Billy Gillespie Is Back At It

Holding Big Blue Madness a week early has already paid off for Billy Gillespie. Daniel Orton, a 6'10", 260 lb center who is a top-25 recruit nationally, committed to Kentucky on Sunday after spending the weekend in Lexington. At a press conference Orton called before leaving Kentucky, he said there were two major factors in his decision - that Kansas, his other major suitor, had gotten a commitment from forward Thomas Robinson and thus filled their scholarships; and the outpouring of support from Big Blue Nation, which included the fans at Big Blue Madness chanting his name until he acknowledged them.

But was there another factor? Jeff Goodman reported on his blog that Larry Orton, Daniel's father, as well as Daniel's brother, Terrence Crawford, both spoke and/or made appearances at Kentucky camps over the summer. Orton's father, specifically, said that he spoke three times (twice bringing Daniel with him), and Goodman guesses that he was paid around $500-$1,000 per appearance. Larry Orton was a college basketball player (playing two years of JuCo ball before playing at Old Dominion and eventually finishing up his career at Cameron University) and is an assistant on Orton's AAU team, and Crawford played at Oklahoma State for a current Kentucky assistant, both credible basketball resumes. But let's be honest - neither of them are Hubie Brown, and neither would be getting those opportunities is it wasn't for the talents of Daniel.

To be clear, Gillespie is not breaking any rules. Just like he didn't break any rules recruiting 8th graders and he didn't break any rules holding Big Blue Madness early. Is he pushing ethical boundaries? Yes. Is he smack dab in the middle of the grey area where he bends, but doesn't quite break the rules? Yes.

But does every other coach in the country do the same thing? Yes. Larry Orton also said that Oklahoma State and Kansas paid him to speak at camps.

So is this really that big of a deal? Probably not. Call me cynical, but I really doubt that all Daniel Orton got during his recruitment was a couple hundred bucks in the pockets of his brother and father.