Xavier Henry may wind up at Kentucky when all is said and done.
Henry, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Putnam City (OK) Putnam High, is having second thoughts about playing for Bill Self at Kansas and still could end up playing with friends for Kentucky coach John Calipari.
“If it wasn’t for his momma saying that ‘I would not go to Kentucky, I would not move down to Kentucky,’ Xavier would have been at Kentucky,’” Carl Henry told the Chris and Cowboy show on 610-AM in Kansas City. “He would have been at Kentucky. So Xavier says, ‘I’m going to go to Kansas.’ Even though that’s what he wanted to do is go to Kentucky, play under Coach Cal. That’s what he wanted to do. I expressed this to (Kansas) coach (Bill) Self. I told him.”
He added: “Kid might have a change of mind,” Carl Henry said. “That’s what I tell coach Self. If he has a change of mind, so what? So be it. He has a change of mind.”
Perhaps fearing the worst, Kansas coaches reached out to Brooklyn Lincoln guard Lance Stephenson within the last week.
But Stephenson has signed a financial aid agreement with Cincinnati of the Big East, a story first reported by SNY.tv on Tuesday.
Ironically, Kansas, which once had its choice of Stephenson or Henry, may now end up with neither.
Xavier Henry initially committed to Memphis to play with his older brother C.J., a walk-on who missed last year with an injury. He signed a Letter of Intent with Memphis and cannot sign a second one.
When Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky, several players followed him there, including former Memphis leans John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and Memphis commit Darnell Dodson.
During the Jordan Brand Classic in New York in April, Cousins was vocal in trying to get both Henry and Wall to follow him to Kentucky. Wall eventually did.
Henry chose Kansas, where both his parents attended.
Carl told the radio station that Wall and Kentucky commit Daniel Orton continue to get in touch with Xavier about coming to Kentucky.
The father said that Xavier told him “a couple weeks ago” that he was interested in Kentucky and Carl said he called Calipari then
“When my son told me that, I reached out one time,” Carl Henry said. “I called Coach Cal to see if he had a scholarship.”
Henry has not reported to summer school at Kansas, but his father said in a recent newspaper interview that his sons would be on campus in mid-August.
That same article in the Kansas City Star quoted Carl saying Xavier looked into possibly playing in Europe next year, but opted against it.
The article has apparently upset the Henry family and may contribute to them bolting Kansas.
“The guy who wrote that story kind of betrayed my whole family and kind of made us look bad, like my kids are prima donnas, all I do is talk.” he said.
Reports indicated Self and Kansas assistant Danny Manning were headed to Oklahoma Tuesday night to meet with the Henry family.
Carl also said his family had a meeting planned.
“We have a meeting set up tonight where we’re going to set down and talk about this whole deal,” he said.
(Radio quotes from Carl Henry appeared in the AP and Louisville Courier Journal)
His situation was a little different than Jordan Hill’s.
His situation was no different from the rest of the freshman from last year. I just mentioned Jordan Hill because he is a big man and Whithey and his family did not think Pennell and Dunlap were good coaches.
What other freshmen knew they could leave and get a scholarship at any program in the country?
I’m just saying put yourself in his situation. You are a borderline NBA talent that would like to play for a living someday. You know Lute can get you there but you’re not going to risk your future on unproven coaches. If Arizona had immediately replaced Lute with Sean Miller the situation may well have been different.
Kyle Fogg was being looked at by other Pac-10 schools and UNLV among others before he signed with UA. Fogg was a late bloomer he stuck it out and improved quite a bit. I do not veiw Dunlap as an unproven coach he has been talked about for many years as being one of the better X O guys in basketball.
I’m not dissing on Fogg, just pointing at that Withey was the only freshman that knew he could leave UA and get a scholarship at Kansas, Florida, Texas, etc. Programs that have a long history of putting big men in the NBA.
Withey’s goal is to play basketball for a living but he’s not a sure thing NBA player. He’ll need good coaching. The way UA handled Lute’s departure wouldn’t give you much confidence that they were going to get it together quick enough to help your development.
I’m all for loyalty but don’t see anything wrong with what Withey did- that situation was messed up for quite a while and didn’t get better until Withey had been at Kansas for 8 months.
