by Paul Jordan
“Yea, on second thought, let’s break this bad boy open”
To start off …. I don’t know if John Calipari is ready to break open the Maker’s Mark over all the Brandon Knight tension. All I know is that I am … and I don’t consider myself in the neurotic faction of the BBN. My family and co-workers will argue with that point but regardless…
The last 24 hours has been a flurry of Brandon Knight rumors, conjectures, and speculation and it’s starting to drive me a tad bit out of control and making me worry about next year rather than enjoy next seasons ride. And that needs to stop. If you read all the reports that are out there, you become convinced that Calipari has lost his magic, he can’t recruit any more, and he is planning a covert action to bring back Michael Porter for his senior season. That is, if you read all the reports. Fortunately I have a pretty good BS meter and I am able to sort through most of the muck and find a way to discredit other writers conjectures.
First up is the “analysis” from the New Times of Broward Palm Beach. Admidst the 5:00 PM crab cake special ads and other assorted age related material for their readers, Thomas Francis speculates that Knight is Florida bound because with Kentucky’s defections of Wall, Cousins, and Patterson “There may not be enough talent to make the national title run Knight probably wants”. Way to load your assertion with uncertainity there. He also goes on to say that Kansas will be in a “rebuilding year” next year. Whaaaa? Francis ends his debate by saying that it would be wonderful for Knight to play with Kenny Boynton (who has never seemed to be a likable person to me) and that Gainesville is close to home. So the New Times takes the stand that “
Maybe I’ve got a Florida bias, but I think the Gators and ‘Canes look like the two best fits for our young Jedi. Prediction: He goes to Gainesville.”
I frantically look for more information on the interweb and find that Maxpreps is also saying that Brandon Knight will go to the Gators. And again because Knight would rather eschew the chance to be molded by that NBA point guard czar John Calipari to play in a half empty O’Dome with that cult of personality Kenny Boynton:
“My prediction is that Knight will chisel his list down to Kentucky and Florida, with the nod going to the Gators. Although Kentucky coach John Calipari has had major success with his last three point guards (Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and John Wall), I don’t see Knight signing with the Wildcats. I feel Florida will be his destination because I can’t see him passing up on the chance of playing with Florida guard Kenny Boynton. Both were considered the best backcourt in the nation when they led Team Breakdown to back-to-back AAU Junior National Championships (2007 and 2008) and have the potential to do the same at the collegiate level.”
Now after reading this and then remembering Calipari’s trip to Las Vegas to see Cory Joseph and now his recent trip back to the desert to see him (and apparently be rebuffed again) by Joseph … that “thanks but no thanks“ quote by Joseph was new to me, I am ready to order that Calipari Makers Mark in bulk. But then I remember that Findlay Prep is a hotbed of other recruits besides Joseph so I relax … a bit.
Actually the only real bit of news that came out on Knight yesterday was that Knight had cut the Hurricanes from his list … and entered Syracuse to the fray. Confusing yes, but people who are much better than I at sorting all this out still think that UK has a very good chance to land Brandon Knight. According to Adam Zagoria, a couple of sources have told him that Knight’s parents want him to go to Kentucky but that Brandon is still considering staying near home and the Gators. But Zagoria’s two sources seem to be in agreement on Knight’s destination:
“You’re right,” the source said. “Do I think they made up their mind already? Yes, I do. It’s hard for me to believe they’ll stay locally.”
Added the first source: “Kentucky is probably where he ends up.”
So what does this all mean? Nothing. From all appearances, Knight is still in the midst of a decision making process and that we should get a decision in the next two weeks or so. But should we spend the next two weeks jumping on every headline and getting our collective hopes crushed whenever a Florida blogger wants to relive 2007 and thinks that Gainesville is still a college basketball mecca? No … and Florida was not a college basketball mecca back in 2007 either. Just one hell of a recruiting class.
The purpose of this story (if I still have a purpose) is to let the BBN know that Calipari will take care of the recruits and we need not worry. We have a pretty good team to enjoy for now … so let’s enjoy the ride and this run at national title number eight. Let’s appreciate Wall, Patterson, and COusins for what could be the last nine games … and let Cal be Cal and get the recruits.
We can start worrying about next year on April 6.
The SEC Tournament starts in a few hours and the Wildcat Blue Blog will bring you updates and conjecture throghout the day so keep checking back…
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