It could turn out to be a two-horse race for Michael Gilchrist, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2011.
“Michael loves Villanova,” Cindy Richardson, Gilchrist’s mother, told the Philly Inquirer. “It’s Kentucky, Villanova. Villanova, Kentucky.”
Gilchrist said two years ago that he wanted to play for Memphis and now that John Calipari has left Memphis for Kentucky, many expect the 6-foot-7 swingman to end up at Kentucky.
Gilchrist’s uncle, William Wesley, known as “Worldwide Wes,” also enjoys a close relationship with Calipari.
Kyrie Irving, Gilchrist’s teammate at Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, revealed that he and Gilchrist are best friends and sometimes talk about playing college together.
“Me and Mike, we talk about Kentucky mainly,” Irving told me. “Coach Cal, he’s a great coach. And the whole coaching staff when I got to know them at Memphis, I have a great relationship with them. It’s just a top program.”
Villanova coach Jay Wright has also followed Gilchrist closely and was on hand last January when he scored 28 on Oak Hill in a loss at the PrimeTime Shootout in Trenton. Villanova has successfully recruited numerous New Jersey players in recent years, including former St. Patrick star Corey Fisher.
Since Irving is a year older than Gilchrist, it isn’t inconceivable that Gilchrist could follow his best friend to college.
“I’m looking for a school that has a fast-paced transition game,” Gilchrist told the Inquirer. “I just want to be with my friends. . . . I want a friend to come with me to school.”
Gilchrist has been contacted by a slew of programs since college coaches were permitted to call on June 15.
Kentucky, Rutgers, Louisiana State, North Carolina, Duke, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, Florida, Florida State, Oregon, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Southern Cal, and Connecticut have all been in contact, according to the Inquirer.
“It’s wide open,” Gilchrist said. “I want to be recruited heavily.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
(Photo courtesy Philly Inquirer)
Derrick Rose ring a bell? After he committed to Memphis Cal went to see him every other week as Rose was considering taking a higher offer… I mean different school.
Amazing that a “Memphis fan” would bring that up. All along I thought pasta was a Kentucky fan. This post really adds some evidence there.
Exactly and Cal has 0 legitimate final fours. Work on getting a FF that isn’t vacated before you start talking about Championships.
another blatant lie by Fat Ben ….. Ben I’m going to have to ask you to start providing links unless you can stop making stuff up …sorry
Pasta clearly isn’t a Memphis fan.
is that a link Ben ?
Like your link to Brandon Jennings committing to Memphis or CDR being a first round draft pick (I could go on and on. Pasta clearly hasn’t followed Memphis basketball before a month ago).
Here’s one (of many) links discussing Calipari’s constant visits to Chicago to ‘visit’ Reggie (err Derrick). This one of course talks about the envelopes of cash that he delivered each payday, but my point is it was well known that Cal was a frequent visitor:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=430&f=2465&t=309555
If Cal could coach as well as he could recruit, I would almost believe this. Fortunately, (as he as proven in the last few years) good recruiting does not overcome bad coaching (see meltdown in final 2 minutes of reg. in championship game against KU and Missouri ownage in last year’s tourney).
No, no, JayJayPG it wasn’t a “meltdown” it was a fluke shot by Mario Chalmers remember? The lack of discipline when the game matters most i.e. a blown foul and an umpteen amount of miss free throws certainly shouldn’t be blamed for them loosing.
Exactly. Toughness and mental discipline are 2 things that the great college basketball coaches teach their wards. It’s hard to teach this to spoiled 1-and-dones but in crunch time the best coach’s team is playing the best.
Cal’s teams never perform in crunch time. Part of this could be the preponderance of less-than-intelligent players he ends up getting, part of it could be that his stars are always of the 1-and-done variety, part of it could be he just doesn’t know how to coach toughness and discipline.
Regardless, if a Calipari-coached squad didn’t run away with the game, they’ll fold if given enough time to do so. Every college basketball coach and fan knows this. The only ones that don’t admit it are fans of whichever team he happens to be coaching at the time.
Meant to say Brandon Knight ( 4th straight top 5 guy by Cal) …obvious typo …..you’re right CDR went in the 2nd ..but now is starting for the Nets …..your link is no good ….another lie …..
137 and 14 …..end of argument …you lose …Cal wins ….next pathetic loser
Brandon Knight’s #1 is the same coach that was Kentucky’s #1 choice: Billy G.
The link actually says exactly what I told you it said. If you had a job you could find that out.
What was the record against the RPI top 40 again?
I’ll miss pastaboy when Calipari is kicked out of the NCAA.
