Karl Towns Jr and Dakari Johnson to get playing time on Kentucky Wildcats foreign tour

Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

One of the most intriguing storylines of the 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats is how John Calipari will keep everyone happy and provide ample playing time to his talented front court.  The positioning for minutes will actually start during the Wildcats foreign tour in August.  Willie Cauley-Stein is expected to be sidelined while recovering from his ankle injury, so the stage is set for Dakari Johnson and Karl Towns Jr to show what they can do.  

"Cauley-Stein and felllow 7-footers Johnson and Towns will compete for playing time at center. It’s possible Calipari could go to a twin towers lineup at times, but Kentucky also has skilled 6-foot-10 McDonald’s All-American forward Trey Lyles, 6-foot-7 combo forward Alex Poythress and underutilized 6-foot-10 former top 30 recruit Marcus Lee competing for minutes at power forward. Poythress will also play some small forward if he can sufficiently improve his jump shot and ball handling.The August exhibition tour to an unknown location wil be the first chance for the newcomers to mesh with the returners and for all the Wildcats to demonstrate their worthy of playing a big role.Cauley-Stein figures to receive plenty of playing time, but his absence gives Towns and Johnson in particular a chance to prove their worth."

Speaking of Karl Towns, he is one of the players that is being talked about as the number one possible pick in next years NBA Draft.  Towns, of course is not worried about that and he says that his focus is to win a national title.

"Incoming freshman Karl Towns has been listed as the top pick in the 2015 draft by one mock draft even though he has yet to graduate from high school.“I look at everything with mock drafts and projections, but I know there is nothing set in stone about any of them,” Towns said. “What is set that I can work hard and do all I can to help my team win a national title. That’s what I have to do. That is not a projection. That is a fact.“I look at being mentioned like that and it is great, but it is just all projections and guesses. What I have to do is take the physical action to make my dream a reality. I have to work hard, improve my game and do all I can to help my team win a national title and if I win a national title and then can be the No. pick, that’s great."

"“But all I am worried about is winning a national title. If the NBA knocks on the door after the season, that is great. But I know I just want to worry about winning. I can’t worry about projections.”"

Like Towns, Devin Booker is looking forward to starting his career in Lexington.  With Aaron Harrison returning to Lexington, Booker’s chance at big playing time took a hit.  Booker still thinks he has a chance to get on the court.  

"Booker’s game will have to continue to improve in order to receive significant minutes as a freshman at Kentucky, but there’s no denying that he has the work ethic to make it happen.“It’s a lot of hard work,” he said. “People just see me on the court, but they don’t see me off the court when I’m grinding and skipping weekends when I could be hanging out with friends just to work out.”Booker joins a Kentucky program coming off an impressive run in the NCAA Tournament before losing, 60-54, to Connecticut in the national-title contest.When Aaron and Andrew Harrison, twin guards from Texas, announced that they will to return for their sophomore seasons at Kentucky, Booker’s chances at major minutes as a freshman took a significant hit.However, Booker believes he still has a big role to play as a freshman.“I feel like they need a shooter on the court,” Booker said. “Every team needs a shooter at all times. Where James Young came into play this year, I feel like I’m kind of replacing James Young as the shooter.”"

Kentucky TE commit CJ Conrad just got the honor of being invited to The Opening, so he gets a chance to represent Kentucky. This is obviously more Kentucky exposure in the eyes of other recruits. Conrad talks a bit about the honor and his commitment to the Wildcats.

And in case you were wondering, Conrad is still 100% committed to UK.

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Remember when Mark Stoops and staff sent all those recruiting letters to Drew Barker? Lots of other schools around the country scoffed at the tactic, but it worked in helping to land the four star QB. Now, some of the schools that mocked the method are playing copycat.

"The Orange appear to be mimicking a tactic utilized most famously by Kentucky’s Mark Stoops last summer as he chased quarterback Drew Barker and sent 115 pieces of mail.When asked about it last year, Syracuse director of recruiting Eric White called the mass mailings “absurd,” saying there’s a fine line between effective and excessive.The newest weapon in college football recruiting was featured in USA Today and, for some programs, it paid dividends.Stoops landed Barker, and Alabama’s Nick Saban successfully recruited running back Alvin Kamara, who received 105 letters from the Tide but recently transferred.Like all love letters, there are no guarantees the good feelings last forever.Defensive end Harrison Phillips spurned Duke’s 115 letters, Clifton Garrett turned down Mississippi State’s 54 and running back Devante Downs eventually turned down Oregon State’s 101.With eight verbal commitments already, Syracuse seems to have upgraded its recruiting efforts significantly and, in the cases of Barry and Sheppard, the Orange appears to have only improved its chances."