All These Young Players

[Will Lavender]

This is an obvious post, but you still see some people questioning Gillispie so maybe it's not so obvious.

The reason Gillispie is after these young kids is because he's having a hard time with the older players.

The reason?

UK's recruiting has been so sluggish as of late. Very hard to get in on players, form relationships with them and their families and their coaches, get them on campus, and get a commitment out of them in the time he's had at UK.

You can forge relationships with young players. Which is exactly what Gillispie is doing.

It's a new day in Lexington. As someone else said, we got the right guy.

[DTBrand]

I just posted that we got the right coach on another thread!!! I like what he is doing obviously, 13 recruits in his first year. Pretty amazing. He is a working machine and he is developing relationships with not only the younger recruits, also AAU teams. 3 commitments from Indiana Elite team in one week. I don't think he knew this many young players were going to commit so early.

I think it shows you that some kids still think about tradition and being apart of something special like UK basketball.

[Dawood Khan]

I think the guy knows what he's doing. It's a different world now. Coach K and Williams and Self have been recruiting like this for the past few years. I remember reading the recruiting lists a few years back. Kentucky would be listed as having interest in the Junior lists. Duke, UNC, Kansas, UCLA would already have all of the top recruits or at least the majority of them locked up.

This is how they did it.

I think it's funny that people complained about not being able to keep up with K and Will and Self, etc. Now some are starting to complain that G is going too fast or too soon after kids. Even when the kids go after him.

lol

Recruiting is a funny world.

[DCWildcat]

None of those coaches took commitments this early, though. There's not a player on Self, Howland, coach K, or Williams' roster who committed prior to the summer before their junior year.

Not saying what Gillispie is doing is a bad thing. Just pointing out that this strategy isn't following a precedent, it's beginning a new one.

[Will Lavender]

Originally Posted by DCWildcat

None of those coaches took commitments this early, though. There's not a player on Self, Howland, coach K, or Williams' roster who committed prior to the summer before their junior year.

Not saying what Gillispie is doing is a bad thing. Just pointing out that this strategy isn't following a precedent, it's beginning a new one.

Those coaches were not strapped the way Gillispie has been.

And really, each of the coaches you mention have received very early commitments. Singler was mentioned in the LHL the other day. UNC has taken 9th grade commits. Howland got in on Love when he was very young. Self just took a commitment from 10th-grader Royce Woolridge.

It's happening everywhere -- and finally, it's happening at UK.

[Dawood Khan]

There ya have it.

I know that I've read of K getting in early on kids. Williams as well.

Where do you think Gillispie learned it, if not from Self?

I think the Avery thing is a fluke. I don't think that will happen all that often. But like I said before, Pitino did it with Blevins and Smith did it with Adam Williams. So it's not exactly unprecedented at UK. Hopefully, Avery continues to grow as those two didn't get much better.

Also, these camps that most of the Major University programs conduct. What are they, if not recruiting tools. You get kids from 9-15 or so at these camps. If they show talent and promise, then I'm sure these coaches keep an eye on them. The recruiting really starts there and has for years. It's just not been as well publicized.

OJ Mayo was being hyped since he was in the 7th Grade. As was Lebron, Kobe, Garnett, McGrady and others. With the AAU and the concentration, experience level/factors increasing each year, Kids are going to get better younger.

I don't think it can go much younger though. Not many 8th graders out there who are that coordinated or physically mature.

[bigblue23]

Originally Posted by Will Lavender

This is an obvious post, but you still see some people questioning Gillispie so maybe it's not so obvious.

The reason Gillispie is after these young kids is because he's having a hard time with the older players.

The reason?

UK's recruiting has been so sluggish as of late. Very hard to get in on players, form relationships with them and their families and their coaches, get them on campus, and get a commitment out of them in the time he's had at UK.

You can forge relationships with young players. Which is exactly what Gillispie is doing.

It's a new day in Lexington. As someone else said, we got the right guy.

I like coach, but if he can't land any high caliber recruits other than Patterson before 2000 and freakin 10 than he won't even be here to coach those players. Nobody is willing to wait that long and we shouldn't be expected to. That being said, I hope he gets them in here cuz I'm glad we got Billy G.

[UKBOO]

Originally Posted by Will Lavender

This is an obvious post, but you still see some people questioning Gillispie so maybe it's not so obvious.

