There are a ton of UK sites that has recruiting as their raison d'être, and A Sea of Blue is not among them.  That isn't to say that we don't pay attention or care about recruiting -- we do -- but our purpose here is to offer opinion and analysis of the facts surrounding Kentucky sports, provide opportunity for members and readers to comment on, or think about, or to post their own thoughts about in the FanPosts.

We don't get too caught up in recruiting because we simply don't have the resources necessary to cover it effectively, and we aren't trying to compete with those that do.  Instead, what we try to do here is analyze what the recruiting news we receive might mean to Kentucky, and offer insights about how the players might be utilized, what we can expect, etc.  Of course, all of that is just opinion, and we want that to be understood.

With that in mind, I want to briefly look at where Kentucky is roster-wise, and what is/may be happening to change that over the coming year or so.  Right now, UK has it's full allotment of scholarships offered and accepted, so our roster for 2008-2009 looks like this:

This is our full compliment of 13 scholarships allowed by NCAA rules.  As you can see, we are very heavy in the forward position with only one true center and one true point guard.  We have 4 combo guards who are capable of playing either position (DeAndre Liggins could probably fit into this category as well, but in the current lineup, I don't expect to see him there).  Kevin Galloway could also play point guard, but in my opinion, I don't think you will see him there much, if at all.

For next year, we will be losing two players -- one for certain and one to early entry.  I don't think there is any way barring an injury or a sophomore slump that Patrick Patterson stays for his junior year.  After having one injury requiring surgical intervention, I think the will not want to risk his future on another, and assuming he is a lock for a first-round pick, I fully expect him to declare for the draft.

That will leave two scholarships available for next year, barring transfer.  Right now, we have both those scholarships filled for 2009-10 by G.J. Villarino and John Hood.  Marc Maggard has assured us that Donald Williams' offer is only for this year, and that he will not have a scholarship next year.  I have made the only comments I will make about that scenario here, and for the purposes of this article, I am going to assume that is actually the case.  Also for the purposes of this article, I am going to assume that fact will lead Williams to transfer to another school.

Given all this, it looks like we will have a third scholarship available for 2009-10, and right now, a reasonable person would conclude that scholarship is being held for Daniel Orton, which would give us a full compliment for 2009-10.  Essentially, we would be trading Patterson, Carter and Williams for Villarino, Hood and Orton.  In that scenario, we would address two needs -- one at point guard and one at center.  We would theoretically return a much older group of forwards and guards, and that team would likely be a highly-ranked bunch capable of making a deep run into March.

Now, I am not casting aspersions on this year's team -- they may well wind up playing late in the spring as well, but right now, we just don't know enough about the newcomers to make that kind of judgment.  But next year, barring defections and injuries, UK will have a senior-laden team with tons of leadership potential and some extremely talented newcomers to add depth.

All this leads me to believe that the future of Kentucky basketball is very bright, indeed.  Of course, there are any number of things that could happen to derail this rosy scenario, but if we are fortunate, we could wind up with a realistic contender for another national championship as soon as next year.

As we inch closer and closer to Big Blue Madness (inside a month now according to my countdown clock), it's time to begin thinking about the shape of the team.  With so many new players coming on board, I am wondering which of the newcomers will have the most impact on the 2008-09 basketball team, and I'm going to ask the Big Blue Nation to help me.  To help you out, I'll present a brief case for each one:

1. Kevin Galloway SF 6'6"/210 Rivals
   
   Galloway played point guard at the College of Southern Idaho, but it seems pretty clear to me that he was recruited more for his ability to handle the ball and play in many spots on the floor.  He brings some college-level experience and an athletic body.  He will likely be the Jack-of-all-trades and glue guy, but his scoring is a question mark.  But this maturity could make him a difference-maker.
   
