By LARRY VAUGHT
Evan Daniels, a national recruiting analyst for Scout.com, spent most of the summer watching the nation’s top high school players play and recently helped Scout.com release its revamped player rankings that dropped University of Kentucky commit Michael Gilchrist of Philadelphia from No. 1 overall to fifth nationally.
Daniels offers his insights on Gilchrist and other UK-related recruiting topics:
Question: Should Kentucky fans be worried that Gilchrist dropped in the Scout.com rankings and what exactly caused him to take the slight dip nationally in Scout.com’s rankings?
Daniels: “Absolutely nothing to worry about. Gilchrist is still a terrific player. I think the other guys progressed and passed him by a small margin. With that said, it was a tough decision. The top five players in this 2010 class are all guys that should make huge impacts as soon as they get to college.â€Â
Question: Did it surprise you that Kentucky recently offered Chane Behanan of Bowling Green a scholarship and how does he compare with other players coach John Calipari has recruited while at Kentucky? What do you like best about him?
Daniels: “Not a surprise at all. I was actually surprised they waited as long as they did. Behanan had a terrific summer and he proved when he plays hard he is a handful to defend. His toughness is unmatched in the paint and he’s a much better scorer than people give him credit for.
“He’s a little different than the type of guys Calipari has gone after recently. Behanan is a long-term college player. He’s not a guy I see going one-and-done, or two-and-done for that matter.
“What I like the most about Chane is his intensity. When he plays hard and really gets after it inside there aren’t many guys in the country that can guard him. He has a great set of hands, good mobility and can score in the paint in a variety of ways.â€Â
Question: What are your impressions of the DeAndre Daniels’ recruiting saga and how does Kentucky fit into the picture?
Daniels: “I don’t think Daniels really knows what he wants to do. He contemplated going to the 2010 class, but I don’t think he had enough time to make a decision. From the sound of it, he’ll be heading to prep school. Kentucky is involved, but I wouldn’t’ say they are the leader that some have made them out to be. Involved and in the mix? Certainly. But I don’t think any one school is sticking out right now.â€Â
Question: How does a player go from a relative unknown 18 months ago to now being No. 1 in the Scout.com senior ratings like Chicago’s Anthony Davis, another UK commit, did? Have you seen other players make a jump like that?
Daniels: “Growing six inches in a year and a half is a start, which is exactly what Davis did. We saw flashes of what he could do in the spring and he started putting the whole package together in July. He’s a special talent. I’ve never seen a rise like this. It’s been fun to watch.â€Â
Question: What do you think lies ahead between now and November in recruiting for Calipari, especially after they also landed Kyle Wiltjer?
Daniels: “At this point, they are just working on getting kids to campus and targeting a few more guys in the 2011 class. They are off to a great start and are looking to finish off the 2011 group.â€Â
15 Responses to Daniels to UK fans: Don’t worry about Gilchrist’s drop in rankings
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I can’t keep up with all the recruits. Who has been offered a scholarship, who accepted, who is coming when, who is not here, who will be here when, it’s just all to mind boggling. Do we have any recruits for 2020 yet? Did Behanan accept the scholarship? I heard Wiltjer has not even visited campus. Was an offer made to him or did he just say he is coming. I really can’t keep this all straight. Larry, make a website with a spreadsheet to keep this stuff from running together. Year to enter, visited, scholarship offer, ranking, accepted scholarship offer, hometown, school…I mean, an old blonde can only remember so much! We need a spreadsheet on the dirty, lowdown, foul journalist too with the story headlines, dates and the publications of their crimes against UK. Thanks Larry, I haven’t felt myself lately, couldn’t think of anything to complain about, now I feel better! Go Cats!
Never mind, saw some of my answers in the Wiltjer’s story…duh, blonde moment, but I still want the spreadsheets!
Linda, check out this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHYzhXjj9kc&feature=player_embedded
If you don’t want to watch the entire video, scan ahead to about 5 minutes into the video to see where he wants to play his college basketball
Don’t worry about Gilchrist. He is solid
When I read a that headline I thought I didn’t know anyone was worried, he took a month off to get settled down before his senior year in high school, and to rest some, my gosh he has had a busy summer.If I’m not wrong he also had chickenpox. I know these kids are young and strong but they also need some time to rest and get restored.
Professor, that about says it all, doesn’t it? 11 years old and he sounds like he grew up in Kentucky because he wants to go to Kentucky!
Jan, ah I remember now, Gilchrist is the one who made the splash overseas and Cal went to see him play, then he came back here and played in some tourney and then got sick. Now I remember, see, that is why we need some kind of spreadsheet or something. There is just too many of them to keep track of and when they are coming or if they are here or when they are going to be here. Dang, I’m confused again.
Linda, you should be able to set up a spreadsheet and track the recruiting process from it. However, unless you have direct contact with these kids, you will be left to rely upon reports published by those who do, or at least claim they do.