Cal will have the best class since the fab five and should dominate the SEC ….. I’m predicting KY. wins 30 plus games and goes to the final 4 ……but hey why listen to me ? …..I’m the one who told you guys Xavier would bolt from Ku to Ky.
UA could not hire a coach right before the season began. It is not like Lute left for another job or there were NCAA sanctions he had health issues that kept him from coaching. The kids at Wake Forest stayed loyal to Wake after Prosser passed away. I understand what you are saying but I do not agree much like I’m sure you understand where I am coming from but do not agree.
It may be the best class since the Fab Five but they never won a championship and I believe they had to forfeit all the wins during the Fab Five era.
I do understand what you’re saying as a fan, but I would bet in your situation you’d make the same decision. This is far too important for the kid’s life to let it get screwed up by feet dragging.
John Wall ……Demarcus Cousins ……. Darnell Dodson …..Eric Bledsoe ……. Jon Hood …….Daniel Orton ……..and now Xavier Henry …….not the fab five …..but ……….THE MAGNIFICANT SEVEN …best class ever …… if you are a Cal hater …..Hell is on the way ……..LOL
Wall, Cousins and Henry are in the same league with the Fab 4+1. The rest aren’t. rscihoops.com
Is Pastaboy a Kentucky fan now that he finally realizes that things arent as great as he PREDICTED for Memphis??? So if X leaves, heres how it goes in his own selfish mind: KU has a great season, he looks good because all the talent he has to surround himself, goes 1st rd. NBA after first season, signs multimillion dollar contract, becomes pretty good NBA player, KU comes under investigation by ncaa, KU has all wins VACATED (Caliparis there so thats natural, X continues on with his career (happily), the record books show KU’s record 0-39, Pastaboy defends Calipari as the greatest ever with his team from ’09-’10, Memphis fans say “I thought we were the best”, Calipari bolts for another school, Pasta follows ………..
LOL. Kentucky is UK, Kansas is KU.
azcats,
This Pastaboy fellow just loves Calipari. I’m sorry, I just don’t get it.
I have no regrets about him leaving. I wanted the recruits but there gone. Our new coach did a good job putting a team together. Andy Katz wrote an article saying we will probably be a top 25 team. We may or may not get our 2007-2008 season vacated. I am glad to have an honest coach. I wasn’t thrilled at first when they announced Pastner as our new head coach, but I changed my mind after his first interview. This guy has integrity, enthusiasm, and works harder than anyone I have ever seen. I just hope we can keep him around for awhile….
Kentucky will have a great team with or without Xavier Henry. The guy can flat out recruit. He is a scumbag, and when he is your scumbag you tend to overlook this. Kentucky will see NCAA sanctions in the next 4-5 years if not much earlier. When you fill your team with “one and dones”, trouble follows. We are seeing it with Derrick Rose and just ask Tim Floyd about OJ Mayo.
THE MAGIFICANT SEVEN …………… I think I’ll copyright it ……make Vitale cough up $3,000 grand to me everytime he spews it out of his pie hole .
This is pure hatred coming from a person who loved Cal in March …karma is strong here ………..Pasta acting like a gentleman and wishing Cal the best for what he did for the Memphis program is partly responsible for Pastner’s good fate so far. BTW …evidently a top 25 bone thrown by Andy Katz is the new standard for excellence at Memphis ……………have another doughnut memtiger ……
Cakeboy, UK did not even make the tournament last year, nor were they a top 25 team, so get off of your high horse.
You are not just an embarassment to Memphis fans, but to everyone. You are so annoying that people must respond to you. You are the car wreck on the side road; you can’t help but look. You bring down everyone’s iq, you never admit when you are wrong, and you start fights with everyone for the sake of it. It’s pathetic.
Does anyone have a fly swatter?
And btw, pick a team. It’s Memphis or UK, not both. Equally pathetic.
pasta,
Do you see anyone predicting USC to be top 25? How’d their chances for next year?
