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RECRUITING PREVIEWCELEBRATING 39 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

APRIL 29, 2010 THURSDAY

THE ROAD TO UK

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIAMI HERLAD

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIAMI HERLAD

PAGE A2 | Thursday, April 29, 2010

By Metz Camfieldmcamfield@kykernel.com

When describing UK head coach JohnCalipari, basketball fans, analysts and coacheshave said at one point or another; “He just getsit.”

And when it comes to basketball recruitingthat phrase couldn’t be more true, especially atthe place he calls the Mecca of college basket-ball.

Before, Calipari had to recruit prospectivestudent athletes to play at smaller schools likeMassachusetts and Memphis, and he did. Butat a school like UK, the fish in the recruitingpond seem to be even bigger, which is whyhaving a master angler like Calipari has al-lowed the Cats and Big Blue Nation to reapthe rewards.

CBS Sports Senior Writer Gary Parrishpointed out this out in column from mid-Mayof 2009.

“…The rest of the (Southeastern Confer-ence) –— and almost everybody in the coun-try not named North Carolina, UCLA orKansas — is about to spend the foreseeablefuture consistently competing against a superi-or roster,” wrote Parrish.

First Calipari got DeMarcus Cousins, whohad committed to Calipari at Memphis aftercommitting as a junior to the University of Al-abama at Birmingham, to follow him to theBluegrass.

And that was just the beginning.Calipari’s recruiting prowess became a

stimulus package for a program lost in reces-sion, and within just months on the job he hadbrought in a recruiting class rivaling some ofthe best of all-time, highlighted byRivals.com’s No. 1 prospect John Wall.

While the 2010 class got off to a slowerstart, with only one recruit, four-star prospectStacey Poole Jr., committing in the early sign-ing period, it is now regarded as one of the topclasses in the country.

Calipari landed Enes Kanter, a big manfrom Turkey who is currently unranked by Ri-vals.com but is rated as a five-star prospect.Kanter really burst onto the scene after settinga new individual scoring record for the WorldTeam in the Nike Hoop Summit game onApril 10. Kanter broke current Dallas Maver-icks forward Dirk Nowitzki’s record by scor-ing 34 points. He also had 13 rebounds.

Calipari continued with his ability to landtop guards by getting Brandon Knight, whojoined LeBron James and Greg Oden as theonly players to win the Gatorade NationalBoys Basketball Player of the Year awardtwice.

“As the next in line to assume the pointguard mantle, Knight's ability to get it goingfrom behind the 3-point arc is a weapon that

should make him almost impossible to stopwithin the system,” said ESPN recruiting ana-lyst Paul Biancardi in a story from April 14.

Then came Doron Lamb, a 6-foot-4 shoot-ing guard from Oak Hill Academy in Mouthof Wilson, Va., who is rated as a five-starprospect. Oak Hill has produced many top tal-ents, including Carmelo Anthony, BrandonJennings, and former UK guard Rajon Rondo.Lamb, a natural shooting guard unlike eitherWall or Eric Bledsoe, paired alongside Knightshould give the Cats a balanced backcourtnext season.

“Doron is a terrific guard from New Yorkand Oak Hill who will come in and contributeright away,” said Calipari in a statement fromApril 23. “With the Dribble Drive Motion andthe way we play, his ability to score and hismid-range game will flourish. I think he’s go-ing to be a great defender and a great additionfor us at Kentucky.”

Calipari and the Cats are still recruitingtwo forward prospects in Terrence Jones, theNo. 13 prospect in the country, and C.J.Leslie, the No. 14 prospect and a high schoolteammate of Wall’s at Word of God ChristianAcademy.

Jones is expected to commit on April 30,while there still isn’t a set date for Leslie.

Whether the Cats get the two forwards ornot is still unknown, but Calipari has gottenthe Cats back at the heart of the recruitingmap, and many of the roads of the topprospects lead to Lexington.

