Look back/ahead to the Top 100 College Basketball recruits in the SEC

[jbcarol]

I expect Calipari's recruiting run to slide from the baseline with the '14 class.

He will need a lead guard and SF, but the other positions will be in flux with respect to who will be back, especially during the early signing period.

Top Ten C Karl Towns from his involvement with the DR National Team is UK's only commit to-date.

[jbcarol]

2013 NBA Draft Selection and Recruiting Rating

Nerlens Noel, one-n-done, Draft: 6th overall, 2012 No. 5 overall, No. 1 Center

Caldwell-Pope, Soph, Draft: 8th overall, 2011 No. 12 overall, No. 3 SG

Archie Goodwin, one-n-done, Draft: 29th overall, 2012 No. 11 overall, No. 3 SG

Erik Murphy, Sr., Draft: Second round, 2009 No. 12 PF, 4-star, NE Playaz

Alex Oriakhi, Sr., Draft: Second round, 2009 No. 5 C, 5-star, Tifton School

[jbcarol]

Noel tries to keep it light after draft slide

Nerlens Noel hoped Thursday night to become the University of Kentucky's third No. 1 NBA draft pick in four years. Instead, he slid to No.6.

He planned to be picked early enough to start partying with family and friends in New York long before the draft was finished. Instead, he sat — and slept — for four hours in the "phone room" while every other player in attendance came and went.

"A few years down the road, when I'm established in the NBA," he said, "I'll say this is the night that gave me the motivation I needed to be the player I wanted to be."

As if his draft slide wasn't bad enough — and Forbes Magazine estimates it could cost Noel as much as $10 million in the value of his ­rookie contract — he was sequestered in a well-guarded bunker inside the Barclays Center until long after midnight. The phone room is where the NBA shuttles draftees who've been traded and holds them until the details are worked out.

Noel was being shipped from New Orleans, which picked him, to Philadelphia. That was another draft-night surprise. He'd never spoken to the 76ers before Thursday, and no one told him the trade was imminent as he approached the podium for his initial post-draft press conference.

So he showed up wearing a Pelicans hat and started talking up his excitement about New Orleans until a reporter tipped him to the trade news. Noel appeared shell-shocked. He stumbled through a few questions he was too confused to properly answer, then was whisked away to the now-infamous phone room.

There were apparently snags in the deal between New Orleans, which originally picked Noel, and Philadelphia. So he waited. And waited. Dozed off on a couch and waited some more.

"I think I handled it well," Noel said. "I got a little sleepy, but I definitely stayed positive about it and just waited it out."

In his book, Michael Oher stated he was confused by the initial questions he got about how far he slid in the NFL draft. He thought he had done pretty well for himself considering the circumstances.

[jbcarol]

Arkansas has the fifth best SEC recruiting class, and Meyer lists Kingsley as the "biggest sleeper" in the 2013 SEC recruiting class.

Obviously, Kentucky dominates (again).

http://247sports.com/Article/Hoops-Recruiting-SEC-Breakdown-137346

Biggest sleeper: Moses Kingsley, Arkansas

[jbcarol]

ESPN Insider Dave Telep on the importance of July:

Three five day live evaluation periods lay the foundation for the process leading into the signing periods.

Notes that coaches, players and families and media hit the road for the month.

Dave Telep at ESPN

In 2011, Kidd-Gilchrist (then Michael Gilchrist) chose not to play. His single mom had been ill and he chose to spend time with her rather than play the game. (He was already committted to Kentucky and no joke, his godfather is William Wesley.)

The majority of recruiting reporters busted his rating to some level for not playing the game. They lost credibility with me on their ability to evaluate talent and more importantly desire and for those I don't have a shred of respect.

[jbcarol]

Here's a look some of those Top 100 recruits from the '09 class that either signed with or landed at SEC schools and where are they now:

2  PG John Wall             Word of God       Kentucky
3   C  DeMarcus Cousins  Le Flore Magnet  Kentucky
7  PF  Renardo Sidney  Fairfax      Mississippi State (b/4 and after a long route)
15 SG Kenny Boynton     American Heritage  Florida
17 C  Daniel Orton      Bishop McGuinness  Kentucky
20 C  Alex Oriakhi         Tifton School       UConn -> Mizzou
37 PG Eric Bledsoe        Peter Parker         Kentucky
41 SG John Jenkins        Station Camp       Vandy
46 SF Jon Hood             North Hopkins      Kentucky
50 PF Kenny Hall           Redan                 Tennessee
52 PF Erik Murphy          St. Mark's            Florida
63 PF Marshawn Powell  The Miller School  Arkansas
67 SF Lakeem Jackson    Christ School       South Carolina
79 PF Reginald Buckner  Memphis Manassas  Ole Miss
85 PF Jeronne Maymon   Madison Memorial  Marquette -> Vols

Wall was SEC '10 POY, 1-n-done, NBA 1st pick Washington Wizards, toiling in NBA

Cousins was SEC '10 FOY, 1-n-done, 6th pick Sacramento Kings

Sidney left MS St. and was dumped by his agent on 6-14-12. Passed over by Draft. Working out in Hawaii.

