For embattled UK coach Tubby Smith, the fine line between top 10 class and forgotten class is two names: Patrick Patterson and Jai Lucas.
Smith has been in on both players for a long time, and has worked his entire recruiting plan around the two. For a long time, it's kept UK fans who follow recruiting up in the air, and rumors pop up every week or so about where one of the other is headed -- sometimes Kentucky, sometimes not.
Sifting fact from fiction in recruiting circles is pretty impossible, except when there's a press release.
Both players have been named to the 2007 McDonald's All-American team, meaning mostly that (a) both are talented and top prospects, (b) both could announce together they are heading to Kentucky at the Mickey D's game in Louisville (!!) in April and (c) corraling both would be a huge boost for El Tubster, at least on the "He Don't Recruit No Good" front.
Full rosters follow ...
2007 McDonald's All-American team
EAST SQUAD
Nick Calathes (Florida commit)
Johnny Flynn (Syracuse)
Austin Freeman (Georgetown)
Donte Greene (Syracuse)
JJ Hickson (NC State)
Kosta Koufos (Ohio State)
Gani Lawal (Georgia Tech)
OJ Mayo (USC)
*Patrick Patterson (undecided)
Nolan Smith (Duke)
Corey Stokes (Villanova)
Chris Wright (Georgetown)
WEST SQUAD
Cole Aldrich (Kansas)
James Anderson (Oklahoma State)
Jerryd Bayless (Arizona)
Michael Beasley (Kansas State)
Eric Gordon (Indiana)
Blake Griffin (Oklahoma)
James Harden (Arizona State)
Taylor King (Duke)
Kevin Love (UCLA)
*Jai Lucas (undecided)
Derrick Rose (Memphis)
Kyle Singler (Duke)