By LARRY VAUGHT

Terrence Jones insisted he had not made a decision on where he would attend college as he looked at the hats of the six schools he had narrowed his college list to during a press conference at his Portland, Ore., high school Friday.

Then he broke the hearts of University of Kentucky fans who were among the almost 25,000 watching the press conference online live when he said he would stay closer to home and play at Washington along with teammate Terrence Ross who had confirmed he would play for the Huskies just minutes earlier.

Jones, who had on a sports coat and tie, is a 6-9 forward that could have provided a needed piece for UK coach John Calipari’s recruiting class. Instead, he opted to stay closer to home just as another highly-regard forward, C.J. Leslie, did earlier in the week when he picked North Carolina State over Kentucky.

Jones thanked his high school coaches, parents, family and teammates for supporting him. He broke down and cried when talking about his teammates and had to be consoled by his mother.

Then he thanked the coaches who had recruited him and went down the list of Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA and Kentucky.

He noted the support the UK fans gave him.

“Coach O (Orlando Antigua) for being there for me, calling me when I needed to talk about anything and coach Cal just getting to know me as a player and person. Just trying to make me understand how it would be for me if I went there,” Jones said.

“I want to thank all the coaches for that. I guess now I will be picking one.”

That’s when he hesitated before picking the Washington hat and announced he would sign with the Huskies, and not Kentucky. His aunt, Ava Mashia, played for the Huskies women’s team.

“I want to be close to home. Like I have been saying since eighth grade, I want o play with Terrence Ross,” Jones said.

The 6-9 Jones averaged 32 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and three steals  per game. He helped his team win three straight state championships. ESPN ranks Jones among the top 15 players nationally and he was a two-time Oregon Class 5-A player of the year.

Jones scored 810 points his senior season to become the sixth player in Oregon prep history to surpass 800 points in a season. He totaled 1,793 points for his career.

After the season, Jones continued to pile up awards and honors: 5A Portland Interscholastic League player of the year, McDonald’s All-American, Parade All-American, Nike Hoop Summit invitee.

Not signing him is a big blow for Calipari even though he has signed a banner class with point guard Brandon Knight, center Enes Kanter, small forward Stacey Poole and shooting guard Doron Lamb. However, UK is going to be dangerously thin on the front line with only center Josh Harrellson and small forward Darius Miller returning to join Kanter and Poole as true front-court players.

The Wildcats are still recruiting players, including Atlanta forward Marcus Thornton. He likely becomes a top priority for Calipari now to get another needed frontcourt player to go with what he already has.

By LARRY VAUGHT

Nick Daschel covered the Kentucky Derby twice in 1995 and 1997 and still remembers the excitement. “There is nothing like walking on the track from the barn to the paddock with 20 pumped up horses and their rich guy owners,” Daschel said.

However, he also knows Kentucky basketball fans are more interested in where Oregon prep star Terrence Jones will announce he is going to school. Kentucky, Washington and Kansas are considered the frontrunners even though Oregon, UCLA and Oklahoma are still on his list.

Daschel says the 6:30 p.m. press conference at Jones’ school can be viewed at http://highschoolsports.oregonlive.com/. Jones will share the podium with three of his teammates — 6-7 Stephen Madison (No. 100 small forward), 6-2 Antoine Hosely and 6-6 Terrence Ross (No. 30 in ESPNU 100).

“The Oregonian/OregonLive is planning to live stream the announcement,” Daschel said.

He’s covered Jones and offered these observations when I asked him about his talent and off-court personality:

“Jones is a pretty good kid. I wrote a fairly exhaustive profile about him around the first week of March. He’s sort of quiet, and his coach will say he’s shy. Not sure if I’d go that far. His cousins include Damon Stoudamire, now a Memphis Grizzlies assistant.

“In high school, Jones played more wing than inside, though I think his coach would liked to have seen him play more inside. My guess is he’s a college small forward. Hasn’t got into trouble as a kid, other than the usual teen-age stuff. The one knock I suppose on him is that he’s a little lazy.

