With Calipari's recruiting in Lexington, 'everybody wants to go to Kentucky'

With Calipari's recruiting in Lexington, 'everybody wants to go to Kentucky'

Since John Calipari took over the program at Kentucky, the Wildcats' recruiting efforts have seemed to take on a life of their own.

Calipari reeled in the top group in each of his two classes with Kentucky and that streak appears to be headed in the same direction in 2011 as the Wildcats have commitments from the top two players in the class in Michael Gilchrist and Marcus Teague.

And as future recruits see four Kentucky freshman -- John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton -- all headed to a likely spot in the NBA Draft's first round Thursday night, Lexington seems to be the place to be, according to a story by Jody Demling for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal.

"Everybody wants to go to Kentucky," said Chicago point guard Ryan Boatright, a top-100 recruit who will be a senior in the fall. "Every high-profile kid out there wants to be a part of it."

Former Kentucky players, too, are happy to see things headed in the right direction.

"It's trendy again to go to Kentucky," said former UK All-American Rex Chapman, who attended the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 camp where Calipari made a bit impact on recruits, according to Demling. "... I know it wasn't due to lack of effort, but it's really good to see us having two, three, four McDonald's (All Americans) every year like it was in the '70s and '80s."

But while Calipari continues to bring in top classes, scouting analysts caution that it won't be the case all the time.

"You should celebrate it when it happens and realize it's a ridiculous thing when it happens," Scout.com analyst Dave Telep said. "You can't expect it every year."

But the bigger question might be: what does the rabid fan base in Lexington feel about this style of recruiting.

With four one-and-done players leaving Lexington this year -- and who knows how many in the next few seasons -- will this style wear thin among the Wildcat faithful.

The easy answer is that if it pays off with a national title, then sure, of course it'll play.

But if they don't bring home a title and Rupp Arena simply turns into a pit stop for top talent before heading to the NBA, then this recruitment of players who have little chance of spending four years in Lexington could wear thin.


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