Morris Twins

Markieff and Marcus Morris committed to Memphis last year but they are now reopening there recruitment just to make sure they make the right decision. Kentucky should be high on their list.

Willie Warren

Willie Warren and his mom said they will release a list of schools by the end of the month. Kentucky and Louisville should be on that list.

Hurricane Billy

Even before last week “Gillispie warnings” had already been issued. Hurricane Billy has been tearing through the recruiting world. The eye of the storm developed over Lexington, Ky., but has grown with such intensity that the outer bands now reach from coast to coast. He is college basketballs hottest story after winning over Deandre Liggins from Kansas, Memphis, and Illinois. Check out this link.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19716747/

UK Ranked #14

Kentucky is ranked number 14 in the preseason college basketball poll on AOL Sports.


With Billy Gillispie whipping Kentucky fans into a frenzied elation over his masterful early recruiting strokes, some believe the Wildcats are poised for a return to national prominence in '08.

However, for that to happen, Gillispie will need to transform streaky and inconsistent seniors Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley into reliable and productive players who can lead both on and off the court. Last year Ramel Bradley's inability to distribute the ball, especially near the :38 minute mark, cost the Wildcats some games. This year he may be replaced at the point by incoming frosh Alex Legion (6' 5") but given Gillispie's track record for turning things around wherever he goes, expect to see a totally different look for Bradley, who will probably play a combination of point and shooting guard. Senior Joe Crawford needs to find his magic touch on the perimeter, while sophomores Derrick Jasper and Jodie Meeks need to take their games to the next level in '08.

Jasper started strong for the 'Cats as a freshman but lost his confidence midway through the season, never to return. Jodie Meeks was a star in the making for Kentucky, and stands ready to be a leader on the '08 team. Think of Chuck Hayes with more athleticism, but the same fierce determination to win.




The headline grabber for the '08 Wildcats, however, is obviously freshman Patrick Patterson. With the departure of Randolph Morris last year to the NBA, Patterson will be Kentucky's only real answer to "Where's the Beef?" The recruit whose services were eagerly sought after by Duke, Florida, and Kentucky, Patterson brings a widebody's attitude toward rebounding to the post. The main knocks against him are his height (a shade under 6' 8", which is on the short side for PF) and his offensive abilities. He's definitely got the talent; the question is how long will it take for him to develop into an SEC-quality power forward.

Why they should be ranked here: If Tubby Smith was coaching this team, they wouldn't be ranked. But a combination of Billy Gillispie and Patrick Patterson make Kentucky an easy Top 20 pick. The BlogPoll might have ranked Kentucky slightly higher than they will be by the college basketball polls, but that's a sign of respect for the abilities of Coach Gillispie.

Why they should be ranked higher: They probably shouldn't be -- yet -- and that's mostly a function of Billy Gillispie getting a chance to prove that the 'Cats are back. If Gillispie can take Kentucky's traditionally brutal pre-season and conference schedule and rapidly advance the 'Cats into the Top 10, they should stay there until March.

Why they should be ranked lower: The Wildcats have been in a Tubby-funk for two consecutive seasons. Their best player by far, Randolph Morris, left as a junior. Their incoming freshmen are talented, but they return no impact players. Jodie Meeks is probably the Cat who returns with the strongest combination of experience, talent, and drive, but he's only a sophomore. Senior Ramel Bradley has never been able to put together a consistent season. And finally, Billy Gillispie has yet to prove himself in one of the nation's toughest hoops conferences.

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/07/11/premature-hoops-blogpoll-no-14-kentucky/

Greg Monroe

The #1 player in the 2008 class Greg Monroe still has interest in UK. He said that they are just as much in the mix as everyone else.

Trae Golden

2010 UK recruit Trae Golden dominated the 15 and Under tournament at the adidas It Takes 5ive Classic in Cincinnati.

Scotty Hopson

Mississippi State commit and Kentucky native Scotty Hopson says that he still plans to go to MSU and that all of the rumors about him opening up his recruitment are false.

Tyler Zeller

2008 UK recruit Tyler Zeller said that his AAU teammate Deandre Liggins had no impact on his college decision.

Willie Warren

Willie Warren told reporters at the Lebron James Skills Academy that Louisville is higher on his list of colleges than UK.

Leonard Washington

There is a story going around about, Leonard Washington, the 2007 recruit that Kentucky is now going after since he opened back up his recruitment, which says that he quit during his state championship game after the third quarter while they were down by eight. Pretty amazing article. I would like to know what Billy Gillispie has to say about this. Here is what the sports blog "TV Timeout" http://wkyt.mis.net/sportsblog/?p=235#more-235 reported about it.

There’s quite a bit of chatter on the boards about Lake Charles, La. big man Leonard Washington. Washington, who goes 6-foot-6, 225 lbs., reportedly visited UK last week. Leonard lists the Cats, along with LSU and Ole Miss, as the schools he’s most interested in.

Rumors had Washington making some type of announcement Friday afternoon, but when 27 SportsFirst called outlets in the Lake Charles area, we were surprised by what we heard.

A couple of the television stations that cover that market told us they hadn’t heard any news about Washington, mainly because he doesn’t speak to the media. The big man seems to be an enigma in that area. We were told Washington’s coach isn’t involved with the player anymore, mainly because of several incidents that happened during last season.

Washington played for Washington-Marion High in Lake Charles and helped lead his team to the Louisiana 4-A state championship game. Trailing by eight after three quarters, I’m told Washington refused to go back into the title game. His Washington-Marion team lost and many in the area haven’t forgiven Washington for his actions.

Jordan Sandler, sports anchor at KPLC-TV in Lake Charles, says Washington plays tough, given his size and strength.

But Sandler expressed concern that Washington commited to Southern Cal weeks ago, but might be an academic casualtly. Sandler said he asked the Washington-Marion athletics director about it, but was told no one from the school has had contact with the player.

You can draw your own conclusions.

Darius Miller

Darius Miller says that he will wait until the fall and takes a couple more visits until he makes his college decision.

Todd Forcier

Kentucky has hired former Syracuse strength and conditioning coach Todd Forcier.

Fox Sports Blog

Jeff Goodman, a writer for foxsports.com says that Billy Gillispie is getting out of hand in his recruiting.

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodmanonfox

Rotnei Clarke

Rotnei Clarke says that he is going to wait and make his college decision after he sees midnight madness at Kentucky or Kansas.

Billy Gillispie

Gillispie has many methods in recruiting — many of them learned from Self, he says. Read this great article on Billy Gillispie. Link below.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/colleges/story/176597-p2.html

Tyler Zeller

Tyler Zeller says that his two leaders in his recruitment are Purdue and Kentucky.

Leonard Washington

2007 recruit Leonard Washington will be making his decision on Friday. It is between LSU, Ole Miss, and Kentucky.

Sylven Landesberg

Sylven Landesberg, a 6′ 6″ forward out of Holy Cross HS in Flushing, NY may take a visit to Kentucky in the next few weeks. Kentucky has made the cut for his final college decision.

Leonard Washington

Kentucky recruit Leonard Washington says that he will make his college decision sometime early this week. He enjoyed his visit to Kentucky.

K.C. Ross-Miller

Texas PG and 2010 recruit K.C. Ross-Miller has committed to UK.

Mike Jones

Mike Jones, a 2006 recruit who went to Syracuse for a semester, is now considering UK. Billy Gillispie is trying hard to get him on campus.

K.C. Ross-Miller

K.C. Ross Miller, a 2010 PG recruit says that he is 99% sure that he wants to commit to Kentucky.