It's official...Lucas to Florida

[crazzedcats22]

per Matt Jones. Lucas just announced it, this is not good

http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/demling/blog.html

[Craig the Blueheart]

It is a sad day for me.

[Swimmer4uk]

posted that too on the thread i started. Hamga to UNLV and Lucas to FL. Lucas has LONG stated that he will go with PP. Looks like we lost out on him too. I wonder if he will commit to FL before then. Whats the point in waiting?

[flacat22]

Ok, Ill be the "glass is half-full" guy...helps with getting Brandon Jennings next year...

[Wildcat Larry]

The dark clouds are gathering ........

http://www.geography4kids.com/misc/photos/stormcloud.jpg

[crazzedcats22]

Ok, Ill be the "glass is half-full" guy...helps with getting Brandon Jennings next year...

he is a long, long shot. We are well behind in his recruitment.

[Craig the Blueheart]

Ok, Ill be the "glass is half-full" guy...helps with getting Brandon Jennings next year...

Just think... He will probably wait until the last day as well.

[BOURBON TOWN CAT FAN]

With Legion on board, Lucas is not a big loss, but the possibility of losing Patterson to FL is huge. :icon_cry:

[BigblueDrew]

UK will be FINE. Let him go to Florida if he wants. I don't think we "needed" him nearly as bad as some think. We NEED a power forward. JMO but after watching his performance as a recruit I'm glad he isn't coming here. UK is the premier program with him and it remains so without him.

[RCS]

As I have said many times, I would like Jai, but don't really care that we lost him, but losing Patterson to UF will really sting if it happens. We need him, especially now that Hamga is apparently going to UNLV. Sanchez just moved up the list of importance.

[artie5800]

With Legion on board, Lucas is not a big loss, but the possibility of losing Patterson to FL is huge. :icon_cry:


I have to agree. I would rather have Legion than Lucas.. But it would be nice to get Patterson now. But honestly I don't see that happening...

I wasn't planning on the Wildcats have a great year next season. I think it will take a couple of years before we are great again..

[crazzedcats22]

UK will be FINE. Let him go to Florida if he wants. I don't think we "needed" him nearly as bad as some think. We NEED a power forward. JMO but after watching his performance as a recruit I'm glad he isn't coming here. UK is the premier program with him and it remains so without him.

We didn't necessarily "need" him but we really needed Florida NOT to get him. If they get PP as well, their winning streak willl reach at least 8 games against UK.

[DCCatFan]

With Legion on board, Lucas is not a big loss, but the possibility of losing Patterson to FL is huge. :icon_cry:

Yep -- that's what sucks. BCG gave it his all -- he'll get us back to where UF is right now -- a team that can swoop in like a hawk and pluck a McD's AA they weren't even recruiting for a long time.

[ShelbyvilleCathead]

It is a sad day for me.
agree craig. hamga then lucas, just waiting to hear we lost PP too. What about Sanchez does anyone know where we stand with him. We need someone at the 4 spot.

[RaleighCat]

Tough break for UK.

But....anytime a program wins back-to-back national titles, keeps their coach, and needs a point guard....Florida is a beast in recruiting and they weren't going to let up after Donovon stayed.

Kentucky will be more than OK in recruiting under BCG. The biggest announcement comes Wednesday with Patterson. I'd have loved to get Lucas, but it's not like we're barren in the pg department. Our major need is under the basket where Patterson roams. That's the decision that will have my complete interest.

[Mark Blueblood]

Call it sour grapes, if you will - but I soured on these guys a long time ago. Jennings would make us forget that Lucas was even around and I don't really think he's that much of a long shot for us.

Patterson has not been called an impact player by anyone I'm aware of, so all is not lost.

I think we got caught up in the fact that yes, Patterson WAS a must recruit for Tubby. Hey - we've got a whole new regime and Gillespie will recruit some studs - I don't think there's any doubt about that.

The day Kentucky basketball's fortune hinges on any single 18 year old kid is the day we should fold up the tent and go home. We're bigger than Jai Lucas and we're bigger than Patrick Patterson. We will survive - quite nicely, thank you very much!

I say - move on.

[UKWildFox]

Look guys and gals...This is nothing new...we all kind of expected this.

Patterson is still out there. We have a very good chance of landing him. Jai Lucas was not the answer to what UK needs. With them not announcing on the same day, it bodes very well that it's down to UK and Duke for Patterson.

I think BCG has done a terrific job doing what he could to make up ground for the last coach that was here. And I for one am not disappointed nor will I place blame on him either.

Remember, we've got great guards...Bradley, Crawford, Meeks, Jasper, Porter and Legion...I'm not going to let this one recruit dictate how this team is going to be next year. We'll get back to the top, there's no doubt in that. Just don't beat up the coach that we have right now. He's going to get some more great talent and don't be surprised if we make some noise next year anyways. UK is here and will always be here and we should be proud as fans and hope for the best.