437 and 139 …… 12 conference titles in 17 years ….3 elite 8′s 2 final4′s and a championship game …. post season 16 out of 17 years ..only one losing season ( his 1st at UMASS) ……. oh and lets not forget ……………………………Naismith College Coach of the Year (1996, 2008)
NABC Coach of the Year (1996, 2009)
Basketball Times Coach of the Year (1996)
Sports Illustrated Coach of the Year (2009)
A-10 Coach of the Year (1993, 1994, 1996)
C-USA Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2009)
John Phelan National Coach of the Year (2009)
its pathetic how jealousy of a great coach can lead you to simply deny the facts Fat Ben …..and lets remember Calipari accomplished all of this while coaching mid majors ….. and still his teams beat the big boys …… and now Cal has a ticket to the BCS cocktail party …with the best recruiting class in history LOL …..this is gonna be fun
In reality Memphis was absolutly dominated against KU statistically and time of posession wise. If you go back and look at the official stats at statsheet.com my point will be proven. Their were only two times in which Memphis really had a significant lead was the first part of the first half, and after the 9.19 mark in the second half.
Oh here pastaboy goes with all of Cal’s accolades, notice how he isn’t able to put NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!1
Calipari is 29-22 against BCS conferences since 2004.
After you vacate the 2008 season he’s 19-20 against BCS conferences.
Calipari is 29-22 (57%) against BCS conferences since 2004.
After you vacate the 2007-2008 season he’s 19-20 (49%) against BCS conferences.
whatever
another lie by fat Ben
Someone that watched the game would have known the difference between Budinger and Bayless. Shockingly you don’t.
Exhibit 317 that you weren’t a Memphis fan before Kentucky hired their coach.
largest lead by either team was 7 …until Memphis started to put Ku away ….. missed free throws …. fluke play = fluke NC for Ku …sorry the facts don’t lie ……America agrees with me
Roy Williams won his 1st at age 55 …Cal has 5 years to go to beat that …..I think he will win 2 in the next 5 years ….. Id bet you your house if you had one …..I have no need of a double wide ……………..LOL
36-32
Memphis’s record against BCS teams since Calipari took the job in 2000.
And that is pastaboy’s ‘best coach in America’.
Everyone stop for a moment, does anyone else notice when Pastaboy gets owned he conviently moves to another topic? This is called a red herring! HAHAHAHA
Putting a team away involves well putting a team away, until a whole hose of things happened i.e. missed free throws, turnovers, offesnive rebounding for KU, all that equals a poorly disciplined team on Memphis end.
That’s 53 percent to those of you who can’t do the math.
You think Roy Williams, Bill Self, Ben Howland or Tom Izzo would keep their jobs if they were 53 percent against BCS teams?
sorry the facts don’t lie ……America agrees with me
This must be your response when you realized how moronic you are and declare “America agrees with me” I feel like I am talking to a 10 year old. Pastababy! HAHAHA I love it!
Well it’s kind of inexcusable that no one has looked up Memphis’s record against BCS teams. 53 percent is all you need to say next time pasta brings up Calipari. 53% is far worse than Tubby or Billy G.
No but Bill Self does and has coached for less amount of years 16 to Cals 18 and has ZERO!!! I would love to bet you unfortunatley your mommy and daddy wouldn’t let you gamble away their basement bedroom!! Ziiing!
The “fluke” was a number of factors…
1) KU staging a ridiculous comeback and dominating offensively in the final 2 minutes.
2) Cal’s lack of instruction (or the team’s lack of discipline/execution) in
a) Fouling Collins before passing to Chalmers for “The Shot”
b) Allowing Chalmers (who had made clutch 3′s all year long) to even
touch the ball…let alone get a shot off. How about check the scouting
report next time?
c) Letting CDR drive to the basket (resulting in a foul and two missed
free throws) instead of trying to run down the clock.
Self is also 3 years younger than Calipari (and is far better than 53% against BCS teams) and has yet to vacate 2 final fours.
Its just not that, its everything he always has an exit plan. Its sad that we have to correct him for his poor posting, stats, allegations etc. Like when he said Cal has never been investiageted and then Wayne said, “Hey Pasta, Ky will go 24-13 and make it to the 2nd rd…..and you said that Cal has never been penalized…well he was penalized last summer…a recruiting violation that evolved Emmanuel Negedu..the ncaa took away one offical vist and didn’t allow memphis the recruit Emmanuel Negedu and more”
Pasta goes silent, he either ignores the subject or moves on. Its just amazing to know that one man has such a man-crush on John Calipari, I think its safe to assume this guy has a little sugar in his tank and has a little bit of a “thing” for coach cal, he is suckling on the teet of Cal like you wouldn’t believe!
ahhhh…I see my pack of yelping puppies are still here …… we’ll see how Cal does against the top 40 next year….any predictions ? …..hahahahaha……. Negedu went to Tenn because Pearl was recruiting him from the get go …..after he bailed on Ariz . Cal thought maybe hiring Pastner would entice Negedu …but to Pearl’s credit he still got him ….btw …negedu worked out at Memphis a week before he committed to Tenn…there was no penalty …..provide a link loser
Please explain how this translates into Memphis not being allowed to recruit Negedu ? LOL ……God you people are dumb …….Looks like Emmanuel Negedu will make his college choice known later today. He’s scheduled a 3 p.m. press conference.
