It has been reported that UK has made the Final four four list of 2010 SG prospect Stacy Poole, and his dad recently told the CJ’s Jody Demling thta the Cats were young Poole’s #1 school, so it seems like a good time to get to know this rising star a little better.

Stacy Poole

This 6-5 195lb SG attends the Providence School in Jacksonville FL, he is ranked as the #27 overall prospect nationally by Rivals, and has showed strong over the summer AAU circuit.

Poole can be described like so many Calipari recruits as a super athletic multi dimensional player who excels in transition, from quick slashing drives to the rim, to daring acrobatic finishes in traffic Stacy shows big time abilities, he has excellentspeed and quickness and his a treat to attack any time he gets a touch, his first step is explosive , but he also has that rare jumping jack ability that allows him to be a great rebounder and get off the floor for second chance scores. Stacycan defend multiple positions due to his length and hard nosed play.

Stacy has relied on pure athleticism up to this point, but to take the next step he will have to improve his streaky jump shot, an dtighten up his ball handling, but overall Poole is fast rising talent with tremendous upside.

Just on a side note, we all want the one and done players, but as I look at the 2010 class it seems that even if UK were to miss on the top 1o ranked players they could still have an absolutely stellar class with the guys like Adreian Payne #21, Doran Lamb #21, Stacey Poole #27, Camaron Clark #30 and Luke Cothron at #33, now don’t get me wrong I want  Brandon Knight, Josh Selby and the guys that exploded up the rankings like Tobias Harris #5, CJ Leslie, and Terrance Jones, but regardless of the decision of the top 10,  I think it is safe to say that Cal can still bring in a top notch group for next season.

Here are a couple of sick dunks from mister Poole.

Harris conformed on Zagsblog.com that he will have a in-home visit with UK/Calipari, on September 9th. UK will be the first of 11 teams who have in-home visits set up with Tobias.

The news has leaked that the 6′8  power forward will stop by UK campus for a quick visit today before heading out to Oregon for the Nike Global Challange Basketball Tournement.  UK has really started to pick up their recuirtment on this guy and offered him a scholarship a couple of weeks back. Tobias is a very talented big man and has all the skills to fit into the dribble drive offense Coach Cal runs. Check back later for more updates.

CJ Leslie

This young man is undoubtedly UKs #1 target at the 4 spot, Calipari has left no doubt about that, and having his former teammate John Wall on the squad can’t hurt the Cats chances.

CJ is most often compared to a young Kevin Garnett and for good reason, they have a very similar skill set, and even resemble each other a little. Leslie is the prototype  for the kind of PF that will be targeted under the new staff, Long, atheletic, mobile, and able to play inside and out. It will be a test to get CJ out of Carolina but he seems very high on the Cats.

Tobias Harris

This kid has exploded over the summer on the AAU circuit, and has caught the eye of every coach in the country including Coach Cal.

Tobias is an outstanding face up four man, and could even see time at the wing in the DDMO, he has improved by leaps and bounds in the last year, every facet of his game has jumped a level, and he will make a huge impact at whatever school is lucky enough to sign him.

Luke Cothron 

This highly skilled big man has remained largely under the radar despite the fact that he is the highest ranked of any of the Kentucky prospects.

Luke suffered a horrendous knee injury in Vegas last week and could miss most of his senior year, I don’t know how this will effect his recruitment. We love this kids game and hope he comes back with a vengeance.

Terrance Jones

This 6-7 210lb PF from Oregon is very high on the Cats, and alot of the experts say he is a lock if Cal shows more interest, other recruitment’s will play a role in this saga.

Terrance has a terrific build and the sky is the limit with his upside, but he is still developing and could be the type of four year player the Cats could use with the large amount of Scholarships they have available next year.

Dwight Powell 

This young man from Canada can play either the 4 or 5 spot.

Powell is long and rangy with a nice skill package for a 6-10 big man.

I really like the potential of Dwight Powell and believe he is the kind of player that could develope over the next couple of years.

If you notice one similarity among the bigs Cal targets, it is that they are all long, quick, atheletic, jumping jacks, you will find no plodders here.

We all know that John Calipari is a recruiting machine, and there is a lot less worry and stress involved in following recruiting these days, but the hard part is keeping up with all the players that UK has interest in, so over the next few days we will put together a position by position wish list of the players that Cal and Co are showing the most love. We will start with the Big Guys, Calipari covets a different kind of Center than we have been used to over the last few years, no 7 ft projects here.

Adreian Payne 

This young man is without a doubt the prize that UK most wants at the Center spot, and it looks like it will be a recruiting war between two masters of the game, as most folks in the know believe this is a two horse race between Huggy Bear at WVU and Calipari at UK.

Payne is a work horse with a ton of potential, he possess intangibles that can’t be taught, heart, desire, and effort, he also loves to do the work in the trenches, and would rather have blocks and rebounds than points, he runs the floor very well and his offensive game is improving by leaps and bounds. He is ranked has the #4 center in his class but has a chance to be the best of the bunch.

Tarik Black 

This beast is not discussed as often as some of the UK targets, but have no doubt that the staff is interested in Tarik, the main rivals in this recruiting battle are Duke and Memphis ( his Hometown).

At 6-8 230lbs Tarik Black is a long athletic post player that runs the floor extremely well and finishes above the rim, and is terrific in transition for a big. What I find the most impressive about Black is his aggresive play, he goes after the rock like a man possessed. If you want the full story on Tarik look in our recruiting archives for the full evaluation. 

Fab Melo

Yes UK is interested in the object of Rick Pitinos dark fantasies, everyone knows that little Ricky doesn’t show his face much these days, but when he does it is to follow around Fab, it would be a great moment in UK history if Cal could sweep in and steal Ricks top target.

Melo is a very raw big man, but he shows flashes of brilliance, and his potential is off the charts. Personally I feel he may not be a great fit in the DDMO, and would fit better in the traditional post offense, but he will be a very nice player and would be a nice pickup for any team. 

Joshua Smith

Coach Cal has had an on again off again love affair with Smith, he was a top target while Cal was still at Memphis, and then he stopped contact for a couple of months, and now he is back in the mix.

Smith is an absolute load at 6-9 280lbs, and he has great agility and quickness for a kid his size. Josh is the most promising prospect in the western part of the country, but along with that comes a lack of talent to compete against on a regular basis, he has been known to play down to the level of his opponents, and at times shown lack of effort, but with a good conditioning program he could become a tremendous talent.

Any of these young men will be a nice addition to the roster, and with the Master at the helm I would be surprised if one of these bigs doesn’t end up in the Blue and White.