Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Recruiting Update: Top 2012 Prospects Part 2
By Paul Jordan
I want YOU to be a Kentucky Wildcat!
Since John Calipari has arrived on campus I’ve stopped worrying about recruiting. I used to scour the message boards and blogs trying to find any bit of information that would lead me to believe that players like Patrick Patterson, Jai Lucas and Brenden Wright were going to be wearing blue and white. Now I know Cal is going to reel in the top talent, so I can kick back and relax and keep tabs on who will help hang #8… #9 and so on. Last week Alan broke down some potential target in 2012 and now I’m here to bring it home. I’m giddy to see how the 2012 class will shake out.
Alex Murphy on top and Kaleb Tarczewski on the bottom. I list these fellas together because they are high school teammates, that’s a lot of talent on one floor. Just about every top school in the country are recruiting these guys and it doesn’t seem as if they are leaning any certain way. Its not clear whether these two will be a package deal, I would guess not, but it’s still quite early. As recently as last week Coach Cal made a trip to check out the two play.
Kaleb Tarczewski is a legit 7 footer with athleticism. At 220 pounds he could add some beef to his frame, but at this point he runs the floor well and is a great post defender. He has great hands, think of Demarcus Cousins, and rebounds the ball well, think of Patrick Patterson. At this point he is still very raw on the offensive end, but that is expected of a 16 year old 7 footer still getting the hang of his body. Sometime he lacks aggression and can disappear at times, but this should improve with time. At this point Kaleb is considering just about everyone.
Alex Murphy is a 6’8′ small forward with a rather beefy frame at 215 pounds. That great size allows him to fight through traffic and finish well because of his excellent athleticism. Not only can he finish well with both hands, but his mid-range game and range out to the arc seem to be intact. After watching highlights of him I am reminded of Jeff Sheppard. At this point, it doesn’t appear that Alex has a leader and it also doesn’t appear that UK has offered, but Cal will probably do so soon. Alex does have a brother playing at Florida (Eric Murphy) but this shouldn’t sway his decision too much. Because of his size he poses as a great match-up problem and seems perfect in the dribble drive offense.
Dajuan Coleman
Kyle Anderson
Hard to get a read on Kyle Anderson. He is a very unique talent that is suited to play the 3 at 6’7” and 210 pounds, but I have recently learned that Cal is trying to sway him to come to Kentucky as a point guard. Obviously his height would cause match-up problems with other guards as he has the ability to get to the hole at ease off the dribble and post up. Generic player to compare him to would be Derrek Jasper, with a better 3 point shot. He does, however, need to work on adding strength and an improved outside jumper, but that should come with time. The best thing about Anderson is that he has a ton of upside with room to grow and improve. Kyle has received an offer from Kentucky and from what I’ve read was on campus this fall for a football game. Its hard to tell where Anderson is leaning at this point, but that should shake out soon as just about everyone seems to still be in the mix.
Brandon Ashley
We seem to be developing a theme in the 2012 class. Tall and athletic with room to grow. Brandon Ashley is 6’8” 210 pounds and has the ability jump out of the gym. At this point Brandon is an unfinished product, but has so much potential its hard to pass him up. He is a finesse 4 man that can put the ball on the floor. Does that sounds like a UK player or what? Brandon needs to work on footwork and being tougher with the ball, but what 16 year old doesn’t. Since Ashley is a west coast kid, UCLA, CAL, Arizona are recruiting him the hardest with Kentucky and Kansas also int he mix. Brandon does hold an offer from Kentucky
and has recently stated “Getting the Kentucky offer was a big offer for me simply because it is Kentucky.” So we’ll see how this plays out.
I’m anxious to see who Cal can reel in this year, but I trust he will not disappoint. While its still relatively early for 2012 kids, we should have a better idea who will be a Wildcat in the spring. Hope you enjoyed the breakdown, let me know if I missed anything and as always: Go Cats!
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