Is Calipari eyeing John Wall AND Eric Bledsoe?
Two point guards are better than one: that seems to be the mantra of John Calipari on the recruiting trail.
Coach Cal’s pursuit of John Wall is highly publicized, and for good reason. First of all, John Wall wants it to be that way. He wants to build as much hype around himself as possible.
Do you remember how good everybody thought Jai Lucas was because he dragged his recruitment out for so long? Well, John Wall is being hyped even more than Lucas and it seems to me that me might actually be THAT good.
Most of what is being speculated by the people that I trust the most when it comes to this kind of thing are saying that UK is the leader in the clubhouse. Florida has gotten involved of late, and while Billy D cannot be discounted, they are a long shot. Duke missed out on a Wall visit on Wednesday and there’s no guarantee it will be rescheduled. UNC stars Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington declared for the Draft today, but this really doesn’t change much because it was expected. Some think Roy Williams could still break out the big guns and go after Wall, but I’m not sure that the issues between Wall’s “handlers” and UNC can be resolved. Also, recent word is that the infamous jack of all trades Worldwide Wes, William Wesley, has been involved in the Wall recruitment. This will likely make some UK fans shudder and all UofL fans gnash their teeth, but it is what it is.
There’s still a ways to go in this thing, but almost all buzz after Calipari’s visit with Wall in Raleigh on Wednesday is positive for UK. Wall is scheduled to visit Miami this coming week, but that is not being viewed as anything more than a nice trip to S. Florida.
Another trip that Coach Cal made this week was to Birmingham to see Eric Bledsoe. UK has now offered a scholarship to Bledsoe. Unless the staff knows anything that would make them think that Wall is not a UK lean like most do, this makes me think that they want both Wall and Bledsoe.
It’s no easy sales job to bring in two of the top point guards in one class to one school, but if anybody can sell it it’s Calipari. I can see the two on the floor at the same time for short stretches and it would be a perfect solution as far as I’m concerned. You get a one and done elite talent for a season while you groom a kid who’s going to be around for a while, provided he qualifies.
This also means that Calipari believes he can make three more scholarship spots available for Wall, Bledsoe, and Darnell Dodson. I guess this is another good reason why he’s now working individually with his current players: final tryouts/cuts.
Category: Kentucky
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I broke the story today that Calipari visited Wall and his mother earlier this week under the guise of visiting C.J. Leslie …. http://sportsonmymind.com/2009/04/24/john-walls-very-special-visitor/comment-page-1/#comment-28412
Thank you for posting that. That article was linked on a UK board earlier today and I had seen it, good work. I do have one question though. I had never heard anything about Brian Clifton having a problem with John Calipari. Obviously I’ve heard of the friction between Ole Roy and Clifton, but where does the issue between he and Coach Cal stem from?
I beleive Wall will committ to the Cats!! and the skys the limited!
Do you think Wall will be a cat?
Anything can happen, but I’m convinced that UK leads right now. I’ve also heard that there’s a 2010 kid itching to commit to Coach Cal and he may even do so before Wall decides.