#ShockingNerlensAnnouncement's Tuesday News and Views

Read all the tweets here. After Nerlens Noel tweeted late Monday night that he's "gon shock the world," Matt got the ball rolling on Twitter with a new hashtag, "#ShockingNerlensAnnoucement." Within minutes of the first tweet, #ShockingNerlensAnnouncement began trending in the United States, ahead of Instagram, Brock Lesnar, New Family Guy, and Devin Harris. But the fun didn't stop there. Just moments after dominating the trending topics in the U.S., #ShockingNerlensAnnouncement was trending worldwide and Big Blue Nation was the centerpiece of Twitter on a Monday night. All because Nerlens Noel said he's "gon shock the world." BBN never ceases to amaze me. You people are crazy. Let's talk more about recruiting...  With Monday out of the way, we're one step closer to the biggest day in the history of UK basketball recruiting when the top two recruits in the class of 2012 announce their college choices on the same night. Evan Daniels of Scout.com is calling Wednesday the biggest signing day he can remember since he's been covering recruiting, and you won't find anyone out there who will disagree. The plan is for Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad to both make their announcements on ESPNU's Signing Day Special, hosted by Mr. Signing Day himself, Dari Nowkhah. The special will air at 7:30 PM ET with both players announcing from the ESPN studio in Charlotte, North Carolina. Noel and Muhammad will be in town together for the Jordan Brand Classic, although they'll announce separately during the show. John Calipari is scheduled for an interview during the 30-minute special. Let's hope he has a big smile on his face.  If you asked us months ago where we thought Shabazz Muhammad would end up, we believed Kentucky to be the outright leader for his services. But here recently, a commitment to UCLA is looking more and more like a possibility and the race is now even. I think the Kentucky staff believes they're still in good shape to land a commitment but no one would be blown away if Muhammad became a Bruin. He could really go either way at this point. However, if you'd like some positive gossip towards Shabazz's recruitment, an ESPN Recruiting Nation blog post from Monday afternoon said, "Many rumors were floating around during the Final Four that Kentucky has the edge but that remains to be seen." I think everyone, including Coach Cal and the UK staff, will have to sweat this one out until Wednesday night.  While Shabazz has everyone guessing, the odds for Kentucky to get a commitment from Nerlens Noel seem a lot higher. The No. 1 player in the class of 2012 is far from a lock to become a Wildcat, but most who follow his recruitment believe that's where he'll ultimately decide to play basketball. I think we'd be certain of it if not for this late push by Georgetown. The Hoyas are still trying to steal him away from becoming the sequel to Anthony Davis.  Matt Jones -- the 2013 Duke commit, not the Kentucky radio guy -- was one of 10 players interviewed by ESPN HS Recruiting who believe Nerlens will wear Kentucky blue. The shooting guard from Texas was in New Orleans with Noel for the All-American Championship high school all-star game and the two watched Kentucky's Final Four game against Louisville together on TV. Of that game, Jones said, "You should’ve seen him watching Louisville play against Kentucky. It was like he could envision himself there.” There's an old saying that originated in the hills of Bell County: "Never doubt anything Matt Jones says." It doesn't always apply, but it works here.  Don't look now but Derek Willis could have some company on UK's class of 2013 commitment list in the next week or two. Troy Williams, a very talented wing player from Virginia, is expected to announce his college choice in the next week or two and he's down to Kentucky and North Carolina. Williams visited Lexington in October and loved what he saw, especially John Calipari. Williams is Scout.com's No. 7 overall player in the class and a reporter who follows Williams recently wrote that he believes Williams will become a Wildcat in the end.  Daniel Orton played 13 minutes for the Orlando Magic in Monday night's win over the Pistons. Everyone please hold your applause.  According to Kyle Tucker of the CJ, Charlie Strong is "punishing" the local media in Louisville for covering the Final Four instead of spring football practice. Strong, who expects 20,000+ at the spring game, has restricted access during practices to all mainstream media. Everyone please hold your laughter.  And in UK football news, the media is allowed in but many members of the defensive unit are out. UK football lost three more players from the defensive side of the ball over the weekend when Tim Patterson and Justin Henderson announced they would be transferring and Nermin Delic was kicked off for a violation of team rules. Someone teach Bookie to tackle!!!  We have some great news for you aspiring television stars out there: The KSTV Casting Call is back! We'll have more details for you on Tuesday, but for now, just know the first round of auditions will be in Northern Kentucky on April 21. That'll do it, folks. Go Cats.