“I don’t know if anyone knows the school he’ll pick … he’s that secretive. I’ve talked to his mom several times recently, and she doesn’t even seem to know where he’s leaning.”

The 6-9 Jones averaged 32 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and three steals  per game. He helped his team win three straight state championships. ESPN ranks Jones among the top 15 players nationally and he was a two-time Oregon Class 5-A player of the year.

Jones scored 810 points his senior season to become the sixth player in Oregon prep history to surpass 800 points in a season. He totaled 1,793 points for his career.

After the season, Jones continued to pile up awards and honors: 5A Portland Interscholastic League player of the year, McDonald’s All-American, Parade All-American, Nike Hoop Summit invitee.

He’s a big piece for John Calipari’s second Kentucky team and even though no one seems sure where he’ll go, the feeling here remains that he will pick the Wildcats. But at least we will know soon.

By LARRY VAUGHT

Kentucky coach John Calipari apparently hopes to have several NBA teams that have management folks he trusts and knows give freshman guard Eric Bledsoe a workout to help evaluate his NBA draft status before he has to decide by May 8 whether to keep his name in the draft or not.

But what kind of value do NBA teams see in Bledsoe as they project what will happen in the June draft?

That’s what I asked Matt Kamalsky, director of operations for http://www.draftexpress.com/. Mock draft projections vary widely on Bledsoe, yet it seems clear he believes in his ability and intends to leave  his named in upcoming draft rather than return to Kentucky.

“Bledsoe is in an interesting situation. He didn’t get to play the position (point guard) he projects to at the next level almost at all with John Wall around, so it was difficult for him to show much in the way of playmaking ability,” said Kamalsky. “His playmaking ability and midrange game will certainly be two of the most scrutinized facets of his game, but scouts love his physical profile.

“On production alone, Bledsoe doesn’t stack up too well with some of the players projected around him, but this draft is bereft of point guards.  If he shows well in workouts and shows improvement in the areas where he’s considered weak, the lack of prospects at his position could boost him into the teens.”

That’s not bad at all. If he can be a top 20 pick, leaving UK for the NBA more than makes sense. In fact, if he can just be taken in the first round then his departure is probably the right move. Of course, Jodie Meeks didn’t go until the second round last year and he still had a solid rookie season with Milwaukee and then Philadelphia.

“He and (Daniel) Orton are in a similar situation in terms of where they could hear their names called.  I view both as likely first rounders and probably top 25 picks, but their stock could rise or fall pretty significant given how far we are from draft day as they are much lesser known commodities than the other three UK prospects (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson).”

Vaught’s note: Have been saving these nifty tidbits the SEC released about the recent NFL draft that once again shows why the SEC is so loaded in football every year.

The SEC had 49 players selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.  The number represents the most SEC players ever taken in the NFL Draft.

The SEC had the most players taken among conferences in the draft.  Behind the SEC’s 49 selections were the Big Ten (34), ACC (31), Big 12 (30) and Pac-10 (29).

Since 1990, the SEC has had 782 total selections in the NFL Draft, an average of 37.2 selections per year.  The Big Ten is second with 672 selections.

Since 1997, the SEC has had 552 total selections in the NFL Draft, an average of 39.4 selections per year.

The SEC has now led or tied for the most selections in the NFL Draft for 11 of the last 13 seasons and the last four drafts.

All 12 SEC schools had at least one player selected in the draft.  The numbers alphabetically:  Alabama (7), Arkansas (1), Auburn (2), Florida (9), Georgia (5), Kentucky (3), LSU (6), Ole Miss (4), Mississippi State (2), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (6), Vanderbilt (2).

The SEC had at least five players taken in every round of this season’s draft.  The league had eight players taken in rounds 2-3-5, seven players taken in rounds 1-4, six players in round 7 and five players in round 6.

There have been 67 first round SEC selections in last 10 drafts, an average 6.7 per year.  The most by the SEC was 11 in the 2007 draft.  The lowest in the last 10 drafts was four in 2003 and 2006.

The SEC has had at least seven players taken in the first round in back-to-back drafts (8 in 2009 and 7 in 2010).

