Kentucky recruit Dominique Ferguson seemed to have a message on the T-shirt he wore under his jersey. “Cats are back,” it read.
When asked about the T-shirt, Ferguson smiled self-consciously. It referred to his Bloomington (Ind.) Lawrence North team. He’s intent on restoring that program’s glory before moving on to UK in 2010.
Ferguson acknowledged UK’s recent slippage when he said, “It’s better for me to come in and make us better.”
Then he added, “I think they’ll be a lot better this year.”
Of more immediate concern to Ferguson is rebuilding his own basketball reputation. His goal at the adidas-sponsored It Takes 5ive Classic team tournament here is not to wow anyone. He just wants to convince critics he’s good enough to merit a Kentucky scholarship offer as a high school sophomore.
“After my commitment, I don’t think I’ve gotten the proper respect,” he said in soft-spoken tones. “I don’t think I’ve gotten my due. A lot of people think I’m over-rated.”
Ferguson admitted that the doubts rankled.
“I don’t listen to them,” he said before adding, “I listen a little. . . . I need to step up my game and take it to another level, take all my attributes to another level: Passing, scoring, dribbling, rebounding.”
Based on his opening game here on Sunday, Ferguson’s got a lot of work to do.
He took a spill when undercut on a fastbreak. He banged his backside on the court at the University of Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena. He spent the rest of the game laying on his belly in front of his team’s bench.
Injuries have played a big part of Ferguson’s career and put him in a position to have to prove himself here. As an eighth grader, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Three months later, he tore the patellar tendon that doctors had used a piece of to repair the ACL. The double-whammy sidelined Ferguson for about 12 months.
“It was good for me,” he said. “It taught me that if I don’t take it seriously, basketball can be over for me at any time. Now I always play my hardest.”
Matt Green, who coaches Ferguson on the Indiana Elite LNO team, noted how Ferguson fell out of the top five in the Class of 2010 after the injuries (the Prep Stars recruiting service still ranks him No. 5 in its updated ratings this spring). Some days Ferguson favors the knee, Green said. But even so, Ferguson remains a versatile, 6-foot-9 talent with perimeter skills. He can shoot over smaller defenders and blow by bigger opponents.
“Kind of like Scottie Pippen,” Green said.
Ferguson’s commitment to Kentucky falls into the whirlwind romance scenario that marks Billy Gillispie’s brief time as coach. Ferguson favored Purdue, which first offered a scholarship (at the end of the player’s sophomore season). He also liked Louisville.
All the school year, UK kept a steady drumbeat in its recruiting effort and repeatedly asked Ferguson to make a visit. When he finally came, Gillispie surprised him by offering a scholarship.
“It kind of caught me off guard,” Ferguson said.
After collecting himself, Ferguson accepted. Now he’s watching tapes of LeBron James and Tracy McGrady, players he wishes to emulate.
In a perfect world, Ferguson will lead Lawrence North to an Indiana state championship, then be part of bringing UK’s Cats back to the top of college basketball.
30
Archive Page 3 of 36
Less than two weeks after the college coaches’ association formally asked its members not to offer scholarships to prospects who haven’t completed the 10th grade, Florida accepted a commitment from a player who completed the ninth grade this spring.
Austin Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics’ coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers, committed to Florida on Wednesday night.
The commitment defies the National Association of Basketball Coaches, which “strongly” opposed such commitments in a June 19 news release. The NABC asked its coaches to refrain from offering scholarships or encouraging commitments from players who are 10th graders are younger.
The NABC recommendation came as a trend toward such commitments grew. For instance, Kentucky received commitments from a eighth grader (Michael Avery) and a ninth grader (Vinny Zollo) earlier this year.
Florida Coach Billy Donovan could not be reached for comment. In an interview with The Gainesville Sun last year, he saw no problem with such commitments.
“I believe that a decision to commit should be a family decision,” Donovan told the Gainesville newspaper. “It should be up to the family and the player to decide when they are comfortable to commit to a school.”
