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Ten Days to 2007 and beyond

By Glenn Logan

The next ten days should tell us a great deal about the makeup of the Kentucky Wildcats next year, and possibly for several years to come.

A lot happened this weekend, much of which I was unable to report on due to golf on Sunday.   Sorry, folks, when it comes down to a choice between golf and blogging, blogging comes in second every time.

Let's start by taking a look at the Jordan Classic.  The Jordan Classic was aired on ESPN2 on Saturday, but I was unable to watch.  Fortunately, however, others did watch, and give us a run down on how the players did.

Really, the only notable recruit for UK there was Patrick Patterson (Update [2007-4-23 8:26:27 by Truzenzuzex]: Oops, forgot about Jai Lucas - he was there also).  NBADraft.net  had this to say about his performance:

Patrick Patterson -- You wouldn't know this was an all star game by the way Patterson and Blake Griffin were brawling for position inside. Patterson showed that he is one of the top 4-men in the class as he dominated Griffin and Gary Johnson inside. He blocked both players shots and scored on a number of jams. Patterson runs the floor especially well, and shows great length and leaping ability.

CSTV.com also took a long look at the Jordan Classic players, and they had this to say about Patterson:
Patterson showed one of his trademark up-and-downs when he scored on a power dunk inside and got back to catch a Yellow break-away with a block. He plays with fire and showed good reflexes with a quick interior pass and quick catch-and-dunks. Not just a huge get because it's spring - -he's a program staple as a fall signee. Finished with 12 points and 12 boards.

These comments correspond with the observations I had about Patterson in the McDonald's All-America game.  Patterson plays every game like it matters, even all-star games.  He never really takes a possession off.  This kid simply has great passion for the game, and will be a anchor for any college program lucky enough to land him.  I hope it is us.

And lest I totally forget Jai Lucas, 7AndCounting, who posts over at Wildcat Maniacs, attended the Jordan Classic and has a nice recap here. Full disclosure: Your humble correspondent is also a staff member at Wildcat Maniacs.

Patterson's home-town paper also covered the event.  you can find the article here.

From the Jordan Classic, we go to the Kingwood Classic down in Houston, Texas.  Several UK targets were playing in this event (G.J. Vilarino,  Willie Warren, Greg Monroe), and it predictably drew serious interest from the UK staff.  Jody Demling was there and has awesome coverage over at his blog on the Courier-Journal.  Just keep scrolling.  CSTV's recruiting analyst Van Coleman (who also runs Hoopmasters.com)  also has comprehensive coverage.

You might think we are done with recruiting now.  You would be wrong - we still must look at the Pittsburgh Jam Fest.  Michael Sanchez, the little known (at least to me) recruit to whom coach Gillispie recently offered a scholarship, showed the world why Gillispie is the UK coach and I am not:


One high-major coach said Michael Sanchez's effort against the Michigan Mustangs was Herculean. That's about as good of a way to describe the big man's game on Saturday afternoon. Sanchez put in the work to the tune of 25 points and roughly 15 rebounds (maybe more).

This kid is looking more and more like a solid plan B for Patterson.  Matt Jones has a long post over at his blog also looking at recruiting, and it is a good supplement to all the resources I have linked above. Matt also reminds us that Jai Lucas will be announcing his decision on Friday, so Fateful Day One is coming this week. Matt also thinks (as do I) that if Jai chooses Florida, it would likely remove all the suspense from Patterson's future announcement.

Are we done with recruiting yet?  Nope!  In breaking news, Alex Legion has dropped Kansas from consideration for his services, according to this report:

Legion, a 6-foot-5 senior guard out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., who visited the University of Kentucky from Thursday through Saturday, told Rivals.com he's down to Kentucky, UCLA and Michigan.

I'm getting happy.  This could be very good if true.  UCLA will be tempting for him, but I think we are in a very, very strong position for his services.

More?  Well, no, not for now.  I think this is enough for one post.  More to follow later.

Lunchtime Update [2007-4-23 11:55:59 by Truzenzuzex]: Matthew Mitchell, former coach of Morehead State University will be introduced as Kentucky's new women's basketball coach at 2:30 PM today at the Joe Craft Center. More on this hire later today. Hat Tip - The Fake Gimel Martinez.

Also, John Clay has an excellent run down on his observations at the Blue/White scrimmage held this past Saturday. Scout also has coverage here.

And under the heading of "How could I have missed this one?", FireBilly.com tells us that Chuck Hayes is a proud new papa!

North Carolina star and former UK recruit Brandan Wright will reportedly enter the NBA draft. Wright is a sure lottery pick, so we have most likely seen the last of him in the college game.

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Update [2007-4-23 18:6:25 by Truzenzuzex]: Whaaa ...?

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