Will Barton to UK

 

Barton to UK in the near future

According to Marc Maggard, Will Barton will commit to Kentucky as soon as his mom allows him to. He is setting up a visit to UK as we speak. Barton is a 5-star player out of the 2010 class and is considered a complete offensive stud who will fit Calipari’s system perfectly.

 

•  Barton’s Rivals profile
•  Barton’s Scout profile

 

Web Wednesday: 4.29.09

Week News

Some news since last wednesday:

•  According to Marc Maggard, Eric Bledsoe is visiting Kentucky this weekend. This comes only a week after visiting Memphis.
•  Jody Demling says John Wall is going to cut his list this week. Look for UK and Duke to make the final cut along with possibly Miami (FL) and/or Florida.
•  John Calipari talked to Dan Issel. And he is ‘twittering’.
•  Calipari is meeting with tons of five-star recruits. Will Barton, Brandon Knight, Adreian Payne, Roscoe Smith, Harrison Barnes, and Joe Jackson have all gotten visits in the past two weeks.

Rumor Mill

•  One rumor floating around is that both Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks are going to return to school and if they do it looks like John Wall will follow. Wall wants to win a title in his only season in college and with Meeks and Patterson coming back that can happen.
•  Another rumor is that AJ Stewart will be leaving the team, along with Donald Williams. AJ seems to be the odd-man out in the scholarship situation.

Former Faces

A lot of former UK players are being discussed in the NBA recently. Rajon Rondo has had perhaps the best postseason of any player in the league, averaging 24-10-10 in the playoffs, and yes that’s a triple-double. But in the last 12 hours it has been his slap across the face of Brad Miller that has been keeping him in the news.

Tayshaun Prince has been a staple in the Detroit Pistons starting lineup for 6 full seasons but it appears his may be on his way out. Mass turnover of the Pistons roster is due to go down this summer and Tayshaun looks like he may be one to go.

It looks like Chuck Hayes is getting some recognition. Hayes seems to be the best at defending Blazers big man LaMarcus Aldridge, helping the Rockets control the Blazers.

Five Reasons For Patterson To Return

Patterson: Is he going to return?

Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks have kept their names in the NBA Draft for over two weeks now. Many people are speculating that both of them will make their decision to return to school or stay in the NBA Draft in the given days or weeks. Consensus remains that Jodie Meeks will probably pull his name out of the draft and return to Kentucky to recieve tutelage from one of the best guard coaches in the nation in John Calipari, who could really help Meeks improve on his game in areas in which he is weak. But Patrick Patterson is different.

Many believe that Patterson may stay in the draft because of the risk of injury he could sustain in what is being widely considered his final season in college regardless, or because some teams have told him he IS readyy. But here are some reasons to stay:

1. The first one is pretty obvious. John Calipari is known for getting players to the league, and for players like Patterson, someone who is already going to the league with or without Cal, Calipari can help his stock rise into a potential lottery pick lock.
2. The second reason is simply because he loves college. Patterson has always stated that he loves UK, loves the campus, and loves the college life. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be the most popular person (Well, maybe second thanks to Calipari) in the nation’s most insane basketball city?
3. The third is for his parents. It is being reported that Patterson is on track to graduate in three years. Which would mean, by returning, he could get his degree along with playing the game he loves so much.
4. The fourth is perhaps the most important to Patterson and to the UK fans. Patterson stated when he signed with UK that he wanted to contend for a national title before he left campus, and he has a serious chance to do that if he returns next season. If Patterson were to return it would help UK’s chances with prep superstar John Wall, and with that kind of tandem coming along with Meeks, Miller, Hood, Orton, Dodson, Cousins, and Pilgrim UK could have themselves a top 5 preseason ranking.
5. The fifth and final reason Patterson should return to school is simple. He may just not be ready. This kind of goes hand-in-hand with number one but it’s a bit different. Patterson is going to the league either way, BUT he may not be a serious first-round consideration if he came out this season. He may need one more year regardless of if he gets better or not because there are some scouts that need answers. ‘Can he play an entire season without injury?’, ‘Can he hit the mid-range jumper in his sleep?’, ‘Is he mentally strong enough for the NBA?’. All of those questions can be aswered with one more year in Lexington.

Calipari Hitting Recruiting Trail

 

 

Calipari trying to land studs

When John Calipari was introduced as the new University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach on April 1, many thought he would have an immediate impact on the recruiting trail, and they were right. 

Calipari has already met with over half a dozen 5-star recruits in person and over 10 either in person or on the phone.

John Wall, the top player in the 2009 class, has already met with Calipari twice within the last two weeks, as has Harrison Barnes. 5-star juniors Will Barton, Joe Jackson, Adreian Payne, Dominique Ferguson, and Brandon Knight have also received in-person visits.

Calipari is known for going after the best-of-the-best type recruits and he has shown that in the three weeks that he has been head coach of Kentucky. Already 2009 All-American John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Darnell Dodson have added UK to their lists or committed to UK under Calipari. Over five top 20 players in the 2010 class have added UK to their school lists since Cal got hired, and the #1 player in the 2011 class, Michael Gilchrist, has listed UK as his top school.

