Marquis Teague to announce tomorrow

Marquis Teague, a consensus top five talent in the class of 2011 and the younger brother of former Wake Forest star and current Atlanta Hawk guard Jeff Teague, will be announcing his college decision tomorrow (Thursday) at 1:30 pm.

And it is a safe bet that the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky will be eagerly awaiting Teague's decision.

Where is Marquis Teague headed?
(photo credit: IndyHoops)

The general consensus is that Teague will be choosing between Louisville and Kentucky tomorrow. He was long considered a virtual certainty to suit up for Rick Pitino. He father played for Pitino at Boston University. Pitino hired Shabaka Lands, a former assistant at Pike High School (where Teague plays) last summer. Hell, Pitino even scheduled a trip to Butler in December of 2011, meaning that Teague would be headed back to Indianapolis for what could very well be his first road game at Louisville.

But then Coach Cal got involved. And as he is known to do, Cal made enough of an impression that no one has any clue where Teague is headed.

If Pitino lose Teague to Kentucky, it could be a very bad sign for Louisville, particularly since it would be coming on the heels of five-star center Michael Chandler's decision to re-open his recruitment. And don't forget that last summer, Pitino lost Fab Melo -- a kid most believed was headed to Louisville -- to Syracuse.

Pitino has built his class around Teague, pursuing hard since day one. He has connections to the kid's family. What kind of signal would it send if he lost Teague to his school's biggest rival and the coach he has a personal rivalry against?

"Rick Pitino and his staff need [Teague]," Scout.com's Evan Daniels told the Lexington Herald. "In fact, Teague is one of the most important prospects he's recruited since he's been at Louisville. Teague's father and uncle played for him, he's spent over two years recruiting him, and his blockbuster class in 2011 was built around Teague."

If Teague commits to Louisville, the Cardinals -- who struggled this past season and may have just lost Samardo Samuels to the NBA -- would return to the top of college basketball.

If Teague joins Big Blue Nation, I think it is safe to say that John Calipari has taken over the Bluegrass State.