The 6-7 power forward — who reportedly has an insane 45-inch vertical leap — will pick from Indiana, Georgia Tech, Memphis and Tennessee.
Most observers believe it will come down to either Memphis or Tennessee
Top 10 collective RPI Here’s the national top 10 over that four-year span:
1, Memphis, 5.0
2, North Carolina, 5.25
3, Duke, 7.25
4, Pittsburgh, 9.25
5, UCLA, 9.75
6, Tennessee, 13.0
7, Kansas, 14.25
8, Michigan State, 16.0
9, Villanova, 17.75
10, Ohio State, 19.75
the past 4 years …………………………….hahahahhaa spin this one losers
Still waiting for the link on the NCAA penalty about Negedu …………
still waiting…………………
Cal has never been penalized…well he was penalized last summer…a recruiting violation that evolved Emmanuel Negedu..the ncaa took away one offical vist and didn’t allow memphis the recruit Emmanuel Negedu and more”
Still waiting for the link ………………….
Oh you still want a link?
” Please explain how this translates into Memphis not being allowed to recruit Negedu ? LOL ……God you people are dumb …….”
PREPARE TO BE DOMINATED………..
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/jun/07/pastners-recruiting-cred-grows/?printer=1/
Scroll down a bit and you will find that nice little tidbit about Memphis and Cal. Of
Top 10 collective RPI Here’s the national top 10 over that four-year span:
Where does this come from? Site source, OMG you can’t be this dumb!
this is incidental bs which happens every day in every program …keep digging dumbo ..Cal is clean and is the best coach in basketball
actually it came from a tenn site ………. idiot ………http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/strange/
i did some research because i wanted to put Cal’s 53% winning percentage vs bcs teams into perspective.
John Calipari 36-32 (at memphis) 53%
here are some coaches i looked up. records and winning percentage against bcs opponents
Sean Miller 24-10 (at Xavier) 70%
Bill Self 111-32 (at Kansas) 78%
Roy Williams 118-34 (at North Carolina) 78%
Billy Gillispie 24-22 (at UK) 52%
Billy Gillispie 40-24 (at TAMU) 63%
Ben Howland 103-49 (at UCLA) 68%
Bruce Weber 74-48 (at Illinois) 61%
Frank Martin 21-21 (at Kansas State) 50%
Tubby Smith 23-24 (at Minnesota) 49%
Lorenzo Romar 87-68 (at Washington) 56%
Just found this interesting.
Calipari’s record is actually 42-32 against bcs teams.
I was using ben’s 36-32 stat in my first post, but i researched and came up with different numbers. ben where did you get your stat?
anyways that moves Calipari all the way up to 57%, barely passing Lorenzo Romar!
just thought i would correct myself before someone has a fit…
Statsheet.com. I can recheck but are you sure you’re not counting pre-2006 cusa games against louisville, cincy, etc as bcs? Either way it’s an unacceptable number for a coach.
2000-01: 1-5 W KSU L Stanford, Ark, Tenn, Miss, Miami
2001-02: 1-4 W Tenn L Iowa, Alabama, Miss, Ark
2002-03: 5-2 W Syr, Miss, Ill, Ark, Vill L Missouri, Ariz St
2003-04: 4-3 W: Miss, Missouri, Vill, SCar L Wake, Ill, OKSt
2004-05: 3-6 W: Purdue, VTech, Vanderbilt L Syr, Mary, Pitt, Miss, Prov, Texas
2005-06: 6-3 W: Ala, UCLA, Cin, Prov, Miss, Purdue L: Duke, Texas, UCLA
2006-07: 4-4 W: Okl, Kent, Miss, TAM L: GTech, Tenn, Ariz, tOSU
2007-08: 10-2 W: Okl, UConn, USC, Cincy, GT, Zona, MSST, Mich St, UCLA, Texas L: Tenn, Kansas
2008-09: 4-3 W: SH, Cin, Tenn, Mary L: GT, Syr, Missouri
I get 38-32 so 54%
Once again, if Roy, Self, BHowland, etc had that sort of clip against BCS squads he wouldn’t have a job.
poor pitiful morons ….this year Cal will be playing alot of BCS schools …lets check his record then