Last But Not Least > The UK Recruits In The 1990's

This will cover UK recruiting from 1990 through 1999 under 2 different coaches.

After a "lost" recruiting year in 1989 and transfers by the highest rated (5 best) recruits of the 1987 and 1988 classes, UK was plenty short on talent going into 1990 season.

The 1990 recruiting class struck gold with Jamal Mashburn but UK missed most of its other top targets (including guys like Dwayne Morton) that year. Gimel Martinez was a good "get" in the spring but Carlos Toomer never belonged at UK. UK found another nugget in Travis Ford (transfer from Missouri) that summer. Walk-on Jody Thompson was a nice addition but didn't last under Pitino at UK.

Now comes 1991 and UK targeted several highly rated players like Cherokee Parks, Tom Kleinschmidt, Erik (Ricky) Brunson, and others. Unfortunately none of those signed with UK. Andre Riddick was a well regarded NYC big man and so was Aminu Timberlake from Chicago. KY native son Chris Harrison had committed to UK as a HS junior. The last spot in the class was taken by JC All-American guard Dale Brown as the "first to commit" among several highly rated guards being sought by UK. It was a decent class but that's all. Not really UK caliber group.

Then in 1992, UK promoted assistant Billy Donovan to chief recruiter on the staff.  Bingo! UK signs its most highly regarded (consensus #1 rated) class since 1984. National POY contender Rodrik Rhodes chose UK over Seton Hall. TN sharpshooter Tony Delk picked the Cats over UT and Memphis. Hoosier big man Walter McCarty chose Kentucky over Purdue. And WV native Jared Prickett picked UK over Notre Dame. Then UK added JuCo A-A Rodney Dent in the springtime.

In 1993, UK had only a few scholarships to offer. Jeff Sheppard of Georgia was a early commitment for one of them, choosing UK over Ga Tech. Anthony Epps was next to commit, first as a walk-on but then was granted a scholarship when Charles O'Bannon picked UCLA over UK. Transfer Mark Pope (who considered UK in 1991) switched his allegiance from Washington to Kentucky that summer. 

Next comes 1994. Scott Padgett of Louisville was first to commit (somewhat of a surprise at the time). Allen Edwards of Miami was next - Pitino craved a tall PG. UK waited on Antoine Walker to choose in the springtime, and he finally picked UK. The Cats got walk-on Cameron Mills that spring (although he ultimately earned a UK scholarship). Topping it off was the addition of Derek Anderson (overlooked by UK in 1992) as an Ohio St transfer that summer. Wow! Donovan went out with a bang.

Look out, here comes another great class in 1995. Headliner was National POY contender Ron Mercer of Nashville. Oliver Simmons (also of Nashville) had been an early UK commitment as HS junior. UK first declined interest in ace PG Wayne Turner but ultmately offered him a scholarship, which he promptly accepted. The most "unexpected" signee in the 95 class was big (and I mean BIG) man Nazr Mohammed of Chicago. John Thompson thought he had him coming to Georgetown but UK won out. The 95 class was just a hair below 92 in the rankings and just a bit ahead of the 94 bunch. 

That's 4 great classes (well, 1993 was very good) in a row. Time for a breather?

Yes, but primarily because Pitino was making small talk with NBA teams like the NJ Nets in 1996 and Boston Celtics in 1997. UK's top recruiting targets made other choices in 96 and 97. The Cats didn't land a single "top shelf" choice either year.

Anthony Dent (Rodney's younger brother) of Georgia signed in 1996 but never qualified academically to play at UK. UK offered his scholarship to Manhattan transfer Heshimu Evans in the spring of 96. After waiting until midnight of the last possible day to sign, Jamaal Magloire of Toronto chose UK over Purdue. He brought HS coach Simeon Mars with him. Magloire was a quality talent eventually but a true 4 year player.

UK recruiting suffered in 96 and 97 partially because of Pitino's NBA dalliances but also because Delray Brooks and Winston Bennett were not recruiters of the Billy Donovan caliber. 

The 97 class again missed all its top targets but UK landed Myron Anthony of Florida and Ryan Hogan (Kevin Grevey's nephew) of Chicago in the fall. Thanks to a colossal recruiting blunder by Boston College adminstrators, BC lost big man Mike Bradley to UK in the springtime. Byron Mouton of Louisiana was a likely UK recruit that spring but he went elsewhere when Pitino went off to the NBA. The other 3 signees wanted (or considered) LOI releases but UK AD C.M. Newton declined to grant them. 

When UK hired a new coach after Pitino left, Georgia All-Stater Saul Smith was added, first as a walk-on but later as a scholarship player (if available, year by year). UK had no other back-up PG to Wayne Turner going into 98 season.

UK added ace recruiter George Felton during the coaching staff changeover in 1997. Felton was a superb college recruiter in the 1980's and 1990's - maybe one of the best ever.

The 98 and 99 classes made up for the 96 and 97 misses by adding back-to-back Top 5 rated groups to the UK roster. Californian Tayshaun Prince, Senegalese big man "Jules" Camara, and Floridian Desmond Allison headlined the 98 bunch. KY guards J.P. Blevins and Todd Tackett rounded out the class.

The 99 class started off like a house on fire. National POY contenders Keith Bogans and Marvin Stone chose UK that fall. Hooser big (and I really mean BIG again) man John Stewart picked the Cats over Purdue. KY sleeper and big man Marquis Estill picked UK over Louisville. The Cats thought they were done recruiting that fall.

Sadly, it was not to be. John Stewart died of heart failure during a HS game that winter. Very VERY sad for the young man and his family as well as UK. The Cats added Utah junior college transfer Nate Knight (brother of NBA player Travis Knight) that spring. He didn't last very long at Kentucky.

The 1990 through 99 recruiting classes had remarkable achievements at UK. They won almost 82% of their games from 1991 through 2003 seasons. They won 7 SEC titles (counting 1991) and 9 SECT championships in those 13 seasons. There were 2 undefeated SEC seasons (1996, 2003) also.

Those UK teams had two #1 final rankings in Coaches' polls (1996, 1998) and one #1 final ranking in AP poll (2003). The #1 AP finish was UK's first in 25 seasons.

And (of course) don't forget 2 NCAA titles, 4 Final 4 appearances, 8 Elite 8 finishes, and 10 Sweet 16's in those 13 magical seasons.

The 1990's were UK's best decade since the 1940's. Methinks a repeat is coming in the 2010's under Calipari.