Nerlens Noel, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, is headed to Kentucky

“I’ll be taking my talents for college to play at the University of…”  the 6-foot-10 Noel said on ESPNU before revealing a “UK” shaved into the back of his hightop fade.

“I just thought it was the best fit for me, personally. I talked to my mom. She liked it as well. She liked all three of the schools, but when it came down to it she liked Kentucky. She met both Coach Orlando [Antigua] and Coach [John] Calipari….She thought it was the best fit for me and I did, too.”

Noel, who picked the reigning NCAA champs over Georgetown and Syracuse, is arguably a better shot-blocker, but not offensive player, than Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis, the presumptive No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft. (more…)

In the words of my man Neil Young, “Tonight’s the Night.”

Tonight’s the Night the top two uncommitted players in the Class of 2012 — Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad — will reveal their college choices live on ESPNU (7:30 p.m. EST).

As of Tuesday night — when Muhammad Tweeted this picture — he was still making up his mind about his college destination.

“Duke, UCLA, UK, nothing has changed,” his father, Ron Holmes, texted SNY.tv Tuesday night. “All three right there.”

The 6-foot-6 Muhammad is coming off a record 35-point outing in a losing effort in Saturday night’s Nike Hoop Summit. He then met with Kentucky coach John Calipari and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski over the weekend. (more…)

With a little more than 48 hours to go before Shabazz Muhammad and Nerlens Noel are set to announce their college plans Wednesday night on ESPNU (7:30 EST), sources say both players remain undecided.

Following his 35-point performance at the Nike Hoops Summit Saturday night in Portland, Ore., Muhammad met over the weekend with Kentucky coach John Calipari and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, sources told SNY.tv.

“It’s really tough for him,” one source said of Muhammad.

“It definitely isn’t as fun as people think,” Muhammad told ESPN.com. “It’s all you think about. It’s a tough decision.”  (more…)

Over the last couple of days, UConn junior power forward Alex Oriakhi met at his Lowell, Mass., home with Kentucky coach John Calipari, Xavier coach Chris Mack and Missouri coach Frank Haith.

Oriakhi later confirmed a report by CBSSports.com that he plans to visit Missouri next weekend (April 13) and Kentucky the following weekend.

Kentucky, Xavier and Missouri are offering major playing time next season, Oriakhi told SNY.tv, and he is also considering North Carolina and Duke.

As for the visit with Calipari, Oriakhi said: “It went real well. Coach Calipari, he broke it down for me. He told me he wasn’t going to promise me anything, which I like. He’s not going to promise me anything. (more…)

In case you missed it, Anthony Davis was tremendous on Jimmy Kimmel last night.

Kimmel wasn’t bad, either.

Davis, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, told Kimmel he thought about shaving his unibrow when he got to campus, but decided to keep it as his signature.

“Yeah, you know what, you don’t need two eyebrows,” Kimmel fired back. “One is perfectly fine.” (more…)

Kentucky signee Archie Goodwin says the Wildcats could challenge for a second straight NCAA championship if Shabazz Muhammad and Nerlens Noel come to Bluegrass country.

“I think we’ll be a really good team and be another national championship contender because those guys have great talent and we’ll be looking forward to having another great year,” Goodwin, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Little Rock, Ark., told SNY.tv Thursday from the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore.

Both Muhammad and Noel are undecided and are expected to announce April 11 on ESPNU. (more…)

Shabazz Muhammad says Kentucky’s win in Monday night’s NCAA championship game “boosted their option for me,” but that he remains undecided and plans to pick a school in the days following Saturday’s Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore.

Asked what kind of impact Kentucky’s victory over Kansas had on his thought process, Muhammad told SNY.tv Thursday by phone from Portland: “That has an impact. Just seeing how they run in transtion, how those guys get out so fast and how Coach Cal has the guards really getting out and running the floor. it just boosted their option for me by going there.” (more…)

NEW ORLEANS — After the ping pong balls do their magical dance during the NBA Draft lottery on May 30, one franchise and its fan base are going to be delighted and a whole group of others will be disappointed.

Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis – who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following Kentucky’s 67-59 victory over Kansas Monday night — will inevitably be the first NCAA champion taken at No. 1 since Kansas’s Danny Manning in 1988.

And he could become an NBA Hall of Famer down the line.

The other players in the draft? Not so much.

“The most disappointed NBA team this year will be the team with the No. 2 pick,” ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla told SNY.tv. (more…)

NEW ORLEANS -- John Calipari could take his first national championship ring and head back to the NBA, perhaps to the Knicks, and nobody would blame him.

He’s accomplished the ultimate goal in college basketball and now that 800-pound gorilla is off his back for good.

“I can get on with it and I don’t have to hear the drama,” Calipari said after his loaded Kentucky team beat back Kansas, 67-59, to win his first title at the Mercedes-Benz SuperDome. “I can just coach now. I don’t have to worry. If you want to hear the truth, it’s almost like, done, let me move on.” (more…)

NEW ORLEANS — This was just before “One Shining Moment” played in the Mercedes-Benz SuperDome and Doron Lamb was standing up on a platform on the basketball court yelling over and over, “We’re going to the White House, we’re going to the White House.”

Like all his Kentucky teammates, the Queens, N.Y., native was wearing a baseball hat that read “No-1 Greater,” a T-shirt that said  ”National Champs” and a huge smile that summed it all up.

“It means a lot to me,” Lamb said after scoring a game-high 22 points, including back-to-back 3-point daggers in the second half, of Kentucky’s 67-59 victory on the biggest stage of them all.

“I worked hard to get here. Coach Cal told me I was going to have a big game today. Had a great shoot-around. I made a lot of shots today to help my team win.” (more…)