Kentucky to Play in Bizarre Springfield, Mass Tournament

This is a bizarre way to start your morning. A Tampa newspaper is reporting that Kentucky will play in the Naismith Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament, the finals of which will be played in Springfield, Massachusetts next year on November 19th and 20th. That sounds reasonable right? But there is more. According to the report, Kentucky is in the tournament with: Penn State South Florida Old Dominion Vermont Marist Two schools still to be determined. Boy that sounds great eh? Kentucky would host the first two games of the tournament the first weekend of the season (presumably against Marist, Vermont or the two other weakest schools) before playing against two of the Penn State, South Florida and ODU trio in Springfield. I am not sure if it is just me, but this sounds both random and awful. I do understand that there are recruits in the area, but in reality I am not sure that makes a ton of difference. All the best players will want to visit on campus anyway. It seems like a pretty weak field to me and the chance for sleeper games to start the season. But oh well, those of you in Springfield, Massachusetts will get to see the 2012 road show before anyone else. And I guess I can visit the Hall of Fame. So thats nice.