Eric Bledsoe: What a get for UK

With John Wall still out on the market and considering UK, it would be easy to move on quickly from Eric Bledsoe’s commitment to UK. Wall is a tremendous talent and the most high profile recruit in the 2009 class.

I am NOT denigrating Wall’s talent or trying to say that I don’t want Wall to come to UK, because I do. A commitment from Wall would instrantly turn UK into THE biggest story in college basketball entering the 2009-2010 season. However, I just want to encourage everybody to sit back for a second and really get excited about Eric Bledsoe.

EB looks good in blue

This is a kid who is a consensus top 100 player, top 40 according to Scout.com and top 25 according to Rivals.com. Think back to about 2 months ago, before you were totally convinced that Billy Gillispie needed to go. UK’s hopes for 2009-2010 rested on the return of Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson and UK nabbing Eric Bledsoe. Many thought this kid was THE solution at point guard. The fact he became a secondary priority to John Wall is nothing short of amazing to me and a credit to John Calipari (who I swear must have at least two clones running around to get everything done that he has).

Bledsoe is a kid who knows how to run a team. He transferred high schools before his senior year because his old one closed down. He became a member of an already strong team, but stepped right in without an issue, leading his team to a state title while defeating fellow UK signee DeMarcus Cousins along the way. He averaged a downright Rajon Rondo-esque 20.3 points, 11.5 assists, and 9.5 rebounds for the year, consistently showing a finishing knack around the basket, open floor ability, and a willingness to get his teammates involved. His athleticism and ball handling are a natural fit for Calipari’s dribble drive motion offense and he figures to be around for at least 3 years, which he makes him that much more attractive as a prospect.

This is a top point guard prospect in this class for a program that was plagued by point guard issues all year long (understatement alert) last season. Bledsoe is a solution at that position for the future and UK is lucky to have him.

The experts have great things to say about Bledsoe as well: “He’s very competitive, very tough,” Rivals analyst Jerry Meyer said of Bledsoe. “He understands how to win basketball games. He can do pretty much everything you need a point guard to do except shoot. He’s not a great shooter. But he’s good enough to keep the defense honest.” I just really can’t wait to watch Bledsoe play.

Even though I am reveling in the signing of Eric Bledsoe, I admit that I can’t help but drift into dreams of adding John Wall to a recruiting class comprising DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Jon Hood, Darnell Dodson, and Bledsoe. That class could already be in position to be ranked number 1 in the country; adding the top talent in the class to it would send UK’s haul into the stratosphere. I mean, wow.

UK's class could enter alliterative nickname territory

It seems counterintuitive, but I don’t think that UK landing the second best unsigned point guard will have any effect of the recruitment of the top unsigned point guard. John Wall likely sees Eric Bledsoe at UK as nothing more than a capable backup and heir to the position, and I think he will make his decision with that frame of mind. Michael Eaves had this to say of Wall and Bledsoe:

As UK coaches had hoped and expected, Eric Bledsoe signed his national letter-of-intent Wednesday. He’s going to be a Wildcat.

This signing fills a huge void at the point guard position. Considered to be one of the top 3 players at that spot in the 2009 class, Bledsoe can step into a starting role immediately.

The other benefit of this signing is that it makes the possibility of Kentucky not landing John Wall a little easier to swallow. John Calipari definitely wants both, but if he only ends up with Bledsoe, it’s definitely not the end of the world.

Now, don’t get me wrong. UK is still very hopeful that Wall will sign with the Cats as well, but they fully expect it to be a battle all the way to the end.

Calipari and his staff believe that Wall, his mother, and his AAU coach Brian Clifton all feel comfortable with Kentucky and that the program would be a great place for Wall to expedite his journey to the NBA, but when it comes to recruiting, nothing is a given.

I lack the inside information that Michael Eaves enjoys, but he expresses my sentiments on the situation. Eric Bledsoe turns John Wall into icing on the cake. Granted, John Wall would be about the most delicious frosting of all time, but I am not going to be sweating about UK’s point guard situation thanks to John Calipari’s astounding signing of Eric Bledsoe.