Who's your point guard?...Kentucky

G.J. Vilarino

- 6'1" guard out of McKinney, Texas

- Committed to Kentucky

- Play on AAU Team Texas

- Currently unranked by Rivals at his position, 31st ranked point guard by Scout.

-Has a 42" vertical but you don't see him take off for a dunk during a game very often. He is definitely a pass-first point guard that is always looking to get his teammates involved. At this point has a questionable jumper, but his quickness and defensive toughness make him a worthy candidate to be the point guard of the future for Gillispie's Kentucky Wildcats. 

Early Look: 2009 NBA Draft part 2

1. Blake Griffin

2. Demar DeRozan

3. Hasheem Thabeet

4. James Harden

5. BJ Mullens

6. Earl Clark - has great length for a SF and has could really have an NBA body once he puts on more weight; extremely athletic and very high potential; could move into the top 5 if he shows a consistent outside game

7. Damion James - great rebounder for his position; ranking depends on how he responds to Texas' new lead guard AJ Abrams taking the reigns from DJ Augustin

8. Chase Budinger (pictured) - probably the most athletic player in the Pac-10 and also has terrific size for a SG; aggressive on offense but still plays in control; could have gone higher he had a year with Brandon Jennings

9. Brandon Jennings - made the smart move to go to Europe for the stiffer competition and money, especially if you compare it to sitting out a year, he would have contended with Darren Collison for First Team All Pac-10 if he had played in the NCAA's

10. Patrick Patterson - makes up for his 6-8 height with a 7-1 wingspan, has yet to show the ability to handle the ball or shoot from beyond 17 feet, has a tremendous motor and great hands, could go higher if he proves himself to be a legitimate threat around the perimeter

Who's your point guard?... Villanova

  Maalik Wayns

- 6'1" guard out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

-Committed to Villanova

- Plays on Philadelphia-based AAU team Team Philly. 

- Currently ranked 19th in his class by Rivals, 25th by Scout, and #12 by ESPN.

- Very effective at getting in the paint and dishing the ball from that point. Often relies to heavily on his left hand, but is a very solid dribbler.  Surprised me with his strength of rebounding from his position.  needs to work on consistency from behind the arc. 

Abdul Gaddy's travel coach: "there’s no validity to the story"

Garry Ward, the travel team coach for Abdul Gaddy, says Gaddy is still considering Memphis despite the recent news that Memphis self-reported a recruiting violation related to the Bellarmine (Wash.) Prep point guard.

“Since there’s no validity to the story, then I would say, ‘Yes, he’s still considering Memphis,’” Ward said by phone from Orlando.

ZagsBlog

John Wall to Baylor

We had posted a few weeks ago that we thought John Wall would end up in the Big 12. We expected Oklahoma State to land the #1 prospect in the 2009 class, instead he will verbal to Baylor University. Expect an announcement as early as next week, although he could decide to hold off on going public. Wall's list included Oklahoma State Kentucky, NC State and Oregon before his commitment. The 6-4 point guard plans to stay in college no longer than two years and he more than likely will be one and done. 

Memphis under investigation?

According to Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports, Memphis is currently under investigation by the NCAA for a possible rules violation involving Abdul Gaddy's mother being called by the CEO of Fed-Ex( where she works). The CEO, David Bronczek, is a booster for Memphis. More later as this story develops...

Morris to announce Friday

Class of 2009 point guard Darius Morris will announce Friday which school he will sign with in the fall. Morris, ranked 13th at his position by Scout, looks like a heavy Michigan lean.

Clip of the Day

Bobby Huggins is frowning

Why? Two of his players, Joe Mazzulla and Cameron Thoroughman, were handcuffed Monday evening at a Rockies-Pirates game in PNC Park. According to CBSsportsline, junior guard Mazzulla and sophomore forward Cameron Thoroughman were arrested for disorderly conduct, underage drinking(both being 20 years old), and resisting arrest. According to police, Mazzulla punched a police sergeant in an attempt to get him off Thoroughman. Now that's loyalty. No word yet on why they were at a Rockies-Pirates game to begin with. 

