Kentucky Wildcats Hearing Good Things from the Hoophall Classic
By Brian True
The Hoophall Classic isn’t a prestigious tournament that gets a ton of attention, but it is still one that houses some of the best talent across the country. This means that the Kentucky Wildcats must be paying attention, as there are some big names that have thrown out our team as a potential destination. Of those, only Isaiah Briscoe has committed, having already signed his letter of intent. The other two, Brandon Ingram and Derryck Thornton, have yet to commit. However, after some comments made this weekend to masslive.com, one has to wonder if they might become Kentucky Wildcats at some point. Check out below for more on the three players.
We do want to give a huge thanks to Tom Westerholm from MassLive.com for supplying the video. He has had a lot of good comments about other UK targets Thon Maker and Chieck Diallo from today’s games, so follow his twitter.
"Briscoe will have plenty of opportunities to play on bigger stages than the Hoophall next season. In November, he signed a letter of intent to play for Kentucky one day after announcing his intention to play for John Calipari.“He kept it real,” Briscoe said of Calipari. “He’s a man that’s about his business and loves his players. But it’s business first.”As the college basketball model becomes more and more business-like, Kentucky becomes more attractive to players like Briscoe, who have aspirations beyond the college level.“It puts me in the best position to play basketball after college,” Briscoe said. “Calipari puts you on the highest stage. In the last couple years, all of his point guards have been in the NBA. I’m just trying to be the next one.”Two of the guards looking to play professionally after Kentucky are still with the Wildcats — Aaron and Andrew Harrison, both of whom might return for a junior year. After disappointing freshman campaigns failed to generate first-round NBA draft interest for the twins, they are looking to improve their stock this year. If they don’t, Kentucky’s back court might be crowded in 2015-16.Regardless, Briscoe said he has no intention of going anywhere else.“I’m going to be at Kentucky,” he said. “I haven’t played with them yet, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to be at Kentucky.”"
"The 6-foot-8 small forward and Kinston, N.C., native said that once his high school season ends, he will make unofficial visits to the three out-of-state schools before making his decision around the signing period.“State just recruited me for a very long time,” Ingram said. “They, of course, they need a big wing like all the schools. Put me in the back in a good position. He (coach Mark Gottfried) always talks about the T.J. Warren role, and that’s very good for me. North Carolina, of course, they need a shooter, and I dive right in. They want me to score the ball.“Duke – great program, great fans, good people around campus. Kansas – it’s a basketball city. I loved it out there when I went there for Midnight Madness, and I loved everything about Coach (Norm) Roberts and Coach Bill Self. Kentucky (is) just the basketball world. They have great guys. They have great guys every time they come in.“UCLA – I love everything about the coaches. We’ve developed great relationships and it’s California.”Ingram added that he is not necessarily drawn toward schools that are in North Carolina.“I’m just looking for the best fit for me,” Ingram said. “Any program that can make me better and get to the next level after college basketball.”"
"“I feel like I do a little of everything, I score, I distribute and I’m on a winning team,” Thornton said after the victory over Adlai E. Stevenson High School of Illnois. “I think the role of the point guard is to win, people may have accolades they jump higher or shoot, but I feel like a point guard’s main role is to win, and I feel like I do a good job doing that.”That willingness to sacrifice personal stats, accolades or minutes in order to win is an attribute John Calipari values at the University of Kentucky. No Wildcat player is averaging more than 26 minutes per game, as Calipari has gone to a platoon system subbing in a first team and second team.Thornton visited Lexington earlier this week, when the Wildcats defeated Missouri 86-37 at Rupp Arena.“I think it’s pretty cool, earlier in the year when I heard about it I thought it would be kind of weird, but both first and second team are just are good,” Thornton said of the rotation. “I think he’s doing a great job subbing them and they’re winning, it’s working, he’s doing everything right in my opinion.”"