It has been a little more than a week since I dropped the last 2012 Recruiting Big Board update, and already there's been action without actual action. That is the nature of the recruiting beast. Like Twitter, the game of Monopoly, or ninja movements, it's all just shadow and speculation until it's not. Still, it's fun to keep guessing. Here's the latest pertinent recruiting nuggets from around BBN.
The week started with Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports going on-air with Tom Leach, the Voice of the Wildcats. Goodman said he expects the recruiting dominoes to start falling as early as this week. Further, Goodman says he expects 2012 SG Archie Goodwin from Arkansas to be the first Kentucky commit. His quote: "Yeah, I think Archie Goodwin may be the first one to fall." Kentucky's primary competition on Goodwin is hometown Arkansas.
That's interesting because Kentucky's other top target at the SG position is Ricardo Ledo. Mr. Ledo is currently practicing with the Puerto Rican National Team, the same team that one John Calipari happens to be coaching (scratched: see below). The rumor is he was offered a spot on the team, in which case he and Calipari should become quite close.
From the land of not-so-good news, one of the falling dominoes mentioned by Jeff Goodman is a big one. That would be 2012 PF Kaleb Tarczewski, who may or may not be committing within the next 48 hours. The Kentucky target doesn't have an official offer from Calipari, and given that he has never visited, it's unlikely that decision would be pro-BBN.
Bluegrass Hoops caught up with 2012 SF Shabazz Muhammad in a recently posted interview. While there's no real news to note, it's important that Muhammad named location, coaching, and style of play. If Kentucky doesn't end up with Muhammad, it's likely because of that first aspect and not the latter two.
Another 2012 SF, TJ Warren, is expected to visit North Carolina this week. He holds an offer from Kentucky, and is widely expected to receive an offer from the Tar Heels during his visit.
Warren will be teammates with 2012 PF Mitch McGary next year at Brewster Academy. McGary, who also has a Kentucky offer, has not narrowed his list. He also may or may not be interested in Kentucky. Yes, "maybe" is a common theme in recruiting circles.
Hey, Mr. McGary, why wouldn't you want to play at Kentucky? Here's why fellow 2012 PF Brandon Ashleywants to: "Kentucky’s just always gonna be one of those schools that, uh, a lot of top players are going to consider. Um, I mean, they get players out. I think that’s a main goal for a lot of us players in high school." Ashley likely isn't deciding anytime soon, but the Cats are still in contention.
Two other players who are expressing interest in Kentucky are 2014 young'uns. The first is PG LJ Peak, who will unofficially visit Lexington next week. When prompted to name his dream school, he said "Kentucky." Awesome. The other is PF Dakari Johnson, who is switching from St. Patrick to Montverde Academy in Florida next year (following his head coach, Kevin Boyle). Apparently Johnson spent some formative years in the bluegrass, living in Lexington for four years. That's a nice connection.
Another young star, 2014 SF Andrew Wiggins, is moving down from Canada and attending Huntington Prep next year. Cats fan may remember Huntington as the former school of Wildcat great Patrick Patterson. As for Wiggins, he's a name that will continue to draw attention from Calipari and other top tier coaches.
In the 2013 class, John Calipari may have announced his top priority: the Harrison twins. Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison are twin brothers from the Houston greater area. They're planning on playing together in college and are really, really good. Their father, Aaron Sr., told Jody Demling that the twins are considered a "top priority" by John Calipari. Two birds with one stone. Why not?
Back to 2012: a couple new names for the radar. C Blaise Mbargorba was recently watched by John Calipari. He's a low-ranked, high-upside big that could be a good project for Kentucky. Right now it's a longshot, but there's something here. The other name is PG Daiquan Walker, who listed Kentucky amongst his desired schools. Walker took an unofficial visit to Kentucky last fall, but there's been little interest from Kentucky's side, particularly after the Twany Beckham and Ryan Harrow transfers.
If you haven't heard, Duke committed a violation in recruiting 2012 SF Alex Poythress. Because Duke can do no wrong, it's no big deal.
If you haven't seen, this video of Kevin Durant lighting up Rucker Park is pretty incredible. No, it's not Wildcats or recruiting related, but if it doesn't get you pumped up for some basketball, I don't know what will. How long is the off-season again?
For the latest Kentucky basketball recruiting news, follow me on the Twitters at @JC_at_M2M.
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