Vincent
New in Town

Scout.com released their final top 100 player lisT for high school basketball last night. Harrison Barnes (committed to North Carolina) took home the top spot followed by Kyrie Irving (committed to Duke). Dave Telep and Evan Daniels done a pretty solid job with the rankings. I still am more fond of Jerry Meyer and the job that he does, but Telep and Daniels make a good case too.

Here is what the top ten looks like and where UK's other incoming players rank:

#1 - Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)
#2 - Kyrie Irving (Duke)
#3 - Enes Kanter (Kentucky)
#4 - Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)
#5 - Josh Selby (Kansas)
#6 - Brandon Knight (Kentucky)
#7 - Tobias Harris (Tennessee)
#8 - Terrence Jones (Kentucky..err Washington)
#9 - Perry Jones (Baylor)
#10 - Tristan Thompson (Texas)
#28 - Doron Lamb (Kentucky)
#67 - Stacey Poole (Kentucky)
NR - Jarrod Polson (Kentucky)

I don't know if I like Barnes at no. 1. He just doesn't seem to have that type of swagger. I really like Selby at no. 1 (another point for Jerry Meyer). Selby possesses the qualities and has that "swagger" that a number one guy is supposed to have (just like the number one guys in the past: John Wall, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Greg Oden, Michael Beasley, and so on). Selby is just a step behind John Wall in the quickness department and can drive by anyone in this class to the rim with ease. He, along with Kyrie Irving, may be the most dynamic players to watch in college basketball next season.

The rankings of Kanter and Knight seem pretty adequate. Knight didn't really show up in McDonald's All-American game other than the game-winning three-pointer: therefore, I can see him falling out of the top five. We all saw how good Enes Kanter was at the Nike Hoops Summit (besting Dirk Nowitzki's scoring record by scoring 34 points).

Doron Lamb is a little higher than #28 in my opinion. He done well for the playing time he received in the McDonald's All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic.

Stacey Poole is a little overrated on Rivals' list in my opinion. I think he's higher than #67. But I still think he's closer to that than compared to what Rivals.com ranked him (#33).

Overall, I like the rankings.

It was a busy news-fest this evening. No, this time it's not about Terrence Jones. First Coach Calipari was listed as a candidate for the Chicago Bulls coaching job..no biggie, right? Then a couple hours later, Yahoo! Sports reported that Cal was actually interested in the job and could leave Kentucky after just one season. Others like Gary Parrish of CBS kept the pot stirring with reasons why Calipari would leave and so on...okay, maybe it's time to panic. The same time these rumors were being fluxuated around, Cal released a couple of tweets that reminded us that his name would always been in the mix for NBA openings and he is "happy at Kentucky." Also during this same time, Andy Katz reported that Coach Cal had no interest in the Bulls head coaching position (which no one paid attention to). Well, that tidbit calmed me down at least.

All rumor talk was put to a quick stop when our beloved Athletic Director released a statement that him and John Calipari was working on a contract extension to keep at UK "until he retires." That breaking news couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I seen a few of you UK fans panicking. Don't act like you weren't (okay..even I was second guessing Cal). Was the timing of the statement by Barnhart was a coincidence? Not in the least. Barnhart is a smart man and a very good AD in my opinion. He's been responsible for a lot of good hirings at UK (John Calipari, Rich Brooks, Matthew Mitchell) (yeah, yeah..no one even remembers his hiring of Clyde Gillispie). So anyhow, great news for BBN tonight as it looks like the NBA is out of the picture for our leader..well, for now at least.