so when does matt jones new blog come out?

[patpat4three]

was just wondering if he had any scoop on jai lucas and whether or not hes gonna commit.. wherever that may be

[Chunks06]

patpat4three wrote: was just wondering if he had any scoop on jai lucas and whether or not hes gonna commit.. wherever that may be
His newest post says he is likely to wait until spring

[patpat4three]

alrighty thanks

[atlandy]

It's out on another board with Jai as an interview saying he will wait till spring.

[trublue4life]

Just read Matt's interview with Jai in which Jai does confirm that he will until spring to sign. He also said he still loves Kentucky and that UK will be right at the top where they are now unless we are no longer interested.

Now, before the "whiff" comments begin the fact is Jai and PP are making a huge decision about where to play college ball. There are big time schools after them, all with alot to offer, and it's no surprise that it may take them a while to decide. They are both 18 year old kids making what really is the most significant decision of their young lives to this point and they can not be faulted for wanting to be sure. Of course, we don't understand that because we have beld blue all of our lives and it would only have taken any of us about half a second to decide to sign with the Cats. But they have not bled blue all their lives, so it's different. I'm going to stay positive and believe after they witness what is going to be a great season for the Cats that both will sign next spring.

[Spanish Moss]

I think both Jai and Patterson love the attention they are getting. I doubt Jai is going to tell Matt Jones he "doesn't like Kentucky". I think he is going to tell him what he thinks he wants to hear. ( Kentucky will still be a the top of my list in the Spring )

For some reason neither Lucas or Patterson are sold on UK. Lucas really can't afford to wait until Spring if he really wants to go to UK. He is a 5' 9" point guard and he will be missed about as much as a glass of water from the Gulf of Mexico. He is probably a nice little player but no one can convince me he is the key to any championships. Not when we already have a man like Jasper on the squad and Jai would probably be recruited over with out much effort. Little guards are a dime a dozen.

Lucas was probably a package deal in Tubby Smith's mind and now that Lucas realizes Patterson is not ready to join him in Lexington, he put things on hold.

Fair enough and so it goes.

[trublue4life]

Spanish Moss wrote: I think both Jai and Patterson love the attention they are getting. I doubt Jai is going to tell Matt Jones he "doesn't like Kentucky". I think he is going to tell him what he thinks he wants to hear. ( Kentucky will still be a the top of my list in the Spring )

For some reason neither Lucas or Patterson are sold on UK. Lucas really can't afford to wait until Spring if he really wants to go to UK. He is a 5' 9" point guard and he will be missed about as much as a glass of water from the Gulf of Mexico. He is probably a nice little player but no one can convince me he is the key to any championships. Not when we already have a man like Jasper on the squad and Jai would probably be recruited over with out much effort. Little guards are a dime a dozen.

Lucas was probably a package deal in Tubby Smith's mind and now that Lucas realizes Patterson is not ready to join him in Lexington, he put things on hold.

Fair enough and so it goes.

You seem to have a tremendous amount of insight into a) Jai's thinking as he talks to Matt, b) Jai's abilities and c) even what Tubby is thinking. Don't you think it might be wise to wait until you have actually seen the kid play before deciding how valuable he may or may not be? Just a thought. And since both Tubby and Matt have actually seen him play and evaluated his talents I will defer to their opinions.

[KapitalCat]

patpat4three wrote: was just wondering if he had any scoop on jai lucas and whether or not hes gonna commit.. wherever that may be
Looks like he'll be a spring commitment. for someone.

[Spanish Moss]

trublue4life wrote:

You seem to have a tremendous amount of insight into a) Jai's thinking as he talks to Matt, b) Jai's abilities and c) even what Tubby is thinking. Don't you think it might be wise to wait until you have actually seen the kid play before deciding how valuable he may or may not be? Just a thought. And since both Tubby and Matt have actually seen him play and evaluated his talents I will defer to their opinions.

No, I don't have any insight into the world of high school basketball recruiting. I don't pay money for the news letters or check every day to see who is hot and who is not. I am just a fellow poster who has an opinion on a message board. Don't ever take anything I say as "insight". I have zero of that.

But I know from watching basketball for 50 plus years that small guards are a dime a dozen. If Lucas comes to UK great, if he doesn't great. We will not miss him. Now if he can bring a friend with him who can play basketball such as a Patterson, then sign him up.

