with one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.......
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Today's the day.
First day of college basketball's national signing period, spring semester version, for the 2006-07 season.
Today's the day the Southeastern Conference gets a well-earned boost for its shiny showing in the NCAA Tournament.
Only it's not so much Florida that's set to harvest the fruits of its labor.
It's not Kentucky.
It's Tennessee.
Yes, on the same day UK learned that top target Tyler Smith had demoted the Cats to no better than third on his list, shop-till-you-drop Bruce Pearl was rounding up another blue-chipper.
Ramar Smith, a highly touted 6-foot-2 guard out of Detroit's Martin Luther King High School, ranked 34th in the nation by Hoop Scoop (if you believe such things) and 30th by Rivals (if you believe such things), promised to wear orange.
"(Pearl) plays the way I want to play," Smith told the Tennessean, "using the whole court and running until the other team is too tired to run. The best thing is that we're going to have the players there that it takes to play that kind of game."
What sort of players?
"They will make a push for the No. 3 spot behind North Carolina and Ohio State," Jerry Meyer, national recruiting analyst for Rivals, said yesterday. "We are coming out with our final rankings for the 2006 class at the end of the week, and there is a good chance that Smith, Crews and Chism will end up low five-star players."
That would be Ramar Smith, Duke Crews and Wayne Chism. Crews is a 6-foot-7 forward from Hampton, Va., ranked 14th by Hoop Scoop. Chism is a 6-foot-9 center from Bolvar, Tenn., ranked 61st by Hoop Scoop.
Throw in Marques Johnson, a 6-foot-6 forward from Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Josh Tabb, a 6-foot-3 guard from a Cincinnati prep school. Both are well-regarded.
"It's pretty amazing what Coach Pearl has done," Meyer told the Tennessean.
As for UK, Tyler Smith's coach told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Pitt leads Iowa for the 6-foot-7 forward's services, leaving the Cats a distant third.
Even without Smith, the Cats are expected to collect a top 20 class. It's just that it could have easily been a top 10 or even a top 5 had Tubby Smith and Co. not lost superstuds Brandan Wright to North Carolina and Thaddeus Young to Georgia Tech.
"It could be bad luck and a cyclical thing," Meyer said of UK's misses. "Or it could be Kentucky, with its more grind-it-out style of play, has lost some of its luster with elite prospects."
SEC hoops' negative reputation served as another explanation for UK whiffs, but that no longer holds water. The conference sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament. All but Arkansas advanced past the first round. Florida and Louisiana State reached the Final Four, marking the league's first dual representation since 1996. And Florida won it all.
"I think it will help," said Meyer when asked about the SEC's strong tournament showing. "A lot of prospects have an affinity for the ACC and Big East because of prior success and TV coverage.
"I don't know if the SEC, viewed as a football conference, can get over the hump to be viewed like those two conferences unless it gets a better TV package with ESPN."
The league is working on that. It is reportedly in negotiations for an SEC-Big East challenge. Still, that fortuitous Final Four showing should help. Right now, however, thanks to Bruce Pearl, it's helping Tennessee.
.
.
.
Today's the day.
First day of college basketball's national signing period, spring semester version, for the 2006-07 season.
Today's the day the Southeastern Conference gets a well-earned boost for its shiny showing in the NCAA Tournament.
Only it's not so much Florida that's set to harvest the fruits of its labor.
It's not Kentucky.
It's Tennessee.
Yes, on the same day UK learned that top target Tyler Smith had demoted the Cats to no better than third on his list, shop-till-you-drop Bruce Pearl was rounding up another blue-chipper.
Ramar Smith, a highly touted 6-foot-2 guard out of Detroit's Martin Luther King High School, ranked 34th in the nation by Hoop Scoop (if you believe such things) and 30th by Rivals (if you believe such things), promised to wear orange.
"(Pearl) plays the way I want to play," Smith told the Tennessean, "using the whole court and running until the other team is too tired to run. The best thing is that we're going to have the players there that it takes to play that kind of game."
What sort of players?
"They will make a push for the No. 3 spot behind North Carolina and Ohio State," Jerry Meyer, national recruiting analyst for Rivals, said yesterday. "We are coming out with our final rankings for the 2006 class at the end of the week, and there is a good chance that Smith, Crews and Chism will end up low five-star players."
That would be Ramar Smith, Duke Crews and Wayne Chism. Crews is a 6-foot-7 forward from Hampton, Va., ranked 14th by Hoop Scoop. Chism is a 6-foot-9 center from Bolvar, Tenn., ranked 61st by Hoop Scoop.
Throw in Marques Johnson, a 6-foot-6 forward from Ft. Wayne, Ind., and Josh Tabb, a 6-foot-3 guard from a Cincinnati prep school. Both are well-regarded.
"It's pretty amazing what Coach Pearl has done," Meyer told the Tennessean.
As for UK, Tyler Smith's coach told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Pitt leads Iowa for the 6-foot-7 forward's services, leaving the Cats a distant third.
Even without Smith, the Cats are expected to collect a top 20 class. It's just that it could have easily been a top 10 or even a top 5 had Tubby Smith and Co. not lost superstuds Brandan Wright to North Carolina and Thaddeus Young to Georgia Tech.
"It could be bad luck and a cyclical thing," Meyer said of UK's misses. "Or it could be Kentucky, with its more grind-it-out style of play, has lost some of its luster with elite prospects."
SEC hoops' negative reputation served as another explanation for UK whiffs, but that no longer holds water. The conference sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament. All but Arkansas advanced past the first round. Florida and Louisiana State reached the Final Four, marking the league's first dual representation since 1996. And Florida won it all.
"I think it will help," said Meyer when asked about the SEC's strong tournament showing. "A lot of prospects have an affinity for the ACC and Big East because of prior success and TV coverage.
"I don't know if the SEC, viewed as a football conference, can get over the hump to be viewed like those two conferences unless it gets a better TV package with ESPN."
The league is working on that. It is reportedly in negotiations for an SEC-Big East challenge. Still, that fortuitous Final Four showing should help. Right now, however, thanks to Bruce Pearl, it's helping Tennessee.