Boynton was '11 2nd Team and '12 1st Team All-SEC. Returned to UF for '12-13. Was not drafted.

Orton, 1-n-done, last pick, first round Orlando Magic. Got more $ out less playing time in last five years than any person on planet

Alex Oriakhi transferred from UConn to Mizzou for senior year. Late 2nd round draft pick.

Bledsoe, '10 All-SEC Freshman, 1-n-done, 18th Pick Clippers; traded to Phoenix 7/2/13 to join Archie Goodwin

Jenkins was '11 and '12 1st Team All-SEC. Entered draft as a Jr. Reserve Guard for Hawks.

Hood returns for his fifth season (medical redshirt) as Calipari's 13th man.

Hall was involved with dismissed Vol Admin Jenny Wright. Hoping to play overseas.

Jackson, a Sr. averaged 7.5 and 6 for SC in '12-13. He was Horn's 1st commit.

Buckner was '11 and '12 All-Defensive SEC. Returned to Ole Miss. Was not drafted

Murphy returned to Florida for senior and was a late second round draft choice. Bounced back from breaking and entering incident as a freshman.

Powell was formerly All-SEC and missed '11-12 due to injury; Was not drafted.

Maymon was '12 2nd Team All-SEC. Missed '12-13 due to knee injury. Returned to Vols.

[jbcarol]

Anxiety in Lexington over twin guards the Harrisons and James "JT" Young not having moved on campus to take summer classes and bond with the team. An explanation given is that all of their high school terms ran late.

[jbcarol]

Looking back at the Class of 1999

THE TOP 20

1. Donnell Harvey: Harvey enrolled at Florida where he averaged 10.2 points and 7.0 boards as a freshman, helping the Gators make the the 2000 national title game, losing to Michigan State. Harvey would enter the 2000 NBA Draft and was selected by the Knicks with the 22nd pick. He started all of 39 games in the NBA and has been out of the league since 2005.

2. Keith Bogans: Bogans, who was a high school teammate of Joe Forte, would go on to have a stellar four-year career at Kentucky, averaging 17.0 points as a sophomore and getting named an All-American as a senior. Bogans was the 43rd pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks and has hung around the league ever since...

5. Marvin Stone: Stone joined Keith Bogans at Kentucky, but in two-and-a-half seasons with the Wildcats, Stone averaged just 5.3 points and 4.2 boards. He ended up transferring to Louisville in 2002-2003, where he averaged 10.3 points, 7.1 boards and [schooled UK in their rivalry game after UK blocked his transfer attempt.] He passed away in 2008 after suffering a heart attack at halftime of a game in Saudi Arabia.

7. Brett Nelson: Nelson joined Harvey at Florida, where he helped lead the Gators to the National Title game in 2000. Nelson was an all-league player, but he had a disappointing senior season. Coaching since 2005. He's now at Ball State [after a stint with Arkansas].

8. Jonathan Bender: The Picayune, MS, native skipped college [Stansbury and State] and was the fifth pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. He never lived up to those expectations...

11. Damien Wilkins: The son of Gerald Wilkins and the nephew of Dominique Wilkins, Damien played his first two college seasons at NC State before transferring to Georgia. Wilkins went undrafted in 2004, but he latched on with the Sonics and has been a rotation player for the last nine seasons.

15. Jason Parker: Parker ended up spending the 1999-2000 season at prep school, but he averaged 8.6 points and 4.7 boards as a freshman at Kentucky. But that the end of his college career...

OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS

25. Joe Johnson - After '12-13, Johnson is now second only to Shaq among total NBA salary earned among former SEC players since Arkansas and SC joined the league.

38. Matt Bonner

84. Marquis Daniels

Josh Howard was not ranked in this composite Top 100.

[jbcarol]

Al Jefferson has signed a two-year, $27 million contract with Charlotte.

In nine NBA seasons, Jefferson has 16.5 points and nine rebounds.

[jbcarol]

Gameplans for replacing lottery picks

No. 6: Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

Before tore his ACL in February, Noel was considered the top defensive post player in college basketball. ESPN's Jay Bilas even referred to him as a "defensive savant." Still, when Noel announced he was leaving school after one season to enter the NBA draft, the Wildcats hardly flinched.

"It's a next-man-up philosophy," Telep said. "There's no concern about replacing guys. This is what they do. When you walk through the doors, you're expected to replace the next guy."