Rivers, a 6-foot-3 guard from the Orlando area, has an older sister, Kallie, who plays volleyball for Florida. He becomes the fourth player to commit to Florida prior to completing his sophomore year in Donovan’s 12 seasons as coach.
The other three all enjoyed successful college careers: Teddy Dupay, Mike Miller and Nick Calathes.
The NABC has no power of enforcment. It merely expresses its desires for how coaches should act. Executive Director Jim Haney suggested that Rivers’ commitment to Florida made the NABC leaders realized that NCAA legislation might be required to stop the trend of recruiting younger and younger prospects.
“We’re in the process of working that out now with the NCAA,” Haney said. He said he expected schools to vote on implimenting rules against such commitments no sooner than the NCAA convention of 2010.
NABC Associate Director Reggie Minton, who heads the organization’s ethics committee, noted that the June 19 statement opposing scholarship offers to younger prospects was “based on what they feel is best for the game.”
But Minton was philosophical about Florida apparently expressing its disagreement by accepting Rivers’ commitment.
“One thing I’ve learned all along in college basketball is one size doesn’t fit all . . . ,” Minton said. “There are going to be guys who say, ‘Hey, I’m in favor of a free market. If there’s a guy out there and I can get him to commit, I should be able to get him to commit.’ ”
The NABC opposes laissez-faire as an approach to recruiting.
“Are we going to say everybody is going to be concerned with their own self-interest?” Minton said. “It makes for an environment we don’t think is as healthy as it should be.”
30
Former Indiana guard Jordan Crawford, the younger brother of ex-Kentucky guard Joe Crawford, expects to announce his college choice this weekend.
According to their mother, there’s basically no chance that Jordan will follow in Joe’s footsteps and play for UK.
For one thing, Kentucky did not express interest in Jordan, Sylvia Crawford said on Wednesday. When asked what the family heard from UK, Mrs. Crawford said, “Uh, well, we didn’t.”
That was fine with the Crawfords, who’ve maintained good relations with UK’s coaches, Sylvia Crawford said.
“We certainly didn’t need them about anything,” she said. “We’ve been talking to the coaching staff about Joe. I know we could ask them for advice.”
Joe Crawford was picked in the second round by the Los Angeles Lakers in last week’s NBA draft.
“For the most part, we know they had a point guard coming in who is pretty highly ranked, from what Joe told us,” Sylvia Crawford said in reference to incoming freshman DeAndre Liggins.
Jordan prefers to establish himself independent of his older brother rather than follow in Joe’s footsteps, Mrs. Crawford said. So Jordan was not fazed by UK’s lack of interest.
“He would have been flattered by it,” she said. “But at the same time he felt (UK) was Joe’s. Not that he felt he couldn’t live up to it. He just didn’t want to pattern himself (after his older brother) for others to compare.”
Jordan cast his own considerable shadow as a freshman last season for Indiana. He averaged 9.7 points, which ranked seventh among Big Ten freshmen. He also averaged 25.3 minutes while making 36.6 percent of his three-point shots.
His transfer came in the wake of Indiana replacing Kelvin Sampson as coach with Tom Crean. Also NCAA penalties loom as Indiana has self-reported rules violations in its basketball program.
Jordan is considering Xavier, Cincinnati, Texas, Oklahoma and Central Michigan. He’s “leaning more than heavily” toward one of those schools, his mother said.
She declined to identify which school while saying an announcement should come during the July 4 holiday weekend.
30
UK issued a vaguely-worded news release on Tuesday that was hard to decipher. Here’s the crux of the matter: UK is closing the basketball museum and plans to re-open it on campus, most likely in the Craft Center.
In its Lexington Civic Center location (adjoining Rupp Arena), the museum had financial problems from the beginning. Executive Director Van Florence expressed his regret in not being able to get the museum out of its financial hole.
