Dakari Johnson deciding tonight.

Kentucky, Georgetown or Syracuse. These schools are always in the running for the premier centers. It was the same final 3 for Noel.

Azubuike24;1358269 wrote:Dakari Johnson deciding tonight.

Kentucky, Georgetown or Syracuse. These schools are always in the running for the premier centers. It was the same final 3 for Noel.

UK

Only Syracuse is in the running, IMO, with Josh Smith going to Georgetown.

Funny, I'm citing Josh Smith...like he can ever be counted on for ANYTHING?

Kentucky cleaning house. Impressive. With Johnson's reclassification and UK now bringing six plus star-studded freshmen next fall, does that have any impact on Andrew Wiggins? Wiggins would be the best of the bunch, so lack of playing time wouldn't be a concern, but I wonder if he might want to go somewhere else, such as Carolina or FSU, where he would be the central figure and still have enough supporting players to make a run at a championship (at Carolina, not so much at FSU).

The Wiggins decision is gonna be interesting.

I haven't really done the math, but will UK have room for the 6 guys that have already committed, plus Randle and Wiggins if they decide to go to Lexington? It seems like several of the UK players on this year's team would have to leave, and at this point, I don't think there are as many guaranteed one-and-done guys on their roster.

Unforunately, Poythress, Noel and Goodwin, despite their shaky performances (not necessarily Noel), are all top 10 picks. Heck, even Willie Cauley-Stein has moved into the top 10 in some drafts. Their stock is certainly higher than they have produced. Right now..

FRESHMAN
Aaron Harrison
Andrew Harrison
Dakari Johnson
James Young
Marcus Lee
Derek Willis

SOPHOMORES
Alex Poythress
Archie Goodwin
Willie Cauley-Stein
Nerlens Noel

JUNIORS
Kyle Wiltjer
Ryan Harrow

SENIORS
Jon Hood

If nobody leaves, they have 13 scholarship players. There are rumors that Hood may be transferring out, so that may open another up.

Thanks. So there should definitely be room for at least a couple more players in the 2013 class. If UK gets Randle and Wiggins, it's over.

I mean I just can't see them not losing at least 3 players to the draft. The only chance might be a few guys seeing what happened with Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones. They came back, their draft stock didn't get crushed and did win a title.

If that incoming class were to somehow manage to keep say Poythress and Cauley-Stein, it would be insane. This would be the combo I'd see staying.

Nerlens Noel is gone. He's a top 3 pick, possible #1 overall. Sure, he can work on his offensive game and his conditioning, but the potential is right there and has been since he was a Sophomore in HS. There's 0 chance he comes back and Calipari would probably say as much.

Archie Goodwin is 90% gone. He's a PG in the NBA, and next year he won't get any minutes at PG with Andrew Harrison and Ryan Harrow. He would see time at the SG, but that's not helping his draft stock.

Karl Towns had 16 points, 17 rebounds, 11 blocks and 11 assists in a game tonight.

Watched SJJ/central tonight. Loving has a lot of talent but just goes through the motions it seems. Isn't aggressive offensively and is disinterested defensively. Was surprised how athletic Kizer was though. He looked like a talented basketball player rather than just a football player who plays basketball in the winter. Gardner was the best player on the court imo. Laley I'm sure you've seen them play pretty often right?

I was there as well, and agree with everything you said, with a couple added comments. I know he's headed to Findlay, but IMO, Gardner could play at the MAC level. As far as Loving goes, I've seen him play about a half dozen times now, and I ask myself every time what Matta sees in him. I just don't see his game translating to the B1G, but to be honest, I wasn't so sure that Ryne Smith's could either. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong again.

Is this state representative Randy Gardner's son we are talking about? Wow, didn't realize he was that elite of a player.

I remember seeing him all the time at Perry Fieldhouse in Bowling Green when he was about three years old. I'd be there with my friends playing pick-up games and he'd be performing basic training on the adjoining court with his father and older brother. It looked like an ROTC convention. Haha. That work seems to have paid off for the kid. This is gonna sound stupid, be he was a marvel in second grade. I saw him in a grade school tournament at my high school, and he's best I've ever seen at that age.

Yep, Randy's son. Doesn't surprise me at all about the family.

reclegend22;1369741 wrote:Is this state representative Randy Gardner's son we are talking about?

karen lotz;1369751 wrote:Yep, Randy's son. Doesn't surprise me at all about the family.

We sat down the row from him last night, and I complimented him on his son's play at halftime-nice guy, very gracious.

vball10set;1369773 wrote:We sat down the row from him last night, and I complimented him on his son's play at halftime-nice guy, very gracious.

Yeah, Randy Gardner is a good guy. Have played in many a pickup games with him at the BG rec center. Not sure if he still is a regular there, though, because I haven't played there in years. He would always crack me up because he was that guy who played like it was Duke-Kentucky in the national championship and only shot NBA three-pointers. He was always one of the better players on the floor, though, even as a 45-year-old state rep. If I remember correctly, he was a very good player for Eastwood back in the day.

Loving should be alright in college. He a silky shot and nice handles for someone who is 6'8. He isnt your prototypical 5* though in the sense that he wont be able to do much as a freshman, at all. That is, unless he REALLY bulks up.

As for the players in this area...we are loaded with B1G players and I dont expect Loving to shine all that much more than the others early on. They just have the game and body of the B1G right now.

