Chad Gray

[Chunks06]

Chad Gray is rumored to be a big Uk lean and will most likely commit in the next 2-3 days. Just passing it along. As always take it with a grain of salt.

[RCS]

We sorely lacked athletes last year and if we get Grey, along with Stevenson, that should all change. Neither are bangers, but both are long, super ethletic and like to rebound. A lineup of Bradley, Crawford, Grey, Stevenson and Morris would be like a pack of greyhounds playing basketball.

[Chunks06]

RCS wrote: We sorely lacked athletes last year and if we get Grey, along with Stevenson, that should all change. Neither are bangers, but both are long, super ethletic and like to rebound. A lineup of Bradley, Crawford, Grey, Stevenson and Morris would be like a pack of greyhounds playing basketball.
I think they will both be very raw but like you said, at least we will have some athletes if this happens. SOme added depth in case we decide to pick up the pace will help and some guys that can jump will be nice. Gray runs the 40 in 4.5 and has a 40 inch vertical. Now thats an athlete.

[jrodw8]

If he runs a 4.5 forty and dunks they way they say on rivals, i feel sorry for anyone who tries to get between him and the rack on a fast break. We missed those great rim rattlers of Buke's last year and Chad Gray is just the type of guy who can replace that. If i were Bradley or Jasper running the break and I had Crawford, and Gray feeling the lanes, and Stevenson and Morris trailing, I would be salivating at the options i had for monster dunks.

[wildcatcrazy]

This young man may be an alter boy but this is a bad sign IMO.

South Carolina won't admit him to school but we pick him up? What is wrong with this picture?

I'm a Tubby fan--although I'm wavering--but this just doesn't pass the smell test in my opinion.

[jrodw8]

The admittance thing is a joke. For whatever reason the President won't let him in. He has the grades and the SAT score to play and be eligible now, the prep school he went to is one that the NCAA is checking in to, and the president is flipping out. More than likely the school will be fine, and we already have had two signees from there in Bradley and Williams, so if they get in trouble or whatever we are already linked to them.

[Caveman Catfan]

I was in S.C. last week and one writer crucified Odom over this and his record of not graduating players. Seems the coach is on the hot seat in some circles.

[AugustaDan]

jrodw8 wrote: The admittance thing is a joke. For whatever reason the President won't let him in. He has the grades and the SAT score to play and be eligible now, the prep school he went to is one that the NCAA is checking in to, and the president is flipping out. More than likely the school will be fine, and we already have had two signees from there in Bradley and Williams, so if they get in trouble or whatever we are already linked to them.I think the prep school is not IMG. He went to another one after he left IMG and I think that school was cleared by the NCAA.

[bleedbluelady]

Caveman Catfan wrote: Seems the coach is on the hot seat in some circles.
If I was Odom, that is the message I would get. Especially after reading that Steve Superior got a football player admitted a few years ago from the same school in question. But hey, maybe I'm just paranoid. :shrug:

[matt57]

per cutler, grey isn't coming anyway. i'd be willing to bet he didn't pass the transcript test.

[jrodw8]

dxwils3 wrote: jrodw8 wrote: The admittance thing is a joke. For whatever reason the President won't let him in. He has the grades and the SAT score to play and be eligible now, the prep school he went to is one that the NCAA is checking in to, and the president is flipping out. More than likely the school will be fine, and we already have had two signees from there in Bradley and Williams, so if they get in trouble or whatever we are already linked to them.I think the prep school is not IMG. He went to another one after he left IMG and I think that school was cleared by the NCAA.


maybe be true, rivals still ahs him listed as bradenton IMG, but some places have said Florida prep so I'm not sure if they are different or what.

[Wildcat Larry]

jrodw8 wrote: The admittance thing is a joke. For whatever reason the President won't let him in. He has the grades and the SAT score to play and be eligible now, the prep school he went to is one that the NCAA is checking in to, and the president is flipping out. More than likely the school will be fine, and we already have had two signees from there in Bradley and Williams, so if they get in trouble or whatever we are already linked to them.

The school has been cleared just like Oak Hill Academy as I understand it. USC President Sorenson is the same guy that Alabama essentially ran off after he tried to push what some called unreasonable academic standards on the athletes. I think he also got mixed up in recruiting a time or two at Bama essentially telling a coach that a certain recruit wasn't academically acceptable to the school.

