Nothing new on Knight, Jones and Liggins. I expect Knight to be gone, Jones could go either way…he wants to go…his family wants him to stay because of the lock out…we shall see. I expect Liggins to be back but you never know. His family could use the money but how much does an undrafted player get paid these days? He could go overseas but would he want to do this and leave his girlfriend and his new baby behind? She will be a senior along with Liggins and she apparently is on pace to graduate. I doubt she will be decking for Europe with a newborn and not finishing up her degree but that is just speculation.
So what is new? The biggest news is the recruit Ryan Harrow on campus today. This was a surprise to almost all, thanks to UK wanting to keep this one a secret to avoid anyone or anything getting in the way of the visit. Harrow was part of the 2010 class and was ranked #19 by Rivals (#6 point guard). The only point guards who were ranked above him who are not likely in the NBA draft this year is Corey Joseph from Texas and Joe Jackson from Memphis.
Harrow committed to NC State and as soon as Lowe was released of his head coaching position it was rumored that Harrow was seeking a transfer. He never made this officially the case until he announced it today and in the same motion found himself visiting UK.
His connections contacted UK apx. a month ago to see if there was mutual interest. Harrow is a big fan of the dribble drive offense.
He would have to sit out next season and basically be part of the 2012 class with years of eligibility. There are no Rose/Evans/Wall/Knight/Teague type of point guards in this class at least not yet…a player could always blow up but currently this is the case. That being the case, a third year sophomore in Harrow may likely be the best option for the class.
The question is will Teague still be here as a sophomore thanks to the 2 and done rule happening and applying to his class or Teague just not being an offensive minded player like the others that keeps in college for at least 2 years.
If he is then we are talking about the best backup point guard in the country in Harrow. If he goes pro, then we are looking at a solid point guard to fill the void.
Harrow does not have an offer yet but this is likely the only thing holding him back from committing. Will it happen on his visit? Only time will tell.
There was also some other recruits on campus today as well. It is unclear who they were. If you know, would love to know.
In other news Coach Cal may be leading the Dominican Republic National team. They approach Coach Cal about this and according to Cal he is considering it. This would allow the players to use UK’s facilities. It would allow Coach Cal to work with coaches from the Dominican like he did with China. This would open up a pipe line for UK and the Dominican.
Some notable recent players from Dominican are Francisco Garcia (Louisville),Al Horford (Florida) and Charlie Villanueva (UCONN). Villanueva was actually born in Queens, New York but has Dominican Republic immigrants which have allowed him to represent the Dominican Republic.
-UK officially won the attendance record again. In the last 16 years, UK has won this 15 times. UK averaged 23,603 a game. Syracuse had 23,312. Louisville came in 3rd with 21,832. Of course 10,000 of those Louisville fans were someplace else after halftime but as long as you show up it counts…
The one UK lost it was against Syracuse. UK’s attendance was not down that year just Syracuse and their dome had more one year. The Carrier Dome can hold over 33,000 to Rupps 24,000. If you have apx. 15 home games a year if both programs sold out each home game…Syracuse should beat us each year by 135,000 for all games…and we all know if UK had a 30,000 stadium the numbers would be even higher.
-Louisville looks to be losing two of their best bigs for next season. Jennings has put his name in the draft and despite not being projected to be drafted in the 1st or 2nd round; Pitino believes he will stay in the draft. If this is true it shows Jennings has something else on his mind. It is possible he would prefer to play overseas then play another year of college…or maybe he has finally figured out Pitino isn’t going to help him and he isn’t getting any younger…
This has many Louisville fans upset because they know he isn’t ready for the NBA. This would be like how UK fans will feel if Liggins decides to stay in the draft.
As Pitino mentioned this about Jennings, he stated the post players he will have next year and did not list Tony Woods. Woods was a five star recruit coming out of high school and went to Wake Forest. He underachieved for a year and has received some heat for beating up his girlfriend and being charged with assault. He then left the team midyear and Fuller recruited him to Louisville. Fuller was the Director of Operations at W.F. when he committed there. Woods has been living in Louisville and was set to be cleared to play in December. Fuller then left and the rumors were Woods would as well. Nothing is official from what I can tell but it looks like he is out.
Go Cats! Stay dry!
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