Wildcat Blue Nation
Fansided

Kentucky Wildcats to lose Barry Rohrrsen to St Johns

By Paul Jordan

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 2
Next

More from Kentucky Wildcats News

As John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats work to fill their 2015 basketball class, they will be a bit short-handed in the assistant coach department.  According to several reports, Barry “Slice” Rohrrsen will be taking a job as an assistant coach at St. Johns under Chris Mullin.  It’s a return home for Slice, who leaves UK with an assistant coaching vacancy for the second straight year.

"Kentucky’s Barry “Slice” Rohrssen is expected to join Chris Mullin’s staff at St. John’s and should be introduced this week, sources told SNY.tv. “Yes, it’s done,” one source told SNY.tv. “He’s in New York now. Will be announced this week.” Rohrssen, a Brooklyn native who still keeps an apartment in Riverdale, is close friends with Mullin, who recently returned to his alma mater to take over the coaching reins. Rohrssen will join former Iowa State assistant Matt Abdelmassih on Mullin’s staff. Mullin, Abdelmassih and Terence Mullin, the coach’s brother, were out on the road recruiting this weekend. Wings Academy coach Billy Turnage, whose team won the New York City PSAL and New York State Federation titles, said it’s a great hire for St. John’s. “I think he will be a great addition to the staff at St. John’s,” Turnage told SNY.tv. “He’s shown the ability to recruit New York City at all of his other schools and I assume that those same relationships will help him do the same at St. John’s.”"

According to speculation, Tony Barbee will take Slice’s place on the roster.  Barbee was a special assistant this past season.

The other big speculation this weekend was whether Stephen Zimmerman was going to commit to UNLV soon. Jerry Meyer of 24/7 Sports fueled the fire by saying that a UNLV commitment was imminent.

"Multiple sources have told 247Sports to expect a UNLV commitment by Stephen Zimmerman in the near future. Kentucky experienced a run in his Crystal Ball with the mass exodus of players from Kentucky to the Crystal Ball. But despite the availability of playing time on the Wildcats’ rosters, it does not look like John Calipari will be able to overcome the lure of the opportunity for Zimmerman to be a star for his hometown school."

Zimmerman’s mom who denied that a decision had been made and took a shot or two at the whole “Crystal Ball” type of tracking system for recruits.

Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Apparently Alex Poythress has not officially announced his decision to return to the Kentucky Wildcats, it would be a huge shock of he did not.  Poythress went home over the weekend to make his decision and Willie Cauley-Stein knows what his former teammate is going through.  Willie offered the following thoughts on Alex Poythress.  

"Cauley-Stein said Thursday that he’s not sure what Poythress will decide, but he did have a little advice for his former teammate should he choose to return to Lexington. “It could go both ways,” Cauley-Stein said. “He can think about it like I thought about it, which is, ‘If I come back … I’m trying to make my name.’ And I felt like I did that. I (came) back for a purpose, not just to come back. I (came) back to be better than what people thought I was going to be. And if that’s the reason why he comes back — that’s gotta be motive. I was taking this year like it was my rookie year. And that’s what I was telling my mom and all the people when I was coming back. It’s like, ‘OK, well if I come back, I’m going to make it like my rookie year. I’m working like it’s my rookie year.’ So, if I was him and I came back, that’s how I would do it: ‘This is my rookie year. I’m supposed to be gone, I’m going to use this last year of college for my rookie year. And be on the grind and on the grind and on the grind, and get yourself somewhere mentally and physically.” Poythress could actually play two more seasons at UK if the school applies for a medical redshirt to cover his injury-shortened campaign this past season. It’s unlikely that would happen until after next season, and only then if Poythress wants to return for a fifth year."

Home/Kentucky Wildcats News