I'll be honest: if I don't hear the name Terrence Jones until September, I'll be happy.
But unfortunately, that may not happen.
You see, this evening Terrence Jones, the 6'9" power forward and consensus top 20 recruit that had previously committed to Washington (joining Enes Kanter as the second player to spurn Washington for Kentucky), signed with Kentucky. As of today, Kentucky has, without a doubt, the best recruiting class in the country, and one that may very well be better than last season's.
Yes, you heard that right. This recruiting class may be better than the one that is about to produce four first rounders.
Brandon Knight (6th on Scout, 6th on Rivals, 4th on ESPN) will be running the point. Doron Lamb (28, 21, 29) will be joining him in the backcourt. Stacey Poole (67, 33, 51) will be running alongside those two on the wing. And Enes Kanter (3, 3, 25), Terrence Jones (8, 13, 9), and Eloy Vargas (a four star JuCo recruit) will be manning the paint.
Throw Jon Hood, Darnell Dodson, Darius Miller, and DeAndre Liggins into the mix, and voila, Kentucky should once again be competing for the Final Four.
Now, I'm not going to comment on the appearance of sleaziness on the part of John Calipari. I'm sure you will see enough of that. (For the record, I don't necessarily believe that Cal did anything wrong. If Jones called Cal after he committed, the onus should be on Jones. That said, I also don't necessarily believe Cal is innocent. But that's another post for another day.) I'm also not going to comment on Jones' change of heart or how long he dragged out his recruitment. Again, there will be plenty of that to read.
What I will point out to you is that Jones didn't sign a national letter of intent. He signed a financial aid agreement. (There's a joke in there somewhere. He gets eight Ricky Roe duffel bags a year? The agreement he signed must have come in one of Tim Floyd's envelopes? Yeah, I got nothing.) And while a financial aid agreement is binding on the part of the school, it is no different than a verbal commitment on the part of the player.
In other words, Jones is guaranteed a scholarship at Kentucky, but he doesn't have to go to school there.
Its the exact same piece of paper that Brandon Knight put his pen too back in April.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Kentucky's two best recruits -- two of the most sought after high school basketball players in the class of 2010 -- are bound to the school by nothing more than their word.
Now, if I was a less cynical person, I would think that these kids are simply making the correct decision in not signing an LOI. I've railed against LOI's before, and I will likely do it again. But since I am cynical, I can't help but think about the other college basketball story that has been making headlines.
Coach Cal to the NBA.
Think about that.
The two most sought after players in Kentucky's incoming class (and yes, Jones and Knight were the two most sought after. Kanter, the third player that was ranked in the top ten, may very well never play a second of college basketball due to amateurism issues.) refused to sign national letters of intent. Why? Are they worried about Calipari possibly bolting for the league and LeBron? Do they know something we don't? Is Big Blue Nation's position on top of the world about to come crumbling down?
Who knows. I certainly don't.
But I wouldn't be surprised if this sets off another round of speculation.
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