Ky Cat Stats

We are still a long ways away from this being final, but just figured I would throw out the question and give my prediction.  Let me know what you think after reading what I have below.

Here is my take on the whole situation.

Andrew Wiggins:

Has lot’s of questions about recruitment, himself, his game, does he want all the attention, what does his parents want, what’s best for him, what fits him best, etc…  I am sure that he is driving himself crazy asking himself all the questions that comes to his mind.  Certainly, he has a lot of aspects that he has to see this from.  It’s a big decision that impacts a lot of people.

In the end I think he will land at FSU, just because it could be the school that feels most suitable and comfortable for him for a one year basis. I still say things can change and he can end up at Kentucky, especially after he visits officially.  More info on him below.

Aaron Gordon:

As Wiggins does, Gordon has lots of questions to ask himself.  Most analysts think his questions are about minutes at UK.  I feel that is not the question he is asking.  He will play regardless of who is on the team or who commits.  The only way he get’s less minutes next year would be if Alex Poythress comes back.  Gordon has been told he will get lots of minutes regardless of who commits.  The real question here is how far is he willing to go from home to play basketball?

He is a great player and is a winner.  I would love to have him at UK, but I think in the end he is going to stay out West and go to Arizona.  If he feels confident about Wiggins going elsewhere, he could change his mind and make that decision to attend school at Kentucky.  Things can always change, but for now I would say he is expected to chose Arizona.

Julius Randle:

Listen here, he loves UK.  His mom loves UK as well.  Everything fits right for him at UK. I still do not believe he dislikes a commit on the Kentucky team, as has been the speculation seemingly since the Harrison twins committed last year.  He loves Andrew Harrison, but may not like Aaron Harrison, trust me if he likes UK and Coach Calipari enough, it wont matter.  Coach Cal will get the both of them on a three way phone call and hash things out.  That is not the problem in my eyes.

I believe Randle sees himself at Kentucky.  I think he wants to go there.  I feel if he knows AW is going elsewhere and Alex Poythress is going to NBA, then it’s a done deal for Randle to UK.  I think those are the only two things holding him back right now.  If things happen like my predictions as of right now, then he will end up at Kentucky.

(As for competition for Randle, I wouldn’t buy the Texas/Florida smokescreen.  Watch Kansas.  Bill Self has a long history of putting Power Forwards in the NBA.  Just a hunch.)

Final Thoughts:

I do want to say that I know things can change.  Wiggins can decide to embrace the hype that is coming his way, and realize maybe it’s better to share that hype with other top talent at UK.  In my eyes, it is very likely that AW does decide to get over the attention issue and realize going to UK will best suit him.  It is only for 1 year.  He may end having to make that so called, “business decision” to go to UK that everyone talks about.  It’s worth noting, and Brad has written about before, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for him to drop below the #1 pick if the players immediately behind him progress.  Remember, Harrison Barnes was projected to be the #1 pick no matter when he came out when he went to college.  (Also, you have to wonder how Florida State feels about Leonard Hamilton on the heels of a season that may not even see him land in ANY post-season tournament.  At some point you have to ask yourself, if this man can recruit this well,why aren’t our teams ever any good?)

Anyway you slice it, I feel like we still get one of these guys.  I know Coach Cal would love have to like all three, but he will have to settle for one of the three.  With the current class we have and a few possible returnees, we could have one of the best years ever in college basketball history.

Great things are on the horizon at UK.