   
2. Josh Harrellson C 6'9"/265 Rivals
   
   Like Galloway, Harrellson comes from junior college, but he has three full years of eligibility remaining.  Harrellson is a big body who can bang and shoot from the perimeter.  He will shore up the middle of the Wildcat's front line, giving much needed rest to Patrick Patterson and Perry Stevenson.  His combination of inside-outside could make the 'Cat front line the most formidable in the SEC.
   
   
3. DeAndre Liggins PG 6'5"/190 Rivals
   
   Liggins is a very tall point guard, but unlike Galloway, he is a true point guard.  Liggins is capable in all areas of the game, but is not particularly athletic.  His passing and length, as well as Kentucky's lack of returning high talent at the point guard position make him a likely impact player there.
   
   
4. Darius Miller SF 6'6"/215 Rivals
   
   A silky-smooth athlete and a mature player for his age and experience, Miller brings a lot of skill and talent to a position where UK needs it.  Unlike Ramon Harris, Miller has a reliable perimeter shot and can handle the ball.  His lack of experience will be the biggest thing to overcome, but he could make a huge impact from the 3 spot and possibly the 2 as well.
   
   
5. Donald Williams SG 6'4"/200 Rivals
   
   Very little is actually known about Williams by most UK fans.  Williams is said to be a physical guard who can score, and has the capability to play both guard positions, and said to have a solid handle.  Williams is the X-factor this year, as he burst on the recruiting scene very late.

So there we have it, a quick look at the newcomers.  Now you must decide who will produce the biggest impact on the team this year by voting in the poll below.  Please take some time to explain your vote in the comments section.

I have mostly eschewed basketball news lately in favor of football.  There has really not been that much to tell except some comments on recent pick-up games, which I and most of the Big Blue Faithful have learned to place very little stock in.  Thus, at most, you have a few links to news reports and little else.

But in the last week or so, Rivals has begun releasing its top 65 teams for the 2008-2009 season, and Kentucky weighs in at #40 (Free).  Now, I know a few Wildcat fans will want to take umbrage with this, but realistically, that is a very reasonable pre-season ranking for this team.  Do I believe we deserve to be better?  Well, yes, the fan in me really does, but when I take off my Big Blue shades, I see things that would give a neutral observer reason for concern:

• Patrick Patterson, as good as he is, lost 6 months of basketball.  He has only been able to do rehab and some lifting, which will help, but the part of his game that makes him what he is, i.e. running, jumping, and competing, has been denied him lo these many months.  That will definitely cause his development to be set back a bit.  How much we won't know for a while, and he will be good, but just how good is a question mark.
• Jodie Meeks also lost some time.  I don't think it has been nearly as bad for him as for Pat, but there will be some lingering effects come October.  He is in a position that must step up and deliver, as he is the primary back court scoring threat this year unless someone shows up out of the blue.
  
• Point guard situation -- even with Liggins, there are questions to be asked.  Is Liggins good enough to be an SEC starter right out of the box?  How much can Galloway and Porter help?  Freshman point guards are not something any SEC team would want to take the floor with in most seasons.  Liggins will have a big say in how successful this team will be.
  
• Scoring -- that is, by far, the biggest concern of those who look at Kentucky pre-season.  After losing two 20 point per game guards and replacing them with unproven players (except Meeks), do we have enough perimeter scoring?  I actually think we can replace them by committee, but we'll have to see how that works out.

But there are also reasons for optimism, and as an optimistic fan, I will tell you that these are more in my mind than the concerns:

• Flexibility -- we have six athletic players in the 6'5" - 6'8" range, all of whom are interchangeable at two positions and three of whom are interchangeable at three.
• Defense -- this team is far, far more capable of being a lock-down defensive team than last year's was, and last year's team was pretty darn good defensively.
• Built to run -- This team is deep, athletic and will be able to run, and DeAndre Liggins loves to advance the ball with the pass.  The prospect of seeing our fast break this year excites the heck out of me.
• Built to rebound -- This is the tallest Kentucky team 1-5 I can ever remember.  There is no reason for an opponent to ever get an offensive rebound.  We should dominate the defensive glass, and could dominate the offensive glass as well.
• Decent depth everywhere -- With the exception of off guard, unless Williams is way better than I expect, we are a deep team, and that depth is decent.

