The House of Blue

That's my point. Why would Daniels or meyer say what they say (other than to generate hits) when in reality, a decision hasn't been made....

Sometimes there can be a pretty big talent gap ... even between top-10 recruits. I think there's that kind of gap between Shabazz and almost all the other top-10 recruits (except maybe Noel). In 2009, Michael Snaer, Xavier Henry, Keith Gallon and Mouphtaou Yarou were also top-10 recruits along with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. How'd those top-10 recruits turn out in comparison to Wall and Cousins?

IMO, we want Shabazz and it's not really close. He's the kind of player who can take a great team over the top and turn it into an unbeatable team.

Dude Pollard eliminated UK a couple of weeks ago.

I totally get what you are saying and it is correct, but I think UK eliminated themselves...because we're getting Bazz.

Sorta like Quincy Miller "picked" Baylor over UK last year. In the end, Cal wouldn't take Miller.

It's not really about hits anymore. I know both of those guys well, and they're as good as anyone in the business. But there's a thirst for fans to guess where kids are going, and they try to quench that with tidbits they hear from various sources close to the kids or the universities recruiting them.

I think that's a valid question, but you may be over-thinking it. Bazz has leaned UCLA all along, and nothing has changed based on all the info I've received from contacts in LA, Vegas and UK. It may be more a case of these guys just stringing things out as long as possible in recent years. We all knew John Wall was playing for Cal, but he also pushed it as far as possible IIRC. It doesn't make much sense, but it's kind of the trend these days.

I still think Cal can pull a rabbit out of the hat, but there's no doubt that Bazz is a *strong* UCLA lean now.

You have to believe Cal knows something about these guys that we don't. No way in hell we go into next season with the roster I mentioned above. We would be pretty screwed. If Cal thought we wouldn't be getting any of these guys we would be going full force after Tony Parker, Pollard, Jefferson right now. I think that should tell us something.

Like I said previously, I'd love to be wrong in this case. Just don't get your hopes up. UK fans have been going down a road of wishful thinking on this one, thanks to Cal's recruiting prowess.

There are reasons that even people at UK would get the word out that they think he is a UCLA lean. The fact that sources within the program are saying UCLA does not, in and of itself, cause a lot of worry for me.

That could be true. I think Cal has a good idea who is leaving, who is staying, and who is signing.

I do think Pollard "eliminated" UK due to a lack of interest shown by Cal. Id say its similar to the PGs in this class. Cal went and pulled in Harrow mainly because he really didn't like the class of 1's, as he has said in a round about way.

Cal's visits this weekend will be very telling considering all these "sources" reporting decisions are already made imo

Im not underestimating Poythress or Goodwin, not worried about those 2 or Harrow, its the rest of the ream i'm worried about. We would be small and have zero depth. Cauley is not ready to play 25+ minutes a night and WIltjer will probably still be a liability defensively and with rebounding. Shabazz is a VERY important recruit, I think people are underestimating just how important he is. Cal has put all that time into him for a reason.

I just think it's funny that UK wins a national title on Monday, Tuesday is filled with commentaries on how dominant UK is about to be - basically a Cal/UK lovefest - and then today we get Cal to the Knicks, Bazz to UCLA, & Noel to Georgetown. Hmmm...does that strike anyone else as odd?

Nerlens Noel spent the last several days hanging out with UK players & coaches talking about how great it would be to play at UK next year. Larry Vaught & other UK media types said they would be shocked if Noel went anyone other than UK. Telep, Goodman, Parrish, Rothstein, & Zagoria said YESTERDAY they expect UK to land Noel. Now, one day later, suddenly Gtown has emerged? C'mon...

I'm sure people may have jumped the gun a bit with Noel & UK, but today screams of people leaking info to media members to hurt UK in this recruitment, and frankly, the recruitment of Bazz & Bennett. Does anyone think Howland, Thompson, Donovan, Boheim, etc - plus all the handlers involved who aren't pro UK - are just going to sit back and let Kentucky take these guys? Absolutely not. Today was everyone taking their big shot at UK. Recruiting is am ugly game & a lot of that went public today.

If you think we are "pretty screwed" which were your words then yeah, I think your underestimating this class and Cal. I also think Cauley is going to surprise you. He definitely needs work but will be a nice player by March. Cal will add players to this class regardless of who it is. We do not have to loaded with 1st round picks at every position to be a final four contender, look at last years roster. That team showed you can win with 2 or 3 studs and quality role players.

Cal is not going to have line ups like this team every year. Its unfair to everyone to have those "typical UK fan expectations" btw, I'm not sayin that's what you are doing, just speaking in general, but thinkin "we are pretty screwed" with a top 5 class as is right now is mind boggling.