by Paul Jordan
Could John Calipari be looking back to Memphis to fill out his 2010 recruiting class? It’s a move that would make a lot of sense. We are talking about former Memphis guard Roburt Sallie, who recent announced he was leaving the Tigers after two seasons. Sallie is set to graduate this summer and if he graduates, he would have an extra year of eligibility and would be eligible to join another team in August, provided he does graduate.
Sallie said that he was looking to possibly play closer to home on the west coast or possibly play pro basketball overseas, but a season in Lexington could be beneficial for both Sallie and Kentucky for several reasons.
First, he would provide some senior leadership in the backcourt as he can play either a PG, SG, or SF and could provide a very capable backup for Brandon Knight. At 6’5, he can be a big PG like Calipari likes, and he is obviously familiar with Calipari’s offense playing a year for him at Memphis and being recruited by him. Plus he is a proven winner, playing on back to back 20 wins seasons and he has two seasons of tournament experience. Just the leadership aspect in the backcourt is reason enough to bring him on board.
Secondly, he can fill it up from the outside. Sallie came off the bench in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and drained 10 three pointers to help Memphis avoid an upset versus Cal State Northridge. That kind of big game experience and poise could come in handy down the stretch in the tournament for UK. And Sallie is a proven outside threat, with a .438 career three point percentage at Memphis. Kentucky is returning almost half of their three pointers from last years roster, but Sallie could provide that Jodie Meeks explosiveness coming off the bench.
And finally, adding Sallie for 2010 would have no impact on the the scholarship situation for 2011. All Sallie has is one year remaining, so it is up to him what he wants to get out of that last season. Sallie did hit 47% of his trey while playing a season with Calipari, so it is not out of the realm of possibility to imagine Sallie having the same success. And face it, Kentucky needs another player that can spell Knight and knows the DDMO.
Sallie coming to UK is not a done deal. Lexington is really not any closer to California than Memphis was and the word is the Oregon Ducks, Kenny Payne’s old team, ironically enough, will be getting involved in Sallie as well. If you want to add more Northwest irony to this, consider that Sallie originally signed with … the Washington Huskies out of HS but did not qualify, so went to San Francisco City College for a year before spending two years at Memphis.
But imagine the storylines if a ex Washington Huskie/ex Memphis Tiger comes to Kentucky and Calipari and has a huge game in the NCAA Tournament to help lead the Cats to title number eight? The possibilities are endless…
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans