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Wiggins watch: Decision dates from previous No. 1s

 Posted by at 2:19 PM on May 6, 2013  3 Responses »
May 062013
 
Andrew Wiggins will choose either Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina or Kansas. Photo courtesy of McDonald's

Andrew Wiggins will choose Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina or Kansas.
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

It’s looking more and more as if Andrew Wiggins will hold off on a college decision until May 15, the final day of the regular signing period.

Huntington Prep Coach Rob Fulford told the Herald-Leader on Monday that nothing has changed in Wiggins’ recruitment. The No. 1 high school prospect is considering four schools — UK, North Carolina, Florida State and Kansas — and he plans to announce his intentions by May 15. Other than that deadline, there is no timetable for an announcement.

The past eight players deemed No. 1 in their class by Scout.com have all made college decisions before this stage in their recruitment. The latest any of those players waited was April 11, which is when Nerlens Noel committed to Kentucky last year.

Here’s a look — by commitment date — of past No. 1s:

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EYBL stats: Updated numbers for Kentucky recruits

 Posted by at 12:15 AM on May 2, 2013  No Responses »
May 022013
 
Tyus Jones is leading the EYBL with 7.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game. Photo: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo/Pioneer Press

Tyus Jones is leading the EYBL with 7.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
Photo: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo/Pioneer Press

Updated stats for Kentucky recruiting targets after two sessions of EYBL play:

Emmanuel Mudiay (2014)
16.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 5.9 apg

Tyus Jones (2014)
22.1 ppg, 7.7 apg, 2.9 spg, 41.4% threes

Stanley Johnson (2014)
18.8 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 2.6 spg

Cliff Alexander (2014)
14.6 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 60.2 FG%

Rashad Vaughn (2014)
20.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 29.6% threes

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First look: Top recruits on UK’s non-conference slate

 Posted by at 5:04 PM on May 1, 2013  No Responses »
May 012013
 
Kennedy Meeks is one of at least two McDonald's All-Americans who will play for North Carolina next season. Photo courtesy of McDonald's

Kennedy Meeks is one of at least two McDonald’s All-Americans who will play for North Carolina next season.
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

Kentucky released its non-conference schedule Wednesday afternoon, and next season’s slate features several marquee games. Here’s a look at some of the top recruits from the class of 2013 who the Cats will be facing:

Nov. 12 — vs. MICHIGAN STATE in Chicago
Tom Izzo has only two recruits in his 2013 class — three-star forwards Gavin Schilling and Alvin Ellis. Schilling is a 6-9 power forward out of Findlay Prep (Nev.) who is considered the No. 125 overall player in the class by Rivals.com. Ellis is a 6-5 small forward from Chicago. Kentucky fans will also have an opportunity to see shooting guard Gary Harris, who chose the Spartans over UK and will return for his sophomore season.

Dec. 1 — vs. PROVIDENCE in Brooklyn
The star of the Friars’ recruiting class is small forward Brandon Austin, who Scout.com considers the No. 38 overall prospect in the class. Austin — a 6-6 native of Philadelphia — originally committed to Penn State before backing out of that pledge. Highly touted 2012 point guard Kris Dunn will return for his sophomore season after being hobbled by injuries for much of his first year with the Friars. UK fans won’t get to see former Calipari target Ricardo Ledo, who opted for the NBA Draft after being ineligible for his first season at Providence.

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2014 star Whitehead still waiting on offer from UK

 Posted by at 3:49 PM on May 1, 2013  No Responses »
May 012013
 

New York City basketball star Isaiah Whitehead made his Nike EYBL debut over the weekend, and there were plenty of coaches who stopped by to check him out.

Whitehead played with New Jersey Playaz after missing the first EYBL session while competing with a non-Nike team. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard averaged 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds and helped lead the Playaz to a 4-1 record. They had gone 1-3 without Whitehead during the L.A. session.

The Brooklyn native mentioned Kentucky, Louisville, Syracuse, St. John’s, Minnesota and UCLA as the main schools he is considering. Of those, Syracuse seems to be getting the most attention.

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Stanley Johnson surprised by firings at UCLA, USC

 Posted by at 2:22 PM on April 30, 2013  1 Response »
Apr 302013
 
Stanley Johnson is one of UK's biggest recruiting targets in the class of 2014. Photo: Orange County Register

Stanley Johnson is one of UK’s biggest recruiting targets in the class of 2014.
Photo: Orange County Register

Stanley Johnson made it clear over the weekend that everybody will get a fair shot at his commitment once he starts visiting college campuses this fall.

But two of the seven schools that remain on his list might have some catching up to do.

