While I tend to agree with gbruin, who said it is only a matter of time before Kansas is champ as the Kentucky title may be vacated by the NCAA; the vacater-in-chief, John Calipari said in a blog posting entitled "Don't let anyone steal our joy":
We're trying to catch UCLA, folks.
He said this in the context of leading Kentucky to try to match UCLA's national title count, but he may be trying to catch UCLA in another respect right now: the Shabazz Muhammad sweepstakes, as Rivals' scout Jerry Meyer writes:
Just hearing from good sources that its UCLA. Don't know that I'd ever say Kentucky is completely out
Jerry is confirming what others have been writing for a while. He is significant because he is not a UCLA based scout like the guys at Bruin Report Online. Speaking of which one of those guys at BRO helps explain why Shabazz Muhammad is so good:
"He's a guy who could change the program," said Greg Hicks, Scout.com's West Coast recruiting analyst.
Or how about ESPN:
"Shabazz Muhammad is the guy they have to get," said Joel Francisco, ESPN.com's West Coast recruiting coordinator. "He would be such an impact player and possibly a conference player of the year as a freshman."
What kind of guy is a UCLA must have? It goes beyond talent:
Muhammad is considered a throwback in terms of his work ethic and competitiveness. Hicks, the Scout.com recruiting analyst, compared him to former Bruins great Arron Afflalo in terms of his intensity but said Muhammad had more talent.
AA? The prototypical Ben Ball player! Kyle Anderson may be the most unique player in a while and the two of them together would give UCLA arguably the top recruiting class in the country:
If he does choose UCLA, it would give head coach Ben Howland the top-two players in the 2012 class. (Kyle Anderson, who has already signed his letter of intent, is currently ranked No. 2 by Rivals.)
So maybe for a brief moment Calipari will be trying to catch UCLA. Hopefully next year in April he will be looking up at UCLA after the tournament is over.
Go Bruins.