Since conference expansion in 1992, the SEC has had 114 players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, an average of 6.3 per year.

The SEC has had five picks in the top 20 of the first round four years in a row.

Since 2004, the SEC has had 32 players taken in the first 18 picks of the first round.

In the last eight NFL drafts, 11 of 12 SEC teams had at least one player go in the top 11 of the first round.

The SEC has had 3 of the top 8 picks in NFL draft for 4th straight year and 5 of last 6 years.

University of Kentucky coach John Calipari and the Lexington Legends will team up for a special fund-raising event at Applebee’s Park May 8.

Calipari will sign the commemorative Maker’s Mark bottles featuring his likeness (empty bottles only) from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. This will be the last opportunity for fans to have their empty bottles signed.

The coach will then take the mound to deliver a ceremonial first pitch before the Legends play Greensboro in a 7:05 p.m. game.

There will be 750 empty bottles available for sale at 4 p.m. for $35 each, with all proceeds going to the Calipari Foundation for Children and Ivy Walls Charitable Foundation. The Legends will provide a free ticket to that night’s game for every bottle purchased at Applebee’s Park.

“We are very excited to partner with Coach Cal and help support the Calipari Foundation for Children,” said Legends General Manager Andy Shea. “This is a great opportunity for all parties involved, especially our fans.”

For more information, call the Legends box office at (859) 422-7867 or go to http://www.lexingtonlegends.com

By LARRY VAUGHT

Joker Phillips certainly feels an obligation to keep the University of Kentucky football program moving forward. However, because he’s a Kentucky native and former UK receiver, he also has a sense of history that he wants to share with his players.

That’s why he started the Kentucky Football Captains Breakfast, an event he hopes to make an annual affair on the day of the Blue-White Game that ends spring practice.

Actually, he’s even doing more to reach out to former players. He had a UK Football Alumni Weekend in conjunction with the Blue-White Game. Former players played golf, went to Keeneland and had a cookout on Friday and then came to the Blue-White Game the next day.

Former Kentucky captains in attendance at the breakfast were Tommy Adkins (1953), Glenn Shawn (1959), Cullen Wilson (1959), Sam Ball (1965), Doug Van Meter (1967), Wilbur Hackett (1969), Dan Neal (1971-72), Joe Federspiel (1971), Lester Boyd (1979), Jim Campbell (1981), Greg Long (1981), John Maddox (1982), Oliver White (1984), Ken Pietrowiak (1985), Bill Ransdell (1986), Bo Smith (1988), Chris Chenault (1988), Andy Murray (1989), Oliver Barnett (1989), Freddie Maggard (1990), Greg Lahr (1991), Pookie Jones (1992-93), Dean Wells (1992), Robert Stinson (1994), George Massey (1999), Grayson Smith (2000), Shane Boyd (2004), Tommy Cook (2005), Andre Woodson (2007), Wesley Woodyard (2007), Braxton Kelley (2008) and Tony Dixon (2008).

Phillips had about 20 of his current players, those he felt can be team leaders, at the breakfast to mingle with the former UK leaders. Those players got to hear from Federspiel, Wilson, Pietrowiak, Woodyard, Hackett and Ball. Current Cats DeQuin Evans and Randall Cobb also spoke.

It’s a great idea. Former players want a chance to have ownership in the program. It was so cool to see players like Woodson, Woodyard, Kelley, Dixon, Jacob Tamme, Keenan Burton, Dicky Lyons and others walking the sideline talking to current players during the Blue-White Game. It was also nice to see so many former Wildcats working out at the UK facility recently because that has to send a strong message to current players.

Will this win games for Phillips? Not directly.

Will this help the program? Absolutely because anything that allows former players to influence younger players and stay involved in the program is a huge plus and here’s hoping Phillips continues to find innovative ways to enhance the program.

By LARRY VAUGHT

Finally there has been a few days where Louisville coach Rick Pitino can feel like he’s having a better week than Kentucky coach John Calipari.