Kentucky returns projected first-round draft pick Willie Cauley-Stein in the paint. A 7-footer, Cauley-Stein made tremendous strides as a freshman but is still incredibly raw. He'll have the luxury of playing alongside incoming freshman Julius Randle, a 6-9, 225-pounder who is almost certain to be a top-five pick in next summer's NBA draft.

"They have a rim protector on their roster in Willie Cauley-Stein and they have another rim protector in Marcus Lee, who's going to have to figure out a way to get on the floor as a freshman," Telep said.

No. 8: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia

Pope was named SEC Player of the Year after averaging 18.5 points and 7.1 rebounds last season. Bulldogs coach Mark Fox was hopeful the wing would return for his junior year, but he was also realistic.

"We tried to prepare ourselves in recruiting for an early departure," the coach told ESPN.com.

According to Fox, the No. 1 candidate to replace Pope is Kenny Gaines, who averaged 10.3 minutes per game as a freshman backup last season. Gaines was a Parade All-American in high school.

"Kenny got a lot of experience last season," Fox said. "Was it enough? I'm not ready to say that. But he definitely got a big chunk of it.

"Usually you want your lead role players to be juniors and seniors, but with the days of early entry, that's not always the case..."

Those were the SEC lottery picks in 2013. 

King provides the backfill plan for the rest including Anthony Bennett in the article at link.

[jbcarol]

ABC-11 reports that UNC's PJ "Sad" Hairston had gun found near rental SUV stopped at checkpoint with drugs onboard

Hairston was driving a rented 2013 GMC Yukon that was stopped at a license checkpoint Wednesday night. He and both passengers were subsequently charged with marijuana possession, and that seemed to be the end of the story until ABC11 reported Friday morning that police are running forensics on a gun found outside of the SUV, the implication being that somebody in Hairston's vehicle might've tossed the weapon -- a 9mm with nine rounds of ammunition -- while approaching the checkpoint. If so, this development would obviously complicate Hairston's situation.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/22369506/police-found-loaded-gun-outside-of-pj-hairstons-vehicle

North Carolina's leading scorer last basketball season, P.J. Hairston, was cited for speeding May 13 while driving a Hertz rental car that was paid for by a woman who shares a Durham address with Haydn Thomas, a convicted felon whose rented sports utility vehicle Hairston was driving when he was arrested last month.

Hairston was cited for speeding while driving a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro SS with Virginia license plates, a Durham County District Court clerk said. The Camaro was paid for by a woman named Catinia Farrington, whose Durham address matches that of Thomas, according to the Hertz receipt obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Thomas has claimed he does not know Hairston, and that a series of coincidences resulted in Hairston driving his rental car. This second link, as circuitous as it may be, throws some doubt on that statement.

[jbcarol]

A report from the Raleigh News & Observer on Friday offered up details regarding Thomas that could contradict his statement to USA Today. The newspaper reports Thomas is a convicted felon who "has business ties to an adjunct faculty member at the UNC School of Dentistry."

The News & Observer's Laura Keeley also spoke with Thomas, and he admitted to casually getting to know some UNC athletes by way of hosting parties. The details of his past encounters with the law include:

Thomas, 39, has four aliases, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Thomas also has an extensive criminal background, with arrests in Wake, Durham, Orange, Alamance, and Guilford counties, according to public records. Many of his charges are drug and gun related. He has never served time in jail or prison, according to the Department of Public Safety.

Thomas, who has three active corporations registered under his aliases with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, also has business ties to Spencer B. Howard, a graduate and adjunct faculty member at the UNC School of Dentistry, according to his biography. Thomas said Howard is his "blood related," cousin.

The report also notes Thomas' most recent arrest, which came in December and had three charges attached to it, all related to drugs and guns.

Former COY Williams indicated he will let the legal system play itself over the years before taking any action against Hairston.

[jbcarol]

Looking Back at the 2000 Recruiting Class thru an SEC lens

4. Gerald Wallace: Wallace averaged 9.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in his lone season at Alabama, and he's put together a solid NBA career that's still ongoing...

8. Mario Austin: Austin played three seasons at State, averaging 13.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest for the Bulldogs. Like Duhon, Austin was a second round pick of the Bulls (in 2003) but he never played a minute in the NBA. He spent this past season playing for Al Kuwait SC in Kuwait.

13. Jerome Harper: Harper's issues off the court proved to be problematic, as his scholarship offer to Cincinnati was rescinded when the 6-5 guard was arrested on the day he was named a McDonald's All-American. After two years at Indian Hills CC, Harper signed with Iowa State but was ineligible to play. In 2008 Harper had to turn himself in to Columbia, S.C. law enforcement to face charges regarding a murder committed in 1999. Harper most recently ran afoul of the law in March, when he was charged with attempted murder.

