Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: Perry Ellis Commits to Kansas
by jc25 on Sep 21, 2011 3:59 PM EDT
in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball
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PrintAt an press conference at his high school gym, 2012 power forward Perry Ellis announced his commitment to his in-state school, Kansas. Ellis chose the Jayhawks over finalists Kentucky, Kansas State, and Wichita State.
In an earlier interview with CBS Sports' Jeff Borzello, Fonda Ellis, Perry's mother, noted that "all four coaches have recruited him for at least three years." Ellis sounded truly enamored with each program, and the decision was assuredly a difficult one.
For Kentucky, this is a big recruiting blow. The Wildcats had been closely linked with Ellis during his junior season, but his recruitment tailed off in the early part of 2011, leading to speculation that Kentucky had stopped recruiting the talented big man. However, Calipari made a concerted effort to spend as much time as possible watching Ellis during the summer evaluation period. As the summer wore on, it became clear that Calipari thought of Ellis as his top target at the power forward position.
The Wichita Heights (Kan.) star certainly has pedigree backing him. He is a three-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and is ranked 24th overall by Rivals, 33rd by Scout, and 37th by ESPNU. In the end, it appears that the local connection was too much for Kentucky to overcome. When it comes to prospects overlooking their in-state flagship, sometimes you win (see Archie Goodwin picking Kentucky over Arkansas), and sometimes you lose (see Trevor Lacey picking Alabama over Kentucky).
Ellis is a high-energy, powerful "4" that can slide right into the power forward spot at Kansas, currently manned by projected first rounder Thomas Robinson. Per Ellis, the decision to play for Kansas "has been in [his] heart for a while now." He's a huge get for the Jayhawk program and coach Bill Self, especially since he's been the top high school prospect in the state of Kansas for quite a while.
Luckily for Kentucky, its recruiting cupboard is not bare. The Wildcats' remaining power forward targets are more hybrid-like than Ellis, a true power forward. Mitch McGary and Robert Carter could both slide up from power forward to center, and Anthony Bennett and Alex Poythress can both swing down to the "3" from the "4". None of them, save for possibly McGary, has a clear favorite at this time. It will be interesting to see which direction the Kentucky coaching staff takes in recruiting big men for the 2012 class.
Losing Ellis to Kansas is disappointing, but best of luck to the young man in his future as a Jayhawk.
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Well you cant win them all...
Was really hoping to get this kid but he didnt make a bad choice.
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
Kansas...
His choice reminds me of that Xavier kid last year. How did that work out for him?
SaturdayDownSouth.com - SEC Football Blog
Twitter - @SDS & @SECfootball
by SaturdayDownSouth on Sep 22, 2011 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Xavier Maybe A Better Education Than Kansas
100% of XU seniors have graduated since late 1980’s.
And XU players regularly get drafted by NBA too.
Not Kansas but not bad (XU) at all.
by FortyYearCatFan on Sep 22, 2011 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I Thought He Might Choose Wichita St Or K-St
KU is an excellent choice.
UK would be better.
by FortyYearCatFan on Sep 21, 2011 4:12 PM EDT reply actions
The conventional wisdom ...
… had him as a Kansas lean for a while now.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
More than that.
I have access to a few very well informed opinions, and they all said “Kansas.”
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Disappointing... but not unexpected
Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."
Never Much Doubt
As a father of two KU alums I can say there was less doubt in my mind that Ellis would choose KU than there was in that of my offspring. Last conversation I had with NYC son he said: “If Self loses Perry Ellis to Calipari then he (Self) should put his house up for sale.” Ellis had seen literally a hundred or more games in Allen Fieldhouse over the years and attended a number of camps. A get by Calipari and a star may have risen in the east.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
KU
KU is pretty good at developing post players that get drafted in the first round. They tend to be role players (Drew Gooden/Darrell Arthur/Nick Collison) or worse (Wayne Simien/Julian Wright/Cole Aldrich) in the NBA, but that’s likely Perry’s future in the NBA regardless of his school choice. It’s really difficult to be a star.
