Kentucky Spring Signing Period Primer

We are staring a pretty significant day right in the face. Pardon the cliched metaphor, but at 4 pm tomorrow on ESPNU the biggest domino in both the 2010 and 2011 classes for UK will fall.

We knew all about Brandon Knight’s big announcement (at 4 pm on the dot), but we really didn’t know about Michael Gilchrist’s (at 5:50 pm). There were hints along the way. Various insiders referenced a “surprise” in the coming weeks, then there was the rumored visit by Gilchrist to UK last week, a visit that was denied by Gilchrist’s mother. Finally, John Calipari mentioned in a Lexy message that there would be multiple pieces of news that hopefully fell the Big Blue direction.

The thing about tomorrow, though, is that it’s just the start. It begins the NCAA’s Spring Signing Period, which will last until May 19. During this team, we will be finding out what UK’s roster will look like next season and beyond. Gilchrist’s commitment could well trigger further movement in the 2011 class, particularly on the part of Marquis Teague, a player rumored to be very interested in playing with next season.

There will be plenty of time to break things down for 2011, so for now, let’s look at the guys you need to be watching for 2010, in relative order of when I anticipate they will commit:

Brandon Knight

You know the story here. Announcement tomorrow, UK the clear leader. We all have our favorites in this class, but Knight is the biggest need, and as excited as you are about Enes Kanter or Terrence Jones potentially wearing blue, next year’s team will be built around Knight…if he makes the expected decision and signs with UK.

CJ Leslie

John Wall’s high school teammate is an elite level athlete that would play the 4 in Cal’s offense. His announcement is planned for Saturday at the Jordan game as well, but unlike Lamb, it looks like that’s when it will happen. UK looked like a shoo in for Leslie for a long time, but recently, thought has emerged that he may re-commit to hometown school NC State. However, Adam Zagoria cited a source today saying that he really likes the idea of playing with Brandon Knight, which would point toward UK.

Josh Selby

The perception has been that Selby and Knight are either/or. Selby has looked Kansas bound for the past month, but some have said UK may be more in the hunt than previously thought. In the end though, I just don’t see it. I think it’s Kansas for him.

Doron Lamb

Doron has targeted a decision at the Jordan Brand Classic on Saturday. However, he’s a NY kid and is considering pushing it back to allow new St. John’s coach Steve Lavin to make a last second pitch. The Johnnies have a major uphill battle, but Lamb may feel like he owes it his hometown to listen.

Nonetheless, UK and Kansas are the leaders here. Until the past week or so, I thought UK was on the outside looking in, but signs of late have been very positive for the scoring guard. Lamb is highly concerned with playing and playing early and coming to UK is a good bet for him to land a starting job.

Terrence Jones

Talking about Brandon Knight, I referenced favorites. Well, Jones is mine. He would be an absolute homerun at UK. He would play both forward positions and play them well. UK and Washington are the supposed leaders, with distance from home being a major factor. I think Cal is working hard to convince Jones and Leslie to both attend, but ultimately, I think he ends up with one at best, and Jones is the tougher one to land in my opinion.

Jones has said he will announce either on April 23 or April 30, but I am unclear on what will decide that date. The announcements of Knight and Leslie will undoubtedly play a role, but Jones has also said he would like to see who hometown school Oregon chooses as their next head coach. The Ducks have made such a mess of their coaching search that I think they are now out of it, barring a last minute giant hire.

Marcus Thornton

This is a new name. The former Clemson signee is a three star recruit, but has reportedly already garnered an offer from Kentucky, as well as a plethora of other high majors. Thornton responded well to hearing from UK and we should know much more about where he stands after a home visit by Cal.

Terrence Ross

Ross is an interesting prospect. He’s a sweet shooting wing player who can really throw down. He transferred out west to the same school that Terrence Jones attends, but has not played high school ball this season. Eligibility is a bit of a question, but is going to contribute at this level at some point.

Ross is planning visits to Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Washington before ultimately deciding, a decision that will likely happen pretty late in the signing period.

Mike Rosario

He’s not a high school senior, but the Rutgers transfer is a former McDonald’s All American who will have two years of eligiblity remaining after he sits out a season. He has listed UK among the six schools he will consider, but this is a decision that could stretch out into the summer and change quite bit.

I’m sure there will be other names to pop up over the next month, but these are the main guys you will be hearing about. With that in mind, here is my best case scenario for this year’s class:

Brandon Knight – PG
Doron Lamb – SG
Stacey Poole – SG/SF
Terrence Jones – SF/PF
CJ Leslie – PF
Enes Kanter – PF/C
Mike Rosario – SG

That would a flat out ridiculous class. It would be clearly number one in the country and would rival last year’s class. It would be nice, but this is my prediction for how it will really turn out:

Brandon Knight – PG
Doron Lamb – SG
Stacey Poole – SG/SF
CJ Leslie – PF
Enes Kanter – PF/C
Marcus Thornton – SF/PF

That’s not half bad either. It would be in the conversation for top overall class and would put UK in a reload situation over rebuilding. At this point, outside of a few very informed people, it’s all guess work. It makes it a little frightening as a ‘Cats fan, but it’s hard not to have faith in John Calipari. For now, I suggest doing what you can to overcome your excitement/anxiety and get some rest ahead of what could be an absolutely incredible day tomorrow.

It is a day that those who follow recruiting will remember for a while and is a day that looks on the face of things like it has been orchestrated by John Calipari to build maximum momentum for this signing period. Maybe I’m giving Cal too much credit, but Knight’s and Gilchrist’s announcements falling on the same day seems a little more than coincidence to me.