There are a few things to talk about recruiting-wise this morning, the most surprising being this article by Jerry Tipton that Nicola Kecman is not a Buckeye just yet, directly contradicting this story at Bucknuts.com. I have no idea at this moment who is right, but Rivals' OSU page has him listed as a Buckeye commit. Who is right? I don't know for sure. Bucknuts was citing "sources" but named no names. Word is that he may be visiting Ole Miss this week. We will probably know for sure sometime today.
According to the same Tipton article, Majok's decision will be coming as soon as early this week. His coach and advisor apparently told Tipton that "UConn led, in part, because it's the last suitor to embrace Majok." This is not Majok's first visit to Storrs, and even though I think UConn is leading, it is instructive to note that Majok did not commit on the spot. That fact has been used to justify speculation that Majok is not quite in the bag for UConn yet.
Still, my experience is that unless he saw something at Connecticut he didn't like that well, or UConn somehow failed to make the kind of impression UK made on him, I don't expect Majok to be in blue next year. It is a nice hope, but it feels to me like Cat fans are grasping at straws here. UConn has been on Majok longer than anyone, and as we saw with Patrick Patterson, that means a lot. Kentucky had been on Patterson for a long time, developed a relationship that was enough to bring him even through a coaching change. That takes time that Kentucky has not had, and leads me to this somewhat pessimistic appraisal.
In case you haven't heard, Josh Harrellson wrapped up his visit with St. Louis and will be making his decision on Tuesday. This is another one of those calls that is closer than expected, and once again, a competitor has had the chance to make the final impression. While nobody watching the situation believes that St. Louis is now the leader for Harrellson's services, Harrellson has indicated that proximity to his home is an advantage that they have, while tradition, visibility and the "grand scale" of Kentucky are advantages there.
This case is, fortunately for UK, different than Majok. Majerus has not been on Harrellson for years, and neither has Gillispie. Both have had about the same opportunity to make an impression, and we are not talking about thousands of miles as far as proximity to home is concerned, so even though it may be a bit harder for his parents to see him play, we are talking about a matter of some 5.5 hours of driving time. I feel very good about this recruitment, and would be quite surprised if we were unable to secure Harrellson's services. It still could happen, and Majerus apparently did a bang-up sales job, but I believe that we are in a very good position here.
There is no real update about Paul McCoy, but the UK staff has reportedly been in contact with Verdell Jones recently. Many had given up on Jones, and Marc Maggard has stated that he doesn't have an offer from UK, even though Jones himself has said more than once that he does. Kentucky has been on Jones a long time, and for my money, he is the best combo guard prospect we are currently recruiting. Many like McCoy and Maze better, but not me. Jones is a smart kid with good skills who is likely to thrive in Gillispie's, "I shave by driving my whiskers through my cheeks with a hammer and biting them off on the inside" style. Jones is expected to make his decision this week.
As to everyone else, well, I have nothing new to report.
Update [2008-4-28 15:21:8 by Truzenzuzex]: A UConn blog is reporting that Majok has committed to the Huskies.
Update [2008-4-28 18:14:39 by Truzenzuzex]: This doesn't make me feel real warm and fuzzy.