Is Louisville out of the running for Derek Willis?

While we are on the subject of 2013 recruits, Kuran Iverson (cousin of Allen) seems to now have a top two of Kentucky and UConn.  Iverson recently  had this to say:

"“Coach [John] Calipari’s a great guy,” Iverson told FiveStarBasketball.com. “He came to my school in the beginning of the school year. To me, it feels like he’s interested, so I’m kind of interested in Kentucky, too.”"

Tony Parker has become a hot name for Kentucky’s and Connecticut’s 2012’s recruiting class.  Kentucky may have an adge as Parker  just happens to be AAU team mates with Alex Poythress.  And apparently, Poythress is doing his best to recruit Parker to the Wildcats.

"Kentucky recently began showing more interest in Parker, and the Wildcats are in the mix for his final official visit. The Wildcats have already secured a commitment from Alex Poythress, Parker’s friend and AAU teammate on the Georgia Stars. Poythress has been helping Kentucky recruit Parker. “Their interest is good,” Parker said. “I get the Kentucky calls everyday from [Poythress], making sure I’m watching the game. It’s a great place.”"

If you watched the Kentucky/Tennessee game, you saw the horrible charge call on Marquis Teague that even Doug Gottlieb lambasted on national television. And if you watched any college basketball over the holiday weekend, you had to have heard that the block/charge rule is the new hot button in college basketball. Kentucky is one of the teams that have been on the losing end of this call as they have been called for 39 charges on the season versus just 9 for their opponent. John Calipari discussed this trend in yesterday’s media session:

"“Teams, right now, are saying when they’re running to the rim, throw a body in there and hope it’s a charge, and not a block,” Calipari said Monday on the Southeastern Conference coaches’ weekly teleconference. “Now, 98 percent of them are being called charges. I don’t think we’ve (drawn) three … all year.” Actually, Anthony Davis finally drew a charge at Tennessee after being called for blocking at least five times earlier in the season. “Either these guys — when we leave our feet — are unbelievably quick to get into position,” Calipari said of defenders drawing charges on UK. “Or some of them should be blocks.”"

Expect this debate to continue.

 Arkansas coach Mike Anderson is well known for his “Fastest Forty Minutes” brand and his Razorbacks lead the SEC in 61 shot attempts per game.  Tonight’s game should be interesting as the teams that have had the most success against Kentucky (Old Dominion, Indiana, Auburn, and Tennessee) have opted for a slow it down, grind it out physical type of play.  Regardless, don’t expect Arkansas to slow it down tonight:

"“We won’t go away from what we do,” coach Mike Anderson said. “We’re going to attack. That’s how we play. We play up-tempo, attack basketball. They play the same way, in terms of getting up and down the floor”"

You would think that this plays right into Kentucky’s hands, but expect the Razorbacks sto try and wear Kentucky down as they have nine players that average 16 minutes a game or more.