Then you have to remember the words of Billy Gillispie about recruiting and the amount of knowledge that the so called gurus really have. He said they know about 10% of what is going on with recruiting, and I believe that if anything 10% may be an overstatement. None of these gurus saw the Kyle recruiting coming, and even on Saturday when the Gonzaga blogger broke the story correctly, the UK recruiting gurus stated consistently that it would not happen.
My advice is buckle up, and enjoy the ride. Coach Calipari knows what he is doing, and when a recruit makes a commitment, signs a LOI, gets qualified, etc, Coach Calipari will let us all know.
Actually Linda, If it was Gilchrist that had chickenpox he got them before he went overseas, he was a day or two later getting there and a little slow getting started but once he did, he played some ball. Any way you are right there are a lot of new recruits and I have trouble keeping up with the year they are going to play for Kentucky.But you know what we always say,
GO CATS!!!
Professor, they keep throwing out names so fast you can’t keep up. It shocks me that they are looking at kids so young, class of 2012. I think they should leave the kids alone until they are seniors. And, you said to buckle up, all last year I kept telling everyone to buckle their seat belts we were in for a heck of a ride, and we were and it looks like the ride is going to keep getting more exciting. We may have to invest in the same seat belts used by NASA!
Jan, start keeping the spreadsheet. Since I got laid off from work, I have been so busy I don’t know how I had time to work!
Linda, if you think about this ride as like a roller coaster, last season was simply part of the long climb up the first hill. Some jerks and slips along the way up, but we did not reach the crest of that hill. We are getting close though and those in the front cars are beginning to see a glimpse of the sky over that crest and know that the real ride is about to begin. This next season, we will go over that crest, and gravity will take over as this team learns about itself on that first exciting descent. However, the ride will only get more intense as we move through time, and the ride will not be over until Coach Calipari decides it is time for it to end.
As for recruiting young kids, I don’t think that is the situation at all, but these kids [the 11 year old for example] and their parents see what UK and Calipari are doing, and it is only natural that they will dream of their future being a part of that. By the time this 11 year old is 18 and ready to make a college decision, Calipari will have coached at UK 8 years, and in all likelihood will be near the end of that magic ride.
The only point I wanted to make by that YouTube video is not that Calipari is in pursuit of these kids but that UK is now on the tips of the tongues and in the hearts and minds of basketball phenoms of all ages due to Calipari’s magic in about 20 months. When Calipari arrived here, 20 months or so ago, X. Henry, when asked if he planned to follow Calipari to UK, said, “I really don’t know anything about Kentucky” Beyond being a completely ignorant statement, it does show how far off the national recruiting radar UK had dropped under the “leadership” of Tubby Smith, and Billy Gillispie. Now UK is at the center of that national radar screen.
Cal has made Kentucky relevant to every top prospect again. That’s the way it was under Pitino and even under Joe Hall most of the time. Top recruits all want to look at UK now
http://www.allkyhoops.com/2010/08/john-calipari-talks-team-pics-erin.html
John Calipari Talks Team Pics, Erin Andrews and More
An interesting link with new photos of the players. The one featured on this page has the 7 new comers, including Kanter. There are links to three other photos, including one of UK’s 2010-11 Dynamic Duo, Miller and Liggins. [Sounds like a prestigious law firm doesn't it].
Don’t know where else to put this information, but this thread works for me since it is getting great traffic right now.
Yes, Larry, Calipari has made UK relevant again, but implicit in that statement is the premise that Tubby and Billy had made UK irrelevant. As for the comparison with Pitino, I don’t think that Sutton made UK irrelevant to the extent that we saw under Tubby/Billy, only that the cheating and sanctions knocked the program to its knees. Pitino did work some magic to restore the prestige. Joe B. was a relentless recruiter, and I find it hard to argue with Sutton’s recruiting beyond the fact of his cheating. Billy’s recruiting was an improvement, with Legion, Miller, Patterson, Liggins, Orton, and Hood. He also had a couple of other nice players lined up, that Calipari chose to send elsewhere when he arrived.
Calipari’s recruiting is unprecedented. Not even Wooden/Gilbert did what Calipari is doing.
Two names that should never be spoken out loud or typed completely are es and bcg! They were IMHO both idiots and drunkards(is that really a word).
es had that ridiculus 7 or was it 9 pass rule. Where he wanted that many passes before a shot. Couple that with the constant taking King Rex out of games to put in his son and more importantly the FLAT OUT CHEATING he is an unmentionable. He could not recruit because he had to resort to cheating to do so. It’s like perjury, once you lie everything you said is now suscpect(who else and how much did he pay).
As for bcg IDIOT is the simple explanation. His hire makes me question the AD’s intellegence. I failure from day one(ask the Lions Club). Check out all those early signees and you will see that with the exception of those who Cal kept(Miller and Hood would have come if I was the coach) most are mid major talent. Not to mention if he had stayed PP would have been gone.
The IRONY of it all is that the worst two coaches in UK history IMO ushered in what could be two of the best eras for UK since the 50′s. They will now and forever be refered to as “THE UNMENTIONABLES”.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! GO BLUE OR STAY HOME! ! !