Good Morning Big Blue Nation, Welcome to Signing Day!
by Glenn Logan on Apr 14, 2010 8:26 AM EDT
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PrintToday is day one of the month-long late signing period for 2010, when Kentucky will get at a good idea of the shape of next year's basketball team. Today, it is WWBD (What Will Brandon Do?). "Brandon," of course, is Brandon Knight, the Rivals #1 player in the country and #1 and 1a on Kentucky's need-to-sign list.
The word around Al Gore's Folly is that Knight is likely to commit to UK, but despite all the assurances from everywhere, there will still be a bit of drama today around 4:00 PM when Knight goes on ESPNU to sign his National Letter of Intent.
On the heels of all this comes word from various sources including Adam Zagoria that 2011 consensus #1 recruit Michael Gilchrist will also announce his intentions today. Obviously, that would be a big deal, and if Gilchrist eventually signs, it will be the third top-rated recruit in a row for Calipari at UK.
There is an interesting article today by Gary Parrish that claims this is all part of Calipari's master plan:
But there's not a doubt in my mind that one of the reasons Gilchrist is committing now is because Calipari needs him to commit now to help shift the conversation. In 24 hours, Kentucky fans aren't going to be worried anymore about losing to West Virginia or losing five underclassmen. Instead, they'll be nonstop talking about enrolling Knight this summer and Gilchrist next summer, then they'll start debating whether Calipari will ultimately win two or three national titles in the next five years.
Parish proves it's possible to be right and wrong at the same time. Of course this is part of Calipari's "master plan." When other recruits see all these dominoes fall UK's way (assuming they actually do), it will enhance the prospects that other highly-rated recruits will want to be part of a team that includes great players like this.
But to say Calipari needs this to deflect criticism from anywhere is absurd. Calipari has been criticized non-stop, 365 days a year for the last several years by somebody for everything under the sun, true or false. UK fans, at least since Calipari has been here, have not been among his critics.
Even the failure of the ridiculously talented 2009-10 UK team to get to the Final Four and beyond drew almost no serious criticism from around the Big Blue Nation, just a bit of understandable navel-gazing. Parrish got that part completely wrong. Criticism is the water in which Coach Cal swims. I think he's used to the cold temperature by now.
But Parrish is right about the master plan. Calipari is trying to build momentum, and if all these cards land face up, he will do so. It remains to be seen if other coveted recruits like Terrence Jones, C.J. Leslie, Doron Lamb and others jump onto the Big Blue Bandwagon, but a recruiting coup like this makes that more, not less, likely.
Of course, we can expect another raft of articles bashing Calipari for recruiting the best basketball players in the land, but that's just people being people. Rival fans will snipe and gripe, while secretly wondering why their coach can't recruit like that. Then, they will predictably lash out at Kentucky and Calipari, making every possible accusation of impropriety, ethics failures and lawlessness, and spend hours reminding anyone who will listen about Kentucky's scofflaw ways in the now-distant past.
Enjoy it, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation. I know I will. Embracing the hate has only just begun.
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The start of the excitement for next year!
Begins today!
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
I LUV IT
Let the haters keep talking… when you run up the track you look for excuses.. you don’t make when you win… All of the talk is by losers or those who were never in the race! Its Derby time and signing time… how many days until the first game?
SIgn 'em all, Cal!
Time to get s*** right (again)!
It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.
by kentuckygirl0724 on Apr 14, 2010 9:12 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
cal will sign 'em
His big question has always been ‘can he game-coach in big games’? Lets see how the next 3 yrs pan out before we let the jury out.
O K
When you start 35 – 3 you got a pretty good jump on the situation… I’d say CC wants to see his 30 wins a year streak continue a little longer… hope so, anyway…
yep!
The guy is gonna pile up some wins, no doubt about it. :)
by bigbill992001 on Apr 15, 2010 3:13 AM EDT up reply actions
love the drama!!!
the best part is…even in the “off season” we can still have excitement and fun!!!…
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as much as you please."...Mark Twain.
Isn't that great ??
You got to get the best to win big. Maybe we will end up with that dominate team that everyone says has been missing from college basketball. FUN !!
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
I am ready to embrace it
Actually it is quite fun, it means they are jealous or fearful, or something like that. ;-)
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
If all these cards line up face up........
We may REALLY have to build a bigger arena…….This momentum that Cal is building is going to overshadow a lot of things in due course. He seems to know how to reload, according to the experts, and if he adds the odd pieces you need for the rest of it, there is no end to what the man can accomplish. Knight gives us another top 5 class right? and with the possibility of adding 2 more high profile kids to this class, then adding 2 more next year to any who “might” announce today??