I do not, as a fan, believe that there are 39 teams better than us in the NCAA.  But I also know as an analyst that there are many unanswered questions, and it's usually best when ranking teams to err on the side of what you think you know.  We know so little about so much of this year's team, a ranking between 30 and 40 makes sense intellectually, even if it does "angry up" my blue blood a bit.

With the Governor's Cup game now only 6 days away, we here at A Sea of Blue have been non-stop football.  Another good reason for that is because there is precious little meaningful basketball information to discuss.

However, when I was perusing Rivals the other day, I came across this Rivals piece debating whether or not Kentucky is ready to contend for the SEC in basketball this year.  As you might expect, one pundit (Bob McClellan) takes the "yes" side and another (Andrew Skwara) takes the "no."  So I'd like to comment on this debate a bit.

First of all, there are legitimate doubts about Kentucky's back court this season.  Even with Galloway and Liggins eligible, we have to keep in mind that we are asking a freshman to run the point with Porter as his likely backup.  I don't see Galloway spending a lot of time at point guard as others apparently do, because I don't think it is really his natural position.  Liggins, to my mind, is a natural point despite his size, whereas Galloway just has the kind of skills that point guards need in abundance.

But in the end, it doesn't matter much who mans the spot.  What matters is, can our personnel be effective at that position?  Skwara's point is that there are too many questions about our team, from point guard to scoring to back court depth.  What he doesn't really address is our size, length and strength as a team.  This is among the tallest, thickest and most athletic Kentucky teams in my memory from one to five, and among the most flexible when it comes to personnel.  We have four back-court players who can play any position from the point to the wing forward, and plenty of size and depth in the front court.  Scoring will come, of course, from Meeks and Patterson, but also from Stephenson.  The 6'5" - 6'7" guys will provide all the athleticism, ballhandling and depth we will need, as well as defensive pressure that will surely be frightening before the season is out.

When you compare Kentucky to the best teams in the SEC, you find that, questions aside, we have lots of big bodies we can put almost anywhere.  No other team in the SEC is as flexible as Kentucky, and if, as we can safely assume, the team takes to Gillispie's defensive mindset earlier than last year, our opponents can look forward to a lot of 30% nights shooting the ball, and to Patrick Patterson dunking on their heads.  If this team can develop a bit of a nasty attitude, I can imagine the fear returning to Florida and Tennessee's eyes as they take the Rupp Arena floor.  That may not happen, but with this mix of personnel and the right attitude, it certainly could.

It was not that long ago that the Kentucky Wildcats utterly dominated this league with a defense of terrifying efficiency.  Those 'Cats emasculated teams, routing them like the Redeem Team did most of it's opponents in the Olympics.  In those days,  Kentucky did not field even one player as talented as Patrick Patterson, and I submit that the combination of Meeks, Patterson and Stephenson will be more than enough scoring for this year's team, combined with chip-ins from the rest of the players.  It isn't the offense that teams should be worried about next year.  It's the defense, size and athleticism that will take the floor.

Many times when we think of people in the abstract, we think of their defining characteristics.  Not so much about them, but about the particular things that separate them from their peers.  Everyone has them.  Some are easy to identify and some are more difficult, but they are there for each of us.  So what I'll set out to do now is examine the defining characteristic of Kentucky's returning basketball players.

But rather than try to define them as "purposeful" or "dedicated," I'm going to try to identify each returning player with movie character.  Movies have become a way for our culture to express the allegorical, the mythical, and the abstract.  So I thought it would be fun to give you my take on how next year's basketball team might be expressed as movie characters.

So without further ado and any more gilding the lilly, here is my whimsical attempt at representing each of our returning scholarship players with movie characters.