That’s not happened often in the last year — and certainly didn’t last week when Calipari convinced Indianapolis junior point guard Marquis Teague to commit to UK instead of Louisville where he had been leaning for months. Remember, Teague’s father and uncle once played for Pitino and one of his former assistant coaches now works at Louisville. But he still picked Kentucky.

This week, though, the Cards landed 6-10 center Gorgui Dieng, a Senegal native. He averaged 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots per game at Huntington (W. Va.) Prep School and was named MVP of last month’s Kentucky Derby Festival Classic.

That’s better than Calipari did because Wednesday he lost North Carolina power forward C.J. Leslie to North Carolina State. Considering Calipari has landed John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Enes Kanter, Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb, Stacey Poole, Michael Gilchrist and Teague since arriving at UK a little over a year ago, it had almost become a foregone conclusion that if he wanted a player, he got him.

Calipari has taken the state — and national — spotlight from Pitino. Kentucky has gone from a team without direction like it was for two years under Billy Gillispie while Pitino had Final Four contenders to a team positioned to be a national championship contender annually. Louisville barely made the NCAA field this year and doesn’t look like a championship contender next year.

Pitino does have a cool new arena to move into soon, but he also still has to deal with the extortion trial of Karen Cunagin Sypher, the woman he admitted to having a one-night affair with and then had her to try to extort money from him.

Sypher’s trial is scheduled to start in June and that’s more bad publicity that Pitino certainly does not need. Meanwhile, Calipari has become the darling of the Big Blue faithful and seems to always have a national media presence. He was even on stage Tuesday with rapper Drake during a Memorial Coliseum concert.

Pitino did a magnificent job restoring the UK program to respectability and winning a national championship before bolting for the NBA. He’s never had the same success at Louisville and has been unable to match the frenzy he created with UK. But Calipari has put the sizzle back into UK basketball.

Pitino has the lead over Calipari this week. Of course, that could well end Friday if Oregon forward Terrence Jones picks UK. He’s much higher rated than Gorgui Dieng and would put Calipari one up on Pitino again this week.

Calipari made it clear when he came to Kentucky that he couldn’t wait to compete with Pitino. So far, he’s ahead and seems in position to keep widening the margin over the coach who once did so much for Kentucky basketball.

By LARRY VAUGHT

Kentucky coach John Calipari apparently doesn’t win every recruiting battle after all.

The UK coach has dominated recruiting nationally in the last 13 months, but he lost one Wednesday when North Carolina forward C.J. Leslie confirmed he would sign with North Carolina State — the school he originally committed to before re-opening his recruitment.

Earlier Wednesday Leslie had told several sources he was still undecided between UK, N.C. State and Connecticut. However, he put an end to his recruiting late this afternoon.

For the optimistic Kentucky fan, that could be good news. Maybe it means Oregon big man Terrence Jones is going to pick the Cats Friday when he announces whether he will play at Washington, Kentucky or Kansas. There had been some speculation that both he and Leslie could play at UK even though they are similar payers like John Wall and Eric Bledsoe were last year when both still decided to sign with the Cats. However, Leslie, Scout.com’s No. 3 power forward, put at end to that possibility.

Kentucky desperately needs another inside player and Calipari has been actively pursuing Jones for months. A few days ago it looked like he might be leaning to staying on the west coast and playing for Washington. However, several sources at UK have indicated he will sign with the Wildcats — and that word may have prompted Leslie to pick N.C. State.

The Wildcats have also been recruiting 6-7 power forward Marcus Thornton of Atlanta recently.  He’s also been a recruiting target of Alabama, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Texas, Auburn, Florida, Michigan and others. He originally signed with Clemson but was released from his national letter of intent. He won Mr. Basketball honors in Georgia last season and even though he’s a bit undersized for a small forward, he’s known for the tenacity he shows on the court.

It’s possible Calipari could still add Jones and Thornton and that would still be a huge finish for Calipari’s second recruiting class at Kentucky. However, losing Leslie limits the options Calipari now has — unless he has a recruit hidden away that no one knows about.

Still, if the Cats get Jones Friday — and I tend to think they will — then losing Leslie is not that bad because a recruiting class of Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb, Stacey Poole, Enes Kanter and Jones is still one any school in the country would love to have.

