UK recruiting news

Well, it appears that Billy Gillespie has missed the boat on Steffphon Pettigrew and DeAndre Jordan.

Apparently Gillespie didn't want to commit to offering Pettigrew a scholarship until after some of the more highly sought after recruits made up their minds whether they were interested in UK. As a result, it looks like Pettigrew has made up his mind to play basketball elsewhere. I understand that Gillespie is nervous offering a scholarship to a 6'5" low post player, but I think it was a mistake to not go after Pettigrew.

DeAndre Jordan has announced that he will be staying at Texas A & M. He made his decision after meeting with new Aggie coach Mark Turgeon last week.

It appears that Gillespie is putting all his eggs in one basket by attempting to sign Patrick Patterson and Jai Lucas. I personally will be surprised if either of these two go to UK, especially after the mass departure to the NBA of all the players from Florida. I would imagine that Billy Donovan is now concentrating heavily on both of these guys. I'll give credit to Gillespie for trying. It is being reported that Gillespie told Patterson that he would be the main offensive threat if he attends UK. Gillespie reportedly also told Patterson that he would average 16-20 shots his freshman year at UK. I don't think those numbers are far fetched because Kentucky doesn't have anybody else on the roster to take the low post shots next year.

Gillespie also seems to be going after prized recruit Alex Legion. Legion had originally signed a letter of intent to play at Michigan, but the school has released him from his commitment. Alex is a Parade All-American who is also being recruited by Kansas, UCLA, and Uconn.

UK may also be interested in Springdale, ARK, forward Mike Sanchez. Sanchez is also considering Texas A & M and Arkansas.

In the state of Kentucky, Billy Gillespie has told Mason County coach Chris O'Hearn that UK is seriously interested in junior Darius Miller. Miller is a 6'7" swing man. Also, Pleasure Ridge Park's Kerry Benson has announced that he has accepted an offer to walk on at Kentucky next year. Benson is a 6'6" forward who averaged 15.5 points and and 8.1 rebounds in his senior season. It is being reported that Kerry turned down scholarship offers from Iona and Morehead State.