The museum faced a June 30th deadline to meet its debts. The debts, which were linked to its launch in 1999, had required the raising of more than $1,000,000.
Earlier this year, Deputy Director of Athletics Rob Mullens vowed that if the museum closed its doors, UK would honor the basketball program in a fitting way on campus. Officially now, that’s the plan.
Jordan Crawford, the younger brother of former UK guard Joe Crawford, has not heard from Kentucky as he searches for a new school, the player’s mother said on Friday.
Sylvia Crawford said she was under the impression that Indiana had not put restrictions on Jordan’s transfer. The younger Crawford decided earlier this month to transfer after playing one season for the Hoosiers.
Perhaps Kentucky does not have an available scholarship. Or perhaps UK prefers to fill out its backcourt by waiting to see if incoming freshman DeAndre Liggins can gain his academic eligibility.
Mrs. Crawford said she had not asked Jordan for a reaction to Kentucky not expressing an interest.
Meanwhile, Jordan has spoken with schools, Mrs. Crawford said. She declined to identify the schools for fear of leaving one out, she said.
Jordan is in the process of trying to narrow his choices to three and then decide if he will make recruiting visits.
Her son does not necessarily think he has to make visits, Mrs. Crawford said. However, he wants to feel fully informed before making a choice.
Jordan played well and contributed regularly as a freshman for Indiana.
Might Kentucky want Jordan Crawford to transfer in from Indiana?
His mother, Sylvia Crawford, said on Friday that she’d expect UK to show interest. “I would hope they would be interested,” she said.
But, first, the Crawford family and Indiana need to work out the terms of Crawford’s release. In the wake of former IU Coach Kelvin Sampson’s departure, Crawford decided last week to transfer from Indiana.
Indiana has not decided what, if any restrictions, it wants to place on Crawford’s choice of a second college, spokesman J.D. Campbell said in an e-mail message.
So the Crawfords must wait for those details to be finalized before seriously considering Jordan’s options.
“We need to get a more complete release,” Mrs. Crawford said. “It’s a bit of a puzzle at this stage.”
When asked if Jordan Crawford would be interested in Kentucky, Mrs. Crawford noted that her middle son knows the UK program well because of older brother Joe Crawford’s experiences.
“He knows about Coach (Billy) Gillispie through watching Joe play for them,” Mrs. Crawford said. “I think he’s a tremendous coach.”
But, Mrs. Crawford noted, Jordan Crawford is old enough to “lead the process.” His thinking will dictate. Jordan turns 20 on Oct. 23.
Crawford averaged 9.7 points as a freshman last season for Indiana. That marked the seventh best scoring average by any Big Ten freshman.
Crawford also averaged 25.3 minutes and made 44 percent of his shots (36.6 percent from three-point range).
One of his better games came against Kentucky. With two other guards unavailable, Crawford made his first career start and scored a team-high 20 points in leading the Hoosiers to a 70-51 victory.
Mrs. Crawford said that the family has heard through the basketball grapevine that “a number of schools” are interested in Jordan. She declined to say specifically if UK was one of those schools.
That might be a moot point if Indiana chooses not to permit a transfer to Kentucky.
Former UK player John Pelphrey had started a foundation to help children’s charities. He announced the foundation on Tuesday.
Here’s the news release:
In memory of their late son, University of Arkansas men’s basketball coach John Pelphrey and his wife Tracy are launching a foundation to benefit children’s charities with a special emphasis on neonatal care, the couple announced Tuesday. The “Pel’s Pals Foundation” was created as a memorial to honor their son, John Patrick, who passed away prematurely in 2003.
“This has been an idea that Tracy and I have shared for quite some time now,” said Pelphrey, who just completed his first year as the Razorbacks coach. “We are very blessed to be in a position to give back, and we hope to rally our friends, this community and the great state of Arkansas to help us make a difference in the lives of children, all in the spirit of John Patrick.”