17. Abdou Diame: Diame went from Oak Hill Academy to Auburn, where he played two seasons before finishing up at Jacksonville State (career averages: 5.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg). Diame, a native of Senegal, is currently a member of Steve Smith's coaching staff at Oak Hill.

20. Rolando Howell: Howell played four seasons at South Carolina, averaging 9.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a Gamecock. Howell played for the Dacin Tigers in Taiwan this past season, posting averages of 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

UNRANKED

UR: Gerald Fitch
UR: Dwyane Wade

[jbcarol]

Kyle Benzion@kylebenzion
At the NBA Summer league, sources from the USA Today saying #UF commit Chris Walker will be ineligible. NBA D-League is an option. #Gators

[jbcarol]

'14 6-6 Carver SF Demetrius Houston has given a verbal to State. He has offers from Bama, Auburn, and of course Seton Hall.  He is a three-star who transferred from Tuscaloosa and has played AAU ball for the Atlanta Celtics.

[jbcarol]

Top JuCo fighting for life after shooting

Leon Watkins, a sophomore-to-be at Mineral Area (Mo.) College, was shot several times in the head and upper body following an argument that turned violent in north St. Louis.

The 6-2 Watkins, a St. Louis native, averaged 10.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season while shooting 41.3 percent from trey-ville.

Authorities have arrested 20-year-old Matt Peebles and charged him with assault and armed criminal action in relation to the case.

[jbcarol]

Marcanvis Hymon (Whitehaven/Memphis, Tenn.), a four-star 2014 forward, committed to Ole Miss on Tuesday evening. He picked the Rebels over Mississippi State, Memphis, Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn. He also held offers from Cincinnati, Missouri, UMass and the Murray State Mafia.

[Swinesong1]

http://highschoolsportsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/07/report-ncaa-declares-former-prime-prep-basketball-players-jordan-mickey-lsu-and-karviar-shepherd-tcu-non-qualifiers.html/

[jbcarol]

Official police report: PJ "Sad" Hairston stated that Hadyn "Fats" Thomas rented a GMC Yukon for Hairston. No word yet from COY "Roy" Williams.

"Mr. Hairston stated that 'Fats' rented the vehicle for Mr. Hairston because he was planning on traveling to Atlanta this weekend to see some friends," the report said.

Thomas told USA Today in an interview last week that he doesn't know Hairston, but he told The N&O later that he knows UNC athletes through parties. He could not be reached. The Yukon and other vehicles Thomas has rented have turned up on UNC's campus, a parking ticket database shows.

That local press doesn't really press Roy Williams for comment.

The Yukon has been the vehicle of choice for benefactors of college basketball players. Derek Anderson leased a Yukon for Rajon Rondo at Kentucky, the difference being the two had a "pre-existing" relationship out of Louisville. The Rondo had not placed on the market at the time.

[jbcarol]

Official police report: PJ "Sad" Hairston stated that Hadyn "Fats" Thomas rented a GMC Yukon for Hairston. No word yet from COY "Roy" Williams.

That local press doesn't really press Roy Williams for comment.

The Yukon has been the vehicle of choice for benefactors of college basketball players. Derek Anderson leased a Yukon for Rajon Rondo at Kentucky, the difference being the two had a "pre-existing" relationship out of Louisville. The Rondo had not placed on the market at the time.

A source told CBSSports.com on Friday that the NCAA is expected to get involved [since UNC apparently is not].

[jbcarol]

Good luck pinning Okonoboh down: He won't say who's his favorite

As the bullet entered the body, it nicked the heart of a taxi driver. Fate had placed Sylvester Okonoboh on the wrong end of a gun.

"He wasn't supposed to live," his son said. "But he did live.

"The next week I was born."

Hence, the father named his son Goodluck Okonoboh. Good luck, indeed. The son grew up to become a 6-foot-9 basketball player.

Okonoboh, a former high school teammate of Nerlens Noel, figures to follow the former Kentucky star into the top ranks of college basketball.

Okonoboh knows the recruiting process well enough to be noncommittal at this stage of the journey. He says he's keeping open his options, which include Indiana, Duke, Florida and Louisville.

[jbcarol]

Ryan Harrow has been cleared to play at Georgia State. The NCAA granted Harrow's hardship waiver to be closer to his ailing father, and he will be able to play immediately.

[jbcarol]

Reports that all charges against North Carolina's P.J. "Happy" Hairston have been dismissed.

[jbcarol]

Brennan: The biggest concern for North Carolina was not the actual legal incident itself, but the connections to Haydn "Fats" Thomas, the aforementioned convicted felon whose name and address popped in Hertz rental receipts obtained by USA Today in July. ... [It's] unclear whether the NCAA is already actively investigating the situation. Given enforcement precedent, it would be shocking if that were not the case.

