Putting together UK’s 2010 class: it’s more than just scouting and selling

I’ve never been much of a follower of recruiting. Maybe it was because things on the trail wasn’t just that exciting or maybe I’ve just arrived at the peak of my UK obsession, but ever since John Calipari was introduced as UK coach, I just can’t get enough.

His first couple months on the job, as he cobbled together a stellar recruiting class composed of nearly every available top 2009 prospect, it was about brute force. It was about Calipari selling his style of play, married with his past success and the resurrection of the UK brand. There was much thinking to do. He needed a point guard, so he got Wall and Bledsoe. He needed a big man, so he got Cousins. He needed a perimeter scorer, so he got Dodson.

He put the class together as best he could based on who was available. Now, as we are seeing John Calipari’s second class come together, we are seeing the finesse to John Calipari’s recruiting game.

With so many uncommitted prospects still out there, Calipari is sifting through the options, gauging interest, and reconciling needs. I think I can pretty safely conclude to this point that he has a pretty good idea what he’s doing.

Unfortunately we just don’t get to see the strategizing that goes on behind the scenes. We only get to hear about who the staff visited, who comes on campus, and how things are going from the prospects. We are left to our own devices to piece together the thought behind the moves.

I think, as a whole, we underestimate how much the little nuances can make a difference. How one comment or one tiny little occurence can have a massive effect on which school a kid ends up choosing. I don’t think John Calipari underestimates those things. He’s well aware of the perspective of the high schoolers he’s targeting, their motivations, what moves them, and, possibly more than anything else, how much they are aware of eachother.

Take, for example, the way that the next week or so is going to play out in the recruitment of four of UK’s top 2010 targets: Brandon Knight, Josh Selby, Doron Lamb, and Stacey Poole.

We all know by now that Knight and Poole are both scheduled to be on campus this weekend to visit UK officially. It’s no mistake that the two are on campus with one another.

Knight is the top point guard in the class, among the top 2 players nationally by most accounts. UK wants him and wants him bad, but they want him sooner rather than later. They are hot on the heels of the number 2 and number 3 point guards in the class, and Knight knows it. Calipari wants it to be known that a scholarship at UK is not just another offer and it’s not something you can afford to waste time thinking about if you want to accept it.

Stacey Poole on the other hand, isn’t so sure about how badly UK really wants him. If he believed UK wanted him as badly as, say, South Carolina does, I think he would make a commitment. However, Poole is SKY high on UK. The history, the facilities, the whole package. He is going to be starry eyed during his visit and loving every minute.

Another thing he’ll be doing this weekend is spending nearly every waking second with fellow Floridian Brandon Knight. Don’t you think that might make for a warm, fuzzy weekend for Knight?

Perhaps the most interesting thing in all of this is how Calipari and staff will be spending the time sandwiched around Poole and Knight’s official visit.

Oak Hill coach Steve Smith tweeted today that the Kentucky coaches will be stopping by on Thursday. In case you didn’t know, Doron Lamb attends Oak Hill, so I’m guessing Calipari maybe, just maybe, could say hello to Doron.

Lamb and Poole are well aware of one another and well aware of the likely fact that their offers from UK could depend on what the other does.

After Knight and Poole leave, the staff will head to Baltimore for a second in-home visit with Josh Selby.  The first one was conducted by assistants Orlando Antigua and Rod Strickland, but Calipari will make the trip this time around.  Again, Selby and Knight are aware of one another so the interaction with the two is obviously orchestrated.

It’s going to be fun to see how this all plays out, but two things are for sure: a UK scholarship offer means something and Calipari is not going to sit around waiting for a top target to commit.  Oh yeah, and Larry Vaught says things are going well.