I think we have said it before, but John Calipari is a master of his domain when it comes to this recruiting thing. Kyle Wiltjer became the fourth five star recruit to commit to the 2011 Wildcats. By comparison, Coach K has three recruits, all four star players lined up for his 2011 Dookies.
When you are at the top of your game, as Calipari is, it goes without saying that there are not enough spots at Kentucky for all the top tier players that want to come and play for you. So the question needs to be asked. What does the commitment of Kyle Wiltjer mean to the rest of the 2011 class?
As of right now, Kentucky has 11 players under scholarship for this season, which is two under the limit. Josh Harrellson will graduate in the spring, and it is widely speculated that Jarred Polson is on a one year scholarship and he would be a true walk on next season, meaning that Kentucky will have four scholarships available.
Enter Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Wiltjer. And as of now, Kentucky has given away all their scholarships for next season. Let’s say that the talk of a NBA lockout gets louder and louder and there are no NBA defections (unlikely), here is a look at your 2011-2012 Kentucky Wildcats (all positions can change)
PG: Brandon Knight, Marquis Teague, Jarred Polson
SG: Doron Lamb, Jon Hood, DeAndre Liggins
SF: Darius Miller, Michael Gilchrist, Stacey Poole
PF: Terrence Jones, Anthony Davis, Kyle Wiltjer
C: Enes Kanter, Eloy Vargas
Obviously there are plenty of 2011 players that want to come onboard this edition of the Wildcats. Quincy Miller, Anthony Wroten, and Chane Behanan are players that come to mind. Are their chances of becoming a Wildcat over?
Now with this much talent on this team, it goes without saying that there will be some NBA defections. Enes Kanter is widely regarded to be a one and done and Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight are also thought to be probable one year players. Let’s play the worst case scenario and say that Kanter, Jones, and Knight all depart for the NBA. That will leave Calipari with three scholarships and leave this as the roster:
PG: Marquis Teague, Jarred Polson
SG: Doron Lamb, Jon Hood, DeAndre Liggins
SF: Darius Miller, Michael Gilchrist, Stacey Poole
PF: Anthony Davis, Kyle Wiltjer
C: Eloy Vargas
Keep in mind that if Knight does leave, Doron Lamb will probably play some point ala Eric Bledsoe. With the three NBA defections, Kentucky still has the room for a Quincy Miller, Chane Behanan, or Tony Wroten. And you would think that a backup PG and a couple more bigs would be the areas Calipari would be looking to shore up at that time. And you can see that if Jones and Kanter go pro, there is a need for three big men in this class.
My gut feeling is that Kanter will be a one and done and I honestly think that Knight and Jones may be around for another season. Call me as drinking the big Blue Kool-Aid, but Knight does not seem to be the typical one and done, and I have heard that Jones was a big reason Kyle Wiltjer came to Kentucky. I can see them both hanging around another year. The bad thing for recruiting is that no one will really know till April or May.
But will Miller, Behanan, and Wroten still be around at that time? Louisville and Pitino are charging hard on all three but you get a feeling that most of the other players in the 2011 class may take it slow to make their commitments to see how things shake out.
Time will tell to see how the rest of the 2011 class shakes out but for now, Calipari is assured of a third straight number one recruiting class. Wiltjer marked the 12th five star player in 17 months on the job and you get the feeling that he is not done yet.
Should we start talking about 2012 soon?
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