I thought the guy got a bad rap from the Alabama fans, but maybe they were on to something. :shrug:

[jaken]

matt57 wrote: per cutler, grey isn't coming anyway. i'd be willing to bet he didn't pass the transcript test.
However, 590 AM in Lexington reported today that Gray WAS coming in for a visit. So, at this point, I don't think anybody really knows what's happening except Gray and Tubby. There's been all sorts of speculation about test scores, etc., but nobody (at least none of us peons) will know anything until somebody officially says something, one way or the other.

[wildcatcrazy]

Let me get this straight, we are now taking three star re-jects from the University of South Carolina who may not qualify academnically and are from a high school program that has been discredited by the NCAA?

What am I missing here? Why would we want this guy? He may be an alter boy for all I know but it sure doesn't pass the smell test for me.

Fact is, we would ROAST U of L if they let in a player that we declined at UK academically. Double standard---yes.

[RCS]

No we wouldn't. It is an arbitrary decision. We did the same thing with Jason Parker. If this was a case of him getting kicked off due to an arrest or something I would agree, but he qualified and is cleared to play. He is just getting screwed by USC. Noah was a 3 star who was real athletic, I am sure UF hates that they have him. So was Balkman, so was Ty Thomas. I sure would not want any of those guys on my team.

[matt57]

wildcatcrazy wrote: Let me get this straight, we are now taking three star re-jects from the University of South Carolina who may not qualify academnically and are from a high school program that has been discredited by the NCAA?

What am I missing here? Why would we want this guy? He may be an alter boy for all I know but it sure doesn't pass the smell test for me.

Fact is, we would ROAST U of L if they let in a player that we declined at UK academically. Double standard---yes.

HE HAS QUALIFIED FOR NCAA DIVISION 1. i can't put it any clearer than that. the issue the USC president had was that the prep school gray attended was on the NCAA's list of school's to investigate. the school was later cleared and the president was still hesitant to let gray enroll. we would want him because he is 6'8" super athletic and can play multiple positions. your turn to tell me why we wouldn't want him? we have a scholarship available. what do we have to lose if he does come?

[jaken]

We'll find out more today, but I think it's a matter of "standards". The NCAA cleared him for D1, but every school has it's own "level" of academic elegibility. Some are higher than others. If he was marginal, academically (everything says he was), UK did the right thing. The NCAA sets "mininums", but the individual schools can set their own "minimum" anywhere above that level. Similar to the situation that the SEC doesn't accept partial qualifiers while someother Conferences do. The lesson here and the lesson that the NCAA wants to make, is that JUST being an athlete won't get you into the College of your choice - you're going to have to hit the books to have the options you want. Gray barely had a D+ grade average (AFTER Prep School) - not a very good prospect when you consider the NCAA rules on graduation rates, etc. Let somebody else risk their "graduation rate" recruiting. We certainly don't need that. Those schools that accept these type (academically) of players don't risk the same thing as UK does in recruiting. We haven't been tearing it up in recruiting lately (actually just in the PF category), but we certainly don't need any NCAA restrictions or penalties on available schollys. UKAA did the right thing. Gray was a good recruit "athletic" wise, a horrible recruit "academically". These kids have to learn, early on, that their athletic abilities aren't the only thing that's going to get them ahead in life. Times have changed, rules have changed, requirements have changed - they have to get their sh*t together and hit the books and not think that their "atheticism" will get them through. Used to be that way, notany more.

[sardiscat]

The issue appears to have been the quantum jump in his academic performance at one of the prep schools. He went from not being able to do high school level work to being Albert Einstein in the span of one semester.

[wildcatcrazy]

Matt,

We can just agree to disagree.

I believe it is a continuing pattern of recruting with this staff over the past several years.

We seem to consistently be cleaning up someone else's mess or fighting to get marginal players---and there is nothing to indicate that this guy is not a marginal player--and he is more than likely a marginal student.

Said another way--taking the academics out entirely, should we be competing with SOUTH CAROLINA for a three start recruit and, if so, what shot over time does that type of recruiting give us against NC, Duke, Florida and UConn. The answer--any way you cut it--is not pretty.

UK football has always struggled in my lifetime but the height of that struggle in my opinion was when Eastern was very good back in the 80's and we were losing some in-state recruits to them---and then trying to compete against Georgia, Tennessee and Florida on the football field.

Didn't turn out well then and it is not turning out well now in basketball. Gray is not even close to the answer--I would run from this one but, again, that is just my opinion.