Willie Cauley-Stein gets high praise from Larry Bird

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As with the NBA Draft, there are a lot of mind games that are played by teams before the NBA Draft. A lot of NBA teams put misinformation out there to try to influence other teams to either take a specific player or to make a trade. Still, it is kind of cool to hear that a legend like Larry Bird told former Kentucky Wildcats basketball player Willie Cauley-Stein he was a “$100 million dollar player”. Keep in mind, it may have been hyperbole but it appears the Pacer could use WCS.

"So, keep all of this in mind when you hear what Pacers president Larry Bird had to say to Willie Cauley-Stein when he met with him at the draft combine in Chicago last week. From Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star: WCS on his meeting w/ #Pacers: “Larry (Bird) told me, ‘I think you’re a $100 million dollar player.’ I hear that and I’m like, ‘Really?!’” WCS said that he will have a workout w/ the #Pacers in the near future. WCS on #Pacers: “They see me as a player in the five position & put Paul (George) at the four. Now I’ll have a mismatch…” Interesting that the five position was discussed, considering how Indiana seems extremely hopeful that Roy Hibbert chooses free agency over his player option to return, and even if he does come back, head coach Frank Vogel said he may end up being benched. The Pacers currently have the 11th overall selection in the June 25 draft, with only a 0.7 percent chance of ending up with the top pick when the ping pong balls are drawn on May 19. Cauley-Stein will almost certainly go before then, so if Bird really likes him that much, he’ll need to find a way to trade up in order to grab the player he wants."

Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Kentucky Wildcats were not able to add to their 2015 recruiting class over the weekend although there was hope that progress would be made. After getting a late offer, LaGerald Vick did not make his visit to Kentucky and committed to the Kansas Jayhawks.

And the waiting continues for Caleb Swanigan. We keep hearing that Swanigan is a possibility for John Calipari and Kentucky and in theory, the Vick decision helped to fuel that.

"247Sports national analyst Jerry Meyer reported Sunday night that UK is “making inroads” with five-star post player Caleb Swanigan, the only uncommitted McDonald’s All-American in the class of 2015. Meyer said that if UK is able to land Swanigan, that could push returning senior Alex Poythress to a wing position, which is where Vick would have played had he chosen the Wildcats."

Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Meanwhile, the waiting game for Caleb Swanigan continues. Wednesday is the deadline to sign a LOI but Swanigan has stated that he does not plan to sign one, so that deadline really does not matter. The common thought is that Swanigan is still waiting for a scholarship to Cal and the fact that he still has not committed to either Purdue or the Kentucky Wildcats seem to reaffirm that.

"There really is nothing to update from yesterday. The only thing He Tweeted was that he was playing in an open gym session at Ft. Wayne Luers. That, literally, is it at this point. There were no other rumors, no speculation, nothing. It is still Purdue, Cal, and Kentucky as the three finalists. If I had to guess right now I would say the speculation of him waiting for a spot at Cal is true. That is the only thing that makes sense. Both Purdue and Kentucky have the space right now and he can end all the discussion there with a signature. He has not done that. If he truly wants to go to Cal, however, he has to wait, and that is what we are all doing: waiting. So there is what I think. It makes just as much sense as anything."

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