Jones does it all as Cats beat ETSU, 88-65.

It's been awhile since I've last posted, and a lot has happened.

• UK won their two exhibition games easily as expected
• This Wednesday, Marquis Teague, Michael Gilchrist, and Kyle Wiltjer all signed their national letter of intents to play for the Cats on the first day of the signing period.
• On Thursday, there was bad news. Enes wasn't freed, and was declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA for receiving $33,000 more than "necessary expenses".
• This afternoon, we have found out that $20,000 of that was used for education, which could be a major implication in the appeal process later this month, leaving only $13,000 to be re-paid or accounted for.
• And tonight, without Enes Kanter, the Cats took care of business and beat ETSU 88-65.
  

East Tennessee State isn't one of the best teams the Cats will play this year, but they were a veteran team that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago and a major upgrade in talent from Pikeville, Dillard, and the Canadian teams that they have played this summer. They were a very good test for a young team in their opening game. I expected the young Cats to fall behind early in this one, but eventually come back to win rather easily. I thought the new guys would be overwhelmed by the difference in talent compared to what they've faced in the preseason. I expected a similar sloppy performance as what we were accustomed to early on last season with a young team. I was wrong.

It was an all around excellent opener, and I must say, they're ahead of where they were a year ago. They're also a much better shooting team than a year ago as they shot 50%, 13 of 26, from the field. Brandon Knight made 4 0f 7 from behind the arc, Doron Lamb made 3 of 5, DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller each made three, and even big man Terrence Jones, the star of the game, made 2 out of 3 three point attempts. It's safe to say that this team probably won't shoot like this every game, but they probably won't ever go 0-25 from 3 ever again, either. Jones finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 3 steals. There didn't seem to be anything that he couldn't do. The other scoring leaders for the Cats were Lamb (20), Knight (17), and Liggins (14).

Darius Miller also had 8 points and Josh Harrelson played well in limited playing time. Harrelson started the game and grabbed the first rebound and scored the first basket for the Cats but was called for 2 quick fouls which put him on the bench the rest of the 2nd half (one of those fouls seemed questionable). Harrelson also picked up a third foul early in the 2nd half and finished with 2 points and 7 rebounds in just 16 minutes to play. With the absence of Kanter and Harrelson on the bench, Eloy Vargas had to fill the void but was unable to get into the scoring books. It didn't really matter because Terrence Jones did just about everything, inside and out. Jon Hood, who came off a 17 point performance in the previous exhibition game, only got into the game for 6 minutes and scored 2 points.

With or without Enes Kanter, this is going to be a very good team. It's not life or death on this decision. He'd be a huge addition, but they've been preparing all off season to play without him and they will be just fine without him. Kentucky fans need to have perspective. Remember Billy Ball? This team will be, at worst, the 2nd best team we've had in 5 years. Then, next year, we'll be even better and perhaps even better than last year. I don't expect this team to accomplish everything that happened a year ago; but they are a better shooting team, they are playing better early on than they did last year, and I do believe they could go further into the tournament. "Enjoy the path", as Calipari says, it's going to be another great year!

The Cats take the football field tomorrow in a must win game against Vanderbilt. Bowl eligibilty and momentum going into Knoxville are on the line. It's been reported that, finally, Derrick Locke will play.

(Photo Courtesy of UKathletics.com)

Comparing the '09 and '10 Classes, and looking forward to 2011.

2009 Class (Rivals.com National rank and # of stars)

PG John Wall (1)*****
PF DeMarcus Cousins (2)*****
C Daniel Orton (22)*****
PG Eric Bledsoe (23)*****
SG Jon Hood (40)****
SF Darnell Dodson (JUCO)****

2010 Class:

Overall rankings

2009: Wall (1), Cousins (2), Orton (22), Bledsoe (23), Jon Hood (40), and a top JUCO transfer in Dodson

2009 AVERAGE RANK PER PLAYER: 17.6

2010: Kanter (3), Knight (6), Jones (13), Lamb (21), Poole (33), and a top JUCO transfer in Vargas (and possibly one more addition).

2010 AVERAGE RANK PER PLAYER: 15.2

The 2009 class may have had the 2 best players with the most NBA superstar potential, but the 2010 class looks to be more deep and a better overall class, and Cal might not even be finished yet! This class features three top 15 recruits as opposed to two last season, and depending on who you ask, Knight is ranked as high as #1 by some experts and Jones is thought to be in the top 10 by many as well. Hood and Dodson return from last year's class and Poole and Vargas are expected to return as well for the 2011/2012 season. All four of these guys should join would-be Seniors Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins in 2012, while Josh Harrelson stands alone as the only Senior in 2010/2011.