Congrats to KU fans, although I don’t appreciate the unnecessary potshots at UK in RockChalkTalk’s posts. It is fun to go around SB nation and see which school’s online fan bases are courteous and which ones are, well, less so.
I have a hard time calling this a "big recruiting blow"
When three of Eliis’ final four schools were inside his home state, probability indicated a Kansas school. Plenty of other power forwards are still available and UK is in on most of them.
"big recruiting blow"
In the sense that Calipari was making him first priority at PF. He has some ground to make up with the other forward options, but luckily none have a clear-cut favorite yet.
I'm not convinced he was Calipari's first priority.
But I can’t say for sure.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Glenn, if not Ellis, ...
who would you suggest is/was Cal’s first priority PF then?
btw, you're the second knowledgeable person I've heard ...
say Cal wasn’t too broken up about losing out on Ellis. I don’t know if that was just recognizing how low the probability of success was going to be going into the decision announcement or if there is a better PF prospect that Cal wants more and maybe has a good/better chance of landing.
However that may have been, I find it very interesting that Cal tried to get a SECOND in-home visit just before Ellis’ announcement. If a prospect isn’t a top priority, I don’t think a coach does that. Intriguing to me is the question of what Cal could have said to Ellis and his family? My thought is that Cal has a pocket commitment that he received last-minute permission to confide to Ellis in an attempt to take Ellis’ commitment from Kansas. To extend that line of thought, who could be such a big secret commitment that its revelation could diametrically alter a prospects decision – Shabazz?
Watch the Poythress recruitiment.
There, you may find your answer.
Poythress is a much better fit for us than Ellis was.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
by Glenn Logan on Sep 22, 2011 11:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, and as to the second visit ...
… the answer to that is simple. Calipari had a chance. He just knew he was the underdog.
But unlike UK football fans, Calipari never gives up when he has a chance. Good lesson for us all.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
by Glenn Logan on Sep 22, 2011 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, Shucks!
I’d hoped my “pocket commitment” fantasy might have had some slight foundation in reality. ;-)
No chance he channels Terrence Jones is there??
Ah well, best of luck to the kid……hope we never see him, cause I hate beating what seem like really good kids….
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Sep 21, 2011 6:40 PM EDT reply actions
that was my thought
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Sep 22, 2011 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Cal and Kentucky aren't done by a long shot!
On WKJK radio, today’s KSR broadcast had Evan Daniels, the recruiting analyst from Scout.com, as a guest who was asked who he thought Cal had the highest probability of landing. He answered: Poythress, Cauley, Warren. And, when asked where he thought such a Kentucky class (composed of Goodwin, Poythress, Cauley, Warren) might rank, Daniels stated it would be at least ranked 2nd and maybe higher with three 5-star recruits. Plus, we still have Shabazz Muhammad and Dajuan Coleman coming to Big Blue Madness.
To bolster the feel good sensation from Goodwin’s commitment, it appears the BBN gave him a warm welcome, but more germane to this post’s discussion, other serious Kentucky prospects called Archie to discuss their own recruitment chances with Kentucky.
"When I woke up this morning I had 160 text messages, 40 voicemails and I had over 200 emails," Goodwin said. "It’s crazy. I’ve got about 2,000 more followers on Twitter since Tuesday night at 11 p.m. I couldn’t get to a lot of the calls, there were just so many."
Goodwin did, however, find time to answer a few; specifically the ones he got from recruits expressing their interest in joining him in Lexington.
Hamilton Southeastern’s (Fishers, Ind.) Gary Harris, a senior shooting guard who is ranked No. 10 in the ESPNU 100, and Arlington Country Day’s (Jacksonville, Fla.) Torian Graham, a senior shooting guard who is ranked No. 38, both contacted Goodwin congratulating him and inquiring about the possibility of playing together in college. (Full ESPN Story)
Losing Ellis is a blow, Cal clearly wanted him bad, but it’s not a shot we can’t recover from. Both Poythress and Warren are 5-star SFs ranked ahead of Ellis (click link). I think the light of a Kentucky blue sun isn’t finished shining on this class by a long shot.
by TeamWeaver on Sep 21, 2011 9:03 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
A better National Ranking link might be this one:
Glenn, I agree we need 2012 PF and C commitments to round out this class but, with the exception of Coleman and possibly Bennett – and I’m none too sure of Bennett, I’m unaware of any other 4 or 5 where Kentucky is favored. Do you have any information on how we stand with the bigs?