By LARRY VAUGHT

California quarterback Max Smith knew because he was injured as a junior and played on a losing team as a senior that Division I coaches could easily overlook him in recruiting, especially since most schools are very selective when it comes to offering scholarships to quarterbacks.

“Some coaches and scouts were telling me I was a definite Division I quarterback. California, Arizona, Arizona State and New Mexico were all close to offering, but they all had other guys before me,” said Smith. “Schools don’t offer a lot of quarterbacks.”

But Smith is not one to give up. He put together a highlight video and sent it out  e-mails to “schools in big conferences” that he thought he would like to play for — and might be interested in him.

“I limited it to schools that fit my style,” Smith said. “I didn’t know anybody there, but I knew the SEC was the best conference in America and I took a shot. I also sent film to Vanderbilt and LSU. I know I didn’t send it to Tennessee or Florida.”

Smith never felt he was wasting his time even though he knew a scholarship offer might be a long shot even though he threw for 2,450 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior and ran for four more scores. He also only threw two interceptions.

“I was praying something would work out. I was kind of losing hope really. I was starting to look at different junior colleges, and I had Division II and Division III schools I could have gone to. But that was not for me. I knew if I wanted a shot to play in the NFL, I needed to play for a big team,” he said. “Once the offer from Kentucky came, I was ecstatic.”

Still, the drama was not quite over for the 6-5, 220-pound Smith, who plays at Birmingham Charter High School in Van Nuys, Calif. Kentucky was interested, but also originally thought he was a junior.

“They just thought since I was not signed, I must be a junior. They were shocked with how I could throw, my size and my arm strength. I also do know a lot about the game and can read coverages,” Smith, who has a 3.7 grade-point average, said. “I thought they knew I was a senior because I had put that in the e-mail. But they might have caught it when they offered me. However, when they called, they had realized by then I was a senior.”

Since UK coach Joker Phillips doesn’t expect to have any scholarships available in August, that meant for Smith to play for the Wildcats he had to be willing to grayshirt — not play or attend UK in the fall and then sign a scholarship and enroll in school in January. It was an offer he quickly accepted.

“There’s a chance I could still sign and come in during the summer, but coach Phillips said he thinks all the guys (who have signed) are going to make their grade. Even if one spot became available, he says they are in desperate need for a safety and would give a safety a look first,” Smith said. “But if more spots somehow came open, then I would be ready to come in. What happens, happens. I am fine either way.”

His plan now is to stay in California, take two courses at a junior college and work out with his quarterback coach — former NFL quarterback Erik Kramer.

“I am going to work out with my coach to get stronger and faster so I will be ready in January,” Smith said.

His team was only 3-7 last year — not the kind of season he needed after missing most of 2008 with an injury.

“Our defense gave up a lot of points and we played from behind a lot,” Smith said. “Our best running back got hurt in a preseason scrimmage. He was really good. We played a junior, who has talent but had some issues catching the ball. I did the best I could.”

It was more than enough to impress Phillips and his staff, who offered Smith, 18, the scholarship when he visited during spring practice.

Smith said his parents and two brothers are excited about his choice and that his mother has family in Illinois about two hours south of Chicago that can easily see him play. His father originally is from England, but he has already “mapped out how far a drive it will be” from Illinois to Lexington.

“All my family and friends are excited for me. They know my talent and they are all happy I just have a shot to make my dream come true,” he said. “Coach Phillips said he likes to see quarterback that can command his team and lead a team to a win. I think I can do that.”

The last time a recruit basically sold himself to the UK staff was when senior running back Derrick Locke did it. Remember he was coming to Kentucky on a track scholarship despite putting up big numbers in Oklahoma because the only football offers he had were to play defensive back. He told the UK track coaches he was a running back and once then UK head coach Rich Brooks saw his film, he immediately got the offer. That move has worked out well for UK and Locke.

“I didn’t know about any of that, but it is a great story,” Smith said. “Who knows? Maybe it can work out that well for me, too.”

* * *

Smith has his own website at http://maxsmithqb.com/maxsmith/Welcome.html