The Kentucky Wildcats Basketball waiting game continues for recruits Dominique Hawkins and Andrew Wiggins
By Paul Jordan
Mar 15, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari watches his team play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. The Commodores beat the Wildcats 64-48. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports
John Calipari is preparing for the 2013-14 basketball season like a dejected hunter who struck out using a rifle but returns with an Uzi. Calipari is loaded for bear and is looking to add more ammunition to his chamber before National Signing Day. And a couple of targets are in his sights. Notably Dominique Hawkins and Andrew Wiggins. There was tons of speculation that Hawkins, the Sweet 16 Darling of Madison Central, would be a Wildcat by the end of today. All of that is great news, but things may be moving a bit quickly on the Hawkins train:
"A Louisville-based AAU program tweeted Thursday that Hawkins was going to “sign” with the Cats on Friday. But the regular signing period doesn’t begin until April 17, and Hawkins didn’t play for the AAU team that sent the tweet. A former high school teammate also tweeted that he was proud Hawkins would be picking Kentucky on Friday. Not so fast. Hawkins could very well be a Wildcat by the end of the day Friday, but he’s still waiting on a scholarship offer from Kentucky. Madison Central Coach Allen Feldhaus Jr. told the Herald-Leader on Tuesday that a timetable for a UK offer had been set. “We’ll know something Friday,” he said then. Feldhaus said Thursday that nothing had changed."
Also causing waves yesterday was the fact that John Calipari traveled to meet with Andrew Wiggins. Apparently, we are led to believe this was just a “I’ve been thinking about you a lot. A whole lot” meeting and that Wiggins’s decision is still up in the air:
"On top of all that, Wiggins met separately Thursday with Calipari, who must still believe he has a shot at the 6-foot-8 McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American despite already having seven commits for next season, including six McDonald’s All-Americans. “Cal just reiterated that he wants Andrew at Kentucky and to see if he had questions or concerns about anything,” Huntington coach Rob Fulford told SNY.tv. “Andrew did not have any.” Wiggins is considering Kentucky, Kansas, Florida State and North Carolina and could announce at any time. If the Kentucky freshmen trio of Archie Goodwin, Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein all return, Kentucky would have eight first-round draft picks on next year’s team, an NBA Director of Scouting told SNY.tv. If Wiggins were to join the party, Kentucky would have nine first-round picks, including the top three picks in theDraftExpress.com 2014 Mock Draft in Wiggins, Julius Randle and Andrew Harrison. Aaron Harrison and Cauley-Stein are projected at Nos. 9 and 10, meaning Kentucky would have five of the projected top 10 picks should Wiggins pick the Wildcats."
Jan 15, 2013; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari gives instructions to his team during the game against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Tennessee 75-65. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
And apparently, recruiting is in full swing for John Calipari. While in New Orleans the other day, Calipari watched Darius Miller and Anthony Davis play. He also did a little bit of recruiting for the 2014 class:
"However, Calipari also took some time out for a potential future Wildcat. The coach stopped by St. Augustine on Wednesday to pay a visit to Purple Knights junior forward Craig Victor, a 6-foot-8 prospect ranked among the top 60 players in the country for the Class of 2014 by ESPN. Victor said a few weeks ago before the Louisiana Rising Stars Showcase that he held roughly 50 offers and had a top seven of LSU, UCLA, Oklahoma, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Florida and Miami. However, one school not on that offer list is Kentucky. Purple Knights Coach Mitchell Johnson said Kentucky has not offered Victor as of yet but will monitor him during the summer and throughout next season."
Since Victor is a newer name to us, here is some of the customary video to check him out: