New (to me) name on the recruiting radar

by Glenn Logan on Mar 26, 2008 8:17 AM EDT in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

The name? Jordan Henriquez of ~~Long Island~~ Port Chester (thanks to an alert reader who is not as geographically challenged as I), New York.

The vital statistics: 6'11' 215#, Class of 2008. Long, athletic skinny guy. Good shot blocker and rebounder. Rivals ranks him as a 3-star big man, and he has said that he plans an official visit to UK.

Henriquez would not seem to be the ideal choice for Kentucky because of his slight frame, but according to The Cats Pause, Gillispie & Co. have offered him a scholarship, so they must see a lot of potential there. As I am not a recruiting guru and do not play on on the Internet, I will say that I don't know beans about the guy. But from what I have read, he seems more likely to wind up somewhere in the northeast. Henriquez is said to have a good face-up game, soft hands and a lot of upside.

NBADraft.net has this to say about him:

2. Jordan Henriquez 6'11'' C Portchester HS (Portchester, NY)

Henriquez still is not done growing and should top out at over 7-feet. He plays with tremendous intensity and passion. Henriquez's length and shot-blocking ability made Renardo Sindey extremely frustrated when the two squared off. Though his post skills are still far from being ready, Henriquez demonstrated a nice outside shooting touch and knocked in a few three-pointers. If Henriquez can develop his offense and his body in the next year, he could be a top-end prospect come the end of his senior season at Portchester. [Emphasis mine]

He "frustrated Renardo Sidney?" Hello! Sidney is only the #1 ranked big man in the 2009 class. 3-point range? Well.

That's just another name you can add to the mix. We all knew that Gillispie was a recruiting whirlwind when he came, and it seems he is doing nothing to change that perception now that he is here.

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Tall, thin, NY product, and can shoot the 3

I like guys in the Walter McCarty mold.

by chirop1 on Mar 26, 2008 8:35 AM EDT reply actions

Guys like us...

...tend to put too much weight on the stars but those are only updated a couple of times a year and also vary from organization-to-organization. At some point we'll just have to trust our leaders.

I'm assuming that because Gillispie is interested and we're talking about an '09, not '08 recruit, his ranking will improve at the next scoring.

by Clandestine on Mar 26, 2008 8:39 AM EDT reply actions

It says a 2008 recruit

on Catspause. Is that not accurate?

by olddoc on Mar 26, 2008 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Yes

Rivals.com also puts him at 2008. I would be way more interested in this guy if he was actually 2009, to be honest, but, then again, I'm not the coach, so what do I know.

by blbskue on Mar 26, 2008 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Read again

Reading comprehension, ladies and gentleman (I am at fault here too). Tru's post lists him in the Class of 2008 in the "Vital Stats" section.

by blbskue on Mar 26, 2008 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions

NY Prospect

He is not from Long Island. Port Chester is in Westchester County which is north of NYC. If he can score it really doesn't make any difference where he comes from.

by 53cat on Mar 26, 2008 8:51 AM EDT reply actions

Agree

I think hearing about a very tall, very skinny guy scares us because Kentucky has had a lot of those guys the past few years that never really turned into anything. This kid could end up being Perry Stephenson x10, and his ability to score is great.

I'm thinking that maybe Gillispie likes have a Perry Stephenson-esq player - tall, thin, shotblocker to compliment a more traditional big man/PF/C. This may be Perry's understudy.

Also, I think I have a man-crush on Renardo Sidney, and if he gets frustrated by Henriquez, awesome. I still say we really need to get Sidney too.

by blbskue on Mar 26, 2008 9:50 AM EDT reply actions

Not sure where else to post this

Just wanted to give a hearty congratulations to my law alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis, for winning the Division III National Championship. Go Bears.

by blbskue on Mar 26, 2008 10:26 AM EDT reply actions

Indeed.

Congrats.

by Glenn Logan on Mar 26, 2008 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Many thanks

My undergrad alma mater, Centre College, finished an undefeated regular season (first in SCAC history), but got bounced from the tournament earlier than expected in the second round.

It's hard to even try to care about D3 ball, especially when you're a UK fan, but I try to show some allegiance to the places that educated me.

On that note - do D1 programs ever try to get transfers from D3 schools? JUCO players get a lot of attention, but in my very brief here and there checks on the status of D3, there are some very good players, especially guards. D3 tends to have 6'7" centers, but there are some impressive smaller guys. Just a thought.

by blbskue on Mar 26, 2008 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Centre

I'm a Centre grad myself and it was exciting to see the team make such a run.

I can't say I've ever heard anyone jumping from DIII to DI in basketball but I know its happened in football. With 340+ DI basketball schools, some D3 players must eventually make the jump but it has to be much more common the other way.

In both football and basketball, DIII players have made it to the league which goes to show you how uncertain all this recruiting madness truly is.

by Thomas Hunt Morgan on Mar 26, 2008 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Juvenile Humor

I cant help it. I thought this was pretty funny. Nothing like taking a trip down memory lane - back to middle school lunchroom humor! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1tIoqzWH8I&NR=1

by kentuckygirl0724 on Mar 26, 2008 3:14 PM EDT reply actions

Patterson is too smart to leave.

He will surely have amazing 7 figure insurance on his body next year if he stays in college that would probably almost cover the salary of a low first round draft pick, so he doesn't have much to lose. If he does get as good as he is expected to get and becomes an absolute beast, and does it over the next one to three years here at Kentucky rather than sitting on the bench in the NBA, he would eventually get so much attention for being one of the best college players in the country, reviving one of the most storied programs in history, he would be a sure fire top five pick and have an original NBA contract worth way more money than if he would to leave now. Yes, there is a chance he could lose some money, but he could also somehow make even more money and become legendary in the process.

by cdnWildcatfan on Mar 26, 2008 11:22 PM EDT reply actions

Patterson

is going nowhere.

Any year he goes he is a sure fire first round pick based on potential alone but if he wants to see immediate clock in the league he needs to hang around the college game for one to two more years and develop a more reliable jumper and as much of a perimeter game as possible. At the four spot in the NBA he is going to need to be able to step out and hit that 15-19 foot jumpers automatically.

DEEETROIT BASKETBALLL!!!

by davw83 on Mar 27, 2008 12:03 PM EDT reply actions