But I would not waste the time of day trying to beg a 5' 9" guard to come to our school. I would tell him, we would like to have you and you are welcome but don't string us along until next Spring because we will recruit right over top of you. That is what a Duke or UNC would do. Do you think they would allow an under sized guard to play a waiting game months? Heck, UL of wouldn't even allow that. It is not like we started recruiting this player last week.

I would welcome Jai Lucas to our program and cheer for him to be a great player but he is not the type of player I would hold my breath waiting for.

[trublue4life]

Spanish Moss wrote: trublue4life wrote:

You seem to have a tremendous amount of insight into a) Jai's thinking as he talks to Matt, b) Jai's abilities and c) even what Tubby is thinking. Don't you think it might be wise to wait until you have actually seen the kid play before deciding how valuable he may or may not be? Just a thought. And since both Tubby and Matt have actually seen him play and evaluated his talents I will defer to their opinions.

No, I don't have any insight into the world of high school basketball recruiting. I don't pay money for the news letters or check every day to see who is hot and who is not. I am just a fellow poster who has an opinion on a message board. Don't ever take anything I say as "insight". I have zero of that.

But I know from watching basketball for 50 plus years that small guards are a dime a dozen. If Lucas comes to UK great, if he doesn't great. We will not miss him. Now if he can bring a friend with him who can play basketball such as a Patterson, then sign him up.

But I would not waste the time of day trying to beg a 5' 9" guard to come to our school. I would tell him, we would like to have you and you are welcome but don't string us along until next Spring because we will recruit right over top of you. That is what a Duke or UNC would do. Do you think they would allow an under sized guard to play a waiting game months? Heck, UL of wouldn't even allow that. It is not like we started recruiting this player last week.

I would welcome Jai Lucas to our program and cheer for him to be a great player but he is not the type of player I would hold my breath waiting for.

Fair enough. And like you said everybody is entitled to an opinion. But I can call to mind a few 5'9" (or so) guards that merit waiting for - Nate Archibald, Calvin Murphy, heck, even Travis Ford, IMO, was worth waiting for (not many shooters come along as good as Travis very often). Lucas may fall into the dime a dozen category or maybe he's something really special as one of the recruiting gurus has said (I can't recall which one. Matt has mentioned him). I just feel like I should wait until I see him before drawingtheconclusion that he's not worth waiting for until spring., but that's just me.

[RaleighCat]

FWIW, I see Spanish Moss' point- Lucas is a small pg and we have bigger guards in the fold.

But....I like that Lucas is the son of one of the best, most competitive college guards in history (John Lucas) and his brother is in the NBA (through sheer will and just enough talent). Lucas comes from college basketball royalty and is probably the kind of competitive, winner, coach-on-the-floor that any team could use.

[sojourner]

You can add Brevin Knight to that list. But I do agree with Spanish Moss. We do have our share of guards and even point guards. That is not a need for us.

5'9" guards need to practically walk on water to overcome the defensive liability they present on the other side.

[ukbob]

sojourner wrote: You can add Brevin Knight to that list. But I do agree with Spanish Moss. We do have our share of guards and even point guards. That is not a need for us.

5'9" guards need to practically walk on water to overcome the defensive liability they present on the other side.


After watching Bradley tonight, I am not so sure he is not needed.

I would take him and his Dadright now.

[DCWildcat]

sojourner wrote:
5'9" guards need to practically walk on water to overcome the defensive liability they present on the other side.

But oh, can the good ones help with offensive flow...

Anyone here familiar with 5'8" Drew Lavender? I'd pay lots of good money for Bradley to be able to do now what Lavender did as a freshman at OU.

[sojourner]

ukbob wrote: sojourner wrote: You can add Brevin Knight to that list. But I do agree with Spanish Moss. We do have our share of guards and even point guards. That is not a need for us.

5'9" guards need to practically walk on water to overcome the defensive liability they present on the other side.


After watching Bradley tonight, I am not so sure he is not needed.

I would take him and his Dadright now.

We signed two point guards this year. Let's see how they do.

[poodoo]

Originally, I had wondered just a bit about Lucas' height, especially since we have Jasper.However, after having read Drummond's and Meyer's comments about Lucas, I'm no longer concerned at all about hisheight.

I BADLY want Lucas to commit to UK and hope that it happens this spring. (By the way, those comments can be found on another Lucas thread here.)Jai Lucassounds like a point guard any team would love to have, one that is both very talentedAND can makeother players better, one that could lead a team to achampionship(and I'm meaning nothing negative about our current point guards with those comments, and remember that Jasper can even play at forward, while Bradley will be a senior next season). Just my opinion.