Kyle Wiltjer
By Chris Ramirez
Oxford, MS - Kyle Wiltjer scored a career-high 26 points and Archie Goodwin added 24 points, as Kentucky held off 16th-ranked Ole Miss, 87-74. Nerlens Noel nearly recorded a double-double with a school-record 12 blocks and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (14-6, 5-2 SEC), who picked up their first win over a ranked opponent this season and now have found victory in four of their last five contests. Alex Poythress contributed 15 points and seven rebounds in the win.
John Calipari
By Anthony Weihofen
It has been a season of ups and downs in men’s basketball this year. Some of the teams people would expect to have continued where they left off at last season are struggling and others are making a memorable run looking toward the big picture.
The Depaul Blue Demons are what I consider to be one of the most under looked teams in the NCAA this year. It’s understandable though after they lost 15 of their last 17 games last season. They finished the 2011-12 season with a disappointing 12-19 overall record and 3-15 in their conference but seem to be on the right track.
By Ryan Gomes
Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad were two of the highest rated high school recruits from the Class of 2012. Noel chose defending national champion Kentucky and coach John Calipari, while Muhammad decided on UCLA to play for coach Ben Howland. As excited as these schools were to land these future NBAers, recruitment and NCAA eligibility issues clouded their immediate participation possibilities.
Mason Plumlee
By Evan Javel
Intro
This is the first post in what will become a weekly series entitled Bracket 68. Each Thursday I will attempt to give you the crib notes, to impress all your friends and coworkers with college basketball knowledge. This column will cover the important games of the week, and attempt to project some important aspects of the field of 68. During the early part of the season elite teams play mostly cupcakes to get their bearings before conference play. It is during this early part of the season that the tournament field takes shape.
John Calipari
By Milton Herman,
If you’re sick of Kentucky’s one-and-done domination, you enjoyed seeing the Cats drop out of the top 25 for the first time since John Calipari took over as coach.
Don’t get used to it.
Kentucky is equipped to build chemistry and make a final four run in March.The Cats have three of the top 15 recruited freshmen from 2012. The top recruit, Nerlens Noel is averaging a near double-double with 3.6 blocks. More importantly, this team is accepting Calipari’s unselfish style with five players averaging double figures.
Andrew Wiggins; Credits Max Preps
By Keaton McAtee
In order to be the best, you must beat the best, in the sense of recruiting. If you hope to build up a national powerhouse, or continue a programs tradition, you must know how to recruit. Being able to land a couple of five star recruits can immediately turn a program around; it can also cause a program its demise. It is an essential part of college basketball, and is often overlooked.
There are many things that play a vital factor when recruiting a teenager to suit up in your universities’ colors. First of all you must realize that the kid is still a kid, and it is hard for high school athletes to be fully committed to one program with all the pressure and expectations around them from family and friends. Then the factor of location comes into play. Most high school athletes want to be close to home; luring a big time recruit out of their area is a difficult task.