As part of the launch, the foundation will play host to a celebrity roast, auction and golf tournament in Fayetteville, June 30-July 1. The featured auction item – the opportunity to play a round of golf with Pelphrey and Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino at the upcoming LPGA Tournament pro-am at the Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers – will open to public beginning Thursday, June 11, at 6 p.m. CT on www.eBay.com.
“I’m nearly speechless at the outpouring of support we have received in creating this Foundation,” Pelphrey said. “From Jeff Long and our athletics department, to John Tyson and the Wal-Mart family, nearly everyone we have contacted has said yes.”
The Pelphreys will target neonatal research and care facilities as part of their overall outreach from these fundraising efforts. Five years ago, John Patrick died prematurely after being diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. The support the Pelphreys received at that time, including the tremendous care shown to their family by the dedicated men and women who worked with them throughout their ordeal, made a lasting impression on the couple.
The Pel’s Pals Foundation event, which will be held annually, will tip off with the John Pelphrey Celebrity Roast & Auction on June 30 at the Fayetteville Town Center. Coach Pelphrey will be the focus of the Roast in honor of his 40th birthday. Those expected to attend include former Arkansas and Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton, Florida’s Billy Donovan and Louisville’s Rick Pitino. The following day, The Blessings Golf Course will play host to the Pel’s Pals Charity Golf Tournament featuring a celebrity in every foursome.
Unique auction items include trips with the team, luxury suites, private basketball fantasy camps, and the like, but perhaps the most impressive auction item is the golf two-some with Pelphrey and Petrino, which was donated by Proctor & Gamble. The online auction begins Wednesday, June 11 at 6 p.m. CT and concludes Saturday, June 21, at 6 p.m. CT. Given the short time between the Foundation dinner on June 30 and the LPGA Pro-Am on July 2, organizers decided to auction the two-some online in advance. Bidders can search for the item by using “Pel’s Pals Auction” or by following the link provided on www.HogWired.com.
The event is managed by Blue Entertainment Sports Television (BEST), Pelphrey’s marketing and event consultants. For more information on sponsorship, dinner tickets, or foursome information, contact Laura Brooks Lundy at 859-317-2200 or go to www.pelspals.com.
- Pel’s Pals -
About Pel’s Pals
The “Pel’s Pals” Foundation was organized in 2007 by Tracy and John Pelphrey in memory of their infant son, John Patrick Pelphrey, who died prematurely in 2003. The foundation was established to honor John Patrick’s name by generating financial support to benefit children’s charities with a special emphasis on providing resources and education for neonatal efforts across the United States. Proceeds are generated from annual fundraising activities. www.PelsPals.com
About BEST
BEST is a unified full-service sports and entertainment company. Current clients include musicians Janet Jackson and Chamillionaire, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, NFL Pro Bowlers DeAngelo Hall and Will Smith, 2008 first round NFL draft picks, Glenn Dorsey and Chris Johnson, NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace, 2007 NBA Lottery picks Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer, Australian, French and US Open Champion Justine Henin, US Open Champion Andy Roddick, No. 1 doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan, MMA star Houston Alexander, Arizona State basketball coach Herb Sendek, Louisville football coach Steve Kragthorpe and Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy. Media & Event properties include the US Open Tennis Championship, the French Open Tennis Championship, the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, numerous US-based ATP tournaments, Rock ’n Racquets, Hoop It Up, Let It Fly, Kick It, the Boston Marathon, the Superstars Competition, the AVP Beach Volleyball tour, Ice Wars, the World Cup of Softball, The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase, the Men’s and Women’s Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships and the Men’s Ford Tennis Championship. www.experienceBEST.com
Kentucky freshman-to-be Darius Miller was among 25 players invited to the 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Under-18 National Team Trials, which will be July 1-3 in Washington, D.C.
USA Basketball announced the invitees on Tuesday. After leading Mason County to the state championship, Miller was named Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball.