I missed including Willie Cauley as a 4-star Center favoring Kentucky.
He’s kind of light for a Center at 210#s but might be able to slide down to the 4. I’m not sure if he has the athleticism necessary to play the 4. If so, he’d be the only ‘PF type’ that I’m aware of that clearly favors Kentucky at this point.
Don't Overlook Cauley's Football
Willie Cauley’s future may be BB but he loves FB and he’s quite good at it:
Through two games, Cauley leads all pass-catchers in the 12-team league in receptions (15), yards (248) and touchdowns (six), emerging as the brightest breakout star of the season so far.
FB physicality will be a boon on the inside in BB. Did I mention he lives with Will Shields HOF NFL OL?
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
by Wild Weasel on Sep 22, 2011 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Cauley is the only C prospect with a Kentucky lean at this point.
There is no chance Cal would share him with Joker, not least because he and Wiltjer may be the only frontcourt players on the 2012 roster. Despite Dajuan Coleman’s acceptance of the invitation to Big Blue Maddness, CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman said, “I’d be shocked if Coleman doesn’t [committ to Syracuse]” after Cal’s homevisit to Coleman’s. (Story)
I’d be a lot more satisfied should he be the only frontcourt commitment if he had another 20+ lbs. of muscle, of course then he wouldn’t be a 4-star recruit either. He will no doubt develop significantly over the course of 2 or 3 years before he moves on to the NBA.
Not A 2-Sport Player
It wasn’t my intention to suggest a Calipari-Phillips sharing of Cauley, rather it was to point out the physical give and take that comes from FB and how it could prove valuable in board banging.
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
WW, ...
Yeah, your point was well laid out, sorry my response wasn’t as well crafted.
Hopefully, his football experience will help him play ‘skinny.’
A 7' receiver can be a devastating weapon.
Anecdotally – My kids high school football team played a team with a Cauley 7’-type receiver who would jog into the flat, turn and use his vertical to catch a high toss no defender could come close to. He caught at least a dozen passes in a game they won 24-38. There was no stopping them on 3rd-down and it would have only been worse if their quarterback had been better.
No, not done at all.
This is a recruit most people familiar with the process were convinced we’d lose. Calipari was the only thing we really had going for us, and Kansas has been recruiting this kid since he was in the 9th grade, he lives there after all.
When you are competing with another blueblood for one of their in-state players, you’re going to lose more than you’re going to win. As an example, if North Carolina had come really hard at John Wall, I expect he would have played there.
The good news is, there are only about six or seven true bluebloods in college basketball, and rarely more than one top recruit in any one of those states.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Graham would commit today if we offered him a ride.
We haven’t yet.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Yeah, I don't think Torian will get an offer ...
as long as Cal has prospects like Gary Harris still in play.
Harris ... My inside sources (unreliable, at best) say Crean has told Harris he could also play football at IU
Harris is also a pretty good football player (wide receiver) and has offers from Notre Dame and Ohio State as well as Indiana in football (although he maintains basketball will be his #1 sport in college) … It would be nice for Cal to actually help our basketball team and our football team with his recruiting skills ….. :) (lawd knows our fb team could use some hep)
My Guess
Harris will choose Mich St or Purdue.
Both his parents are Purdue grads – his mother was A-A basketball player.
by FortyYearCatFan on Sep 23, 2011 7:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Good post, TW
Duke is coming hard after Poythress so if Duke and UK are finalists, will be interesting to see a K vs. Cal battle.
I think Cauley is UK’s next commit, unless DaJuan Coleman is blown away at BBM.
I’m not as sold on Warren. I don’t think Kentucky goes hard after Warren unless they feel like they’re out of it with Shabazz.
Will have more analysis in the latest Big Board.
JC...
Could I ask you why you have problems with Warren?
Reasons
(1) I still think Muhammad is the play at the 3, especially now with Goodwin aboard.
