Kentucky Wildcats Or Washington Huskies: Was It Really a Competition?

It does not look good when you recruit the best point guard in a high school class not named John Wall and he only turns in averages of almost four pts and two assists in 18 minutes a game, even if he was overrated.  

Those are the numbers of Abdul Gaddy last season.

It could easily be argued that he was just a freshman, but he was ranked 14  in ESPN’s top 100 poll. Expectations are high for recruits of this standing.

He started in the first round close win over Marquette, but had zero points and three turnovers in eight minutes, in the last NCAA tournament.

He did show promise by snagging three rebounds and dishing out three assists, but in the end Coach Romar, had to go with someone else to win this game.

There is good chance that Gaddy found it difficult playing with another ball dominant guard (Isaiah Thomas) but his misfortune can easily be used against his coach on the recruiting trail.

Top 20 recruits have a legitimate shot at making the NBA, and they know this.

By choosing the right school and coaching system they know they can realize their dreams much quicker than anticipated.

No matter how confident they may be, seeing one of their own struggle so badly in a system will alter their decision regarding that particular school.

These recruits are just teenagers that grow up idolizing the class before them.

Hence, it is no surprise that Terrence Jones rescinded on his verbal commitment to Washington to play at Kentucky next season.  

The manner in which he did this was strange, committing to Washington during a press conference then changing his mind a fortnight later.

This maybe due to the fact the Kentucky were after C J Leslie who spurned them for North Carolina State. They must have intensified their recruitment of Jones then which made him sour on Washington.

"It's a unique circumstance," A baffled Coach Romar said.

Jones’s decision may not have had anything to do with the woes of Gaddy.

John Calipari and Kentucky have a lot to offer. No other coach would publicly encourage his players to leave school for the trappings of the NBA after one year. Not when it benefits them more to have that player in uniform the next year.

Calipari has no such reservations. He seems to be a players coach. He is the master of one in one out system when it comes to top recruits.

At Kentucky Jones will be playing with two other top 25 recruits and a core team that won 35 games last season.

On the other hand Washington will be missing senior Quincy Pondexter whose individual brilliance led the Huskies to the sweet 16.