Johnson said that he found the recent firings of UCLA’s Ben Howland and Southern Cal’s Kevin O’Neill “very surprising.” The 6-foot-7 small forward from the Los Angeles area had built good relationships with those two coaches, and he’s just now getting to know their replacements.

“The change at UCLA was pretty abrupt,” he said. “I think UCLA did a little bit better job recruiting (me) than USC did, so losing Howland was a big deal.”

Johnson — Scout.com’s No. 17 overall player in 2014 — called Steve Alford “great” and said he’s already been in contact with the new UCLA coach. He’s also intrigued by USC’s Andy Enfield, who delighted college basketball fans last month by leading Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16 and making “Dunk City” a household phrase.

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2016 forward says he has an offer from Kentucky

 Posted by at 10:49 PM on April 29, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 292013
 

Class of 2016 forward Jayson Tatum told ChicagoHoops.com’s Scott Burgess that he received a scholarship offer from Kentucky on Monday.

Tatum would be the first 2016 prospect to receive a UK offer. Only one 2015 player — Haitian big man Skal Labissiere — has a confirmed scholarship offer from John Calipari.

Calipari checked in on Tatum during last weekend’s Nike EYBL session in Hampton, Va. The 6-foot-6 wing player from St. Louis is considered one of the top players in his class. The major recruiting services have not yet released player rankings for 2016.

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Sunday stats: Jones, Alexander have another big day

 Posted by at 2:34 AM on April 29, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 292013
 

HAMPTON, Va. — Roundup of Sunday’s EYBL games featuring players with UK offers:

Tyus Jones (Howard Pulley Panthers)
27 points, 10 assists in 82-79 win over Texas Elite
23 points, 5 assists in 85-75 win over Nike Team Louisiana
Note: Jones was 21-for-22 on free throws Sunday

Emmanuel Mudiay (Texas Pro)
19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists in 57-52 win over Alabama Challenge
27 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists in 78-76 loss to Cal Supreme

Stanley Johnson (Oakland Soliders)
10 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals in 63-60 loss to Team Takeover
23 points, 10 rebounds in 57-54 loss to Meanstreets

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Travelers rout Texas Elite to improve to 5-4 in EYBL

 Posted by at 2:08 AM on April 29, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 292013
 

HAMPTON, Va. — Justin Johnson turned in a gutsy effort and the Kentucky Travelers defeated Team Texas Elite 89-67 on Sunday afternoon to close the second EYBL session on a high note.

Johnson, a standout at Perry Central, was hit in the face in the Sunday morning game and briefly lost vision in one eye. He returned a couple hours later against Texas Elite and recorded 23 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Both totals were game highs.

The victory pushed the Travelers to a 5-4 record, which puts the Lexington-based squad in a tie for second place in their 10-team division behind the Tyus Jones-led Howard Pulley Panthers.

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Saturday stats: Big games from Jones, Alexander

 Posted by at 12:19 AM on April 28, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 282013
 
Tyus Joneshad two 20-plus point games in front of John Calipari on Saturday. Photo: Pioneer Press

Tyus Joneshad two 20-plus point games in front of John Calipari on Saturday.
Photo: Pioneer Press

HAMPTON, Va. — Roundup of Saturday’s EYBL games featuring players with UK offers:

In possibly the most anticipated matchup of the day, Tyus Jones had 23 points, 10 assists and four steals to lead Howard Pulley to an 84-83 overtime victory over fellow Minnesotan Rashad Vaughn and Playground Elite. Vaughn had 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Five coaches who have won national championships were present for the game: John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo and Roy Williams.

Later Saturday, Jones had 22 points and four rebounds in a 58-53 victory over Team Penny and Skal Labissiere, who turned in seven points and nine rebounds in 13 minutes. Calipari, Izzo and Coach K also watched that game.

Vaughn was scorless in the first half of his night game, a 67-52 loss to CIA Bounce. He ended up with 12 points.

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2015′s Labissiere says UK & Memphis ‘standing out’

 Posted by at 11:52 PM on April 27, 2013  2 Responses »
Apr 272013
 

HAMPTON, Va. — John Calipari has seen a lot of recruits from the class of 2015 over the past few months. He has offered only one of them a scholarship.

Haitian big man Skal Labissiere — who received Calipari’s after one viewing last fall — said Saturday that UK and Memphis are the two schools “standing out” in the early stages of his recruitment.

The 6-foot-10 post player moved to Memphis after his home country was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. Six months after his first meeting with the UK coach, Labissiere is still surprised that Calipari offered him a scholarship so soon.

“When I heard it, I couldn’t say a thing because I was shocked,” he said. “He told me that I had the potential to be great.”

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