The trials will be held at Verizon Center. The Men’s Collegiate Committee will announce the 12-member USA U18 National Team roster, plus alternates. The selected finalists will remain in Washington, D.C., for the July 4-10 training camp. The USA squad will depart for Formosa, Argentina for the 2008 FIBA America’s U18 Championship for Men on July 10. Competition is July 14-18.
Here’s the news release by USA Basketball:
The 25 players selected include: Isaiah Armwood (Montrose Christian H.S. / Rockville, MD); Kenny Boynton (American Heritage H.S. / Plantation, FL); Dominic Cheek (St. Anthony H.S. / Jersey City, NJ); Drew Gordon (Archbishop Mitty H.S. / San Jose, CA); JaMychal Green (St. Jude H.S. / Montgomery, AL); Kenny Hall (Redan H.S. / Stone Mountain, GA); Matt Humphrey (Hales Franciscian H.S. / Chicago, IL); Ryan Kelly (Revenscroft H.S. / Raleigh, NC); Sylven Landesberg (Holy Cross H.S. / Flushing, NY); Malcom Lee (John W. North H.S. / Riverside, CA); Leslie McDonald (Briarcrest H.S. / Memphis, TN); Darius Miller (Mason County H.S. / Maysville, KY); Reeves Nelson (Modesto Christian H.S. / Modesto, CA); Mason Plumlee (Christ H.S. / Arden, NC); Travis Releford (Bishop Miege H.S. / Shawnee Mission, KS); Lance Stephenson (Lincoln H.S. / Brooklyn, NY); Ari Stewart (Wheeler H.S. / Marietta, GA); Dexter Strickland (St. Patrick H.S. / Elizabeth, NJ); Hollis Thompson (Loyola H.S. / Los Angeles, CA); Terrell Vinson (Montrose Christian H.S. / Rockville, MD); Kemba Walker (Rice H.S. / New York, NY);Maalik Wayns (Roman Catholic H.S. / Philadelphia, PA); David Wear (Mater Dei H.S. / Santa Ana, CA); Travis Wear (Mater Dei H.S. / Santa Ana, CA); and Wesley Witherspoon (Berkman H.S. / Lilburn, GA).
The coaches for the USA team are Bob McKillop of Davidson College who will serve as head coach. The assistant coaches will be VCU’s Anthony Grant and Georgetown’s John Thompson III. Collegiate head coaches who will serve as trials’court coaches include Cornell’s Steve Donahue, Kevin McCarthy of the State University of New York at Cobleskil, Joe Niland of the University of Mobile and Gary Stewart of the University of California at Davis.
Nine of the 25 trials participants will be college freshman in the 2008-09 season, and the remaining 16 will be high school seniors in the class of 2009. Among those college freshmen are Gordon and Lee who have both been signed by UCLA, Green at Alabama, Humphrey at Oregon, Landesberg with Virginia, Miller at Kentucky, Walker with Uconn and Releford at Kansas. The release stated five of the players, including Alabama’s Green, were 2007-08 Gatorade Boys Basketball state Players of the Year in their respective states in a list that included Green for the state of Alabama, Releford for Kansas, Miller for Kentucky, Landesberg for New York and McDonald for Tennessee. The release also said that Rivals.com ranked six of the seniors among its top 50 players, while the remaining three seniors rounded out the top 100. Walker listed No. 14, Green placed No. 21, Witherspoon was No. 34, Miller ranked No. 43, Gordon at No. 46, Lee was No. 48, Landesberg at No. 66, Releford listed No. 70, while Humphrey ranked No. 95. It said 11 of the rising juniors rank among Rivals.com top 50 players in the class of 2009. Stephenson lists No. 7, Cheek is No. 11, Strickland is No. 16, Armwood is No. 23, Wayns at No. 24, Nelson ranks No. 30, McDonald is No. 32, Plumlee ranks No. 40, Hall lists No. 41, Kelly is No. 44 and Thompson is No. 46. Four additional juniors also listed amongst Rivals’ top-65: Wear (David) ranks No. 54, Wear (Travis) lists No. 55, Stewart is No. 59, while Vinson ranks No. 61.