At this point, I can’t believe we being considered top 25. The man that you love was contacting our current recruits when he was “thinking about taking the job.” The great man that left us with a NCAA investigation and probably a vacated season? Sound like UMASS? Shit, we are lucky that he’s been able to recruit anybody. Alot of you guys were wanting him to fill a roster with anyone available. He waited and we’ve got some very good players coming in next year.
Yeah, I am happy to be considered a top 25 right now. Pastner has locked down Will Barton already. You don’t think so, but I bet he gets Joe Jackson, Casey Prather, and Tarik Black. I think 2010 will be a great recruiting year and we’ll be talking a much higher ranking then.
After the mess that Calipari left us, we are lucky to be where we are. We could easily be where USC is. But we’re not. No doughnuts here pal…
Cal didn’t leave a mess ….he left a top 5 program that was nothing when he came here …he left a program that was 139 and 13 the past 4 years ….. 2 number one seeds and 2 number two seeds …..2 elite 8′s …a final game and a sweet 16 ………. lets see Pastner do that starting in 2010 …Memphis fans like you are pathetic little people who have no business even rooting for a top program …… little fans make for little programs and that is where Memphis is headed ….. thanks to people like you …thanks
and he wasn’t contacting “our ” recruits …he was contacting his recruits …..but now thanks to Cal …kids may consider Memphis ….if Mr. workaholic actually does something ….he failed on Bledsoe ..he failed on Lance …he got Coleman because Cal had no room for him and he got a skinny French kid who I think is a soccer player …..oh ..and he got a terminal illness hardship case …and lets not forget his only recruiting accomplishment …Latavious Williams …..Mr. .000 Mr. Blutarsky grade guy ….who may qualify before he’s 40 with some luck .
Even Bob Huggins was to moral to try and lure players he signed to K-State to West Virginia.
pasta- before you proclaim yourself a great prophet for calling this X thing( which i have to give you props for) you also were positive lance was going to memphis. 1/2
as far as the X thing goes, if you dont want to go to KU 100%, then dont come. go to UK. KU doesnt need to deal with people that dont want to be there. I would love to have X because he is a great player, but Kansas Basketball will be just fine without X. i hope self and manning can sell him on KU tonight, but if not, so be it. if he doesnt want to be a jayhawk, he shouldnt be a jayhawk.
Cal didn’t lure Players …he accepted the wishes of Recruits who wanted to follow him …name one scholarship player on the Memphis roster last year who will play for Cal this year ……tick tock …thought so …….you’re excused
Lance was there to be plucked ….. Mr. Workaholic got out recruited by Cincinnati LOL……. a 31 year old holier than thou phony …..I never trust a person who doesn’t drink ….Pastner could go down like the World Trade Center next year ….. these pathetic Cal haters are why Memphis never got an NFL franchise ….the city is full of low brow hicks who have zero vision .
I agree with your attitude ….if you don’t want to coach us or play for us …good luck we don’t need you
Now …here’s the real story on Lance and Memphis …..just 3 weeks ago it was announced Memphis was the leader ……and lets remember one thing ….Xavier Henry did an interview about Pastner ‘s recruiting last spring …he said the guy was relentless …nothing would stop him from making contact …at even 6:00 am every morning ……..so now after Memphis is declared the leader in the Lance recruitment …all of a sudden their position is …well they won’t return our calls so we are backing off? ..LOL see any inconsistencies in these stories ? …Pastner the relentless recruiter will back off because his call isn’t returned? Bullshit …..thats total bullshit ….Pastner was told to back off by RC Johnson who is a train wreck of an AD ….RC probably didn’t want any flack after the Rose thing ….the point is if Cal had wanted Lance he would have told RC to go %%$@ himself …Pastner was too timid to do so ….. he’s a kid …maybe in over his head at this point …..
Pasta the other day you were so high on Pastner getting E. Williams. You are a fence walker.
I was high about E. Williams coming to Memphis despite tragic circumstances …..Pastner had nothing to do with it ….
