman by the recruiting services that Calipari has brought in out of high school since he has been here. With that said, Calipari knows what he is doing, and Kentucky could use the front-court depth.

I feel the need for a #FreeMontrezl hashtag.

UPDATE: More after the jump.

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The last immediate Kentucky Wildcats recruiting domino fell yesterday with Amile Jefferson's commitment to the Duke Blue Devils. There are still more potential 2012-13 Wildcats out there in the form of potential transfers and decommitments, but we are going to forget about them for the purposes of this article and take stock of what we have.

Returners:

Returning from last year's NCAA Tournament championship squad appear to be, in order of likely playing time next year:

Kyle Wiltjer -- We all know the who, what and why of Kyle. He is a deadly perimeter shooter, perhaps the most dangerous perimeter shooter in college basketball next year. Last year, Wiltjer was 35-81 (43%) from 3-point range, but from the beginning of the SEC season on, he was 22-43 (51%), and in the post-season he was 6-12 (50%). For a comparison, J.J. Redick, considered to be one of the best 3-point shooters in NCAA history, shot under 40% his freshman year from three, although he did play significantly more minutes even as a frosh, and that does matter some.

So it looks to me like 43% is about the floor for Wiltjer from the arc, and he will only improve from there. You never know, of course, but Wiltjer is going to be a Redick-like threat from outside next year, and could even be more dangerous than Redick was until his senior year. But what we don't know is how much the rest of his game will develop. Wiltjer has a long way to go to become a post threat or a threat off the dribble, but if he can simply learn to rebound and learn to defend his position, it would be enough to more than double his minutes from last year. Wiltjer will most likely be the starter at the small forward position, although he may be forced to guard the 4.

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The effervescent Chip Cosby of Cn2 Sports, formerly of the Herald-Leader, will join Ken, Norm Haney, and Seth Burchett on 1340 WBGN to talk UK basketball and football, as well as where he gets his beautifully designed suits. The show starts at 5:00 ET. To listen to live streaming go here and click on the iTunes or Windows Media Player logo.

To call the show with questions or comments: 270-746-9246, or email sportsguys@1340wbgn.com.

Today's quickies will feature a story above the fold, Dickie V's annual gala against cancer. Cancer was responsible for my beloved mother's decline which ultimately resulted in a stroke and her passing. It killed my favorite aunt, and it has had an impact on my life in many ways, like taking my best friend's father, mother, and sister.

It is a horrible disease, and even though we've made great progress, we still have such a long way to go.

7th Annual Dickie V Gala honoring Lou Holtz, Jay Wright and Gary Williams on Friday // ESPN

Cancer flat-out sucks. It affects the patient, their families, friends, everyone involved in their lives.

Amen, Dickie V. Amen.

The rest of your quickies follow the jump. Just so you know, this thing gets updated throughout the morning, so if you haven't checked lately, check again.

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Kentucky target Amile Jefferson (Friends Central / Philadelphia, PA) committed to the Duke Blue Devils today in a press conference. Jefferson picked Duke over N.C. State, Kentucky, Villanova, and Ohio State.

The Wildcats had been linked to Jefferson since last fall, and the rationale train of thought was the longer Jefferson's recruitment played out, the more of a chance Kentucky had. Jefferson had reportedly been close to committing multiple times in favor of Duke or N.C. State, his two favorites, yet ended up being one of the last touted players in his class to pull the trigger. In the end, however, the time delay didn't end up helping John Calipari and the Wildcats.

After losing both starting forwards, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Terrence Jones, to the NBA Draft, the Kentucky Wildcats were hoping to add one more big man to the frontcourt next year. Unfortunately, their two primary targets--Anthony Bennett (UNLV) and Jefferson--chose other schools. Currently, the Wildcats currently sport sophomore returnee Kyle Wiltjer and incoming freshman Alex Poythress at the starting 4 and 3 spots on the floor without a natural backup.

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As you know, today is the day that Amile Jefferson will announce his college choice, and it will be carried live below. Jefferson will chose among the N.C. State Wolfpack, Duke Blue Devils, and Kentucky Wildcats.

Video streaming by Ustream

Enjoy!

UPDATE: If you missed it, and judging by the comments, most people did, Jefferson picked Duke, which was a big get for Mike Krzyzewski. Kentucky got involved with Jefferson fairly late in the game, but it's never too late when you are Coach Cal.

But this time, Calipari loses out to Coach K. At this point, Kentucky will be looking for leftovers and decommitments that always seem to crawl out of the woodwork over the summer. If you'll remember last year, Andre Drummond unexpectedly committed to UConn in August. While I don't expect to see somebody as highly ranked as that wind up available in the summer, you can never tell.

Now that Mike Krzyzewski has stated his intentions not to return as head coach of the U.S. Olympic team for 2016, the question becomes who would serve in that position next? John Calipari obviously comes to mind. So the question this afternoon for the Big Blue Nation would be this: Would John Calipari be a good choice to coach the U.S. team for the Summer Olympics?

We'll look at the pros and cons of this question, and you can answer the poll after the jump.

Pros

First, and possibly most important, Coach Cal is among the most persuasive people in the coaching ranks, and arguably the single most persuasive coach in America. That gives him a decent chance of putting together the kind of team that can win against the excellent competition now found in the summer Olympics. Gone are the days when Team USA could just go assemble a group of professionals and count on a gold medal.

But also gone are the days when the best players in the NBA are lining up to play in the Olympics. Jerry Colangelo and coach Krzyzewski deserve a ton of credit for making Team USA cool again to the NBA's best players, but it's still an ongoing battle with no end in sight.

Second, Calipari's coaching style is very NBA-friendly, which is one of the reasons why he has been so successful getting players into the NBA at such high levels, aside from the obvious factor of their talent. The Dominican Republic national team NBA professionals have widely praised Coach Cal, and he plays exactly the kind of system that the pros should be comfortable in.

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Today, quickies has an update on Amile Jefferson, news about the Kentucky baseball and tennis teams, an NCAA rule change that seems likely, an analysis of different defensive philosophies regarding 3-point shooting, and much more.

Your quickies begin after the jump.

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