Marc Maggard's AAU Report

Here is Marc's report from the Fort Wayne AAU Tournament: Beas Hamga said his visit to UNLV was “ok”. I don’t they are much of a player for his services. Some feel that Marc Adam’s connection to the assistant there may have been the reason for the visit. I still feel like UK is a firm leader and so do others close to that situation. IU is probably the next in line, but my personal opinion is that they are not a close second. I think that the UK visit is going to be what may close the deal as long as he can get cleared by the NCAA for 07. Lots of great players at the Spiece Bill Hensley Memorial Classis in Fort Wayne Indiana. I’m currently parked at a rest stop on I 65 between Etown and Louisville typing away. There are tons of great kids who are not on UK’s radar, but I’ll save those remarks for the colleges who want to read em….Here is the stuff that is pertinent to UK Some reports from Oklahoma are that Jai Lucas has called to inform them that they are no longer in consideration. I do not have any ability to confirm or deny that particular rumor, but I can say that OK State has not been told the same thing. However, Ok St. was told last week that they would be making any cut (whether it was to two or three schools). I suspect that Ok St. will remain on the list till the decision Is announced. I hate following Lucas and Patterson as you guys know, so I’m done with this part of the report. Jamil Wilson plays for the playground warriors and reminds me of a Tracy McGrady with the ability to play all spots at 6/7. He is an 09 player and is going to be recruited nationally. No list as of yet, but I think UK will show some interest (please, let’s not get on the wagon here….he has not mentioned any schools to me and UK may never be mentioned…he’s just that good) The 2010 kids from Rose Hill were playing with West Virginia 2010 phenmon PG Noah Cottrell (Florida offered already as a fresh). Noah is viewed by Florida as the “next Brett Nelson” and has all facets of the game. He has very good athleticism and great vision. He can flat shoot the ball from any range and gets to the rim with bounce and balance. Noah’s only negative is his shot release, which is off his right shoulder. He has a quick release, but since it’s launched from a low point, he can be prone to blocks. His teammates are the Rose hill standouts of Chad Jackson and Dakotah Eucton. Jackson is a 6-5 2010 combo guard with PG skills and passing ability. He is tremendously athletic as well, but needs to significantly improve his jumper (shoots the ball flat on his palm). Jackson and Eucton are very close friends, as Jackson lived with Eucton for about 2 years when Jackson was going through some family issues. Dakotah is being recruited by man elite programs including UNC, UK and Florida. He is sometimes compared to Dirk since he has great range at 6/8 with room to grow. He needs to work on back to the basket physical post play, but has the face up skills of a much smaller player. His handle and passing enable him play some perimeter offense and be a triple threat kid. If he is able to improve his lateral quickness, he could be a very big 3 at the elite level. The big news is that the Ohio Basketball Club (which all three of these 2010 kids play for) is planning on coming to UK to look at the new facilities and workout in them. All of the kids I spoke to are excited to be making the trip to Lexington. I’m sure UK is happy to have those players showing some interest. Darius Miller was also present and accounted for with the all start team of Reebok Select. This is a team of the top Reebok players who will be visiting Europe later this summer to play the top Euro kids. They featured Kenny Frease, Phillip Jurick, Malcom Lee, Isiah Thomas, Dante Anderson, William buford, J’mison Morgan, Quincy Acy, and of course, Miller. Darius has been criticized in the past for disappearing at times in games. Unfortunately, with the talent on this team, Miller did seem to go awol at times. Team Reebok lost to Draymont Green and Paul William’s “The Family” from Michigan. It’s not unusual to see all star teams get beat by normal AAU teams who play as a unit, which the family does. (The Family lost to Meanstreets in the final game). Billy Donovan has been talking to an assistant at an ACC school for almost a month now about a job. The assistant had agreed to take the job 3 weeks ago, but Billy keeps saying "well, I can't do anything just yet"..finally, the assistant recently told Donovan that he's going to have to just stay at his school. The assistant I'm talking about thinks that the NBA is the reason Donovan has not hired him yet..... There is another name which I seriously hope starts to appear in connection with UK. Aaron Gilstrap is a 6’4” combo guard who plays in the mold of Ray Allen on crack. He is an incredible shooter and has a great vertical leap. He was once committed to NC State and broke his ankle last year, which are the two main reasons he’s not listed as a top 20 player. Arizona, NC State and many other top teams are looking at Aaron. He is likely the best guard in the state of Georgia and is a close friend to Chris Singleton as well. Landing those two players would do wonders for UK’s future. Aaron and Willie Warren are comparable talents, so either would be a huge add in my book. I look for UK’s name to become connected in some regard to Aaron in the near future. There was amazing talent at Spiece this year. I’ll be in Atlanta or Virginia next weekend for some events. I am close to being really comfortable with most of the 08 kids. Things are looking up for UK fans!