Hope everyone had a good weekend. Football is clearly king right now but basketball recruiting never stops, so here's the latest.
- I underestimated Rawle Alkins move to North Carolina and playing for John Wall's former coach, Brian Clifton. There's a lot of drama and rumors surrounding Clifton and John Wall, but I'm told that Calipari and Clifton are close, and there's some other strong connections between Alkins and people close to UK.
But here's the thing, I don't know what UK's play is here. The Cats love Alkins, and I'm told they have no preference over Alkins, Fox and Monk (I find that hard to believe there's NO preference, but the point is clear).
Signs point towards Fox being an early commitment with Monk and Alkins waiting. If the Cats land Fox, is it first come first serve for Alkins and Monk?
- What does it mean for Kobi Simmons? His visit to Ohio State went VERY well and the Buckeyes pulled out all the stops (Russell was back on campus and spent a lot of time with Simmons). He's not planning on announcing this week, but I'm told it could come soon. Not sure how soon soon is in this regard.
Wouldn't be surprised if Ohio State was the leader now. Don't think UK would be too heartbroken if he went elsewhere but we'll see. I don't remember another situation quite like the Simmons deal.
- Cats are visiting Adebayo today, we'll have more on that tonight or tomorrow, but this is an important meeting. If Adebayo wants to separate from Dennis Smith, I think Kentucky would be the landing spot. Calipari, fresh off a hell of a weekend, is going to need to do some of his best recruiting to convince him NC State isn't the place for him.
If Kentucky could land Adebayo, the Cats' frontline next season would once again be one of the top frontcourts in the country. Obviously Giles is more skilled and has a much better touch, but Adebayo is a better athlete in my opinion. Not taking Adebayo over Giles, but it's not a complete runaway.
- Louisville has made up some ground on Fox. I still think it's Kansas or Kentucky, but UofL is the darkhorse here. Pitino has a way of keying in on one guy and doing a pretty damn good job. Did it with Blakeney last year, although it didn't hold up. So keep an eye on the Cards here.
- Miles Bridges will be announcing his top three today. Didn't expect him to make any additional cuts but I guess he'll be doing a few schools a favor by letting them know today he's not interested. I guess I could see a scenario where UK isn't listed, but that seems highly, highly unlikely. Would be very surprised if Michigan State and UK weren't listed. The third and final school I'd guess would be Indiana or Michigan.
Kentucky still feels good here and unless they start reaching out to other wings (Mario Kegler would be a name to watch) I think the Cats like their position.
- I wouldn't expect Marques Bolden to end up at Kentucky. This isn't from any inside information on UK's side, but media rumblings the visit to Kentucky didn't sell him on the Cats.
- I underestimated Rawle Alkins move to North Carolina and playing for John Wall's former coach, Brian Clifton. There's a lot of drama and rumors surrounding Clifton and John Wall, but I'm told that Calipari and Clifton are close, and there's some other strong connections between Alkins and people close to UK.
But here's the thing, I don't know what UK's play is here. The Cats love Alkins, and I'm told they have no preference over Alkins, Fox and Monk (I find that hard to believe there's NO preference, but the point is clear).
Signs point towards Fox being an early commitment with Monk and Alkins waiting. If the Cats land Fox, is it first come first serve for Alkins and Monk?
- What does it mean for Kobi Simmons? His visit to Ohio State went VERY well and the Buckeyes pulled out all the stops (Russell was back on campus and spent a lot of time with Simmons). He's not planning on announcing this week, but I'm told it could come soon. Not sure how soon soon is in this regard.
Wouldn't be surprised if Ohio State was the leader now. Don't think UK would be too heartbroken if he went elsewhere but we'll see. I don't remember another situation quite like the Simmons deal.
- Cats are visiting Adebayo today, we'll have more on that tonight or tomorrow, but this is an important meeting. If Adebayo wants to separate from Dennis Smith, I think Kentucky would be the landing spot. Calipari, fresh off a hell of a weekend, is going to need to do some of his best recruiting to convince him NC State isn't the place for him.
If Kentucky could land Adebayo, the Cats' frontline next season would once again be one of the top frontcourts in the country. Obviously Giles is more skilled and has a much better touch, but Adebayo is a better athlete in my opinion. Not taking Adebayo over Giles, but it's not a complete runaway.
- Louisville has made up some ground on Fox. I still think it's Kansas or Kentucky, but UofL is the darkhorse here. Pitino has a way of keying in on one guy and doing a pretty damn good job. Did it with Blakeney last year, although it didn't hold up. So keep an eye on the Cards here.
- Miles Bridges will be announcing his top three today. Didn't expect him to make any additional cuts but I guess he'll be doing a few schools a favor by letting them know today he's not interested. I guess I could see a scenario where UK isn't listed, but that seems highly, highly unlikely. Would be very surprised if Michigan State and UK weren't listed. The third and final school I'd guess would be Indiana or Michigan.
Kentucky still feels good here and unless they start reaching out to other wings (Mario Kegler would be a name to watch) I think the Cats like their position.
- I wouldn't expect Marques Bolden to end up at Kentucky. This isn't from any inside information on UK's side, but media rumblings the visit to Kentucky didn't sell him on the Cats.
