Hope everyone had a good weekend. Recruiting still a little slow as teams are in the playoffs, pushing for the playoffs and Bam Adebayo finished his high school career, but I'll let you all know what I'm hearing.
Marques Bolden: No new major developments but I'm still a believer that UK will be the choice. But there's one little twist and it may explain why Bolden is in no rush to decide. It seems more and more likely Marcus Lee will come back. I'm still thinking Labissiere will go pro but if Labissiere and Lee come back, there's no way Bolden would pick UK and it's unlikely Kentucky would have the numbers for him unless several guys transferred.
So keep an eye on that. Again, I still believe Bolden wants to end up at UK, but if the frontcourt would be that loaded it seems unlikely to happen.
Humphries showing some signs is also something that Bolden may keep in the back of his mind.
Necessary: Which brings me to another thought, Bolden isn't really necessary for Kentucky next season, even if Labissiere leaves. Yes, Bolden is incredibly talented and I think his ceiling as a five is incredibly high, but if UK has Willis, Adebayo, Lee, Humphries and Wynyard retruning, that's enough.
But where things get complicated is that you don't want Bolden going to Duke. We're still 13 months away from next year's March Madness but Duke and Kentucky will be the favorites heading into next season. Michigan State will be right there, too. If Bolden doesn't go to UK then Duke seems likely. You know Calipari doesn't want to give Coach K another weapon just because there isn't room for him at UK.
There's a lot of moving pieces in Bolden's recruitment. I'm just as curious as you all are to see how it plays out. But again, I think as of today Bolden prefers Kentucky.
Allen: I haven't heard anything on Jarrett Allen in a few weeks.
Omer Yurtseven: I wouldn't expect him to end up at UK but the Cats have reached out. Again, it's unclear how the roster will shake out next season but Kentucky just wants to be at the table for Yurtseven if he decides to play college basketball.
Michael Porter: This is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing 2017 prospects for me. For a few months it seemed like Porter was interested in UK, but maybe preferred other schools over the Cats.
It seems like him and Trae Young really want to play with one another. We're talking a Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor like bond.
That could be GREAT news for UK. 1. It could get Porter out of Mizzou, which seems likely to happen at this point, and 2. I think as of today UK is in a great spot for Young.
These two are looking to make an early decision, summer or the fall. We know how that works but something to keep an eye on moving forward.
The plan was to visit UK for the LSU game but if that doesn't happen then it was something with Porter's schedule. Still working to confirm that visit.
If UK could land those two it would make 2017-2018 just as exciting as 2016-2017.
Willis: This isn't a recruiting update but my guess is we don't see him until the SEC Tournament. Some are saying it may be sooner. Some are saying it may not be until the NCAA Tournament. But I don't think it was as bad as previously though.
As for Poythress, I'm not too sure. I heard he's coming along and the initial time-frame was 10-14 days. That would put him ready for Saturday or the following Tuesday.
Marques Bolden: No new major developments but I'm still a believer that UK will be the choice. But there's one little twist and it may explain why Bolden is in no rush to decide. It seems more and more likely Marcus Lee will come back. I'm still thinking Labissiere will go pro but if Labissiere and Lee come back, there's no way Bolden would pick UK and it's unlikely Kentucky would have the numbers for him unless several guys transferred.
So keep an eye on that. Again, I still believe Bolden wants to end up at UK, but if the frontcourt would be that loaded it seems unlikely to happen.
Humphries showing some signs is also something that Bolden may keep in the back of his mind.
Necessary: Which brings me to another thought, Bolden isn't really necessary for Kentucky next season, even if Labissiere leaves. Yes, Bolden is incredibly talented and I think his ceiling as a five is incredibly high, but if UK has Willis, Adebayo, Lee, Humphries and Wynyard retruning, that's enough.
But where things get complicated is that you don't want Bolden going to Duke. We're still 13 months away from next year's March Madness but Duke and Kentucky will be the favorites heading into next season. Michigan State will be right there, too. If Bolden doesn't go to UK then Duke seems likely. You know Calipari doesn't want to give Coach K another weapon just because there isn't room for him at UK.
There's a lot of moving pieces in Bolden's recruitment. I'm just as curious as you all are to see how it plays out. But again, I think as of today Bolden prefers Kentucky.
Allen: I haven't heard anything on Jarrett Allen in a few weeks.
Omer Yurtseven: I wouldn't expect him to end up at UK but the Cats have reached out. Again, it's unclear how the roster will shake out next season but Kentucky just wants to be at the table for Yurtseven if he decides to play college basketball.
Michael Porter: This is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing 2017 prospects for me. For a few months it seemed like Porter was interested in UK, but maybe preferred other schools over the Cats.
It seems like him and Trae Young really want to play with one another. We're talking a Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor like bond.
That could be GREAT news for UK. 1. It could get Porter out of Mizzou, which seems likely to happen at this point, and 2. I think as of today UK is in a great spot for Young.
These two are looking to make an early decision, summer or the fall. We know how that works but something to keep an eye on moving forward.
The plan was to visit UK for the LSU game but if that doesn't happen then it was something with Porter's schedule. Still working to confirm that visit.
If UK could land those two it would make 2017-2018 just as exciting as 2016-2017.
Willis: This isn't a recruiting update but my guess is we don't see him until the SEC Tournament. Some are saying it may be sooner. Some are saying it may not be until the NCAA Tournament. But I don't think it was as bad as previously though.
As for Poythress, I'm not too sure. I heard he's coming along and the initial time-frame was 10-14 days. That would put him ready for Saturday or the following Tuesday.