When was the last time we got the very best of the best recruits here constantly? It has never been in my lifetime, apologies to Forty, who is probably going to jump all over this one…..we are looking to score the #1 overall recruit 2 out of 3 years, and adding pieces that are unlike what we have seen at anytime in the past…..it really is amazing…..
I AM THE CAT......The Cat In The Hat!!!
The next few years...
really look to be interesting. I’ve been watching the Cats since I knew what a TV was and I don’t know if I’ve ever been this excited.
by Clint Phelps on Apr 14, 2010 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions
ABC& friends
There is so much “piss and vivegar” on here this morning I’m almost afraid to step in! Like you I know forty will have another idea about our recruiting but. If we had better recruiting in the old days it wasn’t know. Back then we knew little about the skill of players around the country or world. Now we read about and watch them on the web. That said, I don’t think we ever attracted the quality or quantity of young tallent as today. Go Cal7Go Cats!
Happy Days are here again The sky is all ways BLUE again Happy days are here again !
I agree with you completely, Tru
Even the failure of the ridiculously talented 2009-10 UK team to get to the Final Four and beyond drew almost no serious criticism from around the Big Blue Nation…
I think the majority of us just felt as if we lost because nobody got hot, and the team collectively couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with an outside shot. I know I personally never felt that it had anything to do with Coach Cal.
Parish is alright, but after reading the whole article I think he just took the easy route to plug-and-play the narrative of the crazy, rabid UK fanbase on this one. It is sort of a short cut for any college basketball writer who gets up against a deadline, I guess.
-- Tim . http://HomeSalesLexington.com/barn
They always count on us rabid fans
Maybe we shouldn’t be so predictable.’-)
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
I think you've got that right, a2d2
.
Even when it isn’t really all that accurate, like in this instance, we do have to admit that it is an idea that didn’t just appear out of thin air one day.
-- Tim . http://HomeSalesLexington.com/barn
I think most realistic people expected the results
While very talented; this group just did not value the ball enough. This was compounded by poor perimeter shooting; and poor shot choices(3 pointers took without rebounding support outside the context of our offense). Young teams will do that. So, our future seems to be one of incredible spurts of production punctuated by Freshman mistakes. Very exciting indeed. Grab the heart pills and the Bourbon, cause it’s gonna be a wild ride!
"all the way"
ro307805, that's a great description of it
.
Heading into the West Virginia game I really did believe, though, that we were going to be able to go whistling past the graveyard for 3 more games. Oh, well.
-- Tim . http://HomeSalesLexington.com/barn
Spring 1979
Can’t remember the exact date but sure remember the day. It was announced that on this day a 7-foot high school center from Lebanon, PA, would announce his choice of colleges. In the newsroom of a radio station in Garden City, KS, interested folks — a plethora of KU alums and fans and one lone UK alum and fan — either gathered round or frequently visited the AP ticker (remember this was before the Internet, ESPN, CNN, etc.) waiting for the 18-year old to communicate his decision. Finally it came: Sam Bowie would attend the University of Kentucky. Voila, one happy Wildcat and quite a few despondent Jayhawks! Hard to believe but 3 decades later and I still find myself experiencing the same excitement and, alas, a small measure of anxiety. Let’s hope today turns out as well.
It’s an interesting commentary on the fanaticism (some might say greed) of the BBN that there was a bit of disappointment in 1979 that Harrisonburg, VA’s Ralph Sampson passed up the opportunity to be a Wildcat. Much like what will happen today if Brandon Knight becomes a Cat but CJ Leslie or Terrence Jones doesn’t.
"Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one's government is not necessarily to secure freedom" - Hayek
Bowie Announced For UK That Winter (January Or February 1979) But Signed In April
Bowie was a verbal commitment then signed a couple of months later.
The finalists were UK, Marquette, and UNLV – Kansas was not among his final choices.
by FortyYearCatFan on Apr 14, 2010 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I remember when Sampson made his announcement.......
my wife and I were at a Bed and Breakfast in New Hampshire. Other than plumbing and electricity, it was restored to its colonial splendor. No radio or TV. Thank goodness my wife understood why I went out to the car to catch the news there. She knew, too, what it meant when I came back in and simply said, “OK, lets go get dinner, that was a waste of time.” Two great weeks in New England, and I still recall that! Get me some help! LOL
I cannot wait...
memphis fans are crowing about their #1 rated class of 2010 recruits and how Cal and not signed anyone. Cannot wait to get some more players signed and watch this class move into top five.
memphis fans will then be more upset that cal got into top 5 than excited that they have the top class – pitiful. also, i point out to every memphis fan that they “stole” barton from us – in fact, if bcg was still at UK, barton would be in blue. not saying i would trade, but sick of hearing how uk is losing “all 5” players to the draft that memphis was supposed to have…
only one rule in my house - uk has to be your favorite college bball team
by memphis wildcat on Apr 14, 2010 11:21 AM EDT reply actions
If the chips fall just right
I can see Cal putting together a class that is ranked higher than Memphis. Wouldn’t that get their goat?