Calipari talked about changing the culture of UK basketball at his inaugural press conference, and he has done an amazing job so far. He appears headed to lock up a top 3 recruiting class this year, and the #1 class if John Wall chooses Kentucky. In three weeks he has signed a 5-star player and a 4-star player, as well as keeping the commitments of 5-star center Daniel Orton and 4-star small forward Jon Hood.

Calipari is well on his way to legendary status, all he has to do is keep hitting the recruiting trail.

UKmadness Website

You can view the new UKmadness website here: http://web.me.com/alecmcafee.

The blog will be moving over there in a few weeks so start viewing that URL for new UK news.

Web Wednesday: 4.22.09

Lets get to the links:

• UofL commit and consensus top 5 junior Jeremy Tyler has decided to forgoe his senior season and go overseas.
• Multiple sources, including ZagsBlog, reporting Henry’s to Kansas
• Wall meeting with Coach K, Calipari meets with Leslie
• UK to meet UCONN in the Garden, Dec. 9, 2009
• Orton 100 % committed to Kentucky
• Calipari visits 5-star Barton

Rumor Mill

One rumor/fact is that Calipari has visited with numerous five star prospects over the past week already. Harrison Barnes has recieved two visits in the past five days. John Wall, Will Barton, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Joe Jackson, and Adreian Payne are just a few.

Darnell Dodson, a JUCO player formally signed to Memphis, appears headed to UK. He was a JUCO All-American last season and is a known shooter. He originally played at Pitt before transfering to JUCO.

Henry’s to Kansas

Expected to be announced officially tomorrow…

Recruiting Trail/NBA Update

A few things from the recruiting aspect over the past couple of days:

•  Coach Calipari has already met with Harrison Barnes, a top player from the 2010 class, once this period but is scheduled to meet with him again today
•  It looks as though Xavier Henry and CJ Henry will NOT be visiting UK before making a decision. Many people believe they are UK bound and are waiting until the end of this week or next week to make a decision
•  Speculation is that Patrick Patterson may stay in the 2009 draft because of his draft stock currently. One site has him going 22nd to the Dallas Mavericks. I believe if he is a top 20 pick he will leave, if not he will come back and spend a year in a pro-style system before leaving.
•  Jodie Meeks appears to be coming back. I believe he realizes that one year under guard-master Calipari could benefit him tremendously and it would only help his draft stock.
•  John Wall still has not hinted at cutting down his list even though he stated he would after the Jordan Brand Classic. He does seem to be favoring a few schools. I believe his final three is: UK, Duke, & NC State.

Kentucky

Kentucky is in a very good position for Wall because the system that will be implemented there will fit his style perfectly and will help him have a Derrick Rose/Tyreke Evans-type season. Wall has also built a tremendous relationship over the past year or so with new UK head coach John Calipari, which is one of the selling points according to Wall. Also, the facilities and distance from home are great too.

Duke

Duke has made up a considerable amount of ground over the past two months. After a meeting with Coach K a few weeks ago, Wall came away very impressed and sold on the idea of running the point for a potential national title contender like Duke. Duke is also very close to home and would allow him to be near his mother, who is sick. Duke also has two fellow Jordan Brand Classic participants attending there next season who have been on him about coming.

North Carolina State

NC State has always been close to the Wall recruitment. They were actually the first major D-I school to start recruiting Wall and he has been on numerous visits to their campus in his high school career. He is from Raleigh, NC, the same city as NC State which is also a selling point. He has built a very good relationship with the NCSTU staff and loves the community.

Web Wednesday: 4.15.09

Links

• John Calipari was on ESPNU discussing the DDM offense and the Kentucky brand and tradition
• Some UK questions popped up in ESPN’s Five Burning Questions
• Patrick Patterson will test the NBA waters, but will not hire an agent
• Calipari is quickly winning over Wildcats, according to SI.com
• Cousins officially signs with Cats
• Final 2009 Rivals.com player rankings are out. Wall #1, Cousins #2, Henry #8, Orton #22, Bledsoe #23, Hood #40

Rumor Mill

• SLAM wonders if John Wall will skip NCAA for NBA

Since it is WEB Wednesday, I would like to take some time to discuss something maybe a bit off topic. UKmadness is considering becoming a full website, not just a blog. We are looking for a good web host but would like a package that has a forum, blog, and website capability, along with a good web builder with FREE templates if we sign up. Also, if we do in fact make this leap we would like some writers as well, so if anyone out there, experienced or not, wants to try just email us at: ukmadness1@yahoo.com.

Cousins OFFICIALLY a Cat

DeMarcus Cousins ended his simple verbal commitment to Kentucky by signing his official Letter of Intent papers today. This means Cousins has signed on to play for the Cats and you can officially add him to the commitment list.

He joins fellow 5-star big man Daniel Orton and 4-star Kentucky Mr. Basketball Jon Hood in the 2009 class.