Charges or no charges, those cars were still rented to Thomas' address, and that's what will earn the NCAA's attention. For an athletics program already mired in three years of football mess and widespread suspicion over its role in academic scandal, the idea of an NCAA investigation into potential improper benefits provided to its star player by a well-known local felon is the real nightmare. That process would be long and arduous and unforgiving, and carries the possibility — however remote — of serious penalties against one of the college game's marquee programs.

[jbcarol]

Here is a recap of of each ex-UK WildCats' Summer League performance:

Archie Goodwin (Phoenix Suns)
Stats: seven games, 24.6 minutes per game, 13.1 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, 50.0 field-goal percentage (26 of 52), 57.1 3-point field-goal percentage


Terrence Jones (Houston Rockets)
Stats: four games, 27.5 mpg, 15.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.5 assists per game, 42.2 FG% (19 of 48), 36.4 3-point FG% (4 of 11)

Jones was the seventh-leading scorer in Orlando Summer League action.


Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte)
Stats: three games, 27.7 mpg, 10.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 steals per game, 54.2 FG% (13 of 24).

Charlotte brought in former Georgia Tech sharpshooter Mark Price to help Kidd-Gilchrist with his jump shot.


Doron Lamb (Orlando Magic)
Stats: three games, 25.0 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.0 spg, 50.0 FG% (10 of 20), 66.7 3-point FG% (6 of 9)

Last two games, averaged 29.5 minutes of action while averaging 14.5 points on 5-of-7 3-point accuracy.


Marquis Teague (Chicago Bulls)

Stats: four games, 30.5 mpg, 18.3 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 44.0 FG% (25 of 56), 39.1 3-point FG% (9 of 23)

Teague simply had a highly productive summer, checking in as the eighth-leading scorer and fifth top assist man in Las Vegas.

[jbcarol]

Coleman commits to play in Coleman

5-10, buck-fifty Wenonah point guard Justin Coleman has committed to Bama.

The 2013 Class 5A All-State point guard led the Dragons to a rare third consecutive Class 5A state championship at the BJCC earlier this year.  Coleman averaged 21 points, eight assists and 4.2 steals per game this year at Wenonah.

He is believed to be Alabama's first verbal commitment for the Class of 2014.

He's not the most physical point guard by any means...

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/07/wenonah_point_guard_justin_col.html

Too early to tell if at the higher levels Coleman will pan out to be more like Chris Paul or Cliff Paul.

[jbcarol]

Looking back at the 2001 recruiting class thru an SEC lens

To reinforce a point: recruiting rankings are not a guarantee. Top ten recruits flame out and unranked players make the NBA. The only thing that is a given is that hard work will be talent when talent doesn't work hard.

Keep that in mind while tracking where a kid is ranked and who is recruiting him.

We'll be looking at the Class of 1999-2008, the last 10 classes that have finished the five years they are allowed to use their four seasons of eligibility:

10. David Lee: Lee played four years at Florida, averaging 13.6 points and 9.0 boards as a senior. He was the 30th pick in the 2005 draft, playing five years in New York and the past three seasons in Golden State. He's become a consistent double-double threat, a two-time all-star and one of the more valuable big men in the league.

16. Mo Williams: Williams went to Alabama and lasted with the Crimson Tide for two seasons, averaging 16.4 points and 3.9 assists as a senior. He went pro and was picked 47th in the 2003 NBA Draft. He's been a starter in the league since his second season with Milwaukee, and played with Utah last season. Williams was an all-star in 2009.

46. Chuck Hayes: ["All he does is win," was UK's mantra for Hayes during their Wooden Award campaigns. He was the kid you wanted your daughter to marry until he had a bizarre incident with a cougar groupie after his last game that was handled wrong in every way including Tubby Smith directly calling the groupie. Bouncing back from the date rape accusation and abnormal heart, Hayes is still in the NBA.]

87. Lawrence Roberts: [It was murder at Baylor and Robin Roberts' nephew not having to sit out for a season, Lawrence was SEC POY, 1st Team All-American, and 3rd for National Player of the Year as a junior at State. Choosing to return for one more season, he had his nose broken but still managed to get State's first triple double in school history with 12 assists as part of the stat line. The second round pick got two seasons in the NBA and played last season in Germany.

[jbcarol]

6-1, 165 Springfield Lanphier point guard Larry Austin gave a verbal to the Vols for the 2014 class.

Austin is ranked as the No. 100 overall recruit in the 247Composite...

[jbcarol]

State basketball signee Fallou Ndoye will not be eligible to play for the Bulldogs until the 2014-15 season.

