Andrew Harrison a “fascinating evaluative problem for NBA front offices”
By Paul Jordan
Regardless of what Andrew Harrison does, Kentucky will have a five-star point guard next year. Rivals came out with their final rankings of the year and Tyler Ulis picked up that extra star and is now the third best PG in the class. So despite his size, he is fully capable of leading this team should Harrison depart. Here are the rest of the final rankings for the UK four:
No. 5 Karl Towns (5-stars)
No. 13 Trey Lyles (5-stars)
No. 21 Tyler Ulis (5-stars)
No. 29 Devin Booker (4-stars)
Speaking of Towns, the “one and done” talk is starting already. Even with Kentucky’s ultra talented front court.
"One director of player personnel on No. 9 Karl Towns Jr. “There’s no other big man here that I’ve seen who is quite like him. With that size, to already be able to shoot it to the NBA arc, he’s going to be a major asset for somebody.” Finkelstein’s take: As we noted earlier this week, Towns is finally starting to put it all together, as his physical tools and assertiveness are starting to catch up with his advanced skill set. As crowded as Kentucky’s frontcourt looks to be next season, he’s going to demand time right away based on what we’ve seen in the past two weeks in particular."
The Blue/White game is just a day away now and it is a perfect chance for UK fans to help with recruiting. Yes, you can actually help recruiting by showing up at the game. So quit tweeting recruits and get your butt in a seat tomorrow. Vince Marrow tells us that your attendance tomorrow can impact recruiting in a good way.
"“Most definitely attendance at the spring game impacts recruiting,” said Marrow. “I think what did it last year was a lot of those guys (recruits) and their parents saw a team come off a 2-10 record and people thinking football is not important … parents saw 50,000 people there and that made my job a lot easier in recruiting. “I already felt good about recruiting and all those kids whether they were from Ohio or Florida were blown away by attendance (at the spring game). So it is important.” Because of construction at Commonwealth Stadium, Kentucky can’t match last year’s attendance figure. Marrow has prepared recruits and their families for that, but he also knows enthusiastic fans — and a lot of them — can impact decisions players might make about UK while they are on unofficial visits to UK this weekend. “We have told them numbers will be down and the thing is the stadium is being renovated and we can only have 40,000 in there,” Marrow said. “I have told recruits that you may have anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 people here. I think as long as they see the crowds, the enthusiasm … and fans are more important. They did a big job last year selling that whole deal for us to recruits and families.”"
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Tomorrows game will introduce Braylon Heard to the Big Blue Nation and the BBN should be excited. It seems that Heard has been making the most of his transfer season and will be looking to win the starting job.
"“He took as much advantage of a redshirt year as anybody I’ve seen,” Kentucky offensive coordinator Neal Brown said. “He was a little stiff in his hips and in his movements, and he went to work and did a great job with our strength and conditioning guys, became more flexible and looks a whole lot different than he did when he was at Nebraska.” Heard is no longer just a speed back. He can run it inside just as well as he can run it outside. He’s improved his pass-catching abilities and his pass protection, and he’s a guy the coaches believe can do everything they’re going to ask their running backs to do. As the team looks to replace starter Raymond Sanders this spring, Heard is very much in the mix to win the job once the season rolls around. “He knows it’s real now,” Brown said. “He knows that he’s competing for a starting job. He knows that what he does every day at practice will determine how many times he carries the ball. There’s maybe a little more at stake.”"