by Paul Jordan
The air miles making the visits have been logged. The calls have been made. And this week marks a critical junction in John Calipari’s 2010 recruiting class as four big targets are expected to make their college destination known and sign their letter of intent. Calipari got a huge early jump on wrapping up his class with the commitment of Enes Kanter, but there are still many spots to be filled. Let’s take a look at the big targets making their decisions known this week.
Brandon Knight – We have heard it many times before, but Brandon Knight will more than likely be the first recruiting domino to fall when he makes his decision known at 4 PM Wednesday on ESPN-U. A lot of the buzz has died down on Knight and most basketball pundits are generally acknowledging that Knight is Kentucky’s to lose. There has even been some speculation that Knight is attempting to recruit other players to join him at Kentucky. As of right now, it appears that any other school landing Knight would be a tremendous upset.
Doron Lamb – It’s been a long, long recruitment of Doron Lamb, and from all speculation Kentucky has alternated from being the leader to an after thought for Doron, depending on what day it was. Now there are indications that Lamb, who will announce on Saturday, is torn between Kentucky and Kansas, with West Virginia still in the running. Lamb has become something of a tug-of-war between Calipari and Bill Self as both coaches visited Lamb on Thursday. Even Lamb’s HS coach, Steve Smith, does not seem to have a clue what direction Doron is leaning:
“UConn is trying, Arizona has faded, and Oklahoma is out. I think he kind of favors Kentucky and Kansas right now. In what order? It kind of depends on what day he wakes up and what side of the bed he gets out of. Both look appealing to him, top-five programs in the country”
The one thing we do know is this: Doron Lamb has the potential to turn a very good recruiting class into an outstanding class.
C.J. Leslie – This North Carolina talent has been an enigma all season long. On so many reasons, he seemed to be a slam dunk for Calipari due to his being a team mate and close friend of John Wall. But then North Carolina State has not backed off their recruitment of Leslie either despite the fact C.J. de-committed from them previously. And that nefarious Billy Donovan has been sniffing around, hoping to add Leslie to a team with just three guards.
Jerry Meyer from Rivals thinks the on/again NC State affair is on again and there is strong sentiment that Leslie will wind up a member of the Wolfpack. Regardless, John Calipari did make a visit to C.J last week and boosters of both schools claim that Leslie is theirs. We will know soon as C.J. is scheduled to make his announcement Saturday night, but this has been referred to as a “tentative” date, meaning that he may make it earlier or sooner.
Josh Selby – As much as most people assume Kentucky will get Brandon Knight, the same people assume that Josh Selby will end up at Kansas. Selby seemed to reaffirm this when he cancelled his late visit to Kentucky. For those Cat fans holding out hope of a Wall/Bledsoe slam dunk with Knight/Selby … don’t. Here is what Rival’s Jerry Meyer had to say about a Knight/Selby pairing:
“I just can’t see Knight and Selby choosing the same school. There seems to be way more ego and not enough camaraderie between the two prospects for them to choose the same school”
Who knows if the much anticipated (by Kansas fans) pairing of Lamb/Selby will occur?
Terrence Jones – Jones seems to be a huge target for Calipari as Calipari has been spending a lot of time recently courting him. Jones has announced that he will make a decision on either April 23 or April 30. For those looking into any special significance of the dates, there does not appear to be any:
Asked why April 23 or 30, Jones said several other prominent players are announcing around April 14 and he wanted a day of his own. There is no special significance to his possible announcement dates, other than they are Fridays, Jones said.
Random, I know, but I like quirky and random. And I would definitely like to see Jones in Blue next year. But others in the Great Northwest would like to disagree with me and some have predicted that Jones will end up a Oregon Duck, depending on who they hire as head coach:
Jones is enamored of the Oregon/Nike connection and likes the idea of playing close to home. Unless the Ducks hire Tim Floyd as their new coach, I’m betting Jones is wearing the UO lemon and green – or black, or whatever color the uniforms are – next season.
It looks like UK would just get Jones/Leslie due to them playing the same position. So you wonder if C.J. chooses Kentucky, does that automatically leave Jones looking for another school? Or if Leslie chooses NC State, does that mean Jones is Kentucky’s?
Lots of questions revolve on this 2010 class but lots will get resolved this week.
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