Derby Classic News and Notes

by:Matt Jones04/15/07
ajstew.jpg It is very late and I will have much more tomorrow, but here are some notes.... (1) AJ Stewart won the dunk contest and was able to show the crowd his strong athleticism. Stewart's win in the dunk contest had more to do with the others missing than his outstanding performance.....but nevertheless he showcased in the contest and thoughout the game that he is a great athlete. He did not however have a game to remember and tended to blend into the woodwork. For Stewart the future is bright at Kentucky.....he will be a contributor when he arrives at UK....but stardom is unclear. However (and this is important), he may be the biggest recruiter outside of Billy Clyde that UK has at this point. (2) I actually was pleasantly surprised by Mike Williams and his performance. My biggest worry about Williams has always been that he would not have a knack for the game and would be unable to perform at the college level. However he had 8 points, got some putbacks and showed some physicality. He is however VERY SLOW.....he will not be a substantial contributor next year and his future is a bit cloudy. But after watching Mike this weekend, I do think he has a chance to be a decent UK player.....and I wasnt sure of that until this weekend. (3) Both kids however did show that they have the UK spirit down pat. AJ Stewart put a UK sticker on the Cardinal logo when introduced and Mike Williams dropkicked a Cardinal stuffed animal into the crowd. Both know what is important in Big Blue nation. (4) DeAndre Jordan got a big ovation from the UK fans and had a great performance in the game. We were unable to learn much about his plans after the game, but he is expected to speak to Mark Turgeon this week, and then will decide what he is going to do soon after. UK is still a player, but not the favorite. (5) Stephon Pettigrew showed that he can do some things good enough for a UK scholarship, but it is unclear if will be enough. He won the three point contest, but blended into the woodwork in the game, thus not showing us how he will match up against top level competition. It wasnt a bad performance, but it left many questions still unanswered. This will be the week that determines whether Pettigrew plays at UK.....we shall see. It is an all star game so you have to take everything with a grain of salt.....but we did learn a little about the future UK players and those who still may end up in Lexington. And part of what we learned is that Billy Clyde needs to make one or two waves in the next few weeks to help this team get to the next level.

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