(2) If not Muhammad, then Poythress. He can slide up to the 4, and I think his 3/4 position if he chose UK would be dependent on how well Wiltjer performs as a 4 and who the other recruits are. All else equal, I think Cal would like Poythress at the 3, but can call him a 4 for recruiting purposes with other recruits.
(3) That makes Warren the third choice, which isn’t bad at all. But I don’t think Cal would take Warren before hearing a “not bloody likely” from Shabazz, because if Warren committed, that’s commits at the 3 AND the 2, both of Muhammad’s positions.
Yeah, I think this is right.
Muhammad is a 3 at Kentucky, and probably most places. He is a lot like Michael Gilchrist offensively. He can score in a variety of ways, but spot-up 3-point shooting isn’t really his forte. He’s better at slashing and getting people close to the rim, where he can operate with his athleticism. He’s a bigger body than most think for a 6’6" guy, and seeks out contact more than most 2-guards like Goodwin.
He kind of reminds me of a bigger, more skilled Joe Crawford.
Poythress will be recruited as a stretch 4, but most of his time at UK will be spent closer to the basket, like Calipari has demanded of Jones.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
I know I'm probably in the minority
But I’m kind of happy to see the kid stay in Kansas. Not that he wouldn’t have been a tremendous recruit for us, but I still think it’s nice to see really good kids play for their state’s flagship school if that school is a good fit. And I think KU will be a good fit for him.
Side note — I was Kansas in July and happened to catch the local Wichita Sunday night sports show. Based on what I saw, I think Ellis staying in-state was a huge win for them. They were very concerned, at least then, that he would sign with UK. It seemed a point of pride for the state itself, not just KU’s basketball program.
You can put it on the board....YES.
twocee, ...
Yeah, I’m not going to sign on to that sentiment. Given our program resides in a state that produces few Div.1 [much less 5-star] recruits, if kids predominately stayed home, the team’s we put on the court would be less than stellar, to say the least.
l believe he qualified his position
with “really good” kids staying home not just kids.
I woke up feeling BLUE this morning. It's gonna be a great day.
Plefrey - Farmer - Feldhaus wern't to bad as in state kids
A man is nothing more than a summation of his scars!
None Was 5 Star (Equivalent)
All were 3 Star, maybe 4 Star (equivalent).
Thankfully there were no Star ratings then. Farmer and Pelphrey were 3x All-Staters and Mr Basketball. Feldhaus was 2x All-Stater and UK legacy (his Dad, Allen was a Wildcat).
by FortyYearCatFan on Sep 23, 2011 7:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Too much credence is given to "stars"
My perspective is that there are only 3-5 states (KY, KS, NC, and maybe CA and CT) that have top tier BB programs at their flagship school. Top recruits don’t come from just those 3-5 states, so I think there’s lots of talent out there who will automatically go out of their home state in order to play with a great program — we don’t have to worry about those kids predominantly staying home. Regardless, I still think it’s nice to see those rare kids who do live in those 3-5 states stay in-state and play at their flagship. Call me sentimental, but I think it’s good for the sport overall. And wouldn’t it be a point of pride to have a 5-star recruit who was born in Kentucky actually go to UK? How would we feel if the kid went to Kansas, or North Carolina?
I also think there is something to be said for the passion that instate kids bring for playing for their home university. Cameron Mills comes to mind. Passion for playing for UK can and has more than made up for less than 5-star basketball credentials. It’s why I think we need to recruit more in-state kids, in addition to the heavy recruiting of the out-of-state 5-star kids.
/end soapbox. :-)
You can put it on the board....YES.
Stars are kind of a guideline.
Rankings are more important. Five stars are given out to the top 25 players, so one five star is not like another.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Cameron Mills Was Walk-On For 2 Years And RARELY Played
Pitino tired to convinve him to transfer in 1995 and 1996 seasons.
by FortyYearCatFan on Sep 23, 2011 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions
twocee, ...
This perspective is a little different from the one you initially posted above. It’s a much more palatable position as long as we’re only talking about the other elite programs monopolizing their one or two top-talented in-state kids – and it closely, if [thankfully] not perfectly, tracks what we actually see over time.
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