The SEC named Kentuckian Chris Lofton as one of two winners of its new sportsmanship award.
Of course, Lofton grew up in Maysville, Ky., and became a basketball star at the University of Tennessee. This past season he became the SEC’s career leader in three-point baskets.
Here’s the news release from the SEC:
University of Tennessee basketball player Chris Lofton and University of Florida golfer Jessica Yadloczky have been named recipients of the inaugural SEC Sportsmanship Award, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced Tuesday. The winners will be forwarded for nomination to the NCAA for its national sportsmanship awards, to be announced in July.
The two were chosen by a vote of the SEC Directors of Athletics.
“Sportsmanship is one of the core values of athletics,” said Slive. “Student-athletes can learn life’s lessons by participating in sports in a manner that classroom teaching cannot accomplish. Sportsmanship is one of those lessons. I congratulate Chris and Jessica for championing the cause of sportsmanship this year and earning this prestigious honor.”
Lofton, a senior from Maysville, Ky., played the entire 2007-08 basketball season with cancer without letting anyone know, even teammates. The disease was detected after the Vols’ NCAA Tournament game against Long Beach State on March 16, 2007. He underwent treatments in April and May of 2007.
Lofton went through the ordeal – surgery, radiation, recovery and all of the emotional distresses that go along with it – without very few people knowing about it. He made no excuses whenever he was feeling down or had a sub-par performance on the playing floor.
During his senior season, Lofton helped lead the Vols to a 31-5 record, the SEC title and a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 berth. He led Vols in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game, while playing 30 minutes per game. His numbers were below his junior season efforts, when he was named the SEC Player of the Year, averaging 20.8 points per game. But, he made his final college campaign about the “team” rather than himself, by taking the focus off of himself.
Today, Lofton is cancer free and his message to fellow cancer survivors is, “You can beat it.”
Yadloczky, a freshman from Casselberry, Fla., finished fifth in the SEC with her season average of 74.00 strokes per round. She helped lead the Gators to the SEC title and a ninth place finish in the NCAA Golf Championships this season.
Her best outing was a tie for second at the Northrup/Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes, Calif., where on the last green; she made a decision for sportsmanship. During the second round, Yadloczky realized that her ball had moved after she addressed it. The freshman did not know that she needed to replace the ball to avoid further penalty and then putted out.
Immediately after the round, Yadloczky explained the situation to her coach, but because she had not replaced the ball before she putted out, the penalty became two strokes. She ended up finishing second in the tournament by just one stroke.
Because of her sportsmanship, she has brought honor to herself, to her school and to her sport.
Other male nominees for the 2008 SEC Sportsmanship Award were: Ben Tschepikow, baseball, Arkansas; Jay Moseley, golf, Auburn; James Smith, football, Florida; Jacob Tamme, football, Kentucky; and the University of South Carolina baseball team.
Other female nominees for the 2008 SEC Sportsmanship Award were: Alison Harter, soccer, Arkansas; Adrienne Mills, gymnastics, Auburn; and Sara Pollock, soccer, LSU.
In case you haven’t heard, a power forward who played the last two seasons for Hampton is attending summer school at UK. Matthew Pilgrim, a 6-8, 225-pound player with two seasons of eligibility remaining, presumably wants to play for the Wildcats.
We say “presumably” because Pilgrim is not living with the other players in Wildcat Lodge, spokesman Scott Stricklin said on Thursday.
Pilgrim averaged 7.7 points and 5.2 rebounds as a sophomore this past season for Hampton. He is a native of Cincinnati.
Hampton Coach Kevin Nickelberry has acknowledged that Pilgrim would transfer to another school this off-season. But Nickelberry has not elaborated. Pilgrim was part of Nickelberry’s first recruiting class for Hampton.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.