[crazzedcats22]

Tough break for UK.

But....anytime a program wins back-to-back national titles, keeps their coach, and needs a point guard....Florida is a beast in recruiting and they weren't going to let up after Donovon stayed.

Kentucky will be more than OK in recruiting under BCG. The biggest announcement comes Wednesday with Patterson. I'd have loved to get Lucas, but it's not like we're barren in the pg department. Our major need is under the basket where Patterson roams. That's the decision that will have my complete interest.

you're right on Florida. I just wish he was going anywhere but Florida. The strong get stronger!!!

[CatFaninChattanooga]

I agree...nothing lost. We will be ok, this just intensifies the rivalry with Florida for me.

[Will Lavender]

you're right on Florida. I just wish he was going anywhere but Florida. The strong get stronger!!!

Without Horford, Brewer and Green, UF will take a major hit next season.

Patterson and Lucas are likely very solid role players. We need Patterson, clearly; but neither he nor Jai are going to be a superstars in year one. They're not those kinds of talent.

[Tom Blevins]

I'm disappointed and I'm tired of losing recruits to Florida. I'm not going to try to hide that. Looking at the positives, Florida is the team of today, but Kentucky is the team both of the past AND the future. We'll be okay at the point next year. Jasper will be better as a sophomore than he was as a freshman. And Billy Clyde has indicated that Michael Porter was better than he expected him to be.
Kentucky has two scholarships left and two possible recruits for next year (unless Billy Clyde can pull another rabbit out of his hat.) Both (Patterson and Sanchez) are power forwards, and that is our position of greatest need.

[SlyClyde]

Patterson has not been called an impact player by anyone I'm aware of, so all is not lost.

I think we got caught up in the fact that yes, Patterson WAS a must recruit for Tubby. Hey - we've got a whole new regime and Gillespie will recruit some studs - I don't think there's any doubt about that.

It's hard for someone to be called an impact player when you are on the same team as OJ Mayo. But, if you watch any footage on PP, you can see that the talent is there, and we could definitely use someone like him.

[BigBlueLuke]

I respect the young man's wishes to go where he chooses, but I can't help but feel a little miffed at him for going to Florida. He said that Florida was on his list all along, but if you look at his school list up until about two or three months ago, there was never any mention of Florida. He even went as far as to say that he wouldn't add anymore schools to his list, when it included UK, OK St, Maryland, OU, then shortly after Florida comes into the picture.

I am just glad the situation is over, if it is over. Maybe Donovan goes to the NBA this summer and he open's his recruitment back up. It wouldn't suprise me at all. If he does, I dont want him. Good luck to him and PP if that is where PP goes, but Kentucky shouldn't be anyone's second choice.

[Will Lavender]

It's hard for someone to be called an impact player when you are on the same team as OJ Mayo. But, if you watch any footage on PP, you can see that the talent is there, and we could definitely use someone like him.

We not only could use him. We almost desperately need him.

BUT he is not a one-and-done type kid, from what I've seen. He'll be a hellacious worker, a terrific rebounder and a stout defender. But he's still pretty far away from being a Kevin Durant-/Brandan Wright-type guy. That's not what you're going to get with Patterson.

[Josh]

Honestly, I'm not bothered by this because I have been preparing myself for it for a while now. I pretty much expected it. What I am surprised about is Hamga going to UNLV. I thought we were going to land him.

I do give a lot of credit to Coach for keeping them in the running for this long. The future certainly is bright for Kentucky basketball.

[NC Cat]

I never quite understood why we needed Lucas anyway. We've got two or three point guards on the team for next year (depending on how you classify them) and a glut of other good guards. We will also be playing a 3 or even 4-guard offense next year, which reduces the focus on the point guard because there are so many other capable ball-handlers on the court. Plus, I've always felt there are better point guards than Lucas in next year's class, and Billy Clyde will have a whole year to recruit them. Then, of course, we've got the Villarino commit for 2009.

What we really need this year is a stud power forward or center, and that's why Patterson would be a HUGE get. Lucas would probably not improve next year's team very much, but Patterson would have a major impact almost by default!

I wish Jai well and think he's actually a better fit at UF right now, assuming Billy D doesn't bolt for the NBA. I just hope he doesn't mind getting schooled by UK two or three times next season. :cool:

[Mr. T]

Yeah, the Hamga loss is the tough one to take. Lucas... sure would have liked to have him, but honestly, guard isn't where our problems lie right now.

[Mark Blueblood]

It's hard for someone to be called an impact player when you are on the same team as OJ Mayo. But, if you watch any footage on PP, you can see that the talent is there, and we could definitely use someone like him.

I never said he did not have talent, nor that we could not use him. In fact, I believe we need him, or someone that can play the 4, very badly. But, our program certainly isn't down the dumps if we don't get him.

We will survive - always have - always will.

[WildFan]

We don't need a PG. Tubby was recruiting him because of Patterson. Billy G just continued that.