Memphis fans are an embarrassment to me
And lets remember …Pastner gets a free pass next year …..so if he gets a guy like Lance the pressure would be on to carry on in the Cal tradition …30 wins and a high seed ….with the free pass he can focus on 2010 with no pressure …eek into the top 25 …have a decent record …everyone pat’s you on the back ….what a job after Cal raped the program …its total bullshit of course …its a step backwards …but it the mind set of most Memphis fans on these blogs ..even supported by little newspaper twerps like Dan Wolken . Next year is a freebie ….and Joe Jackson will save the day in 2010 …God help these people if Joe goes to Ky . or Tenn. …which he could .
pasta, now that memphis doesnt have lance, and KU probably doesnt have X, what are your thoughts about KU Memphis next November?
i say KU wins by 10 or 12
i dont know how credible this is but xavier henry just told 610 sports in KC that he was staying at KU. this is the same radio station that carl talked to this morning about the family meeting.
http://www.610sports.com/index.php
Looks like X went on a text slam to let every reporter around know that any drama that there was was over and he was firmly committed to Kansas. He certainly seems to have not understood what a strange can of worms his dad opened earlier today. New media has officially made recruiting a complete circus.
http://theshiver.com/2009/06/xavier-henry-staying-at-kansas/
theshiver agrees. looks like X is staying at KU. hopefully its what HE wants not what other people want.
i hope he doesnt back out again.
He has a MAN CRUSH on Cali.
LMAO
With USC it took some time to develope…..
Someone came forward and was upset by being “left out”.
Hope there are no angry Cali fans out there?
Give it some 90 days or more…..timing.
From all accounts, X does not want to play for BS.
X wants to play for Cali.
The only thing which prevent it from happening was his mother.
But, she had a change of heart and is willing to live in Lex.
X desires stil remains …to be a CaliCat.
So, as most of the 180 Jay fans have said….let him GO.
Let X enjoy his short college life at CaliCat land.
Goodman said X texted him and is staying at KU. Pasta is wrong again.
PASTABOY WAS WRONG! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
actually i was right twice as noted by my post yesterday ……Comment by pastaboy
2009-06-30 17:22:17
Relax guys ……I now make it 50/50 that Self and Manning mend the fences ….. of course the Henry’s will be running the team and Bill the Stiff will have no respect from the other players and Ku could implode to a disasterous season ……. a top coach with stature like a coach K or a Cal would tell the Henry’s to take a hike
After your 90/10? 75/25? Looks like theruckus predicts it again. Right pasta?
Pasta your the biggest deuche around you just throw things against the wall and see what sticks. Everyone meet pastaboy, “the walking contradiction” give the fool enough time and he will slit his little 16 year old throat!
Cal lives on the one and dones. Without it he is a mediocre coach! HHAHAHAHA
A small synposis of all of Pastaboys quotes relating to X these were cut and paste.
With Xavier going to KY. …..maybe Bledsoe will get ticked off and ask out of his deal ….and come to Memphis and play along side EW …now that’s a backcourt
Ben …I have only 5 things to say about that post ….1. John Wall 2. Xavier Henry 3. Demarcus Cousins 4. Patrick Patterson 5. Darnell Dodon …good luck though
Wow guys ……….I like to razz you Ku guys about Xavier ….but it looks like he’s gone ……sorry man ….Memphis fans know what it feels like to lose a top recruit ……think what it would feel like to lose not only Henry .but Cousins , Wall , Dodson and Nolan Dennis too ……. truly sorry though …..but Hey …I told you it was 75/25 …… and earlier moved it to 90/10 ….. never doubt Pasta on these matters ….. and again I’m truly sorry .
Now I’m hearing Xavier is not only looking at Ky . ……but maybe going back to Memphis where CJ can plenty of pt ……. I’d say this is about 40/60
…….I’M NOW MAKING IT 90/10 that Xavier transfers to Ky…….
bigpap …..looks like my call of 75/25 X following Cal to Ky….will be right on …..once again Pasta calls the big one ……………. apology line ————–>
In the end he said it was “50/50″ this was before he was loving how X was coming to Kentucky read his above quotes. Then he goes on to post a line
“Henry’s will be running the team and Bill the Stiff will have no respect from the other players and Ku could implode to a disasterous season ……. a top coach with stature like a coach K or a Cal would tell the Henry’s to take a hike”
Up until he had heard Self was going to OKC he was all bout X and how great Cal is and how good Kentucky will be. As soon as things turned, Pasta resorted to throwing Coach Self under the bus. But hey Pasta whatever works for you.
