Associated Press
RALEIGH ó With another stellar recruit in the fold, Kentucky’s John Calipari is off to a fast start in his work to rebuild the storied men’s basketball program.
The school said John Wall has signed a letter of intent, making the sought-after recruit a late addition to what many already regarded as the top recruiting class in the country. Wall formally announced his decision to play for the Wildcats during a news conference Wednesday afternoon at his school, Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh.
Wall had been pursued by numerous schools, including Duke, N.C. State and Miami, but he said his relationship with Calipari ó which began when the coach was at Memphis ó might have been the most important factor.
“They all had great academics, a great coach, great players there,” Wall said. “It was a very tough decision, but the relationship with Coach Cal just got it overboard and helped me make my decision to go to the University of Kentucky.”
The 6-foot-4 point guard was named The Associated Press men’s player of the year for North Carolina in March and had been considered by many to be the top prospect in the country. He joins a class that already included DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton, a pair of five-star big men that helped the Wildcats earn the nation’s No. 1 class according to Scout.com.
Dave Telep, Scout.com’s national recruiting director, compared the Wildcats’ recruiting haul to classes inked by North Carolina and Ohio State in 2006. Those groups helped the Buckeyes reach the national championship game in 2007 and were at the core of the Tar Heels’ run to the NCAA title this season.
“This class on paper is as talented as those,” Telep said. “We’ll know exactly how good it is by how many times these guys play on Saturdays and Monday nights in the NCAA tournament.”
The incoming class should bolster a team that went 22-14 last season and lost in the third round of the NIT under Billy Gillispie. All-conference center Patrick Patterson withdrew his name from consideration for the NBA draft and will return next year, though high-scoring guard Jodie Meeks hasn’t announced whether he will return or remain in the draft.
“There’s going to be a lot of expectations,” Wall said. “But as the point guard, I’m going to try to come in and make everybody better and try to win games. I know it’s going to be tough from the beginning because we have a lot of freshmen coming in, and it’s a new team and a new coach. We’ve just got to go in and try to work hard and all of us become better players and make a run at the national championship.”
Wall said he might enter the NBA draft after one season, but it’s not his plan.
“My plan is to go to the University of Kentucky for the next two or three years,” he said. “After that one year, if Coach Cal says that it’s my time to go to the NBA, I’m going to go.”