John Calipari, in nailing down the consensus top class for 2009, set expectations just a bit high for future recruiting efforts. It’s not that often that a coach will put together a class with two of the top point guards in the county, two of the top big men in the country, and two more highly regarded wing players. It’s even less often (and by less often I mean never) that a coach does it in a matter of months at a school. However, that’s just what Coach Cal pulled off.

Even though the bar is high, I don’t think Calipari minds too much. He may not have the top class every year, but from this point forward, UK is going to be in the mix with almost every big name and the ‘Cats will be among the top classes in the country. There are going to be plenty of rides going to go around with UK players thinking NBA sooner rather than later.

Next year specifically, UK figures to have 4 open scholarships at a minimum. Perry Stevenson and Ramon Harris will graduate and Patrick Patterson and John Wall will almost assuredly be first round picks as early entrants. Additionally, UK has only 12 scholarship players as of right now and while Mark Krebs could get a scholarship for next year, there are no guarantees whether he gets the ride beyond then. DeMarcus Cousins is also a possibility to leave for the NBA.

So, assuming those four players depart and UK has four scholarships to fill, let’s look by position at how Coach Cal’s second class at UK might look.

Point Guard

Even with the likely departure of John Wall, it’s not like UK will be in bad hands with Eric Bledsoe at the helm, especially after a solid year of playing time. Don’t expect John Calipari to be content with that though.

The Suspects – In order of UK’s chances in my estimation

1. Brandon Knight
2. Josh Selby
3. Joe Jackson
4. Kyrie Irving

The Prognosis

There is some thought that Coach Cal could duplicate his 2009 feat and nab two top point guards. I don’t really think this is likely.

There has been a lot of conversation lately about UK being in solid shape for both Knight and Selby. Knight’s mother was in Lexington early this week to meet with the staff and President Lee Todd. Not many details of the visit have emerged, but things have been positive. The Selby saga is well known by this point and UK’s strong standing with him is also well known.

The good thing about both of these prospects is that I believe they would play very well alongside Bledsoe. Neither are true point guards, but Bledsoe definitely is.

Ultimately, I think this could come down to a race between Selby and Knight to commit to UK and I think Knight will win.

I put Jackson third on this list because I don’t think he is a top priority for the staff and I put Kyrie Irving third because I just don’t think UK is that strong with him. I say he ends up at IU.

Wing Players

Even though UK won’t lose much after 2009 in the way of wing players, getting a high level wing scorer is a top priority for the staff in the coming months. Many thought Will Barton would fit the bill, but his commitment to Memphis derailed that thought for now. Perimeter shooting is the number one weakness for this year’s team and Calipari will want to solidify that area.

The Suspects

1. Doron Lamb
2. Jelan Kendrick
3. Casey Prather
4. Cameron Clark
5. Harrison Barnes

The Prognosis

On this list, Lamb and Barnes are the two that best fit the perimeter scorer mold. It’s never a good idea to count out Coach Cal, but I just don’t see Barnes ending up at UK. I do think that UK is the team to beat for Doron Lamb.

I also believe that UK could very well end up with one of the Kendrick, Clark, and Prather group. Each of them has small forward size with some point guard skills, which is a perfect fit for the dribble drive. I really do not have much of a grasp on the stories on each, but I have Kendrick at two on this list because I like what I have heard about him the best of the three.

Post Players

Like at point guard, UK will lose a major contributor next year in Patrick Patterson. However, if Cousins and Orton return, UK is in good shape in the post. Cousins and Orton are both more traditional 5 men, so I expect John Calipari to heavily target more dribble drive type 4 men.

The Suspects

1. Adreian Payne
1a. CJ Leslie
1b. Tobias Harris
4. Dominique Ferguson

The Prognosis

Payne and Leslie are both long and athletic and can run the floor and I think Calipari likes them both a lot. Payne has been talked about quite a bit lately after narrowing his list. Many say that it will come down to UK and West Virginia. CJ Leslie will no doubt be watching a lot of UK this year on TV, as his former teammate John Wall takes college basketball by storm.

Tobias Harris was just on campus today, but UK has been a bit of late comer to his recruitment. It will be interesting to see if UK makes his next list cut and gets an official visit from Harris, who has exploded this summer. On the other hand, former UK commit Dominique Ferguson has struggled a bit this summer and I don’t see the staff going hard after him.

Basically what I’m telling you is that there is a lot to be sorted out. In the end though, I think Calipari would like to get two commits from this group.