Who's your point guard? ... Louisville

Peyton Siva

- 6'0" 2009 guard out of Seattle, Washington

- Committed to Louisville 

- Plays on Seattle-based AAU team Rotary Select with elite class of 2010 big man Josh Smith and highly touted 2011 guard Tony Wroten, Jr. 

- Ranked 39th in his class per Scout, 31th by Rivals, and 26th by ESPN.

- Lightning quick and has the ability to lull his defender to sleep and dish the ball in the paint. Very solid 3-point shooter and has incredible ups/athleticism for his size. Not a great defender, but not bad either. Sometimes is so fast that he loses control and turns the ball over.

Cardinals, Illini land 2010 recruits

After a little weekend vacation I come back just in time to see the flurry of summer commitments begin.  Today, Louisville landed their first class of 2010 player in forward Josh Langford(above) of Huntsville, Alabama.  Langford is ranked as the #11 SF in his class and, according to Scout's Dave Telep, is "a solid top 100 player." 

Illinois added to their already strong 2010 class with 6'10" center Meyers Leonard of Robinson, Illinois.  He is rated as a 4-star player per Scout and is the third homegrown recruit Bruce Weber has landed in the class. He also has nabbed two 5-star players in Jereme Richmond and Crandall Head. 

Cezar Guerrero - 2011 prospect

One guard that stood out to me at the Reebok Summer Championships was 5'10" Cezar Guerrero of Bellflower, California. Though I didn't get the chance to speak with him, his play on the court spoke for itself as he dribbled around defenders with lightning speed for his AAU club Belmont Shore. His jumper will need some work, but there is plenty of time for this sophomore-to-be to explode on the national scene as a top guard in 2011. Below is a youtube clip I found of him displaying his moves.

Just got off the phone...

And it is clear that class of 2009 top point guard John Wall is heavily favoring Travis Ford's Oklahoma State team. More on this later...

DeMarcus Cousins reconsidering his verbal

DeMarcus Cousins is talking with other schools and is close to re-opening his recruitment. Cousins verbally committed to UAB in February because of his strong relationship with head coach Mike Davis. Before committing, his short list was Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas State and UAB. The 6-10 center is a concensus top 10 player in the 2009 class.

Quick Bio: Brandon Knight

Brandon Knight

- 6-3  175lb PG, ranked #1 at his position by Scout.com and fifth overall in the 2010 class

- AAU team is Team Breakdown

- List includes Florida, Duke, Kentucky, Miami, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech. Florida is thought to be the leader because of their proximity to Knight's residence.

- Friend and teammate of 2009 SG Kenny Boynton, but don't look for that to play too much of a role in Knight's recruiting process. 

The European Connection?

Now that Josh Childress (pictured) has officially taken himself off the NBA market by taking a massive pay increase to  cross the Atlantic, you have to wonder if this is going to become a common item for American players. Childress is no superstar, he was fifth in scoring for a 37-45 team, yet he will make $20 million AFTER taxes to play in Greece. Compare that to the 5 year/$33 million dollar NBA offer he had and it is understandable why he made the leap. NBA All-Star Jason Kidd has already spoken about the possibility of him ending up overseas down the road by declaring it "a legitimate option now with Childress going over there." Just think about it: if a player like Childress can get $20,000,000 a year after taxes, how much would a superstar receive? Just weeks before this move, Brandon Jennings bypassed the NCAA in order to make over $600,000 playing in Europe. Jennings, considered by some to be the top player in the 2008 high school class, had signed a letter of intent with the Arizona Wildcats but failed to qualify academically. With Europe nabbing two marketable players this summer alone, look for Europe to become more of a player in NBA free agency since the majority of the NBA teams are hampered down by the salary cap. 