• Patrick Patterson -- Maximus Decimus Meridius, Gladiator
  
  If a movie character was ever fit to describe a player, this is truly it.  Maximus was utterly indomitable, just like Patrick, and his combination of martial skill and leadership nearly brought Rome to it's knees.  Patrick embodies all of Maximus -- Loyalty, bravery, determination, leadership and ability to dominate every opponent both physically and mentally.
  
  Like Maximus, Patterson will lead the Wildcats this year.  He will lead with his passion and his heart and his skill.  Crowds will cheer him as they cheered Maximus in the Arena.  His motto will be: "There was once a dream that was Kentucky basketball. It shall be realised."
  
  
• Jodie Meeks -- Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
  
  How does this work, you ask?  Inigo Montoya was a skilled and excellent swordsman, but a tragic figure in that his father, whom he loved very much, was killed in front of him by the Six Fingered Man when he was but a child.  In similar fashion, Jodie is a skilled player who lost an entire year of his life to injury, a tragic circumstance for his UK career.
  
  Inigo embodies many of Jodie's characteristics -- skill, athleticism, charm, loyalty and wit.  Jodie has shown great loyalty to Kentucky and given all of himself to the game.  The paraphrase of Inigo's famous mantra will surely apply to Jodie next year: "My name is Jodie Meeks.  You are my opponent.  Prepare to lose."
  
  
• Perry Stevenson -- Kurt Sloane, Kickboxer
  
  Jean-Claude Van Damme as Kurt Sloane was an athletic martial arts fighter who came to Thailand utterly unprepared.  While he had great skills, they were undeveloped and inadequate for him to survive the savagery of Muay Thai and avenge the crippling blow that struck down his brother.
  
  In like fashion, Perry Stevenson came to Kentucky unprepared, but skilled.  He meandered through his first 45 games or so at Kentucky.  But just as Van Damme's character eventually discovered in his training by Xian Chow, character and strength must mingle with talent and skill before victory is possible.
  
  
• Ramon Harris -- William Thatcher/Sir Ulrich Von Liechtenstein, A Knight's Tale
  
  Ramon Harris has spent the last two years trying to "change his stars" from a marginal Division I player into a knight of Kentucky basketball.  Like Sir Ulrich, played by Heath Ledger, Harris started his career at Kentucky in the middle of the season, finally finding his groove and earning a starting position.
  
  I don't know if Harris is quite ready for the touch of the sword on the shoulder, but by all reports, he is getting there.  His consistent defense and all-around floor game made him an important "glue guy" last year.  Is he ready for the big time in 2008?  We shall see.
  
  
• Jared Carter -- Jim Braddock, Cinderella Man
  
  Russell Crowe again makes an appearance on our list as an avatar for Jared Carter.  Carter has suffered setback after setback at Kentucky, just like Braddock did in the movie.  Unlike the character I have chosen to represent him, however, he has yet to make his comeback and become a working-class hero like Braddock.
  
  But Jared has shown considerable determination in the face of long odds, and refuses to give up.  Can he climb the considerable mountain in front of him and finally live up to his potential?
  
  
• A.J. Stewart -- Jimmy Dix, The Last Boy Scout
  
  A.J. Stewart has many of the characteristics of the wise-cracking character played by Daymon Wayans, including tremendous talent and a lighthearted nature.  Dix was a loose cannon in his team-up with Joe Hallenback (Bruce Willis) just like A.J. was much of the time on the court last year.
  
  But just as Jimmy Dix came to be a valuable friend and cohort to Hallenback, A.J. Stewart is working to find that same relationship with the Kentucky team.  If he does, watch out!
  
  
• Michael Porter -- Frodo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings trilogy
  
  Just like Frodo as the bearer of the One Ring, Michael Porter was far out of his depth when he matriculated to Kentucky.  He has struggled with ballhandling and the quickness of other top point guards, and although he has proven to be a good three-point shooter, his liabilities often outweigh his assets.
  
  Still, just as Frodo found a way to get the job done, Porter has persevered and will likely see a lot of minutes this year.  Will he get to the top of Mount Doom, or will he be seized by the orcs before he gets there?