An early look at UK’s 2010 targets, Part 1 – Point Guards
Guy | Jun 09, 2009 | Comments 12
It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since John Calipari wrapped up his aligning of the stars 2009 recruiting class by nabbing a commitment from John Wall. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long because it really hasn’t. Wall made his decision on May 20 to close Calipari’s efforts for this year, but Coach Cal has been on top of 2010 kids since he stepped on campus.
Will Barton proved to us with his commitment to Memphis last week that it is not too early to start thinking about the 2010 recruiting class and as good as next year’s team is shaping up to be, UK 2010-2011 isn’t going to just form itself.
First, let’s take a look at the players UK figures to lose and the needs that will open up:
Gone – Graduation
Jodie Meeks (If he returns this year)
Perry Stevenson
Ramon Harris
Kevin Galloway
All But Gone – Early Draft Entry
Patrick Patterson
John Wall
Gone with a Good Season
DeMarcus Cousins
UK is bringing in a class of 6 players this year with a nearly full roster. Next year when John Calipari has 6, possibly 7 spots to fill, he’s going to go crazy. He probably already is right now. UK is going to be mentioned with pretty much every big time name out there because not every one is going to accept an offer. In the past, we pinned our recruiting hopes on a couple top notch players…I think those times are over. That’s why losing out on Will Barton is unfortunate, but does not prompt a meltdown.
The good thing about all the losses that UK will sustain next year is that no single position will be depleted. Even if every one of those players moves on, UK will still have talented returnees at every position.
Point Guard
Eric Bledsoe
Shooting Guard/Small Forward
Darius Miller
Darnell Dodson
Jon Hood
Power Forward/Center
Daniel Orton
Matt Pilgrim/Josh Harrellson
You can make a pretty solid 6 man rotation out of that group, but John Calipari will have to add some serious depth to that base, as well as one or two of his patented stars in the mold of John Wall, Tyreke Evans, and Derrick Rose.
Over the next couple days, I’m going to be looking at UK’s targets at point guard, shooting guard/small forward, and power forward/center. First up we will look at point guard. UK figures to lose John Wall to the NBA after a stellar freshman year.
However, fellow freshman Eric Bledsoe will get plenty of experience and maybe a bunch if Jodie Meeks stays in the Draft, so any newcomer will have an uphill battle to take the starting job away from him. Even so, Calipari showed this offseason that he can never have enough depth at point guard, so he figures to try to add at least one at the position.
Point Guard
Brandon Knight (Overall #1 Rivals/#3 Scout) – Knight is a John Wall type talent. He’s a big point guard and can score in bunches. He’s not quite the floor general that Wall was in high school…think Tyreke Evans, not Derrick Rose. UConn is thought to be in good shape for him but I would not count out John Calipari, nor would Jim Calhoun or any other coach, especially if John Wall has the kind of season most think he will.
Kyrie Irving (#8 Scout, #21 Rivals) – UK figures get serious consideration from Irving. UK assistant Rod Strickland is Kyrie’s godfather and while Irving recently omitted UK from his top 5 in one interview and said Strickland would not figure in a major way in his decision, look for UK to be a factor. Indiana, Notre Dame, and Duke are strong with him.
Joe Jackson (#24 Scout, #17 Rivals) – Jackson is from Memphis and John Calipari has a very strong relationship with him. He’s another kid who is more of a scoring point guard right now. If Calipari steps up and recruits him hard, I think UK is the team to beat.
Phil Pressey (#24 Scout, #43 Rivals) – This is the point guard in this group that I just don’t know that much about. He’s a little guy, measuring in at 5-10 tops. He’s very quick and his father, Paul, played in the NBA. I don’t think UK will be a big factor. His list is mostly comprised of Big 12 schools with Florida, UCLA, Ohio State, and Arizona sprinkled in.
I’m sure there will be kids who emerge in AAU play this summer at the point guard position, but as of right now these are John Calipari’s big time targets at the position.
Filed Under: Kentucky
Comments (12)
Leave a Reply
Again with your UK bias. Knight has UK in high consideration but they are not in the lead. Also, your comment about Joe Jackson is far from truth. Having been at the Memphis Elite Camp this past week and having a strong relationship with Josh Pastner, Memphis is the team to beat per Joe Jackson’s high school and AAU coach. Barton was supposedly a “lock” to UK and Kentucky was going to be “hard to beat” and we all see what happened with that. Do a little more research before you post statements like this. At least over on the UNC and Duke boards they are realistic in their statements and don’t say players are a lock. No one is a lock for any school considering these are 17, 18, and 19 year old kids you are dealing with whose mind’s can change in an instant. The Barton’s are the same way and things can change; however, based on your recruiting boards (catspause trueblueky) he is the dumbest kid in the world and worthless now. Yet, a week ago he was going to be the “first” recruit in UK’s 2010 class… good call on that one guys.
Did you even read the article or just go a rageful rant?? I’m pretty sure Guy states that “UConn is thought to be in good shape” for Knight and nowhere does he even imply that UK is in the lead for Knight. Also, not one kid on Guy’s list here is said to be a “lock,” that word isn’t even uttered once in the entire art tickle. Nor was Barton ever said to be a “lock” either. What exactly did you read? Maybe you had multiple windows open at the same time and commented on the wrong one, cuz i’m lost on your beefs…….
Really the only thing I could see anybody jumping on that article was me saying that I thought UK would be the team to beat if Calipari went full bore after Jackson. Even so, that is me stating my OPINION. Criticism is great and you have called me out on things in the past that have had merit, but please do a little more reading before you post comments like this.
[...] Straitpinkie takes a look at UK’s 2010 targets, starting with point guards. [...]
[...] Straitpinkie takes a look at UK’s 2010 targets, starting with point guards. [...]
I’m sorry, has Barton signed a Letter or has he just verbally committed? As these past few months have shown, anything can happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if he still ends up at KY. I’m just saying….
That’s a fair point Corky. Barton’s priorities could easily change and prompt him to reconsider his decision.
There is nothing wrong stating your opinion, but when you make an opinion that has no clarity and far from the truth it is just selling a dream and false hope. There is no way Kentucky will pry Jackson away from Memphis. Ask the coaches that are recruiting even Cal knows that.
Kyrie will definitely give UK a look. Indiana has been there for him early though; their coaches have been at just about all of Pats games.
You guys should be excited for 2 years from now because you’re probably in the driver’s seat for another St. Pat’s stud, Michael Gilchrist. He just keeps getting better and better and could be a dominating college frosh.
[...] broke down UK’s top point guard prospects and now it’s time to break down the shooting guards and small forward’s whose names [...]
[...] few), but you can immediately add Selby to the list. I didn’t profile Selby when I broke down UK’s point guard targets for 2010, so look for a bio on Selby in the coming [...]
[...] be known by UK fans following basketball recruiting. Since he was excluded from our breakdown of UK’s point guard targets due to his erstwhile commitment to the Vols, it’s about time we get to know the [...]