There is a new trend in college basketball recruiting.
Some of the top high school players in the country, six to be exact, did not sign early with schools, which means this spring has been much crazier than usual for coaches at some of the best programs.
Some of that was why KeVaughn Allen, North Little Rock's talented guard, didn't sign his scholarship papers with Florida until this week. The Gators wanted him, but they had to wait and see how many scholarships they were going to have available.
"You just want to see the opportunities," Malik Newman, a Mississippi guard rated as high as the No. 3 player in the country, told USA Today last week. "It's not just, 'Hey, I like Kentucky so I'm going there.' You want to go somewhere where your talents can be used to the full effect and you get somewhere out of it.
"You can go to the NBA from anywhere. Damian Lillard made it to the league from Weber State."
The youngsters are wanting to see how many underclassmen declare for the NBA before they make the decision where they will spend the next year or two, which is more evidence that Kentucky is no longer considered the place for one-and-done stars.
As of Thursday, though, the Wildcats still had the No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting class in the nation, depending on the recruiting service.
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Wynn Sportsbook has set early odds for the Kentucky Derby and the favorite is Arkansas Derby winner American Pharoah at 3-1.
Last September when Wynn announced its future book wagering, American Pharoah was 40-1 but dropped to 30-1 soon after wagering began.
Carpe Diem, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes, was the second favorite at 7-2 but in the future book he was 100-1.
The third favorite was Dortmund, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, at 4-1. He wasn't listed in the future book.
International Star, an impressive winner of the Louisiana Derby, is 15-1 but was 175-1 last September.
Local sentimental favorite Far Right, second in the Arkansas Derby, is 30-1 and was 175-1 in the future book.
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I received the following spam email Thursday.
Can't say how legitimate the inquiry is -- consider that no contact number or email contact was included -- but I am pretty sure they weren't recruiting yours truly.
Hello,
We are Forestville Basketball team in Australia. We are looking for point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center with small to mid-sized contracts ($1,200-$6,000/per month). Interested players should forward game highlight or film.
We are interested to hear from any players who can add to the strength of our men and women. The Australian Basketball office will be pleased to assist players and parents with the complexities. Please get back to us. We will contact you on receipt.
Regards
Mr R Dikel
Team Manager
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Former Arkansas Razorbacks linebacker CJ McLain has founded Arkansas Legends Sports Group, which will host an interesting football camp/event scheduled for May 9-10 in Springdale.
The camp will be held at Shiloh Christian, and several former Arkansas Razorback athletes will serve as instructors. The camp is $100.
On Saturday night there will be a banquet and featured speakers will be Norm DeBriyn and Houston Nutt; that event is $50 per person.
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There was an advertisement Thursday on the Louisville Courier-Journal website for Kosair Children's Hospital that included the words "Play Smart, Eat Right."
Endorsing the ad is a smiling Bobby Petrino holding a bottle of water.
Petrino led the Cardinals to a 9-3 record last season, including 5-3 in ACC play. He may be hard and tough, but he can coach football.
Sports on 04/17/2015