Ndoye, a 6-foot-11 center from Senegal and Findlay Prep, was ruled a partial qualifier by the NCAA's academic certification office. After receiving what is known as an initial eligibility waiver, he can be on scholarship and participate in practice and offseason workouts, but cannot play this season.

"The NCAA Eligibility Center did the right thing by granting Fallou this waiver," Mississippi State coach Rick Ray said.

http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-sports/2013/08/basketball_mississippi_state_s.html

Ndoye is not a Top 100 recruit, but you can't teach size.

[jbcarol]

After a three-year commitment to Indiana during his early high school career, 2014 shooting guard James Blackmon Jr. is now back on the open market after decommiting from Indiana earlier this week.

A 6-foot-3 shooting guard, Blackmon averaged an Indiana-high 33.3 points per game last season for Fort Wayne Bishop Luers before making a transfer to Marion, Indiana this summer to join his father, James Blackmon Sr., who was hired as the head coach there.

Blackmon, a 6-foot-2 guard who will be coached by his dad at Marion (Ind.) High School, has new offers from UK, North Carolina State, UCLA, Michigan State, Florida State, Oklahoma State, Memphis, Florida, Connecticut, Purdue, Minnesota and Marquette.

James, Sr. played for Joe B. Hall at Kentucky.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

This article explains a lot about the Manziel family.  They have a history of taking shortcuts and not necessarily playing by the rules.  Didn't see this in the other Johnny threads and wanted it to be easy to find.  SIAP.

http://deadspin.com/the-long-con-how-the-manziels-conquered-america-1040593220

[Hawgon]

I forgot about them being from Syria originally.  It all makes sense now.  You know what Johnny Manziel is?  He is a Gypsy.  I'll bet you a hundred dollars he is from the Dom people of Syria.  They are basically Gypsies and are known in Syria to be heavily involved the drug, prostitution rings there and in the rest of the old Ottoman Empire. 

If you actually know any Gypsies, then Johnny's behavior and the shady past of his family, right down to their love of cockfighting is easily explained.  And further, they love, I mean LOVE money.  If one of them has $10,000 in his pocket, he'll break you're arm to beat you out of ten dollars lying on the table.  And they are all about conspicuous consumption as well.

Further, this article puts to rest the "they're wealthy" lie as well.  Yeah, the family may have money, but it probably isn't as much as is let on and what there is, appears to be tied up in a family limited partnership in which Johnny's dad isn't a managing partner.  That means that he basically has no say over the money and how it is distributed or the amount that he receives.  It may as well be someone else's money.

[z-pak]

I forgot about them being from Syria originally.  It all makes sense now.  You know what Johnny Manziel is?  He is a Gypsy.  I'll bet you a hundred dollars he is from the Dom people of Syria.  They are basically Gypsies and are known in Syria to be heavily involved the drug, prostitution rings there and in the rest of the old Ottoman Empire. 

If you actually know any Gypsies, then Johnny's behavior and the shady past of his family, right down to their love of cockfighting is easily explained.  And further, they love, I mean LOVE money.  If one of them has $10,000 in his pocket, he'll break you're arm to beat you out of ten dollars lying on the table.  And they are all about conspicuous consumption as well.

Further, this article puts to rest the "they're wealthy" lie as well.  Yeah, the family may have money, but it probably isn't as much as is let on and what there is, appears to be tied up in a family limited partnership in which Johnny's dad isn't a managing partner.  That means that he basically has no say over the money and how it is distributed or the amount that he receives.  It may as well be someone else's money.

BROUGHTEN!

[jbcarol]

Looking back at the 2002 recruiting class thru an SEC lens

16. Anthony Roberson: Roberson and Matt Walsh arrived at Florida with high expectations, but it would be the group that came in after them (Joakim Noah and co.) that would lead the program to two national titles. In three seasons at Florida Roberson averaged 15.8 points and 2.6 assists per game, and he's played with 11 professional teams (four in the NBA) since going undrafted in 2005.

18. Antoine Wright: Wright played three seasons at Big 12 A&M (15.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg) before being selected 15th overall by the Nets in the 2005 NBA Draft.

OTHER NOTABLE NAMES

27. Andre Iguodala: Iguodala initially signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Arkansas.

86. C.J. Watson: Played for the Tennessee Volunteers for 4 seasons. His best season came during his senior year. He averaged 15.3 points, 3.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds. He earned Second Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press and the league coaches. He finished his collegiate career as Tennessee's second all-time leader in assists (577), second in steals (198), and sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.396).

[jbcarol]

North Carolina's leading scorer last basketball season, P.J. Hairston, was cited for speeding May 13 while driving a Hertz rental car that was paid for by a woman who shares a Durham address with Haydn Thomas, a convicted felon whose rented sports utility vehicle Hairston was driving when he was arrested last month.

