Kentucky Wildcat Basketball: The 2010-ers that "got away"

Now that we are winding down the 2011 recruiting season, I thought it would be a good time to look back at some of the players that “got away” from John Calipari during last seasons recruiting wars.  Kentucky did have the number one recruiting class in 2010 and I doubt that adding any of these players could have taken us past the Final Four appearance that Jones, Knight, and company delivered, but it’s always good to revisit those old names we used to be so obsessed with:

• Josh Selby, Kansas –  The number one recruit per Rivals was pretty much a bust in Kansas.  He was forced to sit out nine games due to eligibility reasons and when he did play, it was inconsistent.  Selby averaged just 20 minutes a game and scored 7.9 points and 2.2 assists per game.  He did have some stellar games, but he ended up being more of a liability and did not score in double digits after February 1.  Selby is currently the posterboy for the “anti one and done” club as he has entered the NBA Draft. 
• Harrison Barnes, North Carolina –  Barnes flirted briefly with Kentucky but never seemed to have Lexington as a valid contender.  Barnes started slowly, but was living up to his #2 Rivals ranking by the end of the season, averaging 15.7 points and 5.8 rebounds.  Barnes will be around to torment Kentucky next year in at least one meeting. 
• Kyrie Irving, Duke –  Unfortunately, the Kyrie Irving era at Duke lasted just 11 games due to injury. Irving was brilliant during his time, averaging 17.5 points and dishing 4.3 assists.  Irving was deadly from long range, nailing 46.2% of his treys.  
• Tobias Harris, Tennessee –  Harris blossomed into one of the Vol’s top players as he averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds for the embattled Bruce Pearl.  There has been speculation that Harris may transfer, but that talk seems to have subsided.  
• Will Barton, Memphis –  Remember him?  He was Calipari’s first big “miss” as Kentucky coach.  Barton had a solid, but not spectacular season for Josh Pastner’s Tigers.  Barton  averaged 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds, but shot just 26.5% from long range.  Lest we forget, Barton was part of a “package deal” with his brother, Antonio, and it looks like the deal kind of paid off for Memphis.  Antonio averaged 8.2 points and 2.5 boards.  
• CJ  Leslie, North Carolina State – Wildly inconsistent is the best way to describe John Wall’s buddy with the Wolfpack.  Leslie had some solid games, but finished with season averages of 11.0 points and 7.2 rebounds.  Leslie had some huge rebounding games early in the season, but only had two double digit rebounding games once the calendar turned to January.
• Adreian Payne, Michigan State – Did he even play for Michigan State this year?  I remember how disappointed I was when UK lost the big guy to Tom Izzo, but as a freshman, Payne barely left an imprint.  Payne averaged just 9 minutes a game,  with 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds a game. 

That is all of the top 20 players that Kentucky flirted with last season.  And to be honest, I don’t think I would have taken any of these guys over the freshmen we got.  In retrospect, Harrison Barnes would have been nice, but I would still take Kanter over him.  And Kentucky dodged major bullets with Irving and Selby.  To be fair, you can’t blame Irving for the injury, but I can’t imagine this season being near as successful had Knight played just 11 games.

In retrospect, I guess John Calipari kind of knows what he is doing recruiting wise.

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