You can apologize to us for you idiocricy when you are ready?
Pastaboy when you go on the record of saying one thing, and then retract that statement later the former was still incorrect. That is simple logic.
Yeah, Joe Jackson could go to Kentucky or Tenn. I think he will be a Tiger, but it is anything but sure. What did Cal do when he got to Memphis? Take us to the NIT? It’s hard to win big when you don’t have the players. Memphis needed a good recruiting class next year. We lost 4 starters and our 4 best players.
Continue the Cal tradition? After he took Memphis recruits and left us with an NCAA investigation. One that was top story on ESPN for a week.
A top 25 at this point is a miracle. Pastner became coach after all but 4 top 25 recruits had been taken. We got one of them. It ain’t easy trying to recruit with the black cloud that was hanging over Memphis at the time. We couldn’t get a coach. Joe Jackson will not save the day. He is just one of many players that will help. I think Memphis will be a good team next year and I am hoping for a NCAA tourney run.
If Cal is so great, why couldn’t he sign Will Barton, one of his top priorities? Pastner is now recruiting for 2010. He did great for 2009 given the time and players left. We have open scholarships. As far as I am concerned, Pastner did a good job with what was available. It is still hard to recruit with a NCAA investigation that hasn’t cleared (thanks Cal). Let’s see what he does in 2010.
Where is your proof on this one? St John’s, Maryland, and countless others have recruited this guy. If you read this site, you know what a circus it has been. He committed on June 30.
Lance’s dad is a lunatic. He wouldn’t return calls, Pastner finally quit calling. I heard we were the favorite too, but not from his dad. Sounds to me like he didn’t want to come here. It wasn’t for lack of trying from Pastner.
We can’t win without the great Calipari! The sleezebag that was trying to get all Memphis’ recruits to come to Kentucky when he was “thinking it over” at Gibson’s doughnuts. The guy that left Memphis with an NCAA investigation that might vacate his best year in Memphis? What a coach! The one that didn’t call a timeout and his players had no idea what he wanted them to do? We could be vacating the NCAA title if this happened.
I’ll give you this. Cal is about winning. Winning at all costs, despite rules or decorum. When you are a part of this, you overlook what is going on. But, the entire country knows and that is why they hate him. Do people hate Roy Williams (except maybe some Kansas fans)? Coach K? They run clean programs and play by the rules. Calipari knows no bounds. That is why he has one final four appearance vacated and now it looks like it might just be two. Coincidence?
Not sure why you get drunk as a skunk and get real nasty about midnight. Go kick the dog… Memphis fans have vision. I like what I see. He can’t get all of the recruits. No Lance? No problem. I don’t think it was for lack of effort. Lance’s dad probably got a big check from a Cinci booster. That wouldn’t surprise me at all. No one could figure out his recruitment.
I’ve never met a person that didn’t care about a school, but only a coach. He is not a Memphis fan now, he is a Kentucky fan. You are one wierd dude…
Has nothing to do with players on the Memphis roster. No other coach has ever allowed signed players to follow him to their new school. They are always released from their commitment which would allow them to go ANYWHERE (there is this internet myth that a school only releases you to certain places but that’s not true). They never follow their former coach because their former coach tells them to stay put because he was getting paid great money to bring them to the school. Allowing them to follow him is simply immoral. Bill Self believes this. Roy Williams believes this. Ben Howland believes this. Bob Huggins even believes this. That has to tell you something about
Even Kansas fans fans don’t hate Roy Williams. Even Missouri fans don’t hate Bill Self. Even Carolina fans don’t hate Coach K. Even Arizona fans don’t hate Ben Howland. Even Oklahoma fans don’t hate Rick Barnes.
All of the above hate John Calipari.
Pastaboy is an idiot that gets drunk and angry on this blog every night. One day he is a Memphis fan, the next he hates Pastner and Memphis. Drugs do crazy things to people, he is a prime example. Can’t keep a thought straight….. Get’s very angry… Loves Calipari’s man boobs, wants to suckle ‘em. I know you aren’t feeling too good right now, but maybe a Coach Cal dream will make it all OK.
What a homo!