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Trust John Calipari in the case of Caleb Swanigan

ByPaul Jordan|

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After accepting the fact that the Kentucky Wildcats were finished with recruiting for the 2015 class, it appears that they are right back in the running for Caleb Swanigan, the #19 player in the class per Rivals.  There always seems to be one recruit that has the larger than life and at times unbelievable, wild recruiting stories and Swanigan fills the bill.  He certainly can help the Kentucky Wildcats, but there seem to be a few red flags with taking him.  And there is no better coach at sorting through those players and making the right decision than John Calipari.

The Caleb Swanigan story seemed to be written when he committed to Tom Izzo and Michigan State on April 10.  That marriage lasted less than a month as Swanigan de-committed on May 7 and well, it’s been a wild, roller coaster ride ever since.  Purdue and Cal seemed to be the leaders for Swanigan and both had unique pitches.  He could stay in-state with the Boilermakers and his father, Roosevelt Barnes, was a former Boilermaker.  Cal offered him a chance to play with Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb, both of whom he has discussed playing with in the past.

But still, no commitment from Swanigan at schools that should be slam dunk choices for him.  And now apparently, Cal does not have a roster spot available for him, although the word is that Swanigan is waiting on a spot to open.  And in the meantime, comes the news that Kentucky is right back in the running.

What gives?

If  you believe the rumors on Michigan State, Swanigan has a list of demands that Tom Izzo was not willing to meet his demands of a personal chef or private living quarters.

Granted, there are a few red flags with this report.  First off, I see Tom Izzo as a pretty no-nonsense type of guy.  If there were special demands such as a private chef, I would think that it would have come up BEFORE Swanigan gave his commitment in the recruiting process.  It’s a good rumor, but I don’t buy it.  Izzo would not have taken the commitment if this had even been an option.

Perhaps the big reason is that the Spartans were wanting Swanigan to play center, which he may be a bit undersized for.  Once again, I think that would have come up before the commitment, but who knows.

Finally, Swanigan has had ample time to commit to both Cal and Purdue before now.  Cal was obviously holding a scholarship for him but he never pulled the trigger.  It is a bit interesting that Swanigan de-committed just six days after Jaylen Brown committed to Cal.  So maybe Swanigan really wants to play with Rabb and Brown but did not think Brown would go to Cal.  So Swanigan went to MSU which was his best option then.

This is not the first player with red flags or strange recruitment that John Calipari has undertaken in his time in Lexington.  DeMarcus Cousins came to Lexington with a bad reputation as a problem player but those fears were calmed by Calipari and Cousins ended up being the #5 player in the 2010 NBA Draft and was a great representative of Kentucky.

And this brings up memories of Terrence Jones.  If you recall, Jones took a lot of heat in the media when he waffled on his Washington commitment and finally chose Kentucky.  And like Cousins, Terrence Jones was worth waiting for?

But is Caleb Swanigan?

Only John Calipari knows and he is the best at making that decision.  If we recall, Calipari has made tough decisions in the past when a player wanted to come to UK and Cal cooled at the last-minute.  Chris Walker from Florida is a great example.  Walker desperately wanted to come to Kentucky but that official offer never came for Walker.  In the end, you just have to trust John Calipari.

One thing we do know is that John Calipari is not going to give in to Caleb Swanigan’s demands for playing time if that is a true story.  Whether the rest of the Swanigan drama is real or just rumors will be decided by Calipari.  And he will make the right decision.

Also keep in mind that is visiting Kentucky this weekend even though he does not have an offer.  Kentucky could take both players, and this could be a very different looking team by the end of May.

Just trust John Calipari.

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