Kentucky fans: Start packing your bags

It was just a little bit uncomfortable for him, but the Kentucky basketball fan on the other end of the line admitted to googling to see where the NCAA Final Four was going to be played next year. After years in hoop exile, fans of the Big Blue are excitedly following the twitters of John Calipari as his rebuilding pace of Wildcat basketball is making Nick Saban’s jump start of Crimson Tide football look slow by comparison. Calipari came in saying the program would need two years to regain the form “Rupp Retro’s” have been longing for. He was wrong. It has taken less than two months to move from middle of the pack SEC team to a 2000’s version of the Michigan Fab Five.

What the Wildcat staff has done in recruiting since their arrival in Lexington is nothing short of incredible. The freshman class is all in the top forty of Rivals top 150 list. Well, all but one. There is a junior college transfer that was not eligible for the rankings. Oh, and the 40th ranked player is quite a bit behind the rest of the incoming freshman, who are all in the top 30. As a class they bring in an eye popping per game average of 123 points. Here is a look at the nation’s top class:

John Wall is a genuine point guard who can go either direction with the ball, but his best gift is dishing the ball to his running mates. Wall is the top ranked player in the nation and brings a 21 point per game average to the floor.

The second rated player in the nation is DeMarcus Cousins. He is a real presence inside, but is able to step out and make shots from the perimeter. His 23 point per game average is complimented with 14 rebounds and 6 blocks in each contest.

In junior college Darnell Dodson average 16 points per game. He also brings three years of time in a Kentucky uniform with him.

Jon Hood is a 6’7” guard that drops in 29 points in a game. He needs to become a better defensive player, but is heady on the court. He was Mr. Basketball in Kentucky.

Last on the list is a holdover commitment from the Gillespie era. Eric Bledsoe has great instincts to go with his 20 points per game. He also knows how to share the ball with others. The proof is his 11.5 assists per game.

Couple this recruiting class with leadership from Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks (remember him) and you have the nucleus of what will be a basketball team that should make fans of Kentucky basketball not only start wondering where the Final Four is next year, but also start packing their bags. Your destination is Indianapolis by the way.

Gary Brown
gary@secmatchups.com