With Kentucky Wildcats charging hard, Jamal Murray takes a break

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In about thirteen hours or so, five-star Malik Newman is expected to pick the Mississippi State Bulldogs over the Kentucky Wildcats. This would complete a frustrating week or so for Kentucky Wildcats basketball recruiting in which John Calipari has missed on Stephen Zimmerman, Mike Thorne, Derryck Thornton and probably Newman. Is it time for gloom, doom, and despair in the basketball crazed Bluegrass? No. John Calipari is still the best recruiter in the game and he could be getting more help in the form of Jamal Murray.

If there is one thing that John Calipari does well, it is to make great things happen in a short amount of time. His 2009 class for the Kentucky Wildcats was assembled in about a month and a half. And it appears that John Calipari going hot and heavy after Jamal Murray may have hastened a process that has Murray reclassifying into the 2015 class. And the fact that Murray is in Lexington this weekend just increases the Kentucky buzz.

"“I’ve been told he would end up in 2015 for a long time. It just didn’t become newsworthy until Kentucky started recruiting him,” 247Sports national recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer said Wednesday after tweeting that he plans to re-rank him as a ’15 prospect. “I think he’s a phenomenal talent and I’m getting ready to rank him at least top 10 in the country, I don’t care what class.”Murray’s high school coach told the Louisville Courier-Journal last week that he did not expect Murray to reclassify, but at the Hoop Summit, Murray said it was “still an option.”“I haven’t put a lot of thought into it,” he said. “I’ve been very busy. I’m just trying to find a time to sit down with my dad and my coaches and really discuss it.”Murray is ranked as the nation’s 15th-best rising junior by Rivals.com and the 38th-best overall prospect in 2016 by 247Sports.“I’ve been asleep at the wheel on Jamal Murray and I’ve woken up,” Meyer said. “This guy is one of the best guards out there.”"

"Coincidentally, Murray is expected to be in Lexington this weekend to participate in a Nike EYBL AAU. Assuming he does reclassify, he’d be a top priority for the Wildcats and they would be top contenders to land him."

Granted, Jamal Murray to the Kentucky Wildcats is not a done deal. The Oregon Ducks have been recruiting Murray longer than Calipari and are still in the fight for the end. And there is some speculation out there that the Kentucky confidence about Murray may be a bit too much and that most of the positive buzz is generating from people associated with Kentucky rather than a lot of other pundits.

Regardless, John Calipari does not seem to be in panic mode about his 2015-16 rosters yet. Yesterday, he spoke with reporters and said that he expects to add one or two more players as well as officially get Alex Poythress’s decision on returning to Kentucky. However, with the stars seemingly aligning for Kentucky and Jamal Murray this weekend, Murray unexpectedly took a step back and cancelled his trip to Lexington this weekend.

"Murray’s father, Roger, told CatsPause.com Thursday night it is to give his son some much-needed time to rest and space to make his decision on whether to reclassify to the class of 2015.Kentucky has been one of the schools courting Murray ever since his breakout 30-point performance at the Nike Hoop Summit April 11, visiting Murray in Toronto April 18.In addition to competing at the EYBL, Murray was reportedly going to take a visit to the UK campus Sunday."

Granted, this is a huge decision for Jamal Murray and I’d rather he take the time to sort out his decision than rush into reclassifying. Only a week ago, the buzz that Murray would not reclassify, so his head has to be spinning right now. I still place my trust in John Calipari and this will all sort itself out.

If Kentucky can pull Jamal Murray and Mychal Mulder, I feel a lot better about next seasons team and think that this will still be a Final Four contender moving forward. There will not be 40-0 talk for the first time in three seasons, but that is not necessarily a bad thing either.

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