Pick 4: Which stud PG commits to UK first?
By Staff
Who wants to be the next Derrick Rose? Or Tyreke Evans? Or even John Wall? With the recent decommitment of #2 PG Josh Selby from Tennessee, the 2010 PG race is suddenly wide open. Knowing Calipari, UK fans can be assured that we will land one of the top four PG recruits and can we be insane enough to say two? Pure giddiness aside, it’s great to have all these options that want to come to UK but it appears that we are just waiting for the first PG to commit and with Mr Bledsoe manning the point, I doubt that more than one would come to UK.
But then Duke fans swore that Wall would not come to UK with Bledsoe here, so don’t underestimate Cal. But assuming we do end up with one of the four, which one would the Big Blue Nation prefer?
BRANDON KNIGHT
Knight, the number one PG, seems pretty content to play the recruiting field right now. He is currently resting and out for action for 6 weeks while he heals from a fractured foot. Knight seems like a good kid, with a 4.2 GPA and a stellar high school academic career. His parents also seem to have a pretty good grasp on this recruiting this, as all calls go to his parents. His Mom says that Brandon is wide open on his choice and the family will look at their options in the Fall. UK, Florida, and Duke appear to be the leaders for Knight, but Connecticut, FSU, Georgia Tech, Miami, and Syracuse have also offered and are in the mix. Some pundits consider Knight to UK a no brainer due to Calipari’s reputation with PG’s but that appears to be just speculation. At 6’3, he is the type and size guard that can thrive in the DDMO.
JOSH SELBY
Ah the drama. Personally, I don’t see why some pundits are so hysterical about Selby de–committing from Tennessee, but when you mention Calipari, WWW, and Nike together, tongues will wag. Someone has to cause drama and Pat Forde must be injecting his hair with steroids and has not weighed in on a “smear Cal” campaign yet. Regardless, Selby’s mom put to rest a lot of the WWW rumors saying she met Worldwide Wes but they did “not really talk” and that it is “not a connection like everyone thinks”. Selby’s mom went on to say that Tennessee is still an option for Josh. “It’s just that we looked at one other school before we committed to Tennessee and it was Louisville. It was a fast decision because we were so overwhelmed with the atmosphere at Tennessee , and we just want to make sure it’s right. ” There has been no timetable for Selby’s decision, but UK, Oregon, and Tennessee are considered the leaders right now but Louisville has also offered.
KYRIE IRVING
Irving seems to go out of his way to say that his recruitment is open. Part of the reason is that his Godfather, Rod Strickland is an assistant coach to UK and UK has been rumored to be the leader for a while. Strickland is not the only family connection however as Texas A&M assistant Scott Spinelli played at BU with Irving’s father. Regardless, Irving says that family connections will NOT be a deciding factor on where he goes to school. Irving’s HS coach has listed UK, Duke, Indiana, Virginia, Seton Hall, Texas A&M and Georgia Tech as possible leaders, but IU and Duke seem to be recruiting him the hardest right now. The word on Irving is that he may be narrowing his list down soon, but the decision may not be till the Fall.
**I have to be fair, I gave Tom Crean a little flack about following Kyrie on his twitter HERE but now head coaches Notre Dame’s Mike Brey and Texas A&M’s Mark Turgeon are not following Irving. Assistant coaches Orlando Antigua from UK and Ohio State’s Brandon Miller have also hit the “follow” button. **
JOE JACKSON
Jackson is probably the recruit that knows Calipari the best as the Memphis native grew up a Tiger’s fan and was recruited by Cal when at Memphis. Now that Calipari has migrated North, so has Jackson’s interest. Jackson is the shortest of the four point guards at 5’11, and we know that Calipari likes taller guards, but when you are as freakishly athletic as Jackson (and Eric Bledsoe), that can make up for a lot of size. As much as Memphis wants to put an uniform on him already, it’s apparent Cal has his attention and it seems Jackson is OK playing the waiting game. Expect Tennessee to come on like gangbusters for Jackson as they have now lost two of their three prized guard prospects for 2010. Ohio State and Arkansas also figure prominently.
So……. who is it going to be? Personally think UK will land at least one of the guards and don’t rule out two of them. The one thing that struck me as odd was how little Billy Donovan seems to factor in these four premier players as UF just has one PG on their roster for next year and none signed for 2010 (Boynton is NOT a PG either and Austin Rivers does not arrive till 2011). But if I was a betting man, I would lay these odds on the first of the four UK will land:
Josh Selby 50%
Kyrie Irving 30%
Brandon Knight 15%
Joe Jackson 5%
But what do YOU think BBN? Vote below and also the rivals poll to the left. Let me know what you think.
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