Hairston was cited for speeding while driving a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro SS with Virginia license plates, a Durham County District Court clerk said. The Camaro was paid for by a woman named Catinia Farrington, whose Durham address matches that of Thomas, according to the Hertz receipt obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Thomas has claimed he does not know Hairston, and that a series of coincidences resulted in Hairston driving his rental car. This second link, as circuitous as it may be, throws some doubt on that statement.

UNC AD Bubba Cunningham confirmed that PJ "Happy" Hairston will play, not just not all of the games.


Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 14 Aug
Roy Williams says he's "tired" of talking about PJ Hairston. Because how do you expect him to ignore this if folks keep asking him about it?

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 14 Aug
Roy Williams said PJ Hairston will face "serious consequences" for his misdeeds. As punishment, Roy is making him play against Kentucky.

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 19h
UNC AD Bubba Cunningham says P.J. Hairston will play this year. (However, he will not attend class.)

Not Jerry Tipton ‏@NotJerryTipton 13h
UNC announces PJ Hairston will "miss some games." This includes 1 game of Twister in the locker room & the premier of "Game of Thrones."

[jbcarol]

Marcus Smart vs. Julius Randle in an impromptu dunk contest in Texas
(video at link)
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/23159618/marcus-smart-vs-julius-randle-in-an-impromptu-dunk-contest

[jbcarol]

Gregg Doyel ‏@GreggDoyelCBS 33m
Future college hoops player Zach Hodskins was born without one hand. That's not the most remarkable thing about him http://cbsprt.co/14RQu5c

Offered a preferred walk-on spot at Florida.

[jbcarol]

Nope.  He chose 'Zona.

While many people changed their views in the last week, the most important person in Craig Victor's decision had not. And that person was Craig Victor.

The 6-foot-8 former St. Augustine forward committed to Arizona on Saturday afternoon in front of his AAU program, New Orleans Elite.

He chose the Wildcats over LSU and Oklahoma State by selecting an Arizona hat at the table where he was sitting along with AAU teammates Tyree Griffin and Blake Jones. [Or was it Tyree Jones and Blake Griffin?]

[jbcarol]

Top 10 PF JaKeenan Gant chooses Missouri over Alabama, Georgia among others

The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Springfield, Ga. native committed to the Tigers Sunday, spurning offers from Alabama, Georgia and defending national champion Louisville among others.

"Whatever they say is going to happen will," Gant told ESPN. "They're down-to-earth people."

The rising senior is rated No. 37 overall in the ESPN 100  and No. 7 at his position in in the Class of 2014.

He's ranked No. 48 in the nation by 247 Sports and No. 44 by Rivals.com and is considered the state of Georgia's top recruit by some.

Gant averaged 17 points and nine boards at Effingham County...

[jbcarol]

Sam Cassell Jr., son of the 15-year NBA veteran point guard, is once again trying to get into the Division I ranks, after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA last year.

Cassell Jr. has scheduled visits for Marquette and Missouri in September, according to SNY.tv. He will be in Columbia, Mo. from Sept. 7-9, and then in Milwaukee, Wisc. the next weekend. According to SNY.tv, he is also looking at Connecticut, Pittsburgh, A&M, USC, West Virginia, Xavier and Florida State — his father's alma mater.

[jbcarol]

Was Tubby's recruiting that bad at UK?

I was actually surprised to see Tubby had over 50 million in NBA dollars to his credit.  Prince, Bogans, Hayes, Meeks, and Rondo were all Tubby recruits and have many years left in the NBA.  So, was Tubby's recruiting really that bad?

Is having 59% of your freshman recruits as Top 100 good enough?  Well, it was good enough to win 76% of his games.

Individual Classes:
ABOVE AVERAGE: 1999, 2000, 2004
AVERAGE: 1998, 2001, 2006
BELOW AVERAGE: 2002, 2003, 2005

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/?p=138925

[jbcarol]

Emmanuel Mudiay, the third ranked recruit for the class of 2014 from Texas chose Southern Methodist University tonight at the Under Armour Elite 24 game. Kentucky was thought to be the front runner for the highly touted point guard, but after taking five visits in the past few months to legendary Larry Brown's Mustang team, Mudiay had a change of heart

[jbcarol]

Missouri basketball program landed its third commitment in the class of 2014, as 6-4 wing Ronnie Suggs verbally committed to attend the SEC school. However Suggs, whose older brother Scott wrapped up his career at Washington this past spring, will attend prep school and not enroll at Missouri until 2015.

[jbcarol]

Kasey Hill ‏@KaHill11 23h
Dang I wish my bro @cwalkertime23 was here with me! Miss my bro mannn

Chris Walker ‏@cwalkertime23 23h
@KaHill11 miss you to tho bro , hold down the #Gatornation tho I will be there soon to join you  !!