“Kentucky had virtually nothing, then ithad everything, and now it has virtually noth-ing again,” said CBS Sports national colum-nist Gregg Doyel in a column from April 11.“But Calipari will bring it back, and he'll bringit back quicker than any coach at any schoolcould do it.”

Calipari ‘gets it’ againwith 2010 recruiting class

PHOTO BY ADAM WOLFFBRANDT | STAFFUK head coach John Calipari, pictured celebrating UK’s 2,000 win, has received a reputation for more than winning games, but winning recruiting battles as well.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRENT WOJHANEnes Kanter, a 2010 recruit, recently broke a high

school all-star game scoring record for points.

Four years on this campus has taught memany things. And no, this isn't your end of theyear "cherish your friends, go to class," blah blah

column. I created the heart-beat, and by God I wanted tofinish my senior year with it.But now that I am settlingdown, planning a family andout of the dating game, all Ican offer is a reflection. Sohere it goes: What I learned infour years of college dating.

First and foremost, get outof your circle. I can't tell youhow many people I know whowould only date within theirsocial group from high school.

Why did you even move to college if you won'tbranch out? It's comfortable to date people youand all your friends know, but playing it safewon't always lead to success. You are on a cam-pus of more than 20,000 people, many from dif-ferent cities, states or even countries. Go meetthem and see if sparks fly with someone whodoes not share your high school mascot.

Speaking of 20,000 plus on campus, that's apretty big pond of fish—pretty much an ocean.So when you jump ship from a doomed relation-ship, don't grieve like you are the last single per-son on the planet. Your options are endless. Cry alittle, then wipe those eyes and open them up tothe thousands of people on this campus. Anddon't ever say, "there's just no one out there forme." If you do, chances are you are lazy.

If you are not single, but wishing you were,don't wait too long. Four years goes by quickly(trust me) so wasting one minute in a bad rela-tionship isn't worth it. Don't let an unhealthy rela-tionship linger and suck the fun out of your col-lege years. Get out early and get out fast. Whenyour graduation day comes, do you really want tobe adding up the months you spent unhappy with

someone, or do you want to have too many amaz-ing memories to recount?

Unfortunate enough to be the one friend in agroup not in a serious relationship come gradua-tion time? Don’t mope. You are not the last singlesenior on campus, so don’t sign up for your mem-bership card to the lonely hearts club just yet.Graduating unattached can be a good thing. Youare free to pursue a job anywhere you want, ortravel Europe. Be selfish in your decisions!

That whole “be selfish” thing isn’t a blanketrule, but it can apply even when you are in a rela-tionship, be it freshman or senior year. A commit-ted relationship is a good thing, but don’t let it beyour world. If you want to go to the basketballgame with your friends, but don’t have a ticket foryour significant other, you should probably go. Itwould suck to break up with that person some-where along the way and realize you missed yourchance to watch the next John Wall play in Rupp.

This next bit of advice cannot be bolded, ital-icized or underlined nearly enough. Don’t changefor anyone but yourself. It’s hard enough to findyour identity in college. Social pressure, an envi-ronment of constant discovery—all this con-tributes to making college a difficult place to findout who you really are. So if you are repressingyour personality to appease someone you want todate, I can promise you it will never be worth it.

Happy graduation seniors, and I wish you ahappy three more years, freshmen. I hope youfind what you are looking for, whether it be alove that lasts a lifetime or just the discovery ofthe unique sound of your own heartbeat.

Katie Saltz is a journalism senior. Emailksaltz@kykernel.com.

Drizzy’s home — they were the firstwords out of Drake’s mouth when he tookthe stage in Memorial Coliseum Tuesday,

and by the looks ofthings, he may as wellhave been.

Canadian rapperDrake wasn’t shyabout his recently-formed relationshipwith UK, as he madeit a central pillar of hisshow.

After waitingthrough forgettable,yet still tolerableopening acts, the

lights dimmed and Drake took the stageto a thunderous applause—an applausehe could incite on command by simplysaying either “Kentucky” or “wildcats,”and he wasn’t conservative about doingso.