The Tuesday Rant

Many people feel that college basketball in today’s world has many problems... One of the hottest discussions is whether high school players should even have to walk on the court in a college uniform, but I think there is another issue that deserves some serious talk. Nowadays student athletes are getting into trouble constantly; most of the teams from the power six conferences have had coaches who have suspended players. Some teams have many players who seem to spend more time suspended that on the court, and fans are always surprised when the players are back in the coachers “dog house," and while the player isn’t on the court, the team loses games. My question is this: Can coaches punish the players without punishing the fans? A suspension is the last punishment a player can receive before getting kicked off the team. Therefore a suspension is for more than just a one time screw up, it’s for an attitude (and life) adjustment and a warning, but how many players actually improve their attitude? Most are in trouble again later, and the ones that aren’t either changed their attitude (and lives), which I don’t think happens as often as some would think, or they didn’t need to change their attitude. This means the coaches are using the suspension too often, without regard for the fans they are also punishing. In short, I believe the suspension is used more than needed, and that some players just need to go.

Clip of the Day

Jim Rome and "Chris" Everett throw down.

Udofia to the Yellow Jackets

As reported earlier, Mfon Udofia was rumored to favor Georgia Tech and those rumors turned out to be facts as the rising guard announced a few minutes ago that he has chosen to play in the ACC under Paul Hewitt.

Mfon Udofia to commit tomorrow

According to my sources, 2009 point guard Mfon Udofia will announce tomorrow at a 5 pm press conference where he will play  his college ball. The 6'2" guard, listed 30th in his class by Rivals, is rumored to have Georgia Tech and Florida at the top of his list. Look for the Yellow Jackets to gain an important piece of what has the potential to be an amazing class for head coach Paul Hewitt. 

Early Look: 2009 NBA Draft

Since I have not scouted any of the foreign players I will just ignore them and go from college players. This will eventually be altered when the teams get their respected picks but here is an early look:

1. Blake Griffin  -  aggressive on both sides of the ball, every possession; out of control at times 

2. Demar DeRozan  -  could significantly contribute in the NBA without college experience; most hyped player out of CA since Paul Pierce

3. Hasheem Thabeet  -  good speed for size; elite defensive ability/instincts; still raw, vast potential 

4. James Harden -  very balanced offensively; superior vision; understands team concept; a bit undersized for his position at 6-4

5. BJ Mullens -  NBA body; numerous low post moves with ability to step out to 17 feet; ability depends on development... that isn't Thad Matta's strong suit

There is the top 5; picks 6-10 should be up later this week.

Quick Bio: Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes

- 6-6 200lb SF, ranked #1 at his position by Scout, #6 overall by both Rivals and Scout

- Plays for All-Iowa Attack

- Iowa State was at one time his leader, now his list includes Iowa State, Duke, UCLA, Iowa, Kansas, Indiana, LSU, Maryland, USC, Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky. Out of those schools, look for Kentucky, Iowa State, Duke, and UCLA to emerge as his final four. 

-When asked about a time table for his recruitment process, Barnes responded, "I'm not even thinking about my recruitment, and it's hard to say when I will think about it. I haven't even sat down to think about a school list. I'm just focused on developing my game."

A Few Goodies

- I have heard from my Kentucky source that DeAndre Liggins has qualified. This comes after a month of uncertainty but he will be eligible along with Kevin Galloway for next season. 

- Christian Watford is down to five schools: Memphis, Louisville, Alabama, Indiana and Kentucky. Look for Louisville to come out as the leader. 

- Lance Stephenson (pictured) is considering taking the Euro route instead of the college ranks. Stephenson has become notorious for his ever changing lists. 

John Wall update

After speaking with several of his teammates, John Wall is nearing a decision and at this moment Oklahoma State has to feel good about the position they are in. Wall, the number one prospect in his class according to Rivals.com, has developed a very close relationship Coach Ford. Memphis has recently pulled out of his services; Kentucky and NC State are still in the conversation, along with Baylor.