The reason Gillispie is after these young kids is because he's having a hard time with the older players.

The reason?

UK's recruiting has been so sluggish as of late. Very hard to get in on players, form relationships with them and their families and their coaches, get them on campus, and get a commitment out of them in the time he's had at UK.

You can forge relationships with young players. Which is exactly what Gillispie is doing.

It's a new day in Lexington. As someone else said, we got the right guy.

It obviously isn't obvious to some UK fans...

[UKcat]

These people that are complaining about his recruiting just boggle the mind!!!! Come on folks...........we complained because we were getting no recruits in the previous coaching era.........now we are lining them up to be Wildcats and some of you are still not satisfied!!!!
Yes.....some of them are young, but that's o.k. with me. I will not complain because our coach is busting his butt to fill our rosters with the best players possible.
That is a big part of the reason why we have a new coach.......isn't it?????

[Will Lavender]

Originally Posted by bigblue23

I like coach, but if he can't land any high caliber recruits other than Patterson before 2000 and freakin 10 than he won't even be here to coach those players. Nobody is willing to wait that long and we shouldn't be expected to. That being said, I hope he gets them in here cuz I'm glad we got Billy G.

I really don't think Gillispie is going to be in danger of being fired with the group of players we have now. It ain't like these kids are bumbling, talentless fools.

I don't think we are going to be juggernauts or anything next season, but we're not in danger of falling to the level where Gillispie is on the chopping block. Come on now.

[UKBOO]

No kidding.. Bosses always look at potential. Even if UK doesn't do as well next year as some think, the move is in the right direction and that is what counts. Potential..

Coach Smith may still be here if he had signed 2 Pat and Lucas in the fall....

[average joe]

Originally Posted by bigblue23

I like coach, but if he can't land any high caliber recruits other than Patterson before 2000 and freakin 10 than he won't even be here to coach those players. Nobody is willing to wait that long and we shouldn't be expected to. That being said, I hope he gets them in here cuz I'm glad we got Billy G.

Are you for real?? You have to be kidding. NO WAY CBC gets fired if he doesn't land the top talent. He can develope players better than most. But this post is pointless I guess because he WILL get top talent.

[Brutus]

We waited that long on coach smiff. He didn't get fired. Coach G is twice or maybe 3 times the recruiter than the previous coach!

[Buckmaster]

I trust BCG and his judgement on recruits. These young commitments could be the best thing for some of these kids pushing them to study harder and practice harder to get ready for college. Might even keep them out of trouble just think positive!

[TrueblueCATfan]

Originally Posted by UKcat

These people that are complaining about his recruiting just boggle the mind!!!! Come on folks...........we complained because we were getting no recruits in the previous coaching era.........now we are lining them up to be Wildcats and some of you are still not satisfied!!!!
Yes.....some of them are young, but that's o.k. with me. I will not complain because our coach is busting his butt to fill our rosters with the best players possible.
That is a big part of the reason why we have a new coach.......isn't it?????

GREAT POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[teamchemistry09]

Pretty soon Billy G will be able to take a year off in recruiting because hell have all of our schollys taken up for the next 5 years

[ShelbyvilleCathead]

Originally Posted by Legionaire

OJ Mayo was being hyped since he was in the 7th Grade. As was Lebron, Kobe, Garnett, McGrady and others. With the AAU and the concentration, experience level/factors increasing each year, Kids are going to get better younger.

Yeah but how much has any of those guys really amounted to.

[DTBrand]

Originally Posted by ShelbyvilleCathead

Yeah but how much has any of those guys really amounted to.

None of them were NBA caliber players. I mean, where are they now?

[Marine_UK_Fan]

Originally Posted by ShelbyvilleCathead

Yeah but how much has any of those guys really amounted to.

I think that Lebron guy served me in the McDonald's drive through the other day.....and some guy named Kobe was the manager there

[poodoo]

FWIW, actually, Tracy McGrady was not one of those guys who had shined in his younger years. If I'm not mistaken, he had not even been in the top one hundred his junior year, or at least lowly ranked. I remember reading an article on him when UK had been looking at him. His stock had risen at an almost unbelievable level. He had basically come from nowhere to going directly to the NBA. Similarly, superstar Michael Jordan had been cut from his high school team his sophomore (or possibly freshman) year. In other words, those stories happen, too. Yes, though, many shine quite early and continue to develop and shine more.