With it being a relatively weak overall class nationwide (there's at least no superstars of the calibur of Wall or Cousins this year), there isn't really a definitive "one and done" player in this class, either. Kanter, Knight, and Jones are likely "one and done", but are not currently guarenteed lottery picks as Wall and Cousins were. Doron Lamb finds him in the same situation as Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton a year ago. He is not expected to be ready after a year and does not expect to leave, but we'll just have to wait and see how he progresses under Cal. I believe that Stacey Poole and Eloy Vargas are ultimately what will make this class better than last year's. I see both of these players contributing much more than Jon Hood did, and maybe more than Dodson did as well as a Freshman, and they'll be very important returnees along with Liggins, Miller, Dodson, and Hood on the 2012 team.

Not only will the 2012 team feature veterans Liggins, Miller, Dodson, and Hood, along with Sophomores Poole, Vargas, and maybe more...but Cal will be bringing in an EVEN Better recruiting class than his first two classes at UK.

Here's how the 2011 Class is stacking up:

Rivals.com National Rank and # of stars

F Mike Gilchrist (1) ***** (committed)

G Marquis Teague (2) *****(committed)

F Lebryan Nash (4) *****(considering KY)

F Quincy Miller (8)*****(KY at top of his list)

That's potentially FOUR top 10 recruits, with 3 of the top 4 overall. Also, keep in mind that Teague will be complemented by senior guards Miller and Liggins. They should also have enough experienced returning players for Calipari to not have to go after an additional two or three guys. Depending on how Lamb develops as a Freshman, Calipari might actually already be done with this class. I certainly think that UK is a viable National Championship contender in 2011, but in 2012 it's hard to imagine them not being the unanimous pre-season favorite.

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!

What's Next for the Cats?

First off, I would like to address a small portion of Kentucky fans, but mostly the group of non-Kentucky fans and their opinion on "one and done" players and those whom may question Calipari's recruiting strategy.

Before Kentucky fans worry (or rival fans get excited) about Kentucky being a one year stop for the NBA, consider this:

In Calipari's 20+ years of coaching, up until this season, he has recruited a total of FOUR "one and done" players. That's it. Just 4 (which actually ties the number of this season's team). This season was an incredibly unique situation and Kentucky fans do not need to worry about this happening on a consistant basis. At Memphis, Calipari's best teams were veteran teams. He mixed one or two talented freshman in with 3 and 4 year veteran players and went to Final Fours. Soon enough, that will also happen at Kentucky. With what was left here for Calipari, he had no choice but to have a freshmen led team this season.

It took a very talented and special recruiting class (maybe the best of all-time) to bring the excitement back to Kentucky basketball.

Mission accomplished.

Now, that the excitement is back and the program is back to the national level that we expect it to, Calipari can now build this program like he has been doing for over 20 years: with a good mix of veteran and young, talented players. They'll have that next year with the return of Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, and Darnell Dodson mixed in with Stacey Poole and Enes Canter (4 and 5 star recruits whom have already signed with the Cats) as well as hopefully Brandon Knight (an "A" student and #1 recruit in the country), Josh Selby, Marquis Teague, Terrence Jones, C.J. Leslie and Doron Lamb.

The upside to this year's batch versus last years is that none of these guys look like automatic lottery picks next year, besides maybe Brandon Knight and Josh Selby. Last year's class was special, but will not be the norm by any means here under Calipari. Do not expect another mass exedus like this, probably ever again. What you can expect is for a couple of talented 3 and 4 year guys to emerge out of this year's recruiting class and for current Cats' Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins to have a Senior Day ceremony at Rupp in 2 years from now (and maybe Dodson too if he stays put). The 35-3 season that we enjoyed in 2009-2010 is only the beginning of the Calipari era, and I'm incredibly excited for the next group of guys to come in and continue right where we left off this season.

Brandon Knight is planning on making his decision exactly one week from today, on April 14th. When it's all said and done, I believe Calipari will have a top 15 team again next year on just his 2nd year on the job. Best of luck and much thanks to Demarcus, Patrick, John, Daniel, and Eric for bringing back the excitement of Kentucky basketball. When this program gets back to the Final Four and wins a National Championship, we will not forget the efforts of these young men and their part in the miraculous turnaround of Kentucky basketball in 2010. You will be missed and your time here was very appreciated.