Great day for UK, College Basketball!

In the first ever Pitino vs. Calipari recruiting battle since Coach Cal took the UK job, Marquis Teague admitted the race was neck and neck. Pitino had coached Teague's father way back in his younger days at Boston University and was recruiting the younger Teague for about two years now. He had attended a countless number of his games and even offered an "associate" of Teague's a job on the Louisville staff. I wonder if that offer still stands? Teague entered his press conference wearing a red polo shirt, but ended up putting on a blue UK hat. This was a great addition for the Cats, but an even more crushing blow to Louisville.

(Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)

The 2010 class is currently shaping up quite well, but with the addition of Teague to the 2011 class, the Cats have the possibility of creating the best recruiting class in the history of college basketball. I thought that last year's class was impossible to top, but it looks like I could be wrong. They have already signed the nation's #1 player, Michael Gilchrist, and Teague is ranked 3rd. Last year's class featured the country's two best players, but the 2011 class could feature the #1, 2, 3, 9, and 10th ranked recruits nationally, according to Rivals.com. Simply Unbelievable.

Three of the top remaining targets in 2010 include Terrence Jones, CJ Leslie, and Marcus Thornton, the former Clemson commit. Jones will be making his selection on April 30th and selecting among Kentucky, Washington, Oklahoma, and Oregon (seems like a pretty easy decision to me). Leslie is picking between the Cats and his hometown team, NC State. The Cats also hope to get a commitment from West Jessamine star Jarrod Polson, who was offered a preferred walk-on spot with the Cats.

Yes, it was a great day for Kentucky, a horrible day for Louisville, and a fantastic day for all of college basketball as the NCAA has elected NOT to expand to 96 teams, but only to 68. They will simply be adding a play-in game in each region instead of just one. This expansion will allow heartbreaking snubs (like Mississippi State last year) to make the tournament. At the same time, however, the regular season will still have significance and a .500 North Carolina squad wont be sneaking into the field of 96. It also allows the 16 seeded teams to actually have a chance to win a game before getting blown out by a #1 seed. The NCAA also got their new TV contract with CBS/TNT/TBS. It's a win-win situation for all parties involved. Thank you to the NCAA for not screwing up the greatest tournament in sports!

Best of Luck to all Wildcats' in tonight's NFL Draft! It's almost that time of year again, and the Blue/White Spring game is this Saturday. I'm ready to ring in the Joker Phillps era with Operation Win!