The highlight of the night came whenDrake welcomed his “family” onstage.The majority of the 2009-10 men’s bas-ketball team joined Drake onstage, wherethey danced behind him while he per-formed. Needless to say the John Walldance had plenty performances by Walland others.

Drake’s performance of his song“Fireworks,” from his debut album“Thank Me Later,” due out June 15,grabbed the crowd’s attention, capped offby his a cappella performance of thesong’s second verse.

His theatrical background was glar-ingly evident. He repeatedly broke fromsongs to offer heartfelt insight that sound-ed like it could have been scripted for anepisode of “Degrassi.”

However, his dramatics didn’t hinderhis talent as a frontman. His charm is un-

deniable, and his Steven Tyler-esque micstand was laced with bras rather thanscarves, a collection that grew over thecourse of the show.

To add to the sensual vibe thatseemed to dominate the middle portion ofthe performance, Drake invited a girl onstage to dance with him. The onstage in-teraction started off innocently enoughwith a prom-style slow dance, but even-tually turned into a nuzzle session, whichwas a bit more intimate than some of thecrowd was ready to see.

Fortunately it didn’t last long, and thefast-paced set moved along at full speedas it had all night. The setlist was wellcrafted, with songs rarely lasting morethan 2 minutes, holding the audience’s at-tention throughout.

The performance had an organic feel,a refreshing attribute in the world of livehip-hop music. Other then the virtual ab-sence of autotune, the six-piece band thatbacked him created visceral vibe and afuller sound.

Drake declared Lexington his secondhome Tuesday, and judging by the crowdin Memorial Coliseum he is welcomeback whenever he’d like.

A heart that keeps beating:four years of college dating

Drake makes himself athome in Lexington

PHOTO BY CAROLINE SNYDER | STAFFDrake performs at Memorial Coliseum onTuesday night

KATIESALTZKernel

columnist

MATTMURRAYKernel

columnist

By Matt Murraymmurray@kykernel.com

When Ribin Estes needed a dress for her senior prom, shedidn’t fight the rush to her local designer dress stores. Insteadshe went to her sister.

Clothing designer Sarah Estes is a 21-year-old merchandis-ing, apparel and textiles sophomore at UK, and she also hap-pens to design her own clothes and organize her own fashionshows.

Estes said she had always been interested in art, but hercreative mind took to clothing design when she and a friend de-signed T-shirts together at age 15.

After high school she attended the International Academy ofDesign and Technology, in Nashville, to pursue her passion fordesign. She would eventually transfer to UK to pursue her ma-jor.

When Estes’ sister came to her asking for a prom dress, shesaid Ribin trusted her creative style.

“My sister wanted me to design her prom dress. She justtold me she wanted a purple dress,” Estes said. “All I had to dowas make sure the fabric was purple.”

Estes helped form the Lexington Collaborative Group,made up of local designers collaborating to organize events andbring together the fashion scene in Lexington. She is the onlystudent in the group.

Estes said the group is an opportunity for people from dif-ferent backgrounds who all love design to work together andhelp one another.

“I started out loving making clothes, but I realized if I’mgoing to be able to sell my clothes and get my name out there,we have to organize events,” Estes said. “It’s really just a pas-sion of helping all these designers. A lot of them are goodfriends of mine, and I want to help them get their stuff out there.I want the community to get excited about what’s going on.”

Estes said the future of the group looks promising, and sheis excited to see what’s around the corner.

“We’ve been a group for a year, but we haven’t been agroup people can donate to. It’s not really an official organiza-tion,” Estes said. “But this week we’re going to be incorporated.We’ve already got everything filled in. We’ve grown a lot inone year, and in another year we’ll be even bigger than this.”

She said her ambition is to one day design custom pieces oncommission. She said it would offer her the most creative free-dom, and it is at the heart of what she loves to do.

