The Cats' Are Back Intact

Everyone person in Lexington is giving the thumbs up to John Calipari. After hitting a major setback with losing five of their top players to the NBA, Calipari was able to regroup and hit the recruiting trail and snag a few blue-chip recruits. With last night's announcement that highly recognized recruit Doron Lamb was heading to Kentucky it added to another stellar Calipari recruiting class. 

John Calipari was able to get four recruits that included C Enes Kanter (Turkey/Stoneridge Prep), versatile wing Stacey Poole (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence School), Brandon Knight (Coral Springs, Fla./Pine Crest), and Doron Lamb (Laurelton, NY /Oak Hill Academy (VA). All these recruits possess a lot of the same characteristics that this past Wildcat recruiting class did. Losing John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton, and Patrick Patterson was obviously a big blow, which most fans anticipated, but here is why it is not as big of a deal as you might think.

For starters bringing in 6'4 point guard Brandon Knight was a great player to fill in the shoes of Calipari's past point guards. Not only was he the No. 4 overall player in the ESPNU 100, but was the back to back winner of the Gatorade Player of The Year, which is given to the most outstanding High School basketball player in the country.

Bringing in the 6'10 Turk is also going to do wonders for Kentucky. Is very much a "european" type of big man, not overwhelmingly physicall and has a good 17-18 foot jumpshot that he hits on a consistant basis. Although Kentucky will be losing Cousins, Kanter brings a new dimension to the team.

Stacey Poole is the ideal combo guard. At 6'5 he has the dribbling ability and court vision of a point guard with the scoring and shooting ability of a shooting guard. He is the No. 16 shooting guard in the nation and is a prototypical guard for Calipari's regime.

Kentucky's most recent recruit Doron Lamb put them over the top. The 6'4 shooting guard is among the ESPNU 100 and simply knows how to put the ball in the basket. He is able to get his shot off whenever he wants. Lamb is an average defender but that will come with time and winning mentality.

Without a doubt Kentucky is on there way for redemption after a dissapointing end to this year's season.