2010 Prospect --- Russell Byrd

It was a fairly exciting day on the blog as we had our first ever 300 comment post that included a great deal of "crazy" courtesy of one poster, a wonderful offensive line preview from the great Duncan Cavanah and a debate on the Top 25 players of the Post-Probation UK era. But now we move on, and give a little shout out to 2010 prospect Russell Byrd. Russell is from Fort Wayne, Indiana and is the latest player to put UK high on his radar, even visiting the school in the last couple of weeks. He was interviewed by Jim Tirey at TCP this week and stated that the visit went well and that Kentucky is now one of his top schools, along with some teams in the Big Ten. Byrd is in the Class of 2010 and is a 6'7" wing type player that is attracting a lot of interest from second tier Big Ten schools and Michigan State. So what kind of player is Russell? Well I have seen him a couple of times and think he would be a strong system type player for UK. He can put the ball in the basket, is an intelligent player and can hit the boards when necessary. He reminds me of the type of player that Michigan State ALWAYS has (usually with red hair) and it is no surprise that most believe the Spartans to be his early leader. He is part of the great upcoming classes from Indiana and he has a connection to Dominique Ferguson, UK's other commitment from the class. In many ways, Byrd is a bit like Jon Hood, although I may like Hood's athleticism slightly more. I dont know that you need both players on your roster, but he certainly would be a solid addition if he ended up in Lexington. I still hold firm in my belief that UK needs another rock star to join Ferguson in the Class of 2010. With Dakotah Euton and KC Ross-Miller on board, the Cats need another player who can be top-notch after Meeks and Stevenson leave campus. Whether Byrd is that player remains to be seen, but he will be attending Midnight Madness and we will continue to follow his recruitment in the coming weeks. Look for a couple of tidbits during the day, including a potential update on the eligibility questiosn for the UK freshmen basketball players........