The Air Raid Officially Sounded Off for Mark Stoops at the Kentucky Wildcats Fan Day and 2014 Recruit, Jahlil Okafor, is Tired of the Rumors

Apr. 3, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Varsity basketball team member Jahlil Okafor poses at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago. Okafor, a 6 foot 10 inch junior who plays the center position, is poised to become one of the top basketball recruits for college teams in the country. Mandatory Credit: Guy Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Not to be outdone by the football hullabaloo, it appears as though John Calipari could be signing himself a PG for the 2014 class.  And that’s great news considering he won’t have many guard options if everything goes according to projections with the Harrison twins and the NBA Draft.  If you haven’t heard yet, 6’2″ PG James Blackmon, Jr decommitted from “Caveman” Tom Crean’s Indiana Hoosiers a couple days ago.  Inspite of the fact that he’s been an IU commit for a couple seasons now, the real shock is that he ever committed there anyway.  I mean, it’s Indiana and his dad is a former Kentucky Wildcat.  A lot of people are saying a lot of great things about this kid.

"James Blackmon Jr. picked up a scholarship offer from UK on Friday, his father told the Herald-Leader. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard had been committed to the home-state Hoosiers for three years and is considered one of the best three-point shooters in the class of 2014. North Carolina, Florida and Michigan State were among several other top programs that got involved with Blackmon’s recruitment Friday. The Wildcats have one thing going for them that those schools do not. The recruit’s father — James Blackmon Sr. — played four seasons for Kentucky in the 1980s. Blackmon Jr. is ranked by Scout.com as the No. 57 overall prospect in the senior class, though he’s rated as high as No. 25 by ESPN. Scout.com national analyst Evan Daniels said Blackmon’s best quality is his shooting ability. “He is an elite-level shooter in the 2014 class — arguably the best shooter in that class,” Daniels told the Herald-Leader. “He can make shots from well beyond the three-point stripe. He’s got a pretty quick release. And he’s consistent. He’s a flat-out shot maker.”"

"UK will be looking for recruits who can contribute immediately, and Daniels says Blackmon should have no problem doing that. “I think, especially nowadays, there are not a lot of knock-down shooters,” he said. “And I know when I’m evaluating kids — and I think coaches do as well — is they’re starting to place a higher premium on the ability to shoot. You can always find room on the floor for a guy who can shoot the basketball. “So, yes, I do think he is the type of guy who could make an impact at a high-level school early on.” He also might not have a negative effect on the other guards John Calipari is targeting from the senior class. Calipari has offered two point guards — Emmanuel Mudiay and Tyus Jones — and two other shooting guards — Rashad Vaughn and Devin Booker. With so much immediate playing time seemingly available, a commitment from Blackmon would be unlikely to deter others from pledging to the Cats, Daniels said. “I don’t foresee James Blackmon affecting their recruitment of Rashad Vaughn,” he said. “I think they are guys who can play on the floor at the same time. It’s certainly not going to affect their recruitment of point guards. “But, hey, James Blackmon is a highly touted kid. I think he’s the type of guy that if you can get him, you take him. Because he’s good enough. His ability to shoot the ball is a difference maker.” Recruiting Blackmon could also help Kentucky with fellow Indianan Trey Lyles, another 2014 prospect who committed to the Hoosiers as a freshman only to decommit later in his high school career. Lyles is considered by some services to be a top-five overall prospect in the class. The 6-9 power forward will likely choose either UK or Louisville (though Butler and Florida are also on his list). In Thursday’s interview, Blackmon Sr. stressed that his son still liked Indiana and considered the Hoosiers the leader in his recruitment. The family notified Tom Crean of Blackmon Jr.’s intentions before the decommitment became public and the Hoosiers coach said he would continue to recruit him. But the odds of Blackmon ending up in Bloomington got a lot longer with the decommitment. “I know he’s saying that IU still has a chance or whatever,” Daniels said. “But it’s very, very rare for a kid to end up back at the same school that he decommitted from. Very, very rare.”"

Speaking of the 2014 Class, Jahill Okafor and Tyus Jones are among John Calipari’s top targets in that class.  They’ve long been rumored in a package deal to Duke which would make no sense at all.  Duke hasn’t developed a player ever, which ironically is what has made Coach K such a successful college coach; he get out of his players what he needs to win in college with no preparation for a successful pro career.  Yes, there are a couple exceptions, Kyrie Irving for example, but he missed most of his Frosh season due to injury so that kid was just elite to begin with.  But I digress because Jahlil Okafor doesn’t have a clear favorite and is tired of the rumors.  By the way, Okafor has scheduled his second official visit to Kentucky for September 9th which just happens to be the UK Alumni Charity Basketball Game.

"The rumor began with Okafor’s club coach, Mike Irvin, recently telling the Chicago Sun-Times he believed Duke had “a really good chance to land [Okafor].” Irvin went on to say, “I think there is a great chance Tyus is going to Duke. So if [Okafor and Tyus] are going to school together …” From there, the rumor took off. Other reporters and bloggers followed with the same story, and it created a buzz on Twitter. It got to the point where Okafor tweeted on Thursday, “I don’t have a leader. Stop the rumors.” “Let them decide,” Chukwudi said. “No AAU coach knows; no high school coach knows; no parent knows. The reason no one knows is because they don’t know.” Okafor, a 6-foot-11 center who attends Whitney Young in Chicago, and Jones, a 6-foot-1 point guard who attends Apple Valley in Minnesota, are still set on committing to the same school, according to Chukwudi. Both players have included Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Ohio State on their lists. “I speak with Tyus’ mother frequently, and the boys pretty much talk every day,” Chukwudi said. “It’s communication back and forth. You don’t want to give the perception that Tyus is going to decide where Jahlil is going or Jahlil is going to decide where Tyus is going. They’re really looking for what is the best for both of them. That’s the unique thing about this process.”"

Former Bat Cat, Chris Rusin, had another outstanding outing for the Chicago Cubs last night as he led the Cubbies to their first shut out of the St. Louis Cardinals since 1997.  He now stands at 2-1 on the season with a 3.08 ERA.

Rusin, a former University of Kentucky standout, pitched around seven hits in six innings, Anthony Rizzo had a two-run single and the Chicago Cubs recorded their first shutout in St. Louis in 16 years with a 3-0 victory over the Cardinals on Friday night.

“It’s up there,” Rusin said of his 12th career start in the majors. “I’d say it’s behind the Giants because I went one more inning scoreless. But other than that, those two games are tied. I’m just trying to keep doing what I’m doing.”

He went seven innings and gave up three hits but didn’t get a decision in the Cubs’ 1-0 victory at San Francisco on July 27.

Rusin (2-1) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning and only set the Cardinals down in order in the first. He struck out a season-high five and issued two intentional walks. His ERA through five starts this season improved to 3.08.

“He’s pitching really, really well,” Manager Dale Sveum said. “The thing with him is when he throws strikes. The ball can move so much, that he get some swings and misses on some balls that are quite a ways out of the zone. He did a great job again.”