Walker was not able to enroll at UF for the fall semester.

[jbcarol]

Point guard JaQuan Lyle (Evansville, Ind. and Huntington Prep) became the second lead guard to decommit from UofL since July following Quen Snider.

Lyle's up for grabs.

[jbcarol]

UK commitment Tyler Ulis is considered the No. 29 overall prospect in the country by Scout.com.

The point guard is 23rd of Calipari's 29 commits/transfers since moving to UK.

[jbcarol]

Look back at the 2003 recruiting class thru an SEC lens

THE TOP 20

1. LeBron James: Duh.

12. Brandon Bass: Bass played two seasons at LSU before going pro, averaging 17.3 points and 9.1 boards as a sophomore. He was the 33rd pick in the 2005 Draft, and has carved out a career for himself as a hard-working, scrappy power forward. He's played for Dallas, Orlando and, most recently, Boston.

13. Olu Famutimi: Famutimi played for two seasons at Arkansas before questionably entering the 2005 NBA Draft. He wasn't picked, and has played in Turkey, France and Germany since.

14. Travis Outlaw: Outlaw never went to college [signed with State], but he's managed to carve out a nice career for himself since being the 23rd pick in the 2003 Draft.

OTHER NOTABLE PLAYERS

39. Ronnie Brewer,  recently made a big donation to Fayetteville Boys & Girls Club

43. Chris Richard  Florida, sixth man on national championship team

80. Renaldo Balkman  South Carolina, 1st round pick of the Knicks

UR: Joakim Noah  Florida, Son of tennis pro Yannick Noah, got two championship rings and an NBA career

[jbcarol]

Aaron Epps, a 6-9 forward out of Tioga High School, became the first Class of 2014 pledge for the LSU men's basketball team late Sunday night.

Epps was also a standout track athlete, finishing second at the state track meet in the high jump by clearing 6 feet, 6 inches...

[jbcarol]

Look back at the 2004 recruiting class thru an SEC lens

THE TOP 20
3. Al Jefferson: Like [Dwight] Howard, Jefferson is on the free agent market this summer. Jefferson went straight from high school to the NBA, and in nine seasons as a pro the 15th selection in the 2004 NBA Draft is averaging 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

10. Randolph Morris: Morris played three seasons at Kentucky (12.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg), and ended up joining the New York Knicks five days after Kentucky was eliminated from the NCAA tournament. (Per NCAA rules Morris was allowed to return to school as a junior since he wasn't selected in the 2006 NBA Draft, and with the NBA prohibiting players from re-entering the draft the Knicks were able to sign him as a free agent.) Morris has played with the Beijing Ducks since 2010, and this past season he teamed up with Stephon Marbury to lead the franchise to its first-ever league title.

11. Glen Davis: "Big Baby" was one of the SEC's best players during his three seasons at LSU, and he was one of the leaders for a team that reached the 2006 Final Four. Davis was a second round pick in 2007 (Seattle), and he was part of the deal that sent Ray Allen to Boston. Davis has played in Orlando the last two seasons with 2012-13 being his best as a pro (15.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg).

14. Joe Crawford: Crawford spent four seasons at Kentucky, where he would average 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest as a Wildcat. Drafted by the Lakers in the second round of the 2008 NBA Draft, Crawford seen the majority of his action as a pro in China (Beijing Ducks) and Israel (Maccabi Rishon). His last NBA action (regular season) came in 2009, when he finished the season with the New York Knicks.

OTHER NOTABLE NAMES
21. Rajon Rondo

25. Corey Brewer

48. Al Horford

72. Joakim Noah

UR: Taurean Green
UR: Tyrus Thomas

[jbcarol]

Rick Pitino is sufficiently impressed with Kentucky's historic recruiting class, but isn't certain if the Wildcats should be the preseason No. 1.

"Best recruiting class in 20 years," the Louisville coach told SNY.tv by text. "As far as No. 1, I'm not sure."

Freshman forward Julius Randle is projected as the No. 2 pick next year, followed by freshman point guard Andrew Harrison at No. 8, sophomore center Willie Cauley-Stein at No. 16 and sophomore forward Alex Poythress at No. 28.

Freshmen Dakari Johnson, Aaron Harrison and James Young are projected to go 21-23 in 2015.

"Two top six picks, three other potential first-rounders," Pitino said, counting Andrew Harrison as a top-six pick. "It's not as good as some of the UCLA teams but they stayed in school. They had to stay in school because of freshmen teams."

Ironically, longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv last year that Lew Alcindor alone going to UCLA was the greatest recruiting class in history.

http://zagsblog.com/articles/pitino-says-kentucky-has-best-recruiting-class-in-20-years

UofL travels to Rupp to play UK on Dec. 28.