Big Blue Links for Wednesday:
Mike Fields of the Herald-Leader on West Jessamine’s Jarrod Polson picking UK:
Polson, a 6-foot-3 point guard who averaged 18 points and six rebounds this season, announced his decision Tuesday in his high school library in front of teammates, students, teachers and fans. They gave him a rousing ovation when he slipped on a blue UK cap.
H-L staff report says Eric Bledsoe remains eligible, and has not signed with an agent:
Saying the update came from Bledsoe, UK announced that the player would work out for NBA teams and then make a decision about turning pro by the deadline. Bledsoe is eligible to return to Kentucky if he does not hire an agent and withdraws from the draft by May 8.
Phil Kornblut of Palmetto Sports says Marcus Thornton will visit Kentucky:
6-7 Marcus Thornton will make his first official visit since reopening his recruiting this Thursday when he visits Alabama according to his coach. Thornton once was a Clemson signee but he got his release after Oliver Purnell left. He also has scheduled an official visit to Texas for next weekend. His coach said he will also take officials to Kentucky and Michigan.
Gary Bedore of the Lawrence Journal-World on Terrence Jones’ visit to Kansas:
Blue-chip basketball prospect Terrence Jones, who completed his official 48-hour recruiting trip to Kansas University on Tuesday afternoon, returned to his hometown of Portland, Ore., with positive feelings about KU. “The support the players receive at Kansas is something that stands out,” Jones, the No. 13-rated player in the recruiting Class of 2010, told Rivals.com. “Everybody knows who those guys are, and there is a lot of support. Kansas is one of my options, and they are even with the other schools.”
Kentucky Sports Network has Polson video:
Eamonn Brennan of espn.com on the 2010 class holdouts:
After the commitments of Brandon Knight to Kentucky and Josh Selby to Kansas, the 2010 class was nearly settled. There are but three impact players whose decisions still lingered: Cory Joseph, C.J. Leslie, and Doron Lamb. As it stands, two out of three ain’t bad. Joseph made his final recruiting decision this weekend, choosing Texas. Lamb, who announced at the Jordan Brand Classic two weeks ago*, will join Knight and international forward Enes Kanter to John Calipari’s Kentucky program. (Leslie, the highest-ranked player of the three, has yet to make his decision; he is also considering Kentucky as well as Connecticut and NC State.)
Aaron Smith of the Kentucky Kernel writes on music and UK baseball:
They are the walk-up songs, accompanying each batter as he strolls toward the batter’s box and each pitcher as he jogs toward the mound to fight for any one of the aforementioned results. Each individual player gets to pick his own song. From Drake to Randy Houser, bumping bass to twangy tunes, the song represents the player each time he plays, like his uniform number. It is a part of a player’s identity and in baseball, the most individual of team sports, that counts for something.
Eric Lindsey of Cat Scratches on Mitch Barnhart looking ahead to next year:
“At Kentucky, we came here eight years ago and said we were going to be a top-25 program,” Barnhart said. “We moved that up a little bit. We said we want to be a top-15 program. We have very good intentions to do that, but it means nothing unless our actions are very intentional in the way we do it in the way we take care of business. We can say we want to be that. At the end of the winter sports, our athletic department was ranked 13th in the country because of the efforts of (our student-athletes and coaches).”
Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal also reports on Polson’s pick:
But Liberty complicated matters. The 6-foot-3 Polson liked the Lynchburg, Va., campus and the coaches, and he knew there might be an opportunity to play there. That opportunity figures to be limited at UK, where the nation’s No.1 high school point guard, Brandon Knight, will be his classmate.
Casey Castle of the Jessamine Journal on Polson’s decision to attend UK:
The 6-foot, 3-inch point guard who led the Colts to two Sweet Sixteen appearances announced his intentions to attend the University of Kentucky next season. Polson will be given “preferred walk-on” status with the team. West’s all-time leading scorer with 1,884 points, Polson said the chance to wear a Kentucky uniform was too good to pass up. “I’ve been a UK fan all of my life,” he said. “As a little kid, I’d put on UK jerseys and stuff.”
Jerry Tipton of H-L reports that ex-UK player Donald Williams has committed to Ole Miss:
Williams averaged 16.6 points per game for a junior college, Antelope Valley, this past season. He shot 56 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range in making the all-Foothill Conference first team.
John, How can you not have any updates on KY basketball recruiting since April 28th? We just lost out on a prized recruit in C.J. Leslie to NC State, a kid that played with John Wall and was a likely and needed fill for KY next season. This afternoon Terrence Jones makes his decision. I understand that the Derby is this weekend, but man learn to do two things at once!
Thanks, Jay.
JONH CLAY is BS, and should not be allowed on UNIVERSITY of KENTUCKY Property! pack your bags JC and head back to UL.