Briefings from Bismarck, North Dakota

So the Kentucky Sports Radio crew has made its way back into the United States and we are currently in the great state of "North" Dakota. We once again met up with an odd border crossing, although we found that as an American citizen, it is much more difficult to get into Canada than to get back into the United States. But we are back here in the land of the free and after a long day of traversing Montana ("Big Sky" country or not, it is a HUGE state), the trip back east continues through Bismarck, North Dakota (home to the nifty team that inspired the above patch). So what is on the UK plate...well not a whole lot, but here are a few things... (1) New UK target Jeff Brooks of Doss High School was a mystery to me when he was first mentioned as a UK target last week. It is very rare to have a player from Kentucky who falls under the radar to such a large degree, who then can be considered a viable UK recruit. Thus I was mighty skeptical. But some people with opinions that I respect swear to me that Brooks is a reasonable and even a good option for the Cats. My sources question whether he is a legitimate 6'8" and thus are skeptical as to whether he can actually play power forward in college, however all insist that the kid has more game than one would expect. There are rumors however about attitude problems that may have plagued Brooks during his high school career. However an assistant coach has recently come out saying that those problems have passed. Either way, expect much more news about Brooks in the coming weeks and an increased interest by Louisville as Brooks sees his stock continue to soar. (2) Word keeps coming out that UK players look like superstars during the scrimmages this summer in Memorial Coliseum. I am going to repeat what should be commonplace to all of you that have frequented in message boards in recent years. Believe NONE of it. Summer pickup games are terrible arbitrers of talent as all of us who saw Jules Camara, Josh Carrier, JP Blevins, Marvin Stone, etc can attest. What happens in these games is that the players are familiar with each other, the defense is lackadaisical and players who take it more seriously (i.e. those who have something to prove) inevitably tend to shine. Plus there are some players, Antwain Barbour comes to mind, whose games flourish in the up and down, unstructured pickup style and thus their talent in these games is ultimately irrelevant. Bottom line, when it comes to summer games, I trust what the players say (as they know who tends to have real talent and not just pickup talent) and what those who see the players in structured enviornments see.....ie the games not open to the public. According to this criteria, Derrick Jasper, Ramel Bradley and Randolph Morris have made big strides. That is what I like to hear.....as for the Jared Carter type news....we shall see. (3) Here is a name to consider. MARSHALL MOSES. I spoke with him tonight and not only is he still considering Kentucky, he has not even made certain that he will be classifying to the class of 2008 as he had previously expected. Marshall will be one of our guests on KSR Radio this week and we plan on pursuing his thoughts on this subject. Most had forgotten Marshall as his name has been lost as other 2007 forwards have popped to the surface. However if Moses stays as an 07 recruit, he could be a viable candidate for the UK class. Moses loves UK and if the attraction is mutual, this could be a name to watch. Moving south tomorrow into South Dakota and the cornfields of Iowa. If you have anything good for me, let me know....