Mark Donnal - Anthony Wayne - Michigan
Vitto Brown - Bowling Green - Wisconsin
Nigel Hayes - Whitmer - Wisconsin
Marc Loving - St. John's - Ohio State

Laley, I've seen Donnal play twice, and he appears more MAC than B1G-what do you think? IMO, Brown and Hayes look Wisky ready, and I've already told you my thoughts on Loving. I just don't see Donnal contributing much to tsun, but again, I've been wrong before.

Not 2013, but 2014 recruiting news.

Joel Berry, 5* PG out of Orlando, FL, committed to North Carolina today. Nice start to what needs to be a great class for Roy Williams.

Last season, Berry was the first sophomore to ever be named Mr. Basketball in the state of Florida. From what I've read, he's the prototypical PG for Roy's system.

Awesome news for UNC. I'd say with Paige, Berry and Britt on board, UNC is officially out of the running for 5-star 2014 point guard Tyus Jones out of Minnesota. Which is awesome, as I think Duke will lock it up if he doesn't decide to play for the home-town team and Tubby Smith.

There is just no way that a point guard of Jones' caliber will want to play at a school like UNC with that many elite point guards.

Any news on Wiggins?

wildcats20;1371522 wrote:Any news on Wiggins?

Haven't heard much lately. Still making a decision in the Spring. Everything I have read suggests that Carolina is in good position, but we'll see.

reclegend22;1371513 wrote:Awesome news for UNC. I'd say with Paige, Berry and Britt on board, UNC is officially out of the running for 5-star 2014 point guard Tyus Jones out of Minnesota. Which is awesome, as I think Duke will lock it up if he doesn't decide to play for the home-town team and Tubby Smith.

There is just no way that a point guard of Jones' caliber will want to play at a school like UNC with that many elite point guards.

I think Tyus Jones is definitely going to Duke, and probably bringing Jahlil Okafor with him. Okafor does like Berry too, though, so hopefully he chooses the good guys. Where does Duke stand with Theo Pinson? Any idea? Seems like Carolina is in good shape for Justin Jackson and possibly Justise Winslow at the wing spot.

ironman02;1371530 wrote:I think Tyus Jones is definitely going to Duke, and probably bringing Jahlil Okafor with him. Okafor does like Berry too, though, so hopefully he chooses the good guys. Where does Duke stand with Theo Pinson? Any idea? Seems like Carolina is in good shape for Justin Jackson and possibly Justise Winslow at the wing spot.

Wish I did. I haven't heard much about Pinson in awhile.

I hope you are right about the Jones/Okafor combo, though. I won't get my hopes up too high, though, because I think many Blue Devils fans (or maybe just the gullible ones like me) thought that Matt Jones and Julius Randle were a lock to go to the same school, being that they were AAU teammates and Matt Jones was repping Duke hard to his close buddy. They're apparently best friends.

vball10set;1371463 wrote:Laley, I've seen Donnal play twice, and he appears more MAC than B1G-what do you think? IMO, Brown and Hayes look Wisky ready, and I've already told you my thoughts on Loving. I just don't see Donnal contributing much to tsun, but again, I've been wrong before.

I would agree, based on this years play. I thought he was pretty good last year and was one of the best in the area. Brown and Hayes have clearly surpassed him with this years play though. I do think Donnal will be good for Michigan. Spread the floor and shoot 3s with the bigs is a Beilein specialty. Any other school and he is probably over his head, but he can excel at UofM, imo.

He also plays for Dan Dakich during the summer AAU team, and Dan says he has really improved his defense and that he posts up more like a big guy in comparison to what AW has him do. I wont take his word as gospel as there will be bias since he coaches him, but Dakich is a pretty good HS Talent advisor. Has a knack for seeing it.

Quotes by Wiggins:

“He doesn’t like talking about it,” Express coach Rob Fulford said of Wiggins, who this weekend posed with fellow All-American Jabari Parker for a future SLAM magazine cover. “The recruiting is weighing on him a little bit.”

“It’s overwhelming. He doesn’t like the attention. He doesn’t like it. His shots aren’t falling,” Fulford admitted. “His shot was much more consistent last year and his free-throw percentage is low… He’s a good kid. He really is. He’ll talk to you about anything, but once recruiting is brought up, he shuts down.”

To me, this says it's not Kentucky. You're going to be under pressure when you walk to class, eat breakfast, study at the library, etc...let alone do ANYTHING related to basketball. Like Coach Cal said on All-Access, it doesn't matter how talented you are, UK isn't for everybody. Even if you're a NOPY, people will criticize your game (Anthony Davis). Even if you're a top 3 NBA draft pick, people will criticize you (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist). Even the born-and-bred Kentucky kids (Darius Miller) had an abundance of haters. Imagine if you struggle early as a Freshman (Marquis Teague, Brandon Knight, Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin)? TONS of haters...

I don't know. I want Andrew Wiggins more than any recruit ever. He's that good. I've heard people say he's the best pure physical talent since LeBron. I don't buy it, but that label doesn't get thrown around a lot. With that said, he's going to be entering Kentucky, should he choose to go there, with expectations of going 40-0 and will be joining at least 6 other 5-star recruits (possibly 8 or 9). There haven't been expectations any higher on any team in history, and the majority of those expectations will come from his biggest fans.