Estes’ designs will be on display at Awesome Inc’s Nexing-ton on May 8th, and the Lexington Collaborative Group’s Fu-ture of Fashion 2 on June 5th.

To see Estes work, as well as the work of other local de-signers, visit www.bluegrassfashionhouse.com

Matt MurrayFeatures Editor

Phone: 257-1915 mmurrayt@kykernel.com

PHOTO BY ANDREW KUNG

Finding herstitch

Kernel PopThursday,April 29, 2010Page 3

Photo by - Andrew KungModel - Leslie MooreSet design - John Feather

PAGE A4 | Thursday, April 29, 2010

Recruiting is a phenomenon to me. Sure, it’s a sustainable craze to me. Fans

love it, and it has a place in sports coverage.Entire news operations are geared toward it.

But what I can’t get overis the year-to-year namegame that is played.

Can Brandon Knight bethe next John Wall?

What about Enes Kantercompared to DeMarcusCousins?

Better question: do thesecomparisons ever stop?

I get it. Some years thereis a strong batch of recruits,others not. Supposedly this2010 class as a whole is a lit-

tle bit lower on the scale in comparison to lastyear.

Ask a recruiting analyst to compareKnight with Wall and they’ll probably say it’sunfair. Because it is.

There’s never going to be another JohnWall, just like there’s only one Michael Jordanand one LeBron James.

James isn’t the next Jordan. Knight isn’tthe next Wall.

That’s not intended to be a slap in the faceto Knight or anyone else. Both the recentlydeparted Wall and the incoming Knight werethe top point guards in their perspective class.Both committed to UK. Comparisons do exist

But the funny thing about recruiting is thatyou never really know what you’re getting un-til after the fact. Last year’s class took theCats to the Elite Eight and back into the na-tional discussion for a title. The freshmenbroke record after record.

So obviously, Knight and Co. will be ex-pected to at least make the Elite Eight, right?Depending on the roster and how the scheduleshakes out, maybe they can.

But here’s a key question: If Knight winsa national title in his first year, something Walldidn’t do, is he better than Wall?

Of course not. All that being said, this fan base has

longed for a recruiter ever since Tubby Smithpacked his bags and went north.

That’s why the university hired BillyGillispie as a replacement, to fill the recruitingneed. Gillispie had a reputation as a strong re-cruiter in the Big 10 and Big 12 as an assistantand as a head guy, so you’d think he’d be ableto carry that to UK.

We know how that story went, but youhave to think John Calipari’s reputation as astrong recruiter played into him getting hiscurrent job as well.

Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, amongothers, helped Memphis soar both on thecourt and in recruiting. Calipari’s success inlanding those two has crossed over here atUK.

Rose begat Evans who begat Wall who be-gat Knight. We could do a same line with thebig guys.

Bottom line: recruiting matters in these

parts. Debates will always remain aboutwhether one recruit is better than the personhe’s replacing. The recruiting ranks will mat-ter to those in the Commonwealth of Ken-tucky.

And with Calipari being a recruiter, thetalk will always remain. UK basketball fansdon’t believe in an offseason. With the wayCalipari works in recruiting, they don’t needto.

Doesn’t matter if Enes Kanter ever livesup to the hype of DeMarcus Cousins. Samegoes for the rest of the incoming playersagainst the outgoing players.

After a long absence, the recruits are onceagain calling Lexington a destination city, andthe Big Blue Nation can rejoice with Calipariyear in and year out.

But just in case you want to know, I doubtBrandon Knight overshadows John Wall anytime soon.

Kenny Colston is a journalism senior. E-mail kcolston@kykernel.com.

KENNYCOLSTONKernel

columnist

Recruiting is all about walking in someone’s shoes

When playerslike Patrick Pat-terson, picturedagainst WestVirginia, leave,the biggestdebate isalways whowill fill theirshoes?

PHOTO BYSCOTT HANNIGANSTAFF