So this is what's up in UK recruiting...

This is what I believe will occur with the 2010 class. For those who just want to know who I believe we will get, here it is, read and close, and for those who want more of an explanation on why I think this, you can continue reading.

Lamb and Selby will be deciding tomorrow night during the Jordan Classic. We will get Lamb, Selby will be choosing Kansas.

Jones and Ross will be deciding on the 23rd or 30th together. We will get both but Ross will not qualify and we will hope to see him in blue with the 2011 class.

Leslie I believe is 50/50 either way despite Marc Maggard claiming for sure he is going to NC State. Chances go up for UK, the longer Leslie holds out on a decision.


With Knight, Poole, Kanter, Lamb and Leslie we would have 9 guys so far for 2010, if we don't get Leslie we need at least two more guys.

You need to have at least ten guys on the team. That ninth/tenth spots could come from Orton, Bledsoe or Patterson pulling their name out of the draft. Last word, Bledsoe and Patterson are gone, so the best chance between the three would be Orton if any at all.

We also may pick up one or two solid three star level guys who could be 4 year role players at UK. This would help with some stability and give us experience down the road.

There may also be some high profile recruits who reopen their recruitment because of coaching changes. Oregon is still seeking some high name coaches; there are also NBA jobs still available. Xavier Henry fell into Kansas' lap right at the end because of a coaching change…which is a decision he is still mad at his parents over, for not allowing him to go play for Cal...

In my opinion we also will be loading up in 2011 with currently the top three players in the class with Gilchrist, Teague and Quincy Miller along with others.

Now why I believe this is how it will go down: Doron Lamb has already told Cal he is coming. I guess Selby could try to sway him to Kansas but you can't get a better source on the subject than the recruit themselves telling Cal they are coming…so I believe we have Lamb.

According to UK's coaching staff, Selby has always been a back up plan for Knight. Selby when he decommitted from UT wanted to commit to UK on the spot. Cal told him to hold off. Cal wanted Knight and if he couldn't land him, he would use Selby as a back up plan.

This was common knowledge but when Bledsoe surprised us and went pro, many thought Knight and Selby could coexist. Then Selby was talking a bunch to Knight at the McDonald's All American game and many assumed Selby was thinking about getting on board with Knight at UK. If anything it was Selby trying to sell Knight to come to Kansas.

Cal hasn't spoken to Selby in months because he isn't interested in him. Selby only list UK because it looks good. KU fans will tell you Cal lost out on one. UK has not sent papers to Selby to even have a chance at picking UK. Cal didn't want him but coaches can't publicly state this.

Now on Jones/Ross/Leslie situation. The situation is Ross loves UK but wants to play some place where he isn't just riding the pine. He has concerns that if Leslie comes that will force him to play behind Leslie, Miller and Liggins. He may not get significant minutes until his junior or senior year if ever.

Ross and Jones want to play together, it isn't a must but they are best friends and don't want to be on the opposite side of the country. So if Ross isn't willing to come to UK, Jones may decide to stay home and play at Washington alongside Ross.

So does this mean the only way to get Jones/Ross is to cut Leslie? Maybe…maybe not.

If Jones and Ross commit to UK with Leslie still undecided our chances go up. Leslie will be visiting UCONN Saturday, Florida on Monday and he said he will decide shortly after these two visits. That would put his decision possibly before Jones/Ross. If he decides first then it will be N.C. State. Cal will only take a commitment from Leslie if he holds off. He would rather take Jones/Ross then Leslie. Jones is the better catch, then you get Ross on top of that.

If Leslie holds off until after the decision it will tell us he was willing to listen to Cal. Why hold off if he wants to commit to NC State?

Leslie has told Cal he wants to play at UK but Cal wants Jones more if he has to choose. Leslie is not a back up plan for Jones like Selby was for Knight. Cal wants Leslie but is not willing to take him if that means he loses out on Jones and Ross.

Now the question is why is Marc Maggard so confident in him going to NC State? I don't know who told Maggard this, but I will tell you it couldn't have been UK's coaching staff because like I said Leslie told Cal he wants to play for UK and hasn't told them any different since.

My guess would be he heard this from Leslie's close friends/AAU coaches/family. Almost all of these people want him to go to NC State and will tell people that is where he is going even if Leslie's mind isn't made up.

Another possibility is, he is aware of this Jones/Ross vs Leslie situation and he wants the word to get back to Jones and Ross that Leslie is going elsewhere. Then Ross will not be concerned and will commit to UK…

So how do we possibly still get Leslie if Ross doesn't want to play with him? Ross isn't likely to be eligible for 2010 but he seems to be in denial of this. With Leslie waiting awhile it should become clearer to him he will not have the scores to become eligible. If he doesn't come until 2011 then he would likely be more ok because Miller and Liggins would be seniors by the time he was a freshman. Ross said last week, he wants to be in the top 7 rotation by his sophomore year. Miller and Liggins would be gone by his sophomore year allowing this to happen.

So as you can see, there is some juggling to be done. Things should be fine. Jones is more important and as long as we get him and pick up some role players we should be fine.

This may completely change as soon as I send this…don't take everything I say as what will happen…you just never know…but that is the latest. We shall see how it all turns out.

Go Cats!