Amir Williams Talks Visit; Darryl Hicks Headed To Lexington

by:Dustin Rumbaugh01/06/10
As we talked about prior to his visit, Amir Williams is one of the top big men coming out the class of 2011. Currently, the 6-9 center is ranked as the 36th best prospect in his class. After his visit to Lexington this past weekend for the UK-UL game, Amir talked with me about his visit, his recruitment and the atmosphere inside Rupp Arena. Here's some highlights from that discussion: Dustin Rumbaugh: First off, just tell me a little bit about what you were able to do during your visit. Amir Williams: We just went to the basketball game then, after the game, we just kind of walked around the school and toured the campus and everything. DR: Were there any players that acted as your player-host or any players that guided your tour? Amir Williams: No, I just walked around with Coach O the whole time. DR: On your campus tour, what were some the specific things that you were able to see? Amir Williams:  We took a walk and I saw the dorms where the players stay at. We took a walk around [Wildcat Lodge], then where the library is and the practice facility and all that stuff. DR: During the game, just give me some of your impressions of the fans and of Rupp Arena and how that whole thing went. Amir Williams: Man, it was just a crazy atmosphere from the start. At the game you could just tell that everybody down there was Kentucky Wildcat fans. DR: Taking the visit as a whole, what the overall impression that you got from the visit and how it may or may not  have improved UK's position with you? Amir Williams: Overall it was a good impression but I can't say how it might rank them because I haven't seen all the schools that are recruiting me but they're still in the main category with everyone that's recruiting me at this time. DR: Can you give me some of the other schools that are recruiting you right now Amir Williams: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Miami, Providence, USC, Purdue, Minnesota, there's a bunch of them. I can't think of them all right now. DR: Which schools have offered you? Amir Williams: Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Miami, Arizona, Providence, Cincinnati, USC, Arkansas, Ohio State, I mean there's a bunch of them. I can't remember them all. DR: You said that you didn't have any kind of rank for them right? They're all the same right now in your mind and none of them stick out to you right now? Amir Williams: No, not right now. DR: Do you have any other future visits coming up? Amir Williams: Not that I know of. ---------------------------------------------- Freshman sensation Darryl Hicks has been a name getting a lot of attention lately. He plays at Shelby County High School in Kentucky and is already considered a top target for both UK and UL, as well as many other schools. I foresee this to be a major recruiting battle between our two top in-state universities. Hicks grew up surrounded by UL fans but he is also related to Charles "Atlas" Hurt who played for UK during the 1970's. Hicks will be taking a trip this weekend to Lexington so that he can take in the UK-Georgia battle. It marks an early chance for Kentucky to make an impression on the youngster, as they try to beat out the dirty birds for his services. *As a side note, I'm currently working on a large highlight reel of Hicks from the King of the Bluegrass and Shelby County tournaments. That should be posted soon on our YouTube recruiting page. Notes:

- Be sure to check out Drew's earlier post. He has an introduction to two huge UK recruits who will be playing in Lexington this weekend.

- The big news of last night, which sent shock waves through the recruiting world, was the injury to Michael Gilchrist's knee. Of course, this could have huge implications on his future in basketball and since he is regarded as UK's #1 recruit regardless of class it may also play a part in UK's future. Regardless of how we feel about UK, I'm sure most of us are just hoping that Gilchrist can get through this and that it won't ruin what looked to be a very bright future. We all here at KSR wish Michael the best. According to Zags Blog, he is scheduled to have an MRI today and we should know more about the details later.

Dustin Rumbaugh  is a law student and covers UK Basketball Recruiting for Kentucky Sports Radio. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. You can also follow Dustin on Twitter here. Please check out, subscribe to or RSS feed our YouTube Recruiting page here.

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