What a day, I hope to have some video for you this week, but for now here’s the quick and dirty of what I saw at the Racing to the Rim showcase in Scott County. The main game I wanted to take in was the 1:30 game between Second Baptist (L.J. Rose) and Huntington Prep (Negus Webster-Chan).
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK][B][COLOR=blue]LJ Rose[/COLOR][/B]
Coach Payne was there to watch L.J. Rose on Friday, and Coach Antigua was there this afternoon. It’s easy to see why Rose is high on Kentucky’s list, he is a great ball handler and passer, and once he perfects his 3-point shot – he’ll be deadly. He told me he is still not 100% from his injury (this is only his 3rd game back) but if this isn’t 100%, I look forward to seeing what 100% looks like.
The toughest guy Rose ever played against? John Wall. When Rose was in 8th grade.
[B][COLOR=blue]Negus Webster-Chan[/COLOR][/B]
His first name is pronounced “NEE-gus”, and you get the feeling he’s used to the media. When I walked back into the cafeteria where the team was eating after the game, some of Negus’ teammates saw my Press Pass and hollered “Negus! You got a visitor!” Not that Webster-Chan is arrogant or anything, during the interview he was very respectful and very cordial. I even got a laugh out of him when I asked if Rodney Purvis was recruiting him. Webster-Chan also had a great game, and he has a great 3-point stroke.
His favorite artist? Drake & Lil Wayne.
[B][COLOR=blue]Rodney Purvis[/COLOR][/B]
No, Purvis was not at Racing to the Rim, but somebody needs to tell him that Pitino doesn’t have room on his staff for the coaches of all of the people Purvis is trying to recruit. “Oh no he didn’t!” Oh yes I did. The buzz at the Showcase was not only that Purvis committed to Louisville, but that he is trying to recruit everybody else there as well. Does Pitino need help recruiting? Well, this from the [URL=”http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20101211/SPORTS02/312110070/1002/sports/Louisville+lands+five-star+guard+Rodney+Purvis”]Courier-Journal[/URL]:
[QUOTE]Purvis had not considered U of L an option until Pitino hired assistant coach Tim Fuller last summer. Fuller has ties to the North Carolina area and had a relationship with Purvis.[/QUOTE] And we know that Pitino [URL=”http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/16657/pitino-facing-questions-over-assistant”]tried the same thing[/URL] with Marquis Teague. Didn’t they pass an NCAA rule about that recently?
But I digress. It was a fun time at Racing to the Rim today – great basketball and close to home (considering there were teams from Texas, West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina and Indiana). I encourage everyone to see the last day at Rupp tomorrow if you have the opportunity. I hope I can make it again next year.