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
UK Recruiting Success Knows No Gender
With the expected signing of Samantha Drake coach Matthew Mitchell will ink a top 5 class and a likely top 10 pre-season ranking.
"Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one's government is not necessarily to secure freedom" - Hayek
I love it!
The Women are moving up in the toughest conference; why can’t football do that?
"all the way"
Because
the women’s team would most likely give the football team a run for their money… ;)
It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.
by kentuckygirl0724 on Apr 14, 2010 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Parrish is a bit over the top
with the “master plan” designation. It’s not any great master plan, it’s simply a plan, the only sensible plan to have. Like any other coach, Cal wants to sign the best players he can. Cals plan: Best players —→ best team.
hobo
Did you ever find Parrish to not be over the top? I like him and always read but He has his own style.
Happy Days are here again The sky is all ways BLUE again Happy days are here again !
Usually over the top
but that gets readership. I don’t have anything against him, he’s one of the few that doesn’t walk lock step with the rest of the media and for that he gets gold stars in my book. This article, tho, was a little bit of a reach to make a complimentary article about Calipari. Maybe that’s what got me – just not used to Cal getting good, rational press.
haha
the infamous door has to be around somewhere.
Cal is a closer in every sense of the word.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
ah, yes, the door.
Oh, the memories…. : )
by BigSkyCat on Apr 14, 2010 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thanks BSC
I still can’t believe I sat and stared at that door as long as I did. I should get a life….seriously!!!!
:)
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Thing is Seven, (WILL be Eight) ;-)
It is a life and a lifestyle for a KY fan !!
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
The door will live in infamy
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel
is just a freight train coming your way.
Lyric
That is the door that the BBN watched for hours last April hoping to see or hear that Cal was coming.
Happy Days are here again The sky is all ways BLUE again Happy days are here again !
Haha!
I remember my boss walking by me and asking, “Are you STILL watching that door??”
To be fair, we also watched Cal’s front door in Memphis for awhile, too.
And what about Les?? What a great guy he was! ;)
It is not worth an intelligent man’s time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.
by kentuckygirl0724 on Apr 14, 2010 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions
This is spot on....
Of course, we can expect another raft of articles bashing Calipari for recruiting the best basketball players in the land, but that’s just people being people. Rival fans will snipe and gripe, while secretly wondering why their coach can’t recruit like that. Then, they will predictably lash out at Kentucky and Calipari, making every possible accusation of impropriety, ethics failures and lawlessness, and spend hours reminding anyone who will listen about Kentucky’s scofflaw ways in the now-distant past.
it is the nature of hypocritical fans to say these things. They just wish their coach was able to recruit the same way for their team. And there is no doubt that many many UK fans would be saying the same thing if Cal was not at UK. We are all major hypocrites when it comes to our sports teams.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Kanter Signs
http://www.lex18.com/news/enes-kanter-a-cat
and
http://www.sportingnews.com/college-basketball/article/2010-04-14/enes-kanter-revolutionary-case-for-kentucky-ncaa
No matter where you're at, there you are
Yes, a Turkey Sub
yuch yuch
Sincerest apologies, couldn’t resist :)
No matter where you're at, there you are
funny. : )
btw — that Sporting News piece on Kanter is good and very informative as to his background, I thought. I wasn’t aware of the fact that he turned down a multi-million dollar offer to play ball in Europe in order to come to the U.S.
I have no knowledge of how popular the European basketball league is among European basketball players, but it would seem, at least in Kanter’s case that playing in the NBA is the more desired option? Interesting stuff.
Thanks, cincy.
Oh, and it’s almost time to watch Knight make his decision on ESPNU!! Hope he dons the Kentucky hat…
BSC
bball has pro leagues all over the world now. Here in the Philippines bball is second only to Manny P.
by bigbill992001 on Apr 15, 2010 3:26 AM EDT up reply actions
is it 4:00 yet ???
I might have to open my coach Cal MM bottle….whewww
